Trying out careers

Sofia has been career shopping a little. Last month her two choices were nurse and cowgirl. I'm not sure if she's too serious about either one. Sofia just likes to wear the clothes.

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day weekend Grandma Carol and Grandpa Larry came to visit. Since Tony and I were celebrating our anniversary early this year, they came to take care of Sofia while we spent the night in the city. Sofia really enjoyed all the extra attention and presents they brought her. Grandma Carol had a chair that was once Grandpa Larry's then Tony's chair re-upholstered for Sofia. She loves to sit in her chair like a big girl to read her books.

Just Being Sofia

Most days with Sofia are just filled with moments that could make anyone smile. She really enjoys sticking her tongue out at you just to see if you'll do it too. If a camera is around, she'll most likely pose for a moment then go back to exploring her surroundings. There are lots of random screams of joy and frustration from Sofia as she plays. Especially when things don't work out the way she expected it.

One morning last month, Sofia was playing with her toys when she decided to take a seat. Only her "seat" was the open end of a toy drum. At first she only laughed when her little bum plunked down inside the drum. When she realized that she couldn't get out her little smile quickly turned into "The Face". "The Face" comes around whenever Sofia is scared, hurt, or just really upset. Her Daddy is helpless against it. Tony immediately melts when presented with

"The Face". I have built up more of a tolerance for it. I can go at least 30 seconds before I have to pick Sofia up and make "The Face" go away. It's one of Sofia's super powers.

Latest Milestone: Walking

May 28, 2008 _ After months of cruising along the furniture and clinging to us with a death grip, Sofia just took off walking. Of course, she waited to take her first solo steps during one of the few times that I wasn't home with her. Oh well, her Daddy misses out on so many cute moments that Sofia thought she'd give him the gift of seeing her first steps. She is so excited to be walking that she's constantly on the move. Sofia would much rather be walking around than being held now. Bandit isn't too thrilled with Sofia's new skill, because now she can follow him around with greater ease. She's also getting much taller, so she can reach up and get into more things than ever. I almost want to put up shelving 6ft above the floor all around the house just to keep things out her reach. It's exhausting keeping up with her. Sofia just keeps getting faster and smarter.

My camera can barely keep up with her. Most pictures of Sofia these days are just a blur of giggly movement.

Sofia Goes Digging

Today the sky was clear, the sun was warm, and the breeze was cool -- a perfect day for an expedition. I got Sofia dressed in her sunhat, shorts, and sandals and we were off to Champion Park to dig for dinosaurs (or plaster casts buried in the sandbox, whichever we found first.) The first thing we were searching for were answers. Does Sofia like sand? Does Sofia like to dig? Will Sofia eat some of what she digs? The answer: YES!
She was a little unsure of the sand at first. Sofia clung to me, not wanting her feet to touch the ground. (I guess there's always a possibility it could have been quicksand.) Once she realized that I was touching the sand and not disappearing, the expedition was back on. Sofia was digging away, filling her pockets with sand, and inspecting every pebble. It was a great day. We even had a picnic
with our friends, but the whole time Sofia kept crawling away trying to get back to the sand.
We went back to digging for a little longer. Sofia didn't find any dinosaurs, but she did find a plastic knight wielding a mace. She insisted on tasting it for authenticity, but I convinced her that there were other tests that weren't so yucky. Then Sofia crawled over to me laughing, dumped a handful of sand down my shirt, and laid her head down in the sand. So with naptime looming, I had the unpleasant task of removing Sofia from the digsite, aka the sandbox. She, of course, screamed and kicked in protest. But it was time to hike back to the car and change out of our sandy clothes. Sofia managed to hide about a half cup of sand in her diaper. What a gritty bum baby, trying to bring the park home with her. We'll have to go back and dig for dinos another time before it gets too hot. For now we'll just stick with the Fussysaurus Rex that lives with us already.

Sofia Goes Splashin'

Last Saturday the weather was beautiful, so I decided it was about time Sofia got to use the pool that Grandma Carol and Grandpa Larry gave her for her birthday. She looked adorable showing off her swimwear and curiously watching her Daddy set up the pool. This is quite a deluxe baby pool since it also has little sprinklers all over it to enhance the fun. Sofia really liked trying to catch the bubbling water in her hand. At first the water was turned on a little too high, and the trickling fountains became geysers that overwhelmed our little swimmer a bit. Luckily the brim of her sunhat also served as a handy umbrella.
Daddy fixed the problem and her frown went away in an instant. Sofia really loved splashing around and watching the octopus shoot water into the air. The warm weather gave us a great day for splashing in the sun, but the water from the hose was still a little cold. Despite her goosebumps, Sofia still screamed and threw a tantrum when it was time to get out of the pool. A little chill wasn't going to end her fun! I guess, I'm going to have just as hard a time getting Sofia to get out of the water as my mom did with me. She seems to have inherited my love of the water and my stubborn head.

Sofia Goes Country

April 19, 2008

We went to a birthday party for Sofia's friend Aiden at the Arrowhead Ranch. Sofia got to see chickens, bunnies, goats, and a donkey. She liked the donkey more than the other animals, though. I think Sofia assumed it was Eeyore, so she clapped her hands and squealed with delight.

The highlight of the day was when Sofia made a new friend named, Dusty. While the other babies her age were nervous about riding the pony, Sofia was ecstatic. She took to horseback riding right away. As Dusty patiently walked her around the corral, Sofia smiled and waved to everyone.

She got two turns to ride Dusty, but it still wasn't enough. Sofia cried when she had to tell Dusty good-bye. It's clear that Sofia's a country girl at heart. Now PawPaw will have to buy her a pony when he moves to Texas.