Happy New Year!

Dear Sofia,
It is hard to believe another year has passed and we are welcoming the year 2010.

We celebrated your two year birthday last month and you had a blast. 15 of your friends joined us at My Gym Children's Fitness Center where we enjoyed a class and then had pizza and cake. At the end of the night after watching everyone go home you seemed sad...it must have been confusing.

You make me laugh on a daily basis, you say the funniest things. I always think I will remember to blog about them...but I guess this isn't the case since my last post was over a month ago.

Here are some of the words we hear each day:

"I want to have it".
"Mommy go to park".
"1,2,3"!!
"Row, row, row, boat...merry, merry...DREAM"!
"Fia do it".
"I want eat". (Every morning as soon as soon as you wake up.)

You love your My Gym class, we are still going every Wednesday. The last two weeks you have really shown an interest in the hand-over-hand bars and the parallel bars. You are doing somersaults all by yourself and you can do each "practice skill" the instructors introduce. Today they assisted you with handstands.

You love many different kinds of foods, but your favorite right now is "PASTA". You also love Pizza and Okra. (I know...Okra? Who would've thought?) You really like cucumbers and salad and you have been eating broccoli the last two days too, you never liked it before. Peas and carrots were always our "go-to" vegetables but you just haven't been interested in them lately.

I can not tell you how much fun I have with you everyday and I'm more thankful than ever that we have this time together. I love playing with you and introducing you to new things, I love when you ask me if we can paint or draw, I love when we read and sing, I love fixing you new foods, I love going to the park...I love it all.

We have applied to preschool with the intention that you will attend at least part-time in the fall but it makes me sad that I won't have my co-pilot with me everyday. I'm not even sure how moms do it...what a tearful thought. I know that day will be one of the hardest I've had to endure, but I know we'll get through it together. On a happy note, we have nine whole months to play and learn together before anything happens.

I love you sweetheart.
Mommy

Tea Time

Let the opening begin!

Sofia and I had a fun day today. We went to the Farmer's Market this morning to see the ponies. I thought perhaps Sofia would like a pony ride, I was mistaken. Sofia did enjoy petting the ponies, they were all very sweet. We enjoyed crepes and listened to the music, Sofia danced and then we went home to pick up Max. Today was his last soccer game, they won 4-3, with Max assisting the final goal. Now it's time for bed. Yawn. Oh wait, it is time for Sofia to go to bed, not me, I have work to do.

Happy Birthday Sofia

Today is Sofia's birthday.
We had a great day because we were able to see all of Sofia's friends at Audrey's birthday party. Audrey was dressed as the cutest 80's rock-star, complete with leg warmers. Another friend, Brenna, was the cutest little Madonna/Cyndi Lauper ever! Naturally I forgot all about the theme. So sad. After Sofia's nap, our friends Jennifer and Evan came over to play. We had dinner at Gladstones and played on the beach until our fingers were nearly frozen, yes, it was THAT cold!

After putting Sofia to bed I had a good, long, blubbering cry...it is both wonderful and sad to watch them grow.

Sofia is talking up a storm this week and is stringing more and more words together. Again, I'm not doing a very good job at writing them down, but some which I do remember are:

I tall
Watch me
Mommy, baby, park
Mol Mol itchy
Mommy help
I working
Daddy working
Happy baby to baby (singing "happy birthday to you")
I eat
humpety-dumpety
Ho, Ho, Ho

Hmm, what to draw...

I put Sofia's easel outside and she seems to love it out there. The climate is really perfect right now, the slate deck is finally cool enough during the day to walk on, from May - September it was so hot we were burning our feet. Sofia likes to draw pictures of the sun and babies. She will also draw pictures of Molly (affectionately known as Mol Mol).

Ponytail

Sofia's hair is long enough to put into a ponytail! Getting her to hold still while I do it is another story.

Reminiscing

Has a year gone by?
Was Sofia's hair really that short?
Did Dan really let me dress her in that brightly-colored, striped outfit?

I feel like all I say on this blog is, "Where did the time go? Why is time passing so quickly?"
Sofia is an amazing little girl, full of curiosity, excitement and a love for babies like no other!

We have decided Sofia will go to pre-school next year and we have applications in at three schools. They all offer wonderful programs filled with play and exploration. I may want to go with her. The thought already makes me sad. I won't dwell.

Trick or Treat

From picking out the pumpkin, to enjoying the candy she worked hard to receive, Sofia had fun this halloween.

All grown up...

When I look at this picture it makes me feel like I have an almost 2 year old little, girl who is turning 12 years old next month.

