Moments of Cuteness in General - June 2009

Look at that belly!

Last night, like every other night, Dan and I went through the normal routine of putting Sofia to bed. I hold her in my arms and we say a prayer then shower her with kisses before laying her down in her crib. Last night right after "Amen" Sofia said, "I love you."

I melted.

She has said the words "I love you" for months now but this was the first time she said it on her own during a tender moment.

I want to remember that forever.

So, I got to thinking about some of the other little things she's been doing lately that I also want to remember forever.

Like this morning after getting her dressed, as I was sweeping her away to breakfast, she looked up at Mom's picture and said, "Bye bye, Baba!"

Or how much she loves to read books. Like this weekend when Grandma was over and they snuggled up in her chair and read a story.



Or how last week on the drive home from daycare she made a sound that sounded a whole lot like, "e-i-e-i-o." I sang Old MacDonald to her and indeed, she was singing along, "e-i-e-i-o." Then, believe it or not, the very next day on the drive home she sings something that sounds like, "ath-es. ath-es... down." So when we got home we played Ring Around the Rosies until we couldn't take it anymore. The best part is her giggle at the end when Daddy and I fall down. She's singing before she's speaking. I love it!

Or how she may have picked up on Mommy's purse obsession.





She carries the purse around and then says, "bye bye," as if she's off to run errands.

Or how much she loves her big pink ball that Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob gave her. Daddy taught her how to kick it while saying "kicky."

Or how she crosses her feet when she's in her highchair. Unless Mommy or Daddy are close enough to rest her feet upon.



Or how she "tells us stories." She loves to talk although only few words are decipherable. She goes on long monologues now with inflection and all. My favorite part is how excited she gets. She takes a lot of breaths like she can't keep up. I can't explain it well but hopefully will catch it on video soon.

Or how the other morning at day care instead of just saying "bye bye" like her usual she looked up at me and said, "Bye bye, Mommy." I didn't want to leave her! Her first sentence...

Or finally, how she runs now. It all started at day care. At the end of each day they get a little popsicle. She used to come to me with pure joy when I arrived. Now she sees me and RUNS to the freezer.

In other news.
We have a new family member.



I think we'll call him, "Potty."

Sofia has taken to saying "poop" before she makes a, well, poop. So I've decided now is as good a time as any to introduce her to a potty. I brought Potty home on Friday and they became fast friends.



Don't worry. We later moved Potty to his permanent home in the bathroom. And yes, in time, we will explain to her that it is most beneficial to sit on Potty without shorts on.

They're just getting to know each other.

Jaxy's new best friend

More to come...

I have a lot of great photos from this past weekend and as soon as I get a minute I'll share them here. But for now...

Guess who didn't take her bow out?



Guess who loves her Bobo?



If you guessed Sofia, you guessed right.

A Message for Nan from Sofia

Click here for outtakes from the "photo shoot."

Rangers vs. Astros - The Family Rivalry

Memorial Day Weekend
David, Julie and the boys came to Houston! It had been awhile since their last visit and we were so excited to get all the kids together and just hang out.

But more importantly, it was the Texas Tourney - the Rangers vs. the Astros,



brother vs. sister,



cousins vs. cousin.



The Rangers swept the Astros, 3-0. David was happy. Sofia was not.



Friday
They got in late Friday night. Sofia was spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa because Dan and I decided to relive the days of living downtown. While David and company were driving in we spent Friday night having sushi and drinks with our friends, Todd and Amanda. We were all set for a long night. Then parenthood got in the way. We were home by 10:30 - exhausted. That's pretty crazy considering that used to be the hour we actually started our nights but I digress. So David and Julie came in late. We put the boys to bed, had a beer, then put ourselves to bed.

Saturday
The next morning Dan and David went for a run and I picked up this happy little girl from Grandma's.



We headed to our favorite park downtown for burgers before the game. Luckily, the park is just a few blocks away from Minute Maid Park. Unluckily, it started pouring just after we got there.



But we didn't mind. We just hung out under cover and enjoyed each other and ate lunch.









Once the rain let up we headed over to the ballpark. Sofia took in her first look at a ballpark.



I think she liked it.



I know she loved clapping. Every time the crowd cheered, she did too.



She wasn't in the cheering mood for long though. She was tired. So I took her up to the handicapped seats where it was a bit calmer and she slept in my arms while I watched the game.

As you may know I'm not really the biggest sports fan. I've been known to say that football does not exist in my world. I actually like baseball, though not enough to be considered a fan. But that doesn't mean I don't want Sofia to be a fan.

So I dressed her for the part. (Emi I know her team will eventually be the Yanks but for now, until you mold her, she's an Astros fan.)



Then I felt left out so I even dressed myself for the part. I felt like I was wearing a costume! But it was fun.



After the game (defeat) we headed back to Discovery Green.



The weather was fantastic. The rain was gone. We could finally enjoy the park, the kids and some drinks.









Discovery Green also has a really cool art feature called Listening Vessels. Although you are many feet away from your companion, if you are each sitting within a vessel, you can hear each other. Even whispers. It's really cool. Here's David talking to Julie and Machi.









It had been a long, fun day. So we headed home.



Sunday
The next morning we were all worn out. We lounged around on couches.





And the kids played in their pjs.







Sofia must have missed her Bobo. But he's never too far. She knows just where he is on the bookshelf. Sometimes she carries his picture around and whispers, "Bobo." It is very cute.



After lounging all morning we finally got ourselves ready



and headed out to Cedar Creek to have lunch and watch the Rangers again. This time on tv. Another defeat for the Astros. This makes David happy. Jakey too.



We ordered Sofia a grilled cheese sandwich. But she was more interested in daddy's corndog,



and our guacamole. She loves to dip things. Notice the concentration,



and then the glee.



Jakey tried new foods too. But he learned something that day. Purple crayons...



are not too tasty.



Before we left we let the kids play outside at the fountain and make some wishes.





I bet Sofia's wish was that her cousins wouldn't go home. She had so much fun with them!



Once we got back to the house we lounged around the rest of the evening until it was time for bed. Everyone would leave the next morning but as you can tell, we all had so much fun! It's so nice to have family come in town.

Monday
On Monday Dan and I took advantage of the Memorial Day holiday from work and hit the eclectic shops on W. 19th Street in the Heights. Our main goal was to look at furniture. We want a special piece for our living room under the tv. And the Heights boasts great Antique shops.



We did find one that we like



but it may be a bit too small.

Sofia loved walking down the street.



She saw a baby bird on the sidewalk.



She calls them something that sounds like "boddie" and as soon as they fly away she yells, "bye bye!"



Except I don't think this one knew how to fly yet so we had to protect it from the very excited toddler.



After our little excursion we headed to lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Tiempo. I had to top off our weekend of healthy eating. Seriously? Really. During David and Julie's visit we ate like the world was going to end. And they're usually very health concious but it seems a vacation diet was in order for the Houston trip. Yeah. We ate burgers, corn dogs, Frito pies, you name it.

But I had an ulterior motive. It was my weekend of freedom. The week before Emily posed a challenge: see who can lose 10% body fat first. And Tuesday the games would begin. So at El Tiempo I promptly ordered one of these



and their awesome fajitas, which did not get photographed because I ate them before I even thought about the camera!

Sofia is usually pretty good at restaurants but she's definitely becoming more of a handful. This day she just required a little more entertainment. She took a few phone calls,



laughed at Daddy's jokes,



and mimicked Mommy when she said, "Shhh!"



It was a great day and a great ending to a great weekend!