Fantasy of Flight

After we left Sarasota, we visited the Fantasy of Flight museum on our way to Winter Haven, Fl. Papa had a great time visiting all the airplanes on display and we even were able to go through a B-17! It was an interesting museum and had a fantastic kids room! Papa was far more interested in poking around all the planes, so Sofia and I hung out in the kid's room and played for awhile.

Inside the B-17


With Papa in a simulator (Look at ALL those buttons!)


In front of a little cute airplane, a Gee Bee


Playing in another simulator


CK thinks he's gone to heaven......

Baby on the Beach!

On Sunday, after a little mishap with our car (it wouldn't get out of Park), we waited for a new car to be delivered and visited the ocean across the street from our hotel. I removed Sofia's shoes and tights and she made a beeline for the ocean and waltzed right in! I only let her go up to her knees and then she decided to organize all the shells on the beach. She had a grand time and lots of beach walkers stopped to give her their shells so she got some real beauties!

Looking out over the ocean...


Dipping her toes in (the water wasn't really too cold)


Hmmm, what's this shell?!


More shells


Sorting all the shells on the beach....


Enjoying the town with Papa

Visiting the Ringling Museum

On Saturday 13 December, we flew to Tampa (the Baron was in the shop, so we flew commercial) in the morning, rented a car and drove to Sarasota. Once in Sarasota, we visited the John and Mable Ringling Museum. I recently finished reading the book "Water for Elephants" and really wanted to learn more about the circus of the 1930s and '40s. The Ringlings built an amazing house called Ca' d'Zan which was inspired by mansions in Venice, Italy. The circus museum was very interesting with gorgeous handcarved carts, original posters, costumes, and other memorabilia. Also, there was an amazing miniature version of the circus from the 1930s which took one man 50 years to complete! We visited the Ca' d'Zan, which was absolutely exquisite and one of the most beautiful homes I think I've seen. Anyway, here are some pictures from that day...

All set for the Ringling Museum!


A close-up of the miniature circus! This is only one side of the big top!


Looking over the miniature circus


A circus cart from the 1920s - all made of hand-carved and painted wood


Another cart from the 1920s (Sofia was in the middle of a 2-hour nap)


Outside the Ca' d'Zan


Inside the Ca' d'Zan


Sofia and I


Our clown Papa

All decorated for Christmas!

While Mom was here, she helped me decorate the house for Christmas! We went to an amazing Christmas store in Arlington and picked out some great greenery and decorative pieces that really make the house look special. It was completely her vision and I couldn't have done it without her! It's so wonderful to watch Sofia admire the lights and the ornaments ("ball" as she calls them). It really is such a wonderful time of year!

Our front walk and door


Close-up of the door


Our bedroom mantle


Our living room


The living room hearth - The stocking in the middle is the Mom-made stocking she just got at Thanksmas in Santa Fe!


Santa (again, Mom-made a few years ago) and our Christmas cards received so far


Our dining room mantle - Sofia loves the chandelier decorations and always points and says "ball" while eating.

Mommy's little helper

Last night we had CK's Grandma Van, Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Marvin, cousin Tanya, Jason and their kids Eric, Adam, and Jessica over for dinner and let's just say I had more of a helper than I needed before they arrived! Luckily, one of the girl's from the gym's daycare, Miss Megan, babysat Sofia for 2 hours while I organized the house and started cooking - I couldn't have done it without her and it was a trial run at future date night babysitting. Sofia loves Miss Megan, who has taught her how to growl like a tiger - very cute with hand gestures and everything! So, I made chicken chili for a crowd and corn bread. I showed Sofia how to lick her finger and stick it in sugar and then taste it - this resulted in handfuls of corn meal to be devoured (I did set up her own little bowl, so she wasn't pawing at our future corn bread!). Let's just say corn meal was everywhere and I had to change her before everyone showed up. She had a lot of fun!

Hmm, what's in here?!


Yum, corn meal!


Caught!!


Sofia then started dipping a piece of bread into the corn meal and thought this was a great treat!


Licking her hands clean - our girl is NOT a fan of things on her hands, especially food!

Sofia and Mimi....

Mom/Grandma decided she wanted Sofia to be able to call her something that was easy to pronounce and decided on "Mimi" which Sofia quickly took up. So, while Mom was here, Sofia would often alternate between "Mommy" and "Mimi" when she wanted someone's attention or needed something. And Mimi was the best - she would read story upon story! Sofia would fetch a book from her room, bring it to Mimi who would read it to her, then Sofia would disappear to retrieve a new book!

We said goodbye to Mimi on Tuesday night and Sofia would not give Mimi a goodbye kiss and kept saying "NO" when Mimi was saying goodbye. Since we dropped her at the airport Sofia has been saying Mimi all the time, especially when we picked up Papa at the airport later that evening, and when she looks up the stairs. It really breaks my heart, and I try to explain that Mimi had to go home to California and that we'll see her soon.

Mimi reading one of Sofia's new favorites - I Wish I Were a Pilot


Story time


Helping Mimi decorate the tree


Good Morning, Mimi!!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

On Saturday, CK and I picked out a Christmas tree (it looked huge at the nursery) and had it delivered to the house. It looks a bit small in our living room, but Mom did an amazing job decorating it mainly on Sunday - even stringing the lights herself while we where out! Sofia helped as soon as she could - although she mainly helped open and close the plastic bins that hold the ornaments, and once the tree was decorated she focused on undecorating it! She is definitely a girl who likes to keep order in her universe. She removes an ornament (Mom did put the fragile ornaments up high) and then brings it to one of us, then she returns to the tree to chose her next victim. I'm interested to know what will happen when it comes time to actually undecorate the tree and put everything away.

Our little organizer


Closing the ornament box


Playing with the ornaments


Oh, if I could only reach that one!!


Choosing her next victim


Playing with her new favorite toy - her baby doll