Most everyone is aware of Sofia's baby fascination, when we see a stroller Sofia must look inside to see if there is a cozy, little, newborn in need of her attention. At the park, she doesn't often run to the swings or slide, she first scopes out the park for the strollers and/or bottle-feeding/breast-feeding babies. So, imagine Sofia's enthusiasm today when at the park she spied a mom's group meeting with approximately ten, three month old babies. Sofia was in awe. She ran to the mommies. She squealed with delight. Then she picked the smallest baby to kneel next to and exclaimed, with a deafening screech..."HI BABY". She then stole another baby's rattle to give to her new small friend. What a fun day.

Painting

I finally purchased Sofia's little table with chairs and it has become her art work station. She has been having fun experimenting with markers, crayons and paint. Often I will sit down and draw while she paints, I enjoy this activity more than most others. (Though...stuffed animal tea party is a lot of fun!) She holds her brush well and knows to dip it in the water before adding paint...next we will buy clay!

Maui

This past weekend we enjoyed a four-day stay at the Ritz Carlton in Maui, Hawaii. The best part about booking this trip is that we used American Express points, so the trip was practically “free”. Naturally, of course, resort spa-treatments, food and alcohol were priced accordingly, despite the recession. We spent four days sipping over-priced but delicious pool drinks, napping, swimming, shell collecting and of course, dining. We did not venture out beyond our hotel’s property, we did not exercise, we did not shop…we just relaxed.

Sofia had a lot of fun playing in the kiddy pool (1’-6” deep); she could run in and out at will or would lie down on her back or stomach. She practiced kicking and blowing bubbles in the water. She also romped in a little play structure the hotel had just installed; she aptly named it the “Park”.

When she wasn’t in “her world” she was busy with Dan, Max and I in the grown up pool where we would toss Sofia back and forth between us or on the raft and off the raft. She would giggle every time we would “miss” and she ended up in the water.

Though the games were a blast, and Sofia clearly LOVES the water, her new favorite thing to do is order a drink. Saturday afternoon at the pool Sofia figured out that the waiter/waitress would bring you drinks if you ask them. (!) Our server, Kristie, said, “Can I get you anything else”? Looking directly at her, Sofia replies, “APPLE…SMOOOOTHIE”. We all laughed. Kristie told us they have never made an Apple smoothie but that she would figure it out since Sofia asked so nicely. We are ALL so very spoiled.

Today

Our conversation this morning while driving to Sofia’s My Gym class:
“Mommy”?
“Yes Sofia”
“To-choo”
“Wow! Did you see a choo-choo train”?
“No” (long pause)
“To-choo”
“I don’t see a choo-choo train either Sofia”.
“TO_CHOO”
“OH, you would like a tissue!”

Park

Each time we get in the car and pull out of our driveway Sofia says, "Park?"
Here are a few pictures of what she likes to do at our local haunt.

Dinner party...

I couldn't pass up sharing this...

Is it my imagination or is one baby starting to look like the lack of oxygen is beginning to get to him?

Mmm, Ice Cream

How I managed to forget to post this back in June I will never know, but Sofia devouring her first FULL Italian gelato cone is well worth documenting. We were having lunch in town and after most of us had finished Dan took Sofia to the gelateria next door. They came back and Sofia's wide, sparkling eyes told the whole story. She had no interest in sharing the cone and basically had her lips pressed to it until the gelato disappeared. The concept of licking the cone didn't seem to interest her, hence why the ice cream is smeared all over her face.

Diaz Lake

Convict Lake

Yosemite

We finally made it. After years of talking about our beloved national parks, we not only visited Sequoia in May, but yesterday we made it to Yosemite. We camped at Diaz lake one night, then a few nights at Convict Lake, and then drove through Yosemite to scout our next adventure.

Camping

Busy Mommy

I have a zillion things to do. Who doesn’t?
But, somewhere in my cerebral hemisphere the itsybitsy blog is droning away about how I haven’t paid enough attention to it lately, and how rapidly the center of my universe is changing, and because I’m busy I’m not documenting the priceless moments and happily-ever-after days, which are currently vanishing into the ether.

We have dinner guests coming over tomorrow and I’m in that crazed late night state, trying to do too much in too little time. This table needs to be cleaned. That pile of books needs to go downstairs. Change the hand towels in the guest bath. Fold the laundry. Water the plants. Despite vacuuming and mopping the floors today, they will need to be done again tomorrow. Ugh. I’m tired just thinking about my list.

My car….my car is still not fixed. My accident was May 12th. The other driver has accepted FULL liability. The other insurance company has reimbursed me for a portion of the out of pocket expenses. But, at the end of the day, my car just isn’t done. Which means another week of hassle.

