NY, NY

Sofia takes in the view. Our room in SOHO looked to the Empire State building...which I still have yet to visit.

Say it ain't so....

The time is nearing when I will be able to stop counting Sofia’s birthday in months and will begin to use years. 1 year to be exact. This day is 29 hours and 15 minutes away. Again, I’m in tears. Where has this year gone? Why are the most special moments over so quickly? I would still go back to day one and would do it all over again. (Does anyone ever say they wouldn’t?)

Sofia, you are surrounded by so much love and adoration, I hope you will read this one day and know how many people you have made happy just by being born!

Some things haven’t changed; I’m still in awe by all you can do. This month has been a fun month because you have started standing on your own. You also will go from a sitting position to a standing one without holding onto anything at all. Other noteworthy accomplishments include: playing in your crib when you wake up, cleaning up your toys – sometimes, eating anything and everything I give you – with the exception of what you feed Molly, hugging all stuffed and live animals which come into your reach, hugging your playmates at mom’s group, playing, “catch me if you can” with Evan, waving goodnight to mommy when in dada’s arms…as if I am going to bed and you are not, saying ooowwwww (the beginning of owie or ouch) while holding your hand over your temple as if you’ve bumped your head, you can sort shapes, you turn the pages of your books very quickly, you still love the same three books I read to you when you were three months old, (The Hungry Caterpillar, Counting with Wayne Thiebaud Counting, and Peek-a-boo Puppy), you crawl after the cat hysterically laughing at her the whole time, you stand up using Molly for support and as she walks you walk with her, and you giggle non-stop when your dada tries to “eat your toes”.

I think I will be too distracted celebrating your one-year birthday with you to actually write on Friday but hopefully I will post pictures so everyone can feel like they are celebrating too. That said, I know I will be wearing black that day.

Ssshh

Marilyn is one of the women who we call to baby-sit for us when we go out. Last week she taught Sofia how to say, "Sshhh", to Molly. Molly has a very loud, and often frightening, bark. Sofia sticks her finger in her mouth and blows air out, ostensibly making a “sshhh-like” sound. Yes, we are proud.

This picture was taken by Steven, Evan's dad, while we were all at Infusion Cafe, our favorite boba hangout. Sofia is sitting on Jennifer's lap.

HOPE

Sofia took her first three steps all by herself today. We were watching the polls at Dan’s office. Perhaps it was all of the excitement at the promise that lies ahead, or maybe she is just developmentally ready, regardless, she said, “Yes I CAN”!

Decisions, Decisions....

I love these little animals. This love started when Michael and Kellie gave Sofia the stuffed animal "Giraffe" at my baby shower. I had never felt a stuffed animal this soft. I soon realized that Giraffe had lots of buddies. Next came Pig, and now Cow and Lion. Sofia will still grab her stuffed animals and squeeze them as hard as she can. The most difficult part, once I've handed her two animals, is wrongly assuming she will let her least favorite go. It is almost, but not quite, as impossible as getting my iphone out of her hands once she has a hold of it.

Mmm, yogurt

This is what happened when I turned my head for a second the other day while Sofia was taking a beat. I turned my head for two seconds and when I turned back to give her another bite she had her fist swirling around inside the yogurt container. Yogurt was already all over her face. How do they get so messy so quickly?

Hello?

Almost as soon as Pam and Gary arrived Sofia started pretending to talk on the phone. You tell me, Coincidence? LOL Love ya Pam! It is really cute, Sofia grabs the phone and holds it to her ear and says, "hi". I think at some point all children do this, but the first time it happens is worth mentioning.

We have Dan's older brother Gary and his wife Pam in town this week. It has been wonderful having them. Dan was traveling for four of the days and it was so nice to have company here while he was gone. I have gotten used to "going it alone" as Dan has been out of the country more this year than he has been home. Though, I still have no right to complain, it could be so much worse. Anyway, consider this an official invite to all...next time Dan's away you are welcome to come and stay with us!

Pigtails

I have recently noticed the abundance of pictures I post of Sofia sitting in her high chair. If you ever wonder why, my best excuse is, that this is the one spot where she sits still. My second excuse is that I have been forgetting my real camera a lot these days.

Guess What We Did Today?

Pumpkin Patch

Today Sofia played with straw,


"borrowed" Evan's pumpkin,


tried to eat a pumpkin,


checked out James' teeth,


and stood on a wagon with all of her friends!

Sofia and Clara have a playdate

Sofia loved visiting 2 year old Clara's house today. She experienced a "big girl's" room first hand. She also saw her first baby doll, (undoubtedly one of Clara's favorite toys). If Sofia would have had a second alone with Clara's doll I'm certain it would be covered in drool and likely missing parts. Who would've thought that rubbery, doll limbs could cure teething pain.

