Sweet Jaxy boy

We're so sad. We had to say goodbye to sweet Jaxy Boy, our Buddy. He was such a good, good, good dog. 

Unfortunately he was diagnosed with doggie dementia which wouldn't be such a bad thing if it wasn't causing him to be aggressive. He snapped at us and the girls a couple of times and we saw a decline in his general being: no longer enjoyed being in the backyard, peed in the house, spent awake time staring at walls, took little interest in us most of the time--he didn't even greet us at the door anymore. 

It was a really hard decision for us to make, but we felt like it was the right thing to do to protect the kids and to prevent something terrible from happening when he inevitably continued to decline cognitively. He lived a long life; almost ten years with us! And we'd guess him to be about 15 years old. So we take solace in his long, happy life. 

When we told Sofia lshe was very sad and cried, but she asked a lot of questions and has seen it coming since we had told her he'd likely be going to Heaven soon. She thinks the first person he'll run to is Grandpa!

We took him one last time to a big field off Allen Parkway to roam around in and fed him mini bagel dogs. It was a nice memory for us all and it's where I took this photo of him. 

Sofia sent along a stuffed animal to comfort him at the vet. Dan took him and he went peacefully. But it was admittedly one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. We definitely miss that sweet boy but feel some relief in the house now, not worrying about him or the kids, but we were heartbroken to let him go. He was there when we brought our babies home. His fluffy tail encouraged them both to crawl--they wanted to grab it. He would let Sofia hang on to his back while she learned to walk. And most importantly, he taught them how to love animals. 

Bye bye, Buddy Boy! We will miss you. 

Together Again

This is Sofia at Petsmart picking up her beloved Thathy Boy. We dropped him off to be groomed all the while discussing how Jax was being dropped off to take a bath and then we'd go to the park and then we would come back to pick him up. Sofia stood by quietly confused as I passed him over but as we were leaving the store she was telling anyone who would listen that Thathy Boy getting a bath. Thathy Boy allll clean!

So imagine my surprise when we get in the car and my sweet little girl's face drops and her chin protrudes and her cry is a new one. It's a truly sad one. There's desperation in her voice, Where'd Thathy Boy go?

It was so sad. I'm used to the whiny, annoying cry when something doesn't go her way. Not this sad, sad cry that tugs my heart. I explained to her that Jaxy was ok and that we'd pick him up soon.

By the time we made it to the park she was fine. And when we returned as promised to pick him up she was so happy and again announced to anyone who would listen that Thathy Boy got a bath. Thathy Boy alll clean!

Days with Daddy

I had some minor surgery a couple of weeks ago. Sofia spent a Friday with Grandma and Grandpa but the weekend she got to spend with Daddy while I rested on the couch.

So here's Sofia's day with Daddy.

Daddy wakes up to find a naked baby...



Daddy gets her pjs back on and gives her and her "mah-kah-ney" some quiet time with Barney.



Daddy bundles Sofia up and takes her for a jog.



Daddy lets her play at the park...



but then decides it's too cold so he lets her warm up and explore unfounded territory in the front seat of the car before heading back out.



Daddy gets her dressed up for church (I did her hair, he still has yet to master that) and lets her pick out some quiet toys to take with her.



After church Daddy puts her in an outfit of his choosing...



and she's ready for some play time!



She decides she'll make some dinner for Daddy ...



once dinner is ready, Daddy joins and they say a nice toast before their meal.



Daddy bundles Sofia up again so she can take her doggy on a walk...



and Jaxy-boy too!



Daddy waits patiently while Sofia rejects about a hundred rocks on her quest for the perfect one.



Found it!



Sofia and I both are so lucky she has the greatest Daddy a girl could ask for. We love you, Daddy!!!

Happy New Year and Russian Christmas

This year's holiday breaks were great. We had two weeks in a row of 3-day work weeks. Sofia came home from daycare with this celebratory hat to kick off the New Year. We also had a visit from Tia Emily and Uncle Jeff who were in town for a friend's party. Emily helped keep Sofia busy doing crafts with the craft kit she gave her for Christmas.



We had a fun day at the mall with Emily and Sofia seemed to have picked up on my purse obsession. Here she is at the Coach store at Memorial City Mall. She's a natural! And check out my Kate Spade diaper bag in the background. That diaper bag has it's own story I'll have to share another time...



We were excited to get home though because Emi was coming to spend the New Year with us! She was planning on coming for Chirstmas but Dallas had an unusual snow storm which kept her from traveling. But it was perfect because this way we got to spend more time with her. It was fun for Dan too since she was his Secret Santa he got to open his gifts. Sofia also got to open all her Christmas and Birthday presents from Emi and her cousins too. She loved all her presents!!!

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends Mel and Dee. Sofia stayed up practically the whole time and we were in bed by the time midnight struck in Houston but celebrated the ball drop in NYC on tv. My, how things change once a kid is in your life! We had fun nonetheless.

