Sofia at 20 months.....

Today Sofia is 20 months old! Our big girl is still as social as ever, loves to read or have books read to her, is crazy about owls, alligators, peacocks, puppies and just about any animal. She knows pretty much all the letters of the alphabet, which amazes CK and I. She and her Papa play with foam letters every night during bath time and it's still a shock when she starts naming off letters when she sees them! She doesn't always get them right and obviously doesn't know them in order, but it's still incredible to us. She can spell her name and oftentimes she start saying "S-O-F-I-A, Poopia" during the day! It's adorable! She also knows her colors and LOVES to say orange and pink, therefore a lot of things that aren't either of these colors are called orange or pink first. Brown is her hardest color, but she's getting there. There's so much to write about how quickly she's growing up, and CK and I are consistently amazed at things she knows, words she's able to say and how quickly it's all gone by!

Getting ready for her 20 month picture - her first pigtails!


Our big girl


Close up on our cuttie


Playing with a hair clip (it was the only way I could distract her from pulling out the two in her hair)


Her two favorites - books and horsie


Giddy-up cowgirl!!

Papa and Sofia's day out....

Last weekend, Sofia and her Papa had a big day out! Meanwhile, I was enjoying a baby-free weekend with three girlfriends from Washington DC! On Saturday, Sofia and her Papa met up with Chester, a flying buddy, and the three of them flew to Stephenville, Tx to enjoy a little BBQ at the Hard 8 Real Pit BBQ!

In the car on the way to the boot shop in Addison


Looking at all the boots


Helping Chester pre-flight the airplane


Checking the prop for nicks


In front of the Hard 8 BBQ sign


Sitting down to BBQ with Papa


Going to meet another baby at the airport


All buckled up in Chester's Bonanza on the way home

Looking for beup-beups (aka frogs)

This morning, Sofia and I went out on a regular outing - frog hunting, or "beup-beups" as Sofia calls frogs. It was a bit chilly this morning and we generally go for such an outing in the afternoon, but after a long day of rain yesterday, I figured we should get out and see what we could find. Sofia loves to wade through water and I recently bought her the cutest cow rain boots at Target, but they are a few sizes too large and are heavy compared to what she's used to wearing, so they would be more effort than they are worth. We bundled up (it was in the low 50s this morning and foggy) and headed out.....

All set for our walk - octopus and crab are ready to go too! (They ended up in my pocket a few minutes later after she tossed them aside)


One of her favorite past times - finding rocks! We joke that she is slowly bringing every rock from outside into our house!


Water from the previous day's rain! Fun! She sloshed through this for at least 20 minutes before I convinced her we should walk down to visit Kitty.


She says "splash, splash, splash" as she plays in the water


Kitty! This cat lives in the house at the end of the block and is incredibly friendly and almost always outside. He is very good to allow Sofia to do just about anything to him - including pull his tail!


Ants! She loves to play with the ant mounts, although a few weeks ago they bit her so now she isn't as fond of them


Walking on the rocks near our lake - she LOVES to walk the entire way (with my help) on the rocks. Kitty follows us for most of our walk


Looking out over the water - we saw a ton of little frogs, but weren't able to catch any yet again


Post frogging snack - hummus on crackers and stawberries - yum!! (She actually requests hummus now!)

Choo Choo!

When we are at home, Sofia and I hear a train in the near distance about twice a day and Sofia just lights up and says "Choo Choo!!" We've never actually seen a train, but know that the Grapevine Express train goes from Grapevine to the Stockyards in Ft. Worth and back every day. So, today during our run in the afternoon we were able to watch and wave to the Grapevine Express. Sofia was so excited when we heard the train coming and loved watching it go by (it goes pretty slowly) and waved to everyone!

Hearing the Choo Choo in the distance....


Still can't see it.....


The train!!


Trying to watch it as it disappears in the distance....

Running Partner

During the week (and when the weather allows) Sofia and I run on the running paths near our house (she's in a running stroller, of course - she isn't growing up that fast yet!). She generally reads her books (or I huff and puff reading them to her), munches on snacks, and enjoys her view as we roll along. On longer runs I try to take a break at some point to feed ducks, visit with cows, and/or visit a local playground. Over the past few days I've taken pictures of a few highlights of our adventures....

Trying on Mommy's running shoes


Lacing them up!


My view during a run....


Showing the young Longhorns her book


Feeding local ducks (they weren't very appreciative)


Watching the bread float away....


