Tahoe Time

Every year during the first two weeks of August for the past many, many years Steve's family has been traveling to Lake Tahoe. His parents are there both weeks and the kids come when they can. This year Sofia made her debut. After much nervousness about how she would behave during the car ride up and back, it turned out there was nothing to be nervous about. She slept from Meridian Avenue to Truckee...and therefore we didn't stop. On the way home she slept from Tahoe City to Curtner Avenue. We were so proud and my bladder was quite full.

By 4am the first night, after I'd gotten about 5 minutes of sleep, I remembered why we've had Sofia sleeping in her own crib in her own room since about week 2. She makes noise all night long. Her little grunting noises are cute when they are heard faintly over the baby monitor from the other room. Not so cute when they are right there next to you. Steve can sleep through them. I cannot. So at 4:05am on the first night, Sofia was relegated to her own room. Also known as the bathroom. With the door closed it was almost exactly like having the baby monitor with us. I could hear her, but it wasn't so loud that it kept me up. Phew! Crisis averted. Once we got the sleeping situation under control, the time in Tahoe was extremely enjoyable for all. Grammy Marcia was in seventh heaven spending so much time with her and we were thrilled to let her! We were able to have a day on a friend's boat, lunch with friends and a date night out. Sofia was a champ most of the time, having some colicky times here and there, but overall she was great.

Here are some highlights from the week:

Family Dinner while Jen, Nick and Michael were still in town.

Steve cooked up this glorious feast. Ernie and Nick comparing the beef to their hands.

Rocky Ridge beach party on our first night there.
From Left, Ella, Carly, Zoe, Gavin and Cheyne.
And of course the newest addition held by daddy in the back.

Chillin' with Daddy on the couch.

One of Uncle Michael's main goals is to constantly be "testing Sofia's strength."
Here, he introduces her to the fine art of arm wrestling.
Of course, Michael was defeated. At least by cuteness.

Out in Tahoe City. We saw a bear at this exact location a few years ago.

Baby's first wine shop. While I was shopping at the children's store nearby,
Sofia and Daddy found this gem of a wine shop.

After a long day being a pill, Sofia really just needed a dinner out at Jake's.

A very familiar sight:
Grammy figured out quickly that Sofia was enthralled by the wooden beams in the ceiling. Fussiness be gone!

Date night out at West Shore Cafe.

Sadly we learned that it's up for sale, and if no one comes up with the modest
$80 million to buy it, it will likely be closed in September.
Anyone looking for an investment property?

Lunch with the Foleys on the windiest day ever!

Debut of Bjorn

In keeping with my love of all things Swedish (or 'Sverige', as Steve would say), we, of course, had to go with the ever popular Baby Bjorn. Truth be told, I didn't even realize it was a Swedish company until I read the manual this weekend. "Bjorn" should have given it away...

The baby has to be 8 lbs before she is able to ride in the Bjorn, and Sofia is FAR surpassing that at a whopping 10-ish lbs right now. We debuted the rig at the Campbell Farmer's market on Sunday and she loved it. And by "loved it" I mean she fell asleep almost immediately allowing us to continue our Sunday tradition of being swindled by farmers from Watsonville.

Next stop: Ikea

Let's Do Lunch

Steve and I got out for our first date since Sofia's arrival today. We opted for a "lunch date" because we didn't want to subject the babysitter (Grandma Peg) to the witching hour of the evening. She said she was up for "some fussiness" and was willing to do dinnertime, but she really has no idea how bad it can be! We'll save that for later, don't want to scare her off just yet. And of course this evening she is being an angel (so far).

We happily sped off to Santana Row for lunch at the new LB Steak, an offshoot of Left Bank that is in the old Tanglewood spot. It was a glorious day and we sat outside and watched the characters and a Bentley roll by. The guy in the Bentley was drinking a box of milk. Maybe there was Cristal in the box?

Maybe because it was lunchtime and the sun was out...but I didn't feel that guilt that everyone talks about their first time out. I was just happy to be out, wearing a dress (and make-up!) and feeling a little like it was the first day of summer vacation. We didn't have to worry about finding an elevator. Or a parking space big enough to get the car seat out. Or worrying that a screaming baby would interrupt other people's meals. It was rejuvenating and I think we'll do it again!

I didn't get a shot of the escaped parents, but I did take one of the FABULOUS meal.
This is the "Exotic" burger with apricot chutney and avocado. And pomme frites. MMMM.

Not So T.G.I.F.

I should have known it was going to be a long day when this was the greeting I received this morning...

More from our Photo Shoot...

Andrea has posted a really cute slideshow with more photos from our July 5th shoot...check it out!

The Latest

It's unbelievable that Sofia is already one month old! Part of me feels like our time in the hospital was eons ago and part of me is amazed that I already had to pack away the newborn sized clothes. She was so tiny and is now, suddenly, a 9lb baby! A few things to remember about this time:

*She eats. A lot. It's no surprise that she's gone from a tiny 6lbs, 13 oz to a solid 9lbs, 4 oz. She pretty much eats every 2 hours during the day.

*She's sleeping well at night now. Usually two 4 hour stretches, which is wonderful. It took some time to figure this out, but now it's been pretty consistent for a couple of weeks. Knock on wood. During the day we've found that if we swaddle her, we can usually get one good two hour nap in the afternoon. If we're out in the stroller in the mid-morning, that is also a good place for a nap. But mommy can't nap then!

*We still have our witching hour from about 6-9pm...could be colic says the doctor. We're hoping we outgrow this SOON. Nothing really helps, so mommy and daddy pass her back and forth and probably feed her too much to keep her happy!

*She's outgrown her newborn clothes and is wearing 3 month sized clothing, although much of it is still a little too big. She's very close to size 1 diapers!

*It's still hard to tell what she really likes. Sometimes it's the bouncy chair (wonderful while I'm in the shower), sometimes it's the swingy chair...but what she loves most of all is being held and falling asleep on a grandma's shoulder.

Happy One Month Birthday to Me!

To help celebrate Sofia's one month birthday, Gillian and Stacy (who was visiting from Glendora) came over to spend the afternoon with us. They brought lots of goodies including this adorable balloon, some new outfits, a cupcake and a dozen Beard Papa's. Thanks girls!

Stealing Rosemary's idea...that she stole from Bridgette...
we'll hopefully remember to do this every month!

Gillian and Stacy telling Sofie all about being a Delta Zeta.