Landon Visits!

On Sunday 19 July, CK's very good friend from Florida Landon came for a visit and stayed the night! He first met Sofia at Cynthia's baby shower, and he was surprised at how much she has grown and changed. He and his wife have a beautiful little 5-month old girl at home and I loved looking at all the pictures he had on his camera. She was smiling in every single picture! Anyway, Sofia loved hanging out with Landon and they went swimming with Papa.

With Landon


Swimming


Splashing

Cow Boots

About a week ago Sofia developed a 'need' to wear her cow boots everywhere we go! We bought the boots, which are still pretty big on her in the Spring so we could stomp around our neighborhood's pond and look for frogs. At that time the boots were so big that she could hardly walk in them. Now, she's discovered them and wants to wear them all the time - including in the house. She not only wants to wear them but she wants to put them on and take them off herself. She's getting pretty decent at getting them on by pulling on the two tug handles, but if I so much as walk in her direction when she's putting them on, she says loudly "SOFI DO IT!!" Just in the past 2-3 weeks most things are "Sofi do it" including up and down stairs, drinking out of a big girl cup, putting on her clothes (which is quite funny). She will try to put on a top of hers and after a minute of trying she'll toss it aside and say "Too big."

The first day of cow boot discovery - she had to use the wall to steady herself before she got the hang of walking - now she walks in them like a pro!


Love that pigeon toe look - yep, that's a trait from me unfortunately.


Our girl on the way to sushi - I took her to sushi while CK was in St. Louis for work - she LOVES the California roll, the egg (which she calls "cheese" and miso soup.


Eating breakfast with the cow boots the next morning....


On our way to tumbling class - she had many, many admirers of her shoe choice.


After tumbling we walk to a nearby park for a little playtime -coffee and newspaper for me. She does take them off and puts on her sandals once at the park's play structure.

Our budding artist

Sofia has always played with the crayons and kiddy menu whenever we go out to eat, but has seldom really shown any interest in using the crayons for their intended purpose. She'd much rather roll them around and watch Papa draw Green Beup-Beup, tic-tac-toe, or any of a number of animals. Last Sunday we went to Uncle Julio's and she really took to the crayons this time! A few days later I broke out the art supplies I bought a few months back and she's been using them all the time - and usually stays on the paper instead of the table or floor (so far!). It's great to watch her work and she sings or talks her way through the colors she's using.

At Uncle Julio's - Sofia's first real interest in drawing.


A few days later - breaking out the crayons for the first time!


Drawing!


Ahh, this needs a little more red!


Drawing outside the lines - literally!


Using the pen is just as much fun as the crayons


The look of a concentrated artist!


Drawing is tiring work, time for a water break!

Water Park!

It seems like I haven't had any 'blog worthy' material to work with since a few of the things we do I can't really take pictures easily. Sofia and I go to Emler Swim School every Wednesday morning and she's become quite the little seal. From the first class four weeks ago, she goes under water, holds her breath, and does some pretty serious kicking! She now holds her breath for up to 7 seconds and CK and I practice a lot in the pool at home. She'll 'swim' from one of us to the other, get into our arms, then say "again, again" to go back! She kicks a lot but doesn't really move much