Fun Family Time

Sofie's mastered the veggies and has moved onto fruits. So far she's had some apples, banana's and pears. The pear's, she loves, the banana's...not so much. Here is Sofie enjoying her first experience with fruits with her Nonnie.






Hey look...she likes it.










Sofie has developed a pretty good appetite, she eats cereal twice a day and finishes each feeding with fruit. She still has not had meats or water but will in about 1 month. I am thinking of making Sofie's baby food myself once she gets into a groove.

Sofie still does not like the taste of applesauce...it's a bit too tart.



Here is Sofie getting ready for her evening bath with her froggy scrubber. At the end of the day she has the most clammy feet and hands. She loves the water.

Here is Sofie spending some quality time with her Nana and Papa. They bought her a fun little learning station with goes blinky blinky and squeaky squeaky.

























We had some quality family time on Sunday, we went to church at the Cathedral of Phoenix in the heart of downtown Phoenix.

For those of you who don't know, Sofia had a fall last weekend and hit her head. She was sitting in her "bumbo seat" on top of the kitchen counter she leaned forward and fell. We took our eyes off of her for a split second and the unexpected happened.

Typing it out, I still cannot believe we allowed this to happen. She suffered a fracture on her skull with no concussion or any other major injury. Thanks be to God. After a brief visit in the hospital she was sent home and is expected to make a full recovery in about 4 weeks. Nick and I feel horrible that this happened but it's a mistake we learned from and will NEVER do again.

So, this weekend we wanted to take Sofie to have her head blessed. We asked all of our passed loved ones to watch over her and keep her safe.




This was such a beautiful statue of Jesus and Mary.

This is a beautiful bronze statue of Pope John Paul II commemorating his visit to Phoenix.

When it comes to feeding...Sofie will eat where ever and when ever. Here she is enjoying a delicious bottle outside the cathedral courtyard.

Sofie was pretty good all through mass. She was able to get a blessing for her head. We are still praying she will make a full recovery.

AAAALL Aboard- Cry Baby Central

Well, Sofie is almost 5 months old and has hit a new phase in life...that of the "cry baby". Her new thing is crying when ever we put her down. She does not have tears just whines and screams. She goes from giggles to screams in less than 60 seconds.

I admit, being a new mommy I lack the needed patience for this. I've looked online for answers, asked other moms for advice (wishing I hadn't).

The funny thing, even after all the frustrating moments and deafening screams, as soon as I hold her and look into those big blue eyss, everything is okay. I just keep telling myself, this too will pass. With my schedule, I am able to have three days off to spend with her and while I love being with her all day- I have TONS of things to get done. I find myself looking at the clock in disbelief that it's already noon and still no shower! Is this normal? These are the first trying moments I've had with motherhood. I guess compared to some other mommies I've had it pretty good!

Here are some pictures of our latest "photo session". Nick calls this one

"S-S-Sofie and the Jetts". Our own little tribute to Elton.

Here is Sofie in "timeout"... the only way she would sit was if she had a buddy.

Sofie has finally learned to roll. And with that comes all the worries...don't get me started....
She has not caught on to crawling just yet. We think it will be soon. Fingers crossed.

So far, our little girl has been perfect. We are just dealing with some rough patches. We'll get it sooner or later.

Can you tell me how to get...how to get to Sesame Street!

Well, our little Sofie has found her way to Sesame Street. One morning after her cereal time I was flipping the channels and came across PBS...Sesame Street was on and her eyes were immediately fixated on the T.V. She was hooked. She focuses and really looks like she enjoys watching it.

After Sesame Street is over she might watch Curious George but normally she only sits through Sesame Street.

Our little baby is getting bigger!

Daddy's Blog

I decided to blog it up a bit and give an update on The Fiz's latest milestone. I know that eating cereal is now old news, so I told Sofie that she needed to come up with a new trick to please the fatithful readers of the blog. What she came up with is learning to roll over. She primarily does this trick when I am changing her diaper and she is recklessly 4 feet off of the ground.

I think she chose this time to show off her new skills to either freak me out, or show me what a little daredevil she is. Either way, she is rolling over like a professional. It makes it even more exciting when she does it while I am trying to get her new diaper ready. This gives the extra danger of not only falling off of the changing table, but doing so while peeing on me. So far she has not done either but I think she is just waiting for me to slip up and then she will make her move.

Oh yeah, Tina and I have a bet going as to what her first word will be. She thinks it will be "Mama" or "Mommy". I am pretty sure that it will be "Hulk Smash!" Thanks for reading!

My Future is so Bright!

Sofie is growin' and growin'! She's made it to the four month mark and so far is passing with flying colors. She has just about doubled her birth weight, 14.5 pounds and sitting about 25 inches long! Can you believe it!
Sofie is smiling more and more making funny little baby sounds and giggles when her daddy does something goofy. She is getting stronger and stronger, she is almost able to sit up by herself.
She has become very aware of all things that go "blinky blinky" and "sqweek sqweek"! Sofie is quit the accomplished drooler...she has it down to a science! She can completly soak a bib in under an hour and has now moved on to mastering the art of drool bubbles.

Sofie loves to hang out with Daddy. She enjoys watching T.V. at Nonnie's and Grandpa's house... WWE wrestling every Monday night is their program of choice.

Sofie has also reached another milestone, she has begun eating RICE CEREAL! She totally loves it!

It took a while for her to get into a groove, but she eventually got it.

