Sweet Girl

Sofia had her hair trimmed and blown dry this morning. I love her hair when its straight like this, unfortunately she doesn't like it when I do it. Oh well.

Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe another year has passed. Sofia is four and Max is 18. It was a busy fall with college applications due and Dan traveling non-stop. We were happy to accompany him to NY on a few different occasions and Sofia has decided she really loves staying in hotels.

Max finished his first semester with straight A's (a gpa of 4.3 this semester!) and is enjoying the change of pace from club soccer to high school soccer. He is the captain of his team this year and, if he can stay healthy, it looks like he'll have his best season yet. He has decided against playing soccer in college so we'll just have to enjoy these last few months. So far Max has been accepted to Michigan and NorthEastern. We are waiting to hear from the rest of the schools he has applied to before making a decision as to where he will go to school in fall. As far as interests, Max enjoys watching soccer, fantasy football, x-box, and going to dinner with his friends. I think his favorite places to eat are Umami Burger and seeking out the Kogi food truck late at night.

Dan has been traveling to Qatar, NYC and Kansas City once a month. We are excited by the projects he is working on and more so by those on the horizon. Dan rides his bike into the Palisades on the weekends when he is home, he bought a paddle board but hasn't had much time on it, and has been working on the design for a small renovation to the back of our house.

Sofia is in her second year of preschool and has a love/hate relationship with her days there. Now that I am home she is convinced she should be too. She has many special friends at school and we adore the days when we get to see them one on one. She is a happy, imaginative, little girl and I am thankful for each day I've had with her. I made a list of her favorite things when she turned four which I will include (in no particular order): pancakes, hand over hands, swimming, NYC, memory game, changing her clothes, "twirly skirts", stickers, drawing and painting, the book "The Lonely Beast", the song Firework by Katy Perry, and her favorite snack is apples.

I have been keeping busy with all things family, and have even had a little time to work on jewelry. I sold two rings this past fall, one of which was a custom for a man in Hong Kong. I made Sofia a memory game to commemorate her birthday, I am producing a cookbook for Sofia's school and I have volunteered to make posters for game days at Max's school. There isn't a slow day!

Happy Holidays to all!

The Trance

Haircut

Sofia did incredibly well for her first hair cut with Reva. Sofia watched intently and stood still (most the time) and when I say "stood still" I mean it, she refused to sit in Reva's chair. Her cut looks fresh and is SO much easier to comb in the morning! I particularly like when we blow dry her hair but this is a luxury as it is one of Sofia's least favorite activities.

A Decision

Before I took Sofia for her haircut I got out the camera. I love her long hair but the "tangles" were causing serious bouts of sadness when it came time for hair-combing before school. She responded well to the idea of "cutting out the tangles" and to make the process pain-free I made an appointment with my girl Reva.

Hand Over Hand

Aside from swimming, Sofia's other favorite thing to do is go to the park so she can do "hand over hands". She has been doing these successful since the summer and it's wonderful to see her make it all the way across the bars. She has asked to be in gymnastics so I think one of her birthday presents will be gymnastics class, now I just need to decide on the gym!

Swim-star

Swim class on Fridays with Miss Erika are one of Sofia's FAVORITE afternoon activities. She looks forward to it all week and is progressing SO well. She does three strokes, can dive, and swims from one end of the pool to the other unassisted. Weather permitting we will keep up the swim routine!

Pony Rides

It has become our yearly tradition to go to Mr. Bones pumpkin patch with our mom's group friends. This year provided a warm, sunny day for picking out pumpkins. Mr. Bones has MUCH more than pumpkins however, they have a hay maze, a bouncy house, a giant slide and of course pony rides. Sofia loved hanging out with her friends and says she really liked going down the slide best of all.

1st Day of School

On the first day of school Sofia was extremely HAPPY to see Lindsey. Sofia found Lindsey as soon as the bell rang and wouldn't give up her lap position even to dance to "the railroad song".

Liam

We have been so lucky to see our friends in NYC, in fact, we have seen more of them in NY than we saw of them when they lived in LA. (Bad mommy.)

NYC

I agree Sofia, this was an interesting wall...

Playing With Art

We took Sofia to LACMA today, she loved running through the lamp posts and playing in this exhibit!

Circus

We had cotton candy AND had Sofia's face painted. Sofia chose to be a zebra over a clown, wise. Clowns are scary.

Sofia's Musings

Today Sofia asked, "Mommy, what's in our body?" I replied with a short, practical list: veins, blood, organs (I was driving and a bit distracted). Sofia say's..."and steak, cupcakes, and pepperoni?" We have not had any of these foods recently, maybe she was hungry?

Aspen!

Venice

Determined

Sofia was concentrating on something here..I think she may have been drawing. I like this candid shot of Max!

Favorite Trip Quote

" Mommy, I can't carry me any longer".

Mmmm!