France

I have a few pictures to upload from our trip to Poitier, France. As always I wish I had more time to "document" our adventures, but the following pictures will have to do.




Since our visit to France, Sofia has fallen madly in love with...bread. Any and all kinds of bread. In France her favorite seemed to be the hard "biscuits" which were served with our pate, but here at home any old wheat bread will do. (Sofia has even taken a fancy to pizza crust. Her hands open and close wildly as if to say, "gimme, gimme, gimme".)


We walked the grounds of the chateau each day and explored the old church next door. One of the days we even ventured out to the cemetery. We relaxed in the kitchen and talked to Patty and Erin whilst they busily prepared our next meals. We would pop in on Dan and his crew to see how their designs were coming along, but for the most part we stayed out of their hair.







While Sofia took naps and I would walk to the garden to see if I could find new flowers blooming. I have been testing my floral photography skills for my mom who has found a love for painting flowers.





This was a very relaxing and peaceful trip, it was exactly as I had imagined.

Sugar

Sofia is licking the sugar container at Houston's Restaurant.

Another New Look...

Well, I can honestly say I've been thinking about becoming a brunette for YEARS. I've always chickened out and have gone with seemingly easier colors, (i.e. red - 2001 and platinum - 2004), along with the variety of blond tones I've come to know and love. Those of you who know me well know that I really do enjoy mixing up my look, so it should come as no surprise that after three months of trying to get Reva to do SOMETHING different, I finally convinced her to cut bangs...really short ones. (I had a picture to help her understand what I was aiming for.) The following day I had Diane do the color and she couldn't have been happier. "People rarely change their look", she told me and so "it's fun to do something totally different". Diane is the one who took me to platinum and I had little to no breakage (a very common problem when bleaching all of the color out of your hair!) so I consider Diane my hair hero. Reva is also my hair hero because no matter how many times I contradict myself, ("I would like to keep the length - but can you cut this all off"?) she still manages to achieve the exact effect I am looking for. Piero is the BEST hair salon ever.

Meet Audrey

This picture makes me laugh. Meet 9 month old Audrey - an adorable, confident, fashionable gal, who hosts our mom's group each week. Evan and Sofia were first to arrive this past Monday and Audrey instantly stood up, cruised over to Sofia, and put her arm around her, as if to say, "hey buddy welcome back"! I was laughing and didn't capture a very clear shot so these will have to do.

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall

"Whoaaa"

So much has happened since my last post, I don't know where to begin. Every day Sofia surprises me with something new...this morning she demonstrated her ability to go from a laying down position to sitting up. I was just telling Jennifer on Thursday that Sofia hadn't shown any signs of knowing this skill, and then out of the blue it happened.

This past week she has said, "bye-bye" which sounds more like "buh-buh" and "all done" which sounds like "aaa dahn". She has also mastered "whooaaa". My most proud moment this week was when she used her sign language sign for "all done", this has happened three nights in a row. She can also sign, "milk".

The one other cute detail I will mention is that Sofia loves stuffed animals. She gives them a big hug and then kisses them. It is adorable.

This is all for now....Sofia calls.....

James' First Birthday

Sofia celebrated James' first birthday with him and he had tis super cool "water table".

Window

Happy 9 Month Birthday Sofia

Nine months.
17lbs, 28- 3/4" tall.
Sofia, I can barely eek out this sentence without tears filling my eyes. You are more amazing with each week that passes. How do you do that?

When you were a newborn I would spend hours staring at you, soaking in every last detail, from your tiny fingers to your even more tiny eyelashes. I tried to take in every moment. In our most recent days I realize that you have become so active I am unable to sit and stare at you for even a minute. You will take long pauses, where you seem to be contemplating who knows what in that little head of yours, but after a few moments you are back to climbing, reaching, pushing, pulling and grabbing whatever is in sight. Upon realizing this, at your very next nap I let you fall asleep in my arms, where you stayed for 45 minutes. This flash of time was akin to being really thirsty and taking a long drink of water. There is nothing more satisfying or calming to me in this world than watching you sleep.

Sofia, I have loved every day with you. The last nine months have been more wonderful than words can express and you have grown so much. Here are just a few of the things you can do: you are walking when I hold your hands, you play peek-a-boo by holding your blanket in front of your eyes, (then promptly lowering it), you eat three meals of solid foods each day, you are mimicking sounds, you can army crawl, you look for praise and seem proud, you yell "mah" after we yell, “Max” when we call him up for breakfast, you eat cheerios and pick other small food pieces up with your first finger and thumb, you have signed “milk” to me when you REALLY want your milk, you reach for molly and the kitty cat, you turn your book pages with ease, you can stand unassisted holding onto a table or your play-gym and on a few occasions you have actually let go.

