A December to Remember

I must begin by saying that this December was leaps and bounds better than last December, also known as the Long December. Last year at this time I was in the throws of awful morning/all day sickness that lasted until...I don't even remember. Until I started taking Zofran and was able to make it through the day without heaving. But I digress, we're talking about THIS December which was filled with fun, good food, good drink, good friends and a great baby. Here are some highlights:

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On December 4th, we had a fun night out for the 10th annual Uncle Dave's Eggnog party that our friend Jim Foley throws. In exchange for bringing a toy, we get some tasty eggnog and a date night.

The oodles of toys collected for donation to Toys for Tots.

Enjoying a night out while Grandma Peg babysat.

The aftermath of dinner Kamakura.

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Every holiday season a group of my former Cisco co-workers get together to catch up. This year was especially fun because three of us had babies within two weeks of each other. Judy had Kai and Angela had twin girls. I didn't bring Sofia because mommy needed a night out.

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Another much anticipated annual event is the Horgan's Soup Supper. As the name implies, we feasted on tasty soups. But, of course, there were tasty libations and yummy dessert.

Sofia's presence at dinner.

We finally got to meet Dorothy Kearney (10 months), Sofia's well-traveled friend from Manhattan.
She's been to Europe. Twice.

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Rosemary, Erik, Devan and baby Myles Baker escaped the chill of Chicago for a pre-Christmas visit. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pics, but did get this cute one of Myles (2 months). He's already nearly as big as Sofia.

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I decided that Sofia had to experience Downtown San Jose's Christmas in the Park, even if she had no idea what was going on. Mostly because she couldn't see much from her stroller. Oh well, she's too small to run through the fountains anyhow. We lunched at Peggy Sue's with Dalane who was on her way to Christmas in Lodi.

We stopped by Santa's house, but he must have been in the Fairmont bar having a drink.
Or at the Star Trek exhibit at the Tech.

Lounging by the fire in the gingerbread house in the Fairmont lobby.

Happy Half-Birthday!

Sofia's half-birthday is also known as Christmas Day. To celebrate, we gave the bear the day off and brought in Santa for the monthly chair photo. And because it was a holiday, we had Daddy home, hence the good smiles.

My friend Ginny, from book club, shares Sofia's June 25th birthday and was quick to tell me "it's the BEST birthday, you get presents every six months!" Wow, did she ever! We have so many great new toys. Soon she'll want to do more than eat them.

*Her personality is really starting to take shape and it's been so fun to watch. She's mellow and happy (most of the time) and was a trooper with all of the pre-holiday trips to the mall. She happily looks around and smiles at strangers, as long as they aren't scary men with beards (Uncle Michael excluded).

*The smiles and giggles are easy to come by and the cutest ever.

*She babbles and chats a bunch and her new favorite sounds to make is one similar to a pterodactyl. I was saying it sounded like a cat in heat, but Claire mentioned that Grant makes the same sound and Lauren coined it pterodactyl. I've decided that sounds better.

*She's getting closer to sitting on her own, but does not seem much closer to rolling over (back to front) or crawling. I'm not complaining, I'll take "non-mobile" for awhile longer. A couple of days after her 6 month birthday, we started her on rice cereal. It took her a few days, but she got the hang of it.

First taste - what the hell is this?

Much more fun to just play with the spoon.

She LOVES hanging out in her Graco 4-in-1, AKA the "Rocket Ship."

Stuck in side plank position. This is the same face I have when I do this move.

"Watching" football with Daddy.

Merry Christmas!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Some Christmas-y activities from the past couple of weeks...

Nothing says Christmas like blacktop, power lines and a traffic signal.
But we did find a fabulous tree at the St. Christopher tree lot about half a mile from home.

Sofia was obviously thrilled with the outing.

And in other Christmas traditions that are more for the parents...
We visited Santa last week and Sofia never knew what hit her. We slid her onto his lap, danced around like fools so she'd look at us and not the scary bearded man holding her.

Lauren Pumps It Up

Lauren is three. WOW, how did that happen? It seems like just yesterday I got the call from Steve.

November 29, 2006
Steve: Claire had the baby!

Me: What??? But she's not due for another month!

Steve: Yes, and Mark was in LA when she went into labor and he had to drive all night, downing Red Bulls, to make it back in time and he JUST made it back in time.

Fast forward to November 29, 2009 and we're celebrating Lauren's 3rd birthday with many, many three year olds at Pump It Up, Jr. We've learned many, many tips, tricks, parenting techniques from Mark and Claire over the past few years, and this may be one of the best:
By the time your kid is three and wants to invite all of her pre-school/playgroup friends to her birthday party, that's when you move the party OUT of your own house and shell out a few bucks for someone else to entertain and feed the restless natives.

Adults were allowed on the slide, and I must admit, it was quite exhilarating.
Thankfully no one had a camera ready.

Emma in the jumpy jail.

Claire and Sarah wishing desperately that Pump It Up, Jr. served margaritas.

Conversations overheard at this table included the pros and cons of chunky peanut butter and
a heated debate over Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

Wow.

The princess of the party.

It's my party and I'll sit in the HUGE inflatable throne chair if I want to.

Just watching the kids was exhausting.

Old Friends, New Babies

It's been a busy year for many of our friends, us included. Four babies in '09 and one more on the way, due in December. All of those babies are second children, except for Sofia. Fun times when the gangs all here! The last time we all got together was for the Piccolina Party in June when Maria & I were both pretty pregnant and Jen & Bryan hadn't yet publicly announced #2. Matt & Maria, who live in San Luis Obispo, asked if we could get the group together while they were in San Jose for Thanksgiving...and who are we to turn down a party.

The Albos graciously opened their home the day after Thanksgiving for a Mexican potluck and the chaos that can only come from 14 adults, 13 children, one trip to the emergency room and many Coronas.

Sofia continues her tour of bouncy chairs in other people's homes.

Guilty!

Just like a college party! Minus the pregnant chick and the 8 month old.

Nico Bennetti (3.5 months) makes his San Jose debut.

Lauren helping Grant eat his puffs.

No words can describe how cute this is.

Christmas in the Park

We had our next session of the "Watch Me Grow" package with photographer Andrea on Saturday. Check out the sneak peek she's posted here!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving, Sofia is thankful for...

*Ten fingers on which to chew
*Two teeth to chew on said fingers
*Time to lounge in the "calm vibrations" bouncy chair
*The lights in the ceiling
*The top button (heartbeat noise) on the Sleep Sheep
*Zurberts on her tummy that make her giggle
*Leg calisthenics with Daddy

and...

Hugs and kisses from Grandma

Two Great-Grandmothers that adore her

Visits from "brother" Rags
and the promise of inherited style from Uncle Michael

The dream of someday being able to sit AT the table, not on the floor near it

...and for being the only one allowed at the dinner table in her jammies.