Birthdays Galore

Last weekend we celebrated six, count 'em, 6! birthdays. Auntie Val (12/29), Steve's dad Ernie (12/30), Godfather/Uncle Nick (12/31), Cousin Marissa (1/3), Steve's mom Marcia (2/3) and Steve (2/7). It was a gift opening extravaganza to rival Christmas...which felt like it was just yesterday. Oh wait, it was.

We had a lovely time celebrating, first at Grammy & Nono's for cocktails and gifts.
The cocktail hour has quickly morphed into "Sofia on stage" time, which she doesn't seem to mind one bit.

Then we had dinner at Aldo's - which Sofia enjoyed immensely.

A rare family photo.

I'm already training her to keep her chin down and take the photo from above.

View from the high chair.

Happy 7 Months!

We are a few days late celebrating 7 months...Sofia couldn't decide what to wear. I think she chose wisely, with this adorable hot pink number with the built-in felt necklace that is all the rage this season. You may remember she wore a similar one in brown back in September for her 3 month photo shoot. Auntie Val calls it her "Michael Kors onesie." They were both gifts from Steve's college friend Beth. She found them at an adorable online boutique called Sam & Coop on Etsy. Don't be surprised if you have a baby and receive something from here.

Happy birthday!

Not on the approved list of Level One solids ...

At 7 months old we're doing some pretty exciting things...

We started swimming lessons at AVAC a few weeks ago and daddy gets to jump in the pool as the token dad whenever he can sneak away from work.

When there isn't a squeezy toy in her mouth, this is the mildly terrified look on her face during class.

*She's eating more solids, including apples, bananas, pears, carrots and butternut squash. So far the favorite by far are the bananas. At her 6 month visit she weighed in at 15lbs, 12 oz (50th) and was 26 inches tall (75th). The doc didn't think she'd gained enough, so we've been trying to bulk her up with more feedings of solids and nursing. She feels heavier to me, but we'll see when we go back for another check-up in couple of weeks. Maybe we should stop by GNC.

The most exciting update is that she's sitting on her own, just in the last week or so. She's slightly wobbly, but can stay in this position for a long time. Until her core gets tired or there is something interesting 6 inches away.

*They say it's a natural progression from sitting to crawling and she's on her way - but not quite sure what to do with her legs yet.
View the following photos as if they were a flip book:

It was a special occasion to have the crazy Farrah Faucet wings, normally we are a bit more refined.

Taking after Daddy already.

One of many playdates at Vasona we snuck in before the storm hit last week.
This is Sofia's friend Avery (8 months) climbing up to say hello.

I believe this is what they call "parallel play."

Twenty Ten

We hosted what has become our annual New Year's Eve party again this year and amazingly, with the the addition of Sofia, it really wasn't much different. Except that there was a baby sleeping in the other room. Last year three of us were pregnant and therefore not up for a ton of merriment. I remember conking out on the couch at like 12:01 and feeling like a terrible hostess. While we were all still tired (probably even more so) this year, we did last a little longer. Thanks to the girls for helping me get the kitchen cleaned up while the boys smoked cigars and drank the brown stuff outside.

We had planned for a babysitter, but she fell through. Sofia had slept marvelously through Christmas dinner at our house with a large, boisterous group in the dining room, so we figured she could do it again a week later - and save us $75. Our plan was successful and she didn't make a peep. AND she even slept until 8:00 am, which was great considering we didn't go to bed until after 2.

The highlight of the night for me was hearing Robin's brother Justin's story of meeting John Taylor's (of Duran Duran) daughters in London. They took him to a club where he met Simon LeBon. Justin (22) had heard of Duran Duran, but was oblivious to how exciting this encounter truly was.

The original "JT"

It seems I didn't take many photos of our guests, but here are some shots of this year's Steakhouse theme:

The menu.

Plenty of vino.

No vegans here.

My all time fave, Baked Alaska.

New Year's Blue Moon
A good omen for a great 2010, we hope!

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.