Fresh berries in Siena, Italy

Amsterdam!

We made it to Amsterdam! We had just an afternoon or two to explore due to rain. Fortunately our hotel was on Signal and close to just about everything we wanted to see!

Friends are for Squeezing!

Swim!

My little fish, er, um, girl is so excited on swim lessons days. She doesn't question her outfit...shoes...or debate which toys she can bring in the car, she just marches to the door and is ready to go! She gets right into the water; she listens intently, and does exactly what the instructor says. She holds her breath while underwater and fearlessly dives in when prompted. On the days where I have been lucky enough to be there, I am petrified.

Beach Beauty

My work schedule has been crazy the past few months and once the weather got warm Dan started taking Sofia to the beach on the weekends while I was working. So, sadly, I wasn't there for this picture, but I love the photographic updates.

5 Minutes of Fame

Sofia's little, stuffed, Blue Footed Boobie from the Galapagos Islands took a trip to Saturday Night Live in April. We heard he had a very good time! While watching the music performance on Tivo, Sofia stood next to the screen in disbelief.

Bumble Bees Paint

Seriously?

Meet, "Blueberry".

Blueberry came home with us for three nights last week; he is a Blue-footed Booby from the Galapagos Islands. Blueberry will go home with each child in Sofia's class. Each family writes in a journal about all of the fun things they did with Blueberry during his visit.

Happy Valentine's Day

80 Valentine's for 80 kids. I'm glad our school isn't any larger! (Oh, wait, I ordered mine online...phew, I would have NEVER gotten 80 done all by myself.) Kudos to all the moms and dads who made their children's Valentine's Day cards.

A Little About Sofia

Dear Sofia,

You are three years and two months now and you couldn’t be a sweeter little girl. How did your dad and I get so incredibly lucky? I hope there isn’t a giant payback when you are, say, 13 - which sends you on a rebellious, out-of-control tailspin. For now, I will continue to be grateful for all the love you bring me and our family.

You had your 3-year check up back in December and you are in the 50^th percentile for your weight and 80^th percentile for your height. You have been drawing circles since before you were 2 and a half, and when prompted by Dr. Roberts you spelled “S” “O” “T” “I” “A” for your name. Really close!!

You have made friends very easily at school and it’s no surprise to us that you like hanging out with the older girls because you are very independent…Ariana is 4 and Ella is 4 and a half. The other young lady you like is Blu (Teal’s older sister) she must be around nine.

Your favorite songs include the “Railroad” song (a.k.a I’ve been working on the railroad) and the “Chinese Dragon” song from your school cd. You like pink and purple and you insist on doing everything all on your own. You’re favorite TV show is “Olivia” and the movie you have been asking for is the “mermaid” movie…which funny enough is NOT “The Little Mermaid” but happens to be “Splash” starring Daryl Hannah. You are also fond of, “Coraline” and “Nightmare before Christmas”. While scary, you still tell us you WANT to watch them.

You love drawing, painting, making shapes with clay, and anything else art related. You play soccer on Saturdays with two of your school friends and of course, we watch Max play whenever we can. You are not yet focusing on the finer moments of Max’s play but I can tell you are interested.

We read three stories before bed and you take joy in helping me make the nightly picks. Your favorite book is, The Way I Feel. Some of our other favorites include, "Hannah Duck", "A Sick Day for Amos", I Can Help", Toot and Puddle and all three of the Knuffle Bunny books!

The things you say make me laugh like, "I want to SEE it with my hands", and you are very affectionate...you are quick with hugs and kisses to express emotion. You ask to cuddle almost every morning and you like to give Molly BIG good morning hugs. How much Molly enjoys her hugs is to be determined.

You are the most special little girl, I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy

Sofia and Evan

Sofia and Evan had their first "playdate" when Evan was 3 months old. We all met at Pinkberry, and the rest is history. A dedicated pair of mom's (who just happen to be close, close friends!) made twice a week playdates for one and a half years bonding their children indefinitely. They steel kisses in this picture one after another (okay, okay, they were prompted by me but they listened!).

Barcelonaaaaaaaa

We had a great trip to Barcelona! Sofia was an angel on the plane and was so excited to see "towers" and walk around the city. We stayed in the old town and walked nearly every inch. Dan and I were able to get away for the world architecture festival and had a nice evening at the Barcelona Pavilion. We also enjoyed a dinner out with a few of Dan's co-workers at an amazing restaurant (where you walk through the kitchen to get to your table). It was our best meal in Barcelona!

Halloween

Sofia was a princess for her pre-halloween party, but when it came time to go trick-or-treating she decided her dress was "TOO Sparkly" and she wore last year's bee costume. We had fun walking around the block with all of her "baby friends" as she calls them, or our previous mom's group friends. So much fun!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch to pick out pumpkins with friends, Sofia had her face painted and enjoyed riding this giant rocking horse with her friend Isabell.

