Saturday, June 28, 2008

Arriving in Dallas!

We arrived in Dallas yesterday after an easy flight. Now that Sofia is 11 months old, it was a little bit like holding a wet catfish for three hours, but luckily she fell asleep on CK's chest for about 45 minutes of the flight so it wasn't too bad. We found our bags, jumped into a cab (ok, with huge car seat, several bags, a pack-n-play, and baby we won't be 'jumping' anywhere for awhile), and went to CK's office to load his car with our belongings. His temporary apartment is only a few minutes from his office and we settled in and took a look at the pool (on tomorrow's agenda). We had our first Texas meal at Mi Cucina, which was a far cry from La Plaza, but the food was terrific!

Stretching our legs inside CK's temporary apartment after landing at DFW


Our first full day in Dallas spent right! We went for a dip in the apartment complex's massive pool


Ahhh, relaxing in the sun


We think Sofia may make a good Texan - she LOVES her bean and cheese burrito (although it ended up all over her face)


Yum!!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Our last day in DC...

Our last day in DC arrived and we were sure to hit Eastern Market for a final breakfast of egg and cheese sandwiches and french toast. It was sad to leave the Market knowing that so much would be different in just a few hours.

At Market Lunch inside Eastern Market - the BEST breakfast in DC


Yum! French toast!


The day before at the park across from our house. We'll miss walking over and hanging out and playing...


Grayden and Lucy swing by the park for a final goodbye




Where does the girl fit into the suitcase?

Moving Day!

The movers arrived yesterday and packed up all of our stuff in boxes (220 boxes to be exact!). They started around 9am and weren't done until 11:30 pm! I was exhausted and I didn't even pack boxes. We were able to leave them to their work and went over to Chris and Tom's for dinner, a swim and hanging out with Aunt and Uncle and another couple friend of Chris and Tom's. It was a great evening! Also, Sofia started letting go and really standing for a few seconds without holding onto anything! She did this all day and it seems like she's getting closer to walking everyday!

Sofia "choking" Chris with her necklace!


After the swim in Chris and Tom's pool


Look at all these boxes!


Earlier in the day, playing with her toys before the movers pack them up


Her new book from Tina

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sofia at 11 months (almost)

Her actually 11 month birthday is a few days away, but her chair will be packed and on a moving truck on the 27th. We're waiting for the movers to arrive right now. So, here are Sofia's 11 month pictures! She's far more interested in playing with the monkeys, checking out the detail on the chair, touching the radiator, and trying to get down and crawl, so I took these fast! Next month Sofia is being feted twice! Alice and I are throwing a joint birthday for Sofia and Grayden on 19 July, which is Grayden's actual birthday. It's really more for Grayden, but we figure we would be inviting the same friends to both parties and decided to combine them. Then, on 27 July, Sofia's actual birthday we'll have a little cupcake and pool party at our new Texas house! Of course we'll have to have a cake too so Sofia can enjoy her first ever birthday cake (and will hopefully not burn her hands on the candles which I did on my first birthday apparently).
Here's our little girl growing up.....

Such a big girl!


Wow! Look at this cool chair!


What's this?!


Sofia and her monkey friends

Monday, June 23, 2008

Aunt and Uncle's new fountain

Aunt and Uncle had us over for a final Sunday dinner at their house before we head out to Texas on Thursday (I still can't believe it!) On Saturday, CK and Uncle Steve moved Aunt and Uncle's new fountain into place in the space of the former goldfish pond. It's a beautiful stone that weights 1,200 lbs! I don't know how they did it! Neither Aunt or I saw them move it so we're convinced they had several people's help! :-) Sofia fell in love with the fountain! Well, the water anyway...not sure it was really her taste in fountains that caused such squeals. So, she splashed around and squealed while Uncle Steve grilled fish and Aunt Shirl cooked corn. When she wasn't splashing in the fountain, Sofia was busy climbing the stairs to Aunt and Uncle's deck and house - another of her favorites. It was a delicious meal and a fun evening to spend with Aunt and Uncle, although bittersweet given that we won't be able to pop over for dinner. Later in the evening, the fireflies were out and Sofia was mesmerized! It was amazing! Once she saw one 'flashing' she would follow the firefly around with her eyes and just had an absolute look of wonder on her face!