You are a very happy baby Sofia; you smile almost all of the time. People stop me in the grocery store, or on the promenade, to tell me how beautiful you are and what a great smile you have. You like being held by anyone and everyone. I hear this is about to end, so I will brag about it now as we all know how quickly babies can change.

At nine months you are doing so much more than I thought a nine month old would do, and if that isn’t enough, my love for you is stronger than I ever thought possible. You simply amaze me.

Thank you for being my daughter.
I love you,
Mama

Santa Monica

We went for a long jog today, from our house down to the beach. (Long for me at this point in my life.) I jogged too long and ended up walking the whole way back. Actually, I walked about 3/4 of the way back and then called Dan! LOL. My back started hurting so I thought I should take it easy. We were out there for 2 hours and Sofia had a nice long rest!

My Boys

Since they still look the same, and since I have no other pictures to post today, a picture from Italy of the boys will suffice. We were at the end of our trip here, walking by the Duomo in Florence. Max is growing up so fast, 15 is fast approaching.

Toys

We were playing with the Eric Carle flash cards today. Sofia likes all of the colors.

Zzzzzzzzzzz......

This is the second time we've gone to playgroup and Sofia has fallen asleep while everyone else is playing.

Lap Dog

Molly is the most jealous dog on the planet. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but sometimes we are aghast at her behavior. She follows Dan around the house, not letting more than two feet between her nose and his foot. She sits on the sofa practically on top of him, she sits under his chair, she rides in the front seat of his car (okay, I never said Dan didn't perpetuate the problem), she even lays next to the shower door...just waiting for him. Waiting for what I'm not sure, but her co-dependance is unbelievable.

At Dan's office one day last week Sofia was getting all of the attention. Molly decided she just couldn't handle the situation, so she sat on Sofia, (in hopes I suppose that Dan would begin to pay less attention to Sofia and more to her). Thankfully, Sofia found this quite amusing and played drums on Molly's back. It was a win/win, Molly got a back-rub, Sofia had a fuzzy puppy in her lap, and Dan paid attention to both of them.

My Little Angel

Sofia was so sweet today. I love being a mom.

Laughing Out Loud

Could I possibly be this funny?!

No Excuses

After 3 months of deliberation, I finally decided on the Baby Jogger jogging stroller. It has a great hand brake, so I can run down Temescal. ("Can" being the operative word.) We tested it out on Sunday, I am SOOooooo out of shape!

Oh Brother!

I wasn't sure when it would happen exactly, but I knew that one day Sofia would fall for Max. As she became more alert and responsive I waited for the sign. A few months ago I was bouncing Sofia on the yoga ball and Max was sitting with his back to us about two feet away. After a few minutes a very loud “Eehhhh” emanated from Sofia’s tiny mouth. Max did not look. Another loud, “Eehhhh”. No look from Max. Finally after the third and loudest, “Eehhhh” (and a little prodding from me) Max turned around. Sofia laughed, she was clearly proud that she finally caught Max’s attention. Sofia loves her brother. Every time he walks into the room she smiles one of those ear to ear, “you’ve made me the happiest person on the planet” smiles. It’s priceless. Max and Sofia are still a few years away from hide and seek, name that cloud animal, or tag, but I just know they will be friends.

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see the two of them connecting. This reminds me of my brother and those early childhood memories that I will cherish until I’m old and grey. I miss you John.

Sofia's First Cheerio

I have been nervous about giving Sofia bites of, well, anything. I guess the whole gagging thing scares me. A few days back, surrounded by other moms, I decided to give Sofia her first Cheerio. At the time we were discussing strawberries and whether it is okay to give children under 1 year of age berries of any kind. Enjoy!

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Poor Corbu, her days are numbered. She will likely go back to being the recluse she was when we first found her.

Newly Added Post

Round and round she goes...

When Sofia is finished playing at the stations on her exersaucer, she runs. Her pause for approval is what I love most.

First Watermelon

When Sofia really likes something she grabs it with both hands and she gets this really serious look on her face. How fascinating it must be to discover so many new sights, sounds, smells, textures and tastes each day.

Pool Party

We joined a few of our playgroup mommy friends at Rachel's pool. Sofia napped instead of swimming, she doesn't look very tired here though does she?!

Upside Down

It is almost a given that when I turn Sofia upside down I can get a smile...and sometimes even a laugh!

MMM

"Bad dogs eat Mentos when their owners go away." This is what I told Molly as I took her picture. She HATES to have her picture taken, the punishment seemed to suit the crime. Molly could care less if I come or go, but when Dan leaves she acts like someone ate all her dog food. She acts out by either peeing inside the house or by snooping around Dan's night stand for yummy treats. She must really like Mentos because this was her second time stealing them. I warned her about the three strikes law!