At first she kept leaning forward as if going for the nipple on her bottle. Once the spoon made it to her mouth, she just kept trying to suck the spoon. Nick and I had a good laugh.

Each day our little "Love Bug" impresses us with her daily accomplishments. We are so happy we finally have our family (minus one).

Bella Marie Allen R.I.P. 6.20. 2002 - 6.28. 2008

Today we lost our best friend Bella. She was the best dog we've ever had. She traveled with us, endured our adventures and put up with all of our antics. She had the personality of an old grumpy lady but the heart of an angel.

Bella is in a much better place now and will always be remembered for the funny things she did and the companionship she gave us. Oh, and for her snores in the middle of the night and her farts that made us gag and cleared a room.

She will forever be in our hearts and in our prayers.

We love you "Belzie".

Summertime Fun in the Sun!

Nick had his first Father's Day this year and he loved it. We celebrated a little early, Nick took Sofie and I to the comic book store. Nick can't wait until the two of them go and pick out their favorites!




Sofie had no idea what was going on but she posed for the pictures anyway.

Summer has officially started. With temperatures in the triple digits, out here we find water and find it fast! Sofia went to her Nana and Papa's house this past Father's Day for some splish splashin' fun!

Sofia LOVES the water.

She had no problems. Here she is posing on waterfall.

Sofie and her Daddy spending some quality time... The floaty was a gift from Sofie's Nonnie and Grandpa (we refer to it as Sofie's speed boat).

Daddy giving Sofie some pointers on floating

We had a great Father's Day!

After a long wait...here is the latest happenings in the Allen family-

The last time we updated the blog we were on our way to California to baptize Sofia. Well, here is the three of us crossing the Arizona California border. And our newest member of Catholic Church. Sofia looked like a little angel.

The baptism was memorable. Father Tom was gracious enough to do the service for us. I mentioned before, he performed our wedding as well as confirmed and gave both Nick and I our first communion. He is truly a saint!

Here is a picture of Angela (my cousin, faithful blog reader and commenter)!

Sofie was such a trooper! This girl was born to travel!

While we were in California we took Sofia to visit Mama Chana. We said a special prayer remembered all the fond memories we have of her.

And when we made it home. Keith sent Nick a special house warming gift...a 6 foot wall sticker of The Incredible Hulk! And here is Sofia doing her best impression of The Hulk.
Nick and Sofia can't wait to wear their matching shirts to the theater to see the movie. I think this will be one of many movies Sofie goes to see with her daddy.

Just an update...

We wanted to give everyone just a little update as to what we have been up to.

Nick and I never knew just how time consuming being a parent is. Our days and nights revolve around feeding, diapers and burping. We LOVE IT!!!

Our little Sofie is growing up and filling in wonderfully. She has started to laugh and make giggle noises (coos and ahhs). She smiles when we make funny baby noises and when she sees her mommy and daddy. Another funny thing, she's found her hands. It's so cute, she stares and just looks at her hand with amazement.

Next week, Mothers Day we will be driving out to California to baptize Sofia. The same Priest who gave both Nick and I our first communion, confirmation and married us will be baptizing our little Sofie. Having Father Tom Glynn do this really means a lot to me because he also gave Mama Chana her last rites. For me it's some sort of connection....I miss her so very much!

Over the many years Nick and I have been together we have truly felt God present in our lives. We have been blessed in so many ways with our friends, family and now with Sofia. We picked Alicia and Vincent Castro to be her God Parents. We know that they will be wonderful. They have both played such a major part in her life thus far.

The Baptism will the held at

Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church
Long Beach Ca.
May 11, 2008 @ 2:00

We will post tons of pictures in our next update. Stay posted.


Much love,

The Allens

Almost a month old!

For those of you who read this we just wanted to give an update as to how we're doing and how our baby girl is doing.

Since coming home from the hospital Sofie has been a PERFECT baby. All through my pregnancy I prayed for a baby with her demeanor. She is calm, relaxed and not "fussy" at all.

The first three weeks all she did was sleep & eat! The only problem we have experienced so far is constipation. Since I was not able to breastfeed we put Sofia on formula a few days after she was born. I learned that formula is a bit harsher to digest than breast milk and so a majority of formula fed infants do experience constipation for the first few weeks.

Feeding her is no problem...burping her is a breeze but trying to get her to "go" thats another story! We feel so helpless when we see her strain and try to "go". We have tried all the remedies...Karo syrup, rubbing her stomach, stretching her legs and even Mama Chana's home remedy of chamomile tea. We've had some success but Sofie still does not go as many times as we would like. I never thought I would say this but, all I want to do is change poopy diapers! Although, when she does go, SHE REALLY GOES! It's such a relief when Nick and I can tell each other at changing time- "we have poop"!

This has been one of my obstacles as a new mommy. We've Googled remedies, causes, and everything we could ever want to know about baby constipation! It's just one of those things that Sofia has.

So far I've learned to be patient. And to do what I think is right and listen to the advice of others but ultimately do what I think is right for our baby girl.

Other than that, Sofia is really starting to fill out. She has put on more and more weight. At our last doctors appointment she was 9 pounds 6 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. Her hair is growing in nicely and all the newborn clothes in her closet are becoming more and more snug. We started to but her into the 0-3 month category. Carrying her around in her car seat is no longer a "light as a feather".

Her features are starting to resemble Nick and I more and more. She is slowly growing out of that "newborn look". She is really starting to move her head a lot more and is awake longer periods of time.

Although she still finds time to get in her beauty rest!

So far being a mommy has been such an amazing experience.