Sofia and the new fountain


She just got a tad wet!


Splish! Slash!


Donut anyone??

CK returned from Dallas on Friday and brought Sofia a fun souvenir - a hat from Krispy Kreme! Hopefully it isn't indicative of her future career endeavors! :-) She enjoyed the paper hat for awhile before it tore, but I had to post these pictures since they are pretty cute of her.



Sunday, June 22, 2008

Pool girl

I managed to take two pictures of Sofia while Alice, Grayden and I were visiting the pool on Wednesday. Here is our little pool girl after a dip (the water was freezing!). Unfortunately, I couldn't capture her in her sunglasses - those only stay on for about 20 seconds before she takes them off and chews on the tip of the ear piece.


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Busy Sofia

Before getting in the car to go home, Sofia and I hung out on the grass to stretch our legs. She was intently focused on some dried leaves and dandelion flowers, so I took these pictures which turned out pretty well. Enjoy.





Sofia's trip to the zoo

Sofia and I visited the National Zoo on Monday to spend time with my friend and former boss Tara and her 3-year old son. Although we've been to the zoo several times, this was the first time that Sofia really responded to the animals. She really loved watching the animals and was particularly fond of the lemurs. Here are some pictures from our day. It was fun to visit the zoo one last time before heading to Dallas and I'm sure Sofia will love to visit the Dallas Zoo (and fall in love with their lemurs).

Typical for a visit to the zoo - a picture of Sofia snoozing


Lemurs!! Sofia was SO excited to watch them run around!


Stretching our legs! Sofia is wearing a Grandma Fryer original which I thought very appropriate for the zoo visit! Her little sandals are still too big for her and she is usually barefoot, but the ground was very hot.


Walking around the bear statue


Petting her first cow!

Sofia's Teeth

Sofia's top teeth are making an appearance! Her two top left teeth starting coming in about two weeks ago and are now very visible. Her right two teeth are also coming in but can barely be seen. I took a few pictures of her teeth that aren't too fuzzy. She's really being such a little girl and the baby is disappearing!

Look at those chompers!


Busy concentrating on a toy....


Peek-a-boo! Sofia's new game is to pull her dress over her face so you can say "Peek-a-boo" when she lowers it! It's so cute and she laughs like crazy!


Laughing at Peek-a-boo

CK's first Father's Day

Sofia feted her Papa on Father's Day with breakfast in bed which included buckwheat blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs and coffee. She also helped Papa eat his pancakes, which she loved (and left hand prints of syrup in our bed!) In the afternoon we visited the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum, which was really very cool! The observation deck was fantastic and we watched lots of commercial planes land at Dulles as the flew past the deck. Here are some pictures from CK's first Father's Day with Sofia!

Breakfast in bed. Yum, pancakes!


Overlooking the planes


With Papa (Space Shuttle in the background)


That's a Piper Cub, Sofia!


Which book do I want to read about flying? (We ended up buying two cute books for Sofia that are now part of her evening reading list)

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Splish, Splash!

It's slowly becoming a typical DC summer, which has meant visits to the pool several times over the past week! Sofia and I splashed in Chris and Tom's pool last weekend when it was unbearably hot and humid out. Then, Alice, Grayden, Sofia and I enjoyed the kiddy pool at Ft. Myer's (Alice can get on the base because Joe is in the military). Yesterday was another pool day, but I was too lazy to walk to the Eastern Market pool and Chris and Tom weren't home, so we improvised! I set up Sofia's little bath outside and filled it up with the hose. A little cold at first, she quickly was a fan!

Filling the "pool" and playing with the hose


Enjoying the cool water...