The next day we would treat ourselves to a yummy lunch at Houston's and Sofia would take this sweet picture with her Daddy.

We ended up later at Discovery Green park downtown. Sofia brought the twins.

She was a bit perplexed by the fruit and veggie face man...

and had fun at the park with Emi.

She was dying to get in the water like we let her do in the Summer and really didn't seem to care about how cold it was.

The park's Christmas decorations were beautiful.

Sofia loved running with her twins. And as most new moms know, it's hard getting all that extra baby-weight off. Maybe we should get her a baby jogging stroller!

I asked Sofia to take a picture with her babies and instead of posing with them she kneeled over just like a real mommy would and said, "Say cheese!" It was pretty hilarious.

So, we said, "No, Sofia, take a picture with them. Next to the stroller." She must have heard something like, "No, Sofia throw your babies on the ground and try and sit your big-kid-self in that stroller."

Don't worry, we called CPS. Dan and I now have full custody.

The rest of Emi's visit was spent taking Jax on numerous walks, playing with new toys, eating and shopping. What a great start to 2010!

Russian Christmas

Every year Dan's parents try to celebrate Russian Christmas just like Grandma used to do when she was a kid. We get together with family and friends and celebrate the traditions from Grandma's youth. Grandma makes the traditional meal of saurkraut and potato perogis with kidney beans and mushrooms. She also makes homemade bread and serves her poppy seed and nut rolls. It's a wonderful tradition that will serve as a reminder to Sofia of how culturally diverse her ancestry is.

Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob were there. Sofia acted very shy toward everyone but especially Uncle Bob since when he asked her so kindly if he could read her a story she cried. Somehow though he made quite an impression seeing as she talks about him all. the. time. For instance the other night (like a month later) as we were putting our sweet girl to bed I asked her if she needed anything and her response was, "Uncle Bob?" Dan and I walked out of the room quite perplexed. But really, she says his name all the time. She even talks about how he made her cry.

Anyway...

Ann and Eric Keibler and the Coussirat's friend, Mrs. Cotton, all joined. It was a really nice night.



It took Sofia a while to warm up to everyone. She is pretty shy around adults but she had a good time too and was comfortable and herself at dinner. Toward the end of the night as I took her back in another room to change into her pjs she got ahold of Big Frog and dragged him out to where everyone else was.

And she put on a quite entertaining little show for us all. Luckily Grandma documented it. She's our little clown!

Happy New Year to all. We hope 2010 is a great year!!!!

Moments of General Cuteness - December Edition

Christmas and Sofia's birthday are quickly approaching and my camera was storing a few precious moments that I wanted to share before they get buried beneath photos of family, presents, fun and a certain little TWO YEAR OLD! So in these final four days in our one year old's life here are some moments of general cuteness from December.

Baby Jesus Meets Santa Claus
Ever since we broke out Sofia's Little People Nativity Set there haven't been many breakfasts without baby Jesus. The other morning Sofia looked over and noticed the Santa and Mrs. Claus salt & pepper shakers from my youth which I have now inherited. She motioned to them and asked for "wintah claus."



And so goes the story of Religious Icon meets Commercial Icon. They got along very well. Sofia even shared her waffle with them all, all the while making her pretend smacking sounds. It never gets old. She's so cute!

The other morning she had Santa Claus and Mary clutched in each of her hands facing one another and as I'm making them all some breakfast I hear (in what must be Mary's voice),

"Hello "wintah" Claus. How ah you "wintah" Claus?"

I almost fell over with laughter. She's so polite that Mary! I love hearing Sofia engage with her toys and act out characters. She's so much fun to watch and is always keeping us laughing.

Snack Time with Monkey
Sofia woke up a little grouchy (and with a case of bed head) the other day and to get her out of her funk we invited her Sock Monkey to have a snack with her. She loved it! Notice her posed smile. Depending on her mood she'll smile on command now.



Here's the view from Sofia's eyes,



Sock Monkey's eyes,



and the view from Mommy's eyes.



Sleeping Beauty
Sofia's a big girl these days.

Proof:
1. She sleeps with a pillow.
2. She sleeps with a big blanket.
3. She sleeps with her "Buddy Waddit" blanket.
4. She sleeps with her Baa (stuffed sheep.)
5. She sleeps with her baby doll.

But the most noticeable proof is in this photo.
6. She sleeps with her belly out.



In all fairness she has way outgrown these pjs (and Daddy dressed her!)

Sofia's Puppy
Last night Sofia wanted to take Jax for a walk and we, well, didn't. So I grabbed a leash and put it on her favorite "doggie." She loved dragging him around the house. So when Dan was feeding Jax he let Sofia "feed" her doggie some real dog food in a little plastic dish.





It was a great idea and so cute until ...



don't worry I was able to stop it before being chewed up and swallowed. But she keeps teasing me with it and trying to eat it. But I'm sure at some point, when I'm not watching she will eat dog food. That's her own lesson to learn!