Feeding a couple of ducks that are very appreciative


Visiting with the cows across the street - the were very interested in Sofia and her stroller!!


During a running break at a nearby playground

Sofia's favorite things....

Sofia is growing up so fast, it honestly seems like she changes every day at this point! We joke that she's a parrot because she repeats nearly everything we say, especially the last two words of our sentences. Or if you ask her "Now what?" or "What else?" she repeats it - it's very cute! She's also very good at grabbing my hand and saying "Show me" and leading me off to whatever it is that she wants or needs - usually books! (When I can't figure out what she wants I tell her to 'show me' and that's where she gets it from).

She still loves owls, alligators, and puppies but is now a big fan of peacocks! I showered her some peacock feathers in the flower department of our local grocery store and ended up buying two of them. She loves them and carried them around the house saying "Peacock, peacock." She still loves to watch youtube videos of owls, puppies, alligators, and now peacocks. She LOVES the noise peacocks make!! I'm trying to locate real peacocks around here, but neither zoo seems to have them......

Her other big favorite is Elmo, which she says "Melmo." She only knows "Melmo" from her diapers, and carries one around with his image all over the house....I'm considering buying her a little Elmo stuffed animal, but am not sure we want to go down that path - then it will be the next Disney character, etc....

Sofia also LOVES to go in the pool despite the fact the water is in the 60s. I strip her down and she runs in and splashes, sits down, and mainly crawls out the side and walks back in...I don't know how she does it! She'll easily spent 30 minutes playing and I'm usually the one that suggests a bath since it's the only thing that will get her out of the pool!

She's really a lot of fun and I can't believe how quickly it all goes by.....

Walking toward our backyard carrying her Elmo diaper and her "peacocks"


Strolling....Sofia went in the pool moments after this picture, but she goes in the nude, so no pics.


Riding our neighbor's pig! Sofia thinks it will bounce like her pony


Playing with the pig's ears...

Visiting Washington DC

Sofia and I flew to Washington DC to meet up with CK who was in town for meetings. It was a great chance to visit Uncle Steve, Aunt Shirl and a bunch of friends over the long weekend (not long enough though!!). The flight went by quickly and we arrived at Uncle and Aunt's house around 4pm on Thursday. That evening we relaxed and had a delicious dinner (as usual from Aunt and Uncle!!) The next morning (friday), we bundled up and walked to Sandy and Emily's house for a get together with Megan and Aria and Cornelia stopped by. It was great fun and funny to watch the girls play. Emily and Sofia were a bit confrontational to put it nicely, but Sandy and I are hoping they grow out of that! Luckily, Aria is the eternal peace maker, so she was a great addition to the girls! Alice had to work, so Grayden didn't get a chance to play. It was so much fun (and I didn't take a single picture!!!!). The weather was very nice that day, melting the rest of the snow, so Sofia and I walked around Eastern Market and then went to our old playground with Papa.

All bundled up on our way to Sandy and Emily's house


Snow! Sofia loves snow and held a ball of it until it melted


Strolling through Eastern Market like she owns the place...


We visited our favorite vendors on our way back to Aunt and Uncle's house


Playing at 'our' old playground, Marion (or Turtle) Park


On the teeter-totter with Papa in the background


Playing, with our former house in the background...

Visiting DC (continued)

Friday night we met Bahareh and Mike and Forrest for dinner at our favorite restaurant in DC, Montemarte (also conveniently located 2 blocks from Aunt and Uncle's house). We originally planned to bring Sofia with us since Bahareh wanted to spend some time with our girl. However, Aunt and Uncle offered to babysit!! Needless to say, we didn't pass on that offer and enjoyed a very fun evening with friends (without convincing a 19-month old to eat!). It was heaven! I also got a call from Uncle Steve around 7:45pm to announce that Sofia was fast asleep. By the time we got home, they were ready to adopt her (I'm not sure how serious they are about that, but it may be an option down the road - maybe once Sofia is a teenager).

On Saturday we meet with a bunch of friends, starting out the day with a quick meeting with Joe, Alice and Grayden. We met at Turtle Park and the kids played for a little while before we left to meet Yvette.

Sofia opens her gift from Bahareh and Mike! The Bunny sounds a little like a chicken when you push his tummy - Sofia loves it!!


Figuring out how to push his belly


Snacking on broccoli - she loves it!


On the teeter totter with Grayden





Getting ready to go down the slide together


Such cutties!


Weeeeee