I am also having a garage sale this Saturday. How is it that we keep having garage sales? I thought we had rid ourselves of all excess clutter after the LAST sale (which at the end of any given day would have left even a packrat exhausted from the mountainous scads of junk). Alas, here I am again with a garage full of “another man’s treasures”.

Enough venting! Life is very good. I feel fortunate for each day.

Sofia, Sofia, Sofia. With so much to do it’s amazing that I have zero guilt at dropping my entire list to spend time with you. You are almost 21 months, just 3 short months until you hit the big 2…and then I think we stop counting.

Your words entertain me and surprise me daily. Hea-vy. Ho-m. Bebe water? “Blu”. “One, two, tree”. “See you momo” (elmo- which you can say very well but choose not to). “Hi daddy”. “Hi mommy”. “Hi Maaaa” (Max). “Hi Mol-Mol” (Molly). “Oops”. “Ut Oh”. “Potty”. “Pee-pee” (after you have gone). “Boba” (because I drink way too much of it). And I’m sure there are 20 more, I just need to start writing them down!

Your expressions are priceless and I love watching you work through problems. You’ve mastered opening the cupboard, pulling out a cup, and pouring yourself a cup of water. You buckle yourself into your highchair. You can untie your shoes and loosen the laces to pull your shoes off. You can take off your own top (and do so every day no matter where we are). If you spill your water you point it out to me and then promptly clean it up. You can work my iphone better than most adults (and you can also call long distance and babble on about daddy to whoever answers). You like all kinds of foods, but love our minestrone soup, carrots, zucchini, brussels sprouts, pees, chicken apple sausage, and eggs with cheese.

Somehow remembering all of the things I love about you and all of the accomplishments you’ve managed this month makes my above list of things to do seem quite trivial. I think I will go to bed!

Puppy

I am sure I will tell this story 1000 times. I told our housekeeper I would help her find a home for one of her five puppies and that she should bring me a picture.

Instead of a picture she brought the puppy.

If I had been home alone I would have kindly re-explained the concept, however, as soon as Dan saw her he very enthusiastically said, "we'll take her"! I think we went back and forth a little and, well, now said puppy is whimpering away in Max's room and potty training 101 begins tomorrow. The boys might not be able to hang in through this experience so if you know of anyone looking for a puppy - keep this one in mind - just in case.

Do I smell poo?

Italy 2009

We're back!
I have no fewer than a million photos to sort through and each one seems to be more special than the last. I have a few photos to share right now and the rest will come slowly over the next few days. I will sort them into three categories: Paris, Tuscany, and Rome. So keep checking back and scroll through those three posts.

We had a wonderful vacation. We started with 3 days in Paris, then a week in Tuscany and ended with 3 days in Rome. This year's trip was SO much more relaxing than 2008. Part of this was having a few extra hands, but mostly, Sofia's independence helped a great deal. She slept at night and took one-hour naps during the day. She also gave me a break from time to time and would walk as opposed to me carrying her everywhere. I found if I explained to her that I was tired she was much more amenable to walking. Sofia was in LOVE with Max’s friend Chase, so if all else failed, “Chease” would come to the rescue and occupy her for a bit of time. In fact, Sofia was so fond of Chase that by mid-trip she started calling Max by the name Chase (…if only to annoy him). We decided that Chase was really playing with Sofia, whereas Max would play a little and then stop, so this was Sofia’s way of making a point. When we dropped Chase off at his home last night Sofia cried and today she said his name no fewer than four times.

Sofia did well on the flights; I don’t think she cried once on the way over. The last two hours on the way home were difficult because everyone was fast asleep, except for Sofia (I know this from my many trips up and down the aisle). Little wide-eyed Sofia managed to eek out only two small fits of restlessness, which given the non-stop attention I was providing, seemed like a success.

I have had a few people ask me what we do on the long flights to keep Sofia busy. The flight out has always seemed easier to me than the flight back because the toys and books on the flight home are old news. SO, my new big tip is to actually take a few toys or books, which you won’t give your child (under any painstaking circumstance) until the flight home. I always pack a few things for the flight home, and I always break down and give them to Sofia before the trip has finished. Don’t do this! The single best occupier of Sofia’s time on this trip was a close tie between my iphone and its plethora of toddler apps, and a book of 1000 stickers, which subsequently have been left like a trail of breadcrumbs from France to Pacific Palisades. Seriously, I have found stickers EVERYWHERE.

Food was my most difficult challenge. I hadn’t realized how hard it would be to try and balance Sofia’s meals. Milk wasn’t easy to come by at the hotels, and do you think they have any vegetables in Paris other than haricot vert? A girl can only eat so many green beans. Basically Sofia ate a lot of bread and gelato, why else go to France and Italy?

