Two Old

Sofia's 2nd birthday was celebrated with a weekend long celebration June 25-26. Daddy would have been perfectly content with a family only party here at the house...but I really wanted to do something that would include Sofia's kid friends.

She's been taking classes at the Little Gym for the past year or so and she really enjoys it. They also put on birthday parties and when I found out that there was an opening on the afternoon of her birthday, we booked it. All I can say is it was fantastic! It was so nice to have them do most of the work. And left to my own devices, having a party at the house would have probably bankrupt us. There are so many fabulous party idea websites out there right now, I was overwhelmed with the possibilities. I finally decided to go with Sofia's favorite pattern: the polka dot. It turns out there is website called Polka Dot Market. Tons of great ideas and it if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't have much space or time to decorate at the Little Gym, I would have gone polka dot overboard.

So with lots of her closest friends, we rang in the big 2. It seems as though a great time was had by all and I think we even got Little Gym a few new customers.

Hot pink & orange polka dot everything!

No, I didn't make the cupcakes. Thanks to C'est Si Bon bakery and their Trubate!

Beach buckets for the shorties.

What's more fun than the parachute?

Chaos.

Don't tell The Little Gym, but adult beverages were smuggled in. That's not just any lemonade on the table.

I heart frosting.

The next day we learned that we cannot (well, should not) fit 16 people at our dining room table. But how we tried. The family joined us for a lovely afternoon dinner to once again celebrate Sofia turning "two old." When asked how old she is now, that is the answer. "Years" is apparently a very difficult word to say, so she just deletes it.

It was an afternoon of good food (courtesy of the master chef of the house) and good times (courtesy of the entertaining two year old).

Ariel's Salon, the gift from Grandma & Grandpa, was a big hit.

Ariel talks to Sofia through the mirror and she's taught Sofia more important words like:
"hairspray" and "curling iron."

My new wheels! Safety first.

Happy Birthday to Mommy

To celebrate my 34th, String and I headed up to one of our favorite spots in the North Bay for lunch and then onto Napa for an overnight at Silverado Resort, wine tasting at Del Dotto Caves and a yummy dinner at Celedon. Gorgeous weather, great food, too many cocktails = a fabulous birthday! Thanks Sucker!

Crossing the bridge on a beautiful day.

Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. Scene of our wedding post-party debauchery.

Best "Pink Lemonade" around!

Silverado Resort in Napa. Only picture I got of the place. The room was nothing to write home about, but we didn't really care, it was just nice to be away!

Thanks to Grandma Peg, Grammy Marcia, Auntie Jen and Uncle Nick for making our overnight possible. It takes a village!

Red, White and Sof

We gave Sofia a week to get used to being one year old and then threw her a party. To accommodate the family's busy travel schedules, it worked out that the most convenient time to celebrate the big O-N-E was on the fourth. And who am I to argue with a built-in party theme? Our little firecracker embraced her shared party by sporting some glitter and tulle. Never have the stars and stripes been cuter.

Dancing with Grandpa.

Decor.

The cooks, the cigars, the ribs and the smoker.

Yummies. And the adorable Sofia look-alike cake topper, a gift from Susie. When it arrived in the mail, there was no card, but it looked very much like another great cake topper I'd seen somewhere before...

Family photo with the finger making sure that molar is still on its way.

Girlfriends!
Gabriella (2.5) & Lauren (3.5)

G Man (15 mos)

Dominic (14 mos) doing laps in the pool.

Before

After - Hooray for blue frosting!

Happy Birthday to the Little Firecracker and America!

One Year Old!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

Wow, what a month! I feel like Sofia has had more milestones this month than the rest of her 11 months combined! Ok, maybe not, but it's significant stuff:

*She waited and tried and waited and finally figured out the crawling thing on her 11 month birthday. Now, she's OFF...loving to crawl all over the house (and show us how dirty the floors are).

*However, if she's hanging out in the "pit" (which is most of the time) she prefers to stand and holler. She stands up and yells as if she's stuck. And she is pretty much stuck, since her cruising abilities are somewhat limited, but she's getting there.
*Sofia LOVES Daddy. She literally jumps out of my arms in excitement when she sees him. It's the cutest thing in the whole world.

*The sleep situation: She's FINALLY sleeping (at night) without being swaddled. We haven't tackled naps yet because the swaddle routine is working, so we're going with it. We finally lowered the crib mattress and added a breathable bumper which keeps her limbs in and saves the pacifier from the floor. Also notice the cream crib cover. Our little "termite" as Nono has coined her, was really enjoying munching on her crib railing. This seems to have helped and she hasn't noticed that there is plenty of wood still within reach.

