One of the perks of Tony's new night shift schedule is that he gets to spend time with Sofia in the afternoon now. The weather was so gorgeous that he and Sofia decided to take a drive to the park. So with her driving hat on, they headed out to the park for some fun. What's more fun than swings? There's nothing better. 
Saturday, March 8th _
We had some BBQ from The County Line. Sofia impressed everyone by feeding herself half a chicken breast. But don't worry, she saved room cake! Which is a good thing since we had a lot of it. The baker misspelled her name on the big sheet cake, but it still tasted chocolatey and delicious.
Sofia had her very own cake to taste, so she didn't even notice the misspelling. We did have a little snafu with her candle. It was so windy that it would only stay lit for about one second or the first word of the "Happy Birthday" song.
Sofia wasn't really sure what to do with this strange object in front of her at first.
She thought...
"I've got the candle. Now what do I do, Maw Maw?"
Everyone waited in anticipation for Sofia's next move. With all the cameras going off, it seemed that this was the most important cake-related event ever.
As usual, the paper and cards were more interesting to her than the actual gifts. But at least she's polite enough to read the cards.
She did seem pretty excited about her new outfits. I can't wait to see how cute she'll be in them. Sofia received so many wonderful gifts that she's going to be writing thank you notes for a long time. Well, I guess, I'll help her write them since her handwriting isn't so great yet.
Sofia ended her afternoon at the park with a thrilling time on the swings and a ride on Grandpa Larry's shoulders as she waved to all her adoring fans.
A BEAUTIFUL NEW BATHTUB...YAY! She was unsure of it at first, but soon she was splashing and smiling away. No more infant tub for our Sofia. She's a big girl now.
Sofia's party kept going even after we left the park. She had more presents to open from her grandparents. What a lucky little girl! She got to tear into some more paper, play with her new toys, and finally ride in her little red car again. Sofia just loves her new piano and her zebra.
Later that night, Grandma Carol brought out the carrot cake that she made for Sofia. We sang "Happy Birthday" again, and this time her candle actually stayed lit for more than one second. Needless to say, Sofia had quite a sugar rush from the combination of her two birthday cakes. She now looks expectantly at the fridge during every meal, as if she's waiting for her cake to be brought out.
Sofia managed to get a hold of a box of tissues the other day. She delighted in pulling each tissue out and throwing it in the air. I grabbed my camera to capture her look of utter joy. Just as I was about to snap the picture she threw the last tissue. When Sofia realized that she had no more tissues, she threw a major tantrum. I'm afraid we're really in for it when she hits toddlerhood if she's got such a temper now. We're going to nip this in the bud.
Tuesday, February 5, 2007 was Mardi Gras Day and my birthday, so we decided to take Sofia to New Orleans to see Carnival. Maw Maw and Paw Paw had a sweet cushy ladder made for Ava and Sofia to sit in at the parades. We went down to St. Charles Ave. to watch the Krewe of Rex. At first the girls loved sitting up on their perch surveying the scene. People thought they were sisters. Ava and Sofia both liked looking around at all the new people. Then they really did start acting like sisters. 
It ended up being a very nice day. Sofia really liked playing with all the beads and stuffed animals that we caught. Towards the end of the morning she even ventured back onto the ladder for a little while.