As much fun as this trip was, I am glad to be home. I missed our routine and our friends. And, right now I am missing my bed.

Good night.

Paris

Tuscany

Rome

Dear Precious Sofia

You are going to be 19 months soon. You are officially over the one and a half year mark and are quickly heading to TWO.

As you grow I am trying to keep up with your accomplishments but I know I am behind. This month you are already perfecting your colors and shapes, you have been using a spoon and fork for a few months now, you run non-stop, you can throw a ball under and over hand, you enjoy helping us when we ask for help, you wipe your mouth and hands when they are dirty, when we call out a picture or object you point to it, you tell me when you have gone potty, you feed and clean your dolls, and you throw your garbage away without asking.

I am constantly astonished at how much you know. At this point you are very aware of our discussions and you are taking them all in. I watch as you study Max and daddy when they speak. You watch me too, and have continued to mimic everything from putting on lipstick and combing your hair, to putting on shoes or reading. I love watching you open a book to “read” all by yourself, but even more, I enjoy those days when we sit on your bed and read for an hour. (I am always astonished at how much time has passed, and that you are still as interested as you were when we began.) You like to scribble with your crayons and you enjoy playing ball. You enjoy playing with your iphone toddler apps. You will pose for a picture when asked, okay, okay, you will only do that for five seconds, but it still makes me proud. And our favorite thing you are doing right now is dancing. You have been dancing for a few months, but now you have song recognition and when Beyonce’s song, Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) plays, you dance like crazy. I have a video and will post soon.

You are intelligent, sweet, independent, curious and you make me laugh.

I love you,
Ma Ma

Dancing

I'm using a new camera and have not edited this video. It is long...but it captures little, Sofia's personality. What you don't see is that Sofia typically watches Beyonce and tries to mimic her moves! What is almost more amusing is Dan or me trying to mimic Beyonce's moves to show Sofia, not pretty, just embarrassing. (Not included on this video.)

Happy Mother's Day

Mommy got a new lens!
Mommy likes!

Hats, Sunglasses and Scarves, Oh My!

Sofia is just now becoming comfortable with her accessories. She will put on a hat, sunglasses and scarf when she feels like it. And, I can never predict these times, they just happen.
Not only is Sofia forming an opinion about what she likes, she is also finding ways to express how she thinks I should look. Last week I was getting ready to go to the store and she grabbed my bandana, which I wear when I go to the gym. She stood in front of me and held it up, firmly stating, “Gym!” It is quite possible she just wanted me to take her to the gym so she could play, but maybe, just maybe, she really didn’t like my hair and wanted me to cover it up before embarrassing her in public. Could it possibly start this early?

Abma's Family Farm

This is one of those images that will make me cry one day: my grandparents showing Sofia the ropes at Abma's farm. Just like they did with Aidan and Ross and just like they did with me.

The very first thing you do when you get to Abma's farm is feed the already to pudgy rabbits. You then trek up the hill to visit the fancy birds, goats, lamas ponies, piglets and chicks. When I was young the goats roamed free and Abma's didn't have the ponies or piglets. A mere year ago they had lamas, (and anyone close to us knows how Dan feels about the lamas). But, they too are now gone. These are minor changes to the big picture. For me, visiting Abma's still feels the same; Grandpa holds my arm and we laugh at how quickly those bunny rabbits pull the greens through their cage. We reminisce about the old, mean goat who attacked me and of course, we relive every step of Dan's lama run-in. There is a special place in my heart for this place, I'm so glad I can share it with Sofia.

Here pig, pig, pig...

Maybe those of you out there who have dealt with this can weigh in...as kids are growing up and we teach them about animals, what is the best way to communicate that this sweet, little, piglet is actually your breakfast? Or how about the confusing notion that the chicken with colorful feathers and a beak who says "cock-a doodle-doo" is the same chicken sitting on your plate, featherless and white? Do children question this? If so, when? What is the delicate way to tell them we eat everything on Old MacDonald's farm? (OKay, not everything!) Maybe it's time to consider a change in diet?

Child Prodigy

What more is there to say...don't we ALL think our kids are the amazing?!

Happy Easter

Our friend Gianni hosted an Easter egg hunt for all of the mom's group toddlers, it was so much fun to watch the kids try to figure out what to do. Dan and I couldn't help but to laugh when we realized Sofia had spent the first 20 minutes of the party sitting by herself, in this tiny little chair, overlooking the crowd. I had encouraged her to play in the yard below the deck with the other children, but she really didn't want anything to do with them, she wanted to explore and watch from afar. Hmm, like father like daughter? Sofia collected 6 eggs and then was distracted by the toys.