*We've been *trying* to utilize the sign language that we learned in the 6 week course we took in April-May. To be honest, we're not as diligent as we could be, but I'm more motivated now that I see she's actually getting it and learning the signs VERY quickly. After just one or two times, she'll remember a new sign and associate it with the word. She's not exactly using them to ask for things, but she does use them when the word is said. "Twinkle, Twinkle," milk, waves and duck all seem to be the same. Just depends on if I'm quacking or holding a bottle. She does seem to be using "more" and "eat/food" in the right context. But she'll push her bottle away, sign for more but then not want it. Eventually she'll make sense of it all. Or we will.

*We completed our second session of swimming lessons at AVAC (24 weeks total) and a short week long session at Presentation H.S. with our friends Amy & Mia. Sof is very comfortable in the water and will hold her breath and go under, no problem. The perk of the lessons at the high school is that we can walk there. Since the locker rooms are not exactly equipped for changing a wriggly child out of her swimsuit, I decided to just bundle her up, head home and hope for the best. I think (hope) the wet spot on the stroller seat was from her wet bathing suit.

*The most amazing development is that she finally seems to understand what we are saying! It's like a lightbulb went on this past month and all of a sudden when I ask her to find the stuffed ducky, she crawls over and picks it up. AND gives him a hug when prompted. Amazing.

Enjoying the St. Christopher Festival with Grammy & Nono

Standing tall.

Studying her photo album.

She looks so grown up in her stroller! Although not very happy.

Birthday Balloons!

Happy 11 Months!

Once again Sofia is pushing the envelope with her fashion sense.
White pants the week before Memorial Day? What a renegade!

Some excitement from the past month...

*To celebrate her 11 month birthday, she took her first legitimate crawling "scoots!" Life as we know it will soon be over.

*Fiesty! That's the best word to describe Sofia these days. In particular, when it comes to diaper and clothing changes. The words "wrestling a pig" often comes to mind when trying to quickly complete these tasks! Her new favorite thing to do while getting her diaper changed is to roll over and bite the edge of the table.

*She is sleeping through the night more often these days, which is a wonderful thing! If she does wake up, it's usually just once.

*Nursing was swiftly cut short when Sofia decided that biting is fun! I tried all the tricks to make her stop, to no avail. So, we're supplementing with formula until we can introduce milk. I have mixed feelings about stopping...I'm thrilled to have stopped pumping, but I admit I'll miss the time with her.

*We completed a 6 week course in baby sign language a couple weeks ago. Now the trick will be actually using it.

*She's begun to mimic loud noises like the vacuum, blender and the grinder at Starbucks. I think it's hilarious. I'm not sure if the other customers agree.

*She's giving hugs now, but they are really just a ploy to get closer to her favorite thing of all - HAIR.

"Helping" Mommy pack for her trip to LA.

I heart waffles.

The End.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Grandpa Dick loves to give presents to everyone else on his birthday. This year, for Grandpa's 75th birthday Sofia received some new patio furniture. One for her and one for a date. We're taking applications.

Gelato, wine & formula. Mmmm...

Grandma Peg & Sofie

A Perfect 10

Happy 10 months!

The 10 month photo shoot was the most challenging yet. No interest whatsoever in looking at the camera or smiling!

*To our clapping and waiving repertoire, we've added the "How big is Sofia?" ... "So BIG!" with the arms shooting straight up in the air. We're working on blowing kisses. We either get a modified pucker OR an arm waving.

*THE most exciting thing this month is that we're FINALLY interested in food. She has suddenly become a hearty, three meals a day, legitimate eater. Favorites are anything mixed with yogurt, cheerios, bread and turkey.

*Still not crawling, but no longer happy to just sit and play. She definitely WANTS to be moving, she just hasn't quite figured it out yet. Attempting to put her down to sit on the floor or into the car seat or high chair inevitably results in the fun arched back and red face.

*Solidly moved from three 30 minute naps to two hour+ naps a day. Usually 10am and 3pm.
Bedtime is 8pm and about 50% of the time she sleeps through the night, the other half she wakes up once and wants to eat.

Action shot. Nothing she loves more than rolling around in our crib and laughing at herself after a nap.

Chillin' in the easy chair at Las Madres church playdate.

First balloon!

Checking out Little Gym. A little suspicious of all the crawlers and walkers.

No, she didn't slide down by herself. But it sure looks like it!

Nine

Happy 9 months to me!

What has Sofia been up to? Well, it's hard work being 9 months old. Every week includes, but is not limited to:

*Clapping her hands 700 times.

*Waving hello & good-bye to any and all moving and stationary objects.

*Mimicking sounds and grunts and singing loud and proud for all to hear.

*Defiantly closing her mouth to any pureed food other than bananas.

*Showing off her EIGHT pearly whites. Three of them arrived at once this past month. Not fun.

*Enjoying a few play dates per week with her friends.

*Still not crawling, but happy to sit and play. No complaints from Mom.

*Being sweet & mellow and oh-so-observant of everything going on around her.

*Swimming lessons that we're finally really enjoying.

*Enjoying time outside under the umbrella now that the weather is finally nice.

*Trying to figure out if she prefers two naps to three.

D-O-N-E with this photo shoot.