First Shopping Cart Ride

This may not seem like a big deal BUT for seven and a half months I have grocery shopped using the storage basket in Sofia's infant stroller instead of a shopping cart. It always seemed easier to me to use her stroller instead of putting her car seat in the shopping cart. This stroller has a big basket so I am able to get most of our weekly groceries; the only exceptions have been larger items like paper towels, cases of soda or cat litter. Today, Sofia used her new shopping cart/high chair cover and I filled my grocery cart so full the girl bagging my groceries said, "Are you kidding?". No ma'am.

All Gone

I found these flash cards in with Max's books and thought it would be fun to put them on Sofia's shelf. Right now they are just decoration, but someday she'll actually be interested in them. Clearly not today!

Standing

Sofia has started standing unassisted. I typically sit behind her - just in case she decides to let go.

Baby Steps

Sofia has been blossoming, I feel like so much has happened in such a short period of time. Over the past two weeks her bottom two teeth came in and one week ago she proved that she is able to sit up by herself; no more wobbling or instantly tipping over. She has also been standing, with assistance, for weeks now. In the Pisa airport Sofia shrieked with excitement when she saw a baby boy her age. (A sure sign that she really missed her mom's group friends back home!) The second I put her tiny feet on the floor so she could stand Sofia placed one foot in front of the other and tried as hard as she could to get to that little boy. Our dearest kitty cat Corbu garnered the same reaction Tuesday. I asked Max if he would capture it on video for us.

We're Home!

This year’s Italy trip was a wonderful reminder of how great it is to go away, but how much more fantastic it can be to arrive home. We spent two and a half weeks in France and Italy. Amazing wine and wonderful friends…it just doesn’t get any better. We had 11 people this year and Sofia loved every single one of them. The attention she received each day was mind blowing. I wish I could explain to her why all 11 people were not coming home with us, but I suspect this will sink in some day.

Our itinerary went something like this: 2 nights in Paris, 4 nights in Nice, 6 days in Tuscany, 1 night in Rome and Venice, and then one night in Paris at the end of the trip. Our time spent in Nice this year was one of the best I can recall. We spent hours at the beach, loafing in the sun, carefully shading Sofia under blue umbrellas the entire day. I collected sea-glass while Dan and Max looked after Sofia, we took mini-naps, and we enjoyed a crisp Sancerre. After two days at the beach we were relaxed.





Our dinner in Rome was also memorable, but the walk back to our hotel, by the impromptu night concert and past the coliseum, will remain unforgettable.

The villa this year was the nicest one yet, with traditional interiors, beautiful grounds and a to-die-for pool. This is the first villa we’ve stayed in that actually had screens on the windows to keep the insects away and sprinklers for the lawn - both luxury items inTuscany. Our mini trips to Florence and Venice were fun and Sofia did very well on every mode of transport. I have tons of video so that someday many years from now Sofia will be able to enjoy her first Italy trip.

At the end of this trip I felt as if I had seen everything I wanted to see, ate as much food as my stomach would hold, and spent as much time as possible with the people I love most. This is why when that last day of vacation was upon us, I was pleased to be returning to the comfort of our home.

Sofia Hits Venice

Just hanging out by the gondolas

Trains in Departure

Trains in Departure
As I upload video after video I realize you may wonder why there are relatively few photos capturing our trip. I did have my D80 with me however if you’ve ever tried to carry a diaper bag, push a stroller and take pictures all at once I guess you would understand my dilemma. This clip shows us at the Florence train station waiting for our train to Venice. Our friends are hanging with Sofia while Max and Dan try desperately to avoid the camera. They were REALLY tired of me video tapping everything, hence Dan's scowl.

Pool Time

Sofia finally enjoyed her inflatable turtle at the pool in Italy. While hesitant in the beginning, by the end of the week she was kicking her legs and making small splashes in the water. Look out Dara Torres!

When in Rome

I wish I could say we got to Paris and Sofia immediately began gnawing on a baguette, but that isn’t the case. The bread gnawing began in Italy, with this very tasty bread stick. She is clearly enjoying herself.

Paris

We still have not downloaded all of our pictures from the trip. I would like to keep them chronological which means you may miss pictures here and there if you are only looking at the beginning of my blog. I will try to remember to link if I do a substantial add.

Books

Sofia loves her books. At two months old I would hold a board book in front of her and would slowly turn the pages. Sofia would first watch as my hand flipped each page, then she would look at the pictures. Now at nearly seven months, I barely get the book open before her arms start quivering and her little fingers start wiggling in anticipation. I went from holding the book while she watches, to just handing it to her. Each month Sofia has shown more and more excitement towards her budding book collection; she drools on them, chews on them, and just this month has started turning pages!