Happy

It has been a whirlwind Fall, but Sofia is rolling with the punches and loving life. Having been in preschool a whole five weeks now I can honestly say she has loved it from day one. In September our little sponge learned about Georgia O'Keeffe, Joseph Cornell, Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko. (And that was just the first month!) Sofia has come home with delightful paintings, a sculpture and a beautiful cigar box-top filled with sand and seaglass.

We couldn't be happier with her school, the community of parents and of course the wonderful day to day experiences she is having with her new teachers and friends.

Discussion

"What's this mom?"

"That's a yard stick, we use it for measuring."

Sofia holds the stick in one hand, reaches high over her head, and attempts to touch the ceiling. (She is a few feet short.)

"It's too hard for me to reach up there!" exclaims Sofia.

Heavy Sigh, "I need wings."

London

Summer

Dear Sofia,
The last few months have been full of travel, play and work. We began our summer with our annual trip to Italy. This year's trip took us to Dublin, London, Berlin, Paris and of course Tuscany. You were up for 18 hours straight with a small 2 hour nap that first day, but you hardly complained. You seem to love planes and traveling in general. I think your favorite part of our trip was the villa in Italy (Il Trebbio in Castellina in Chianti). You loved the pool and despite that this year was cooler than normal, you still splashed, kicked your legs and had fun. We took long afternoon walks around the property (we call them adventures) and collected wild flowers to put in a vase for our dining table. We also found snail shells, leaves and rocks worthy of collection. In each city we found playgrounds, the nicest being in Berlin. This playground had multiple wooden structures; a treehouse, three bridges, a zip line, a wooden castle, sandpit, water play area and swings that kept kids of all ages busy while we were there. You loved the Berlin zoo (we all did), you ran from enclosure to enclosure yelling "LOOK AT THIS ONE!" The elephants fascinated you. In Paris we ate at our favorite "butter steak" restaurant Le Relais, we are happy you like it because we go at least two times every trip. In London we found the cutest traditional pub, you fell asleep and sadly missed a delicious dinner. Since we were there during the World Cup (and were all part of Max's pool) we watched a lot of soccer. You and Max were giving each other "Red Cards" for misbehavior.

We went to Yosemite in the airstream two weeks ago and you thoroughly enjoyed our three days of camping. (You didn't ask to go home once! Unlike last year's trip.) You laid on Molly's blanket with her and then played freely in the dirt. You liked playing in the river with your dad and thought it was funny when you would splash him. The water was freezing and he would let out a high scream of disapproval. Molly loved the river too, but refused to swim. Max and Mark hung on the edge and didn't venture into the water.

The biggest news of the summer is that we are getting ready for a major transition. I have found a full time job and will be starting in two weeks. We have been extremely fortunate in having found a wonderful pre-school for you to attend. The program is five days a week. This school is focused on the arts and I think it will feel like taking you to wonderland everyday.

I feel so fortunate to have been home with you for as long as I have and I will cherish these memories for an eternity. It makes me sad to think I won't be with you each day, but I know you will thrive in your new environment. I am excited for you in so many ways; new friends, new teachers, new play, a new place to explore...and I will only be 1 mile away. The school encourages parents to participate (it actually is required!) so I will be there as much as I possibly can, which translates to no less than once a week. This next chapter will be exciting and I look forward to our journey.

I love you Sofia.
Mommy

Summer

Quips

Lorraine to Sofia: "You are talking so well today".
Sofia: "I like to talk, I like to talk ALOT!"

Sofia: "I want to put on my jammies". (Note: it's 11am)
Mommy: "Ok, I would like to put on my jammies too!"
Sofia: "Ok, but NO sleep!"

Pretty Girl

Zoo Day

Sofia and I had fun exploring the Los Angeles Zoo two weeks ago. She loved the animals and birds. I can't wait to go back.

YUM

I just found this site and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. The simplicity of the design, the minimal photos, and wow...it makes me want a cupcake!

http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/

Fall 2009

I love Facebook. This is one of the photos from Max's dance last Fall, he was invited by his friend from The Willows. I found this picture a week or two back, what a fun memory!

Seeing RED

Sofia just woke up and as soon as I lifted her out of the bed she said,

"Mom?"

"Yes Sofia."

"I want to have a party."

"What kind of party?"

"A pink party."

"Ooo, that sounds like fun, what sort of things should we have at a pink party?"

"Cakes."

"What color will your cupcakes be?"

"Red."

"(laughing)...you would like RED cupcakes at you PINK party?"

"(laughing)...that's silly mom!"

"What else will we have at your pink party?"

"Candles."

"And...what color candles would you like to have?"

"Red and Orange."

"Will you have anything else at your party?"

"MY FRIENDS!"

So...there you have it. Our next party will be a pink party (with the theme color being red) and of course Sofia's friends will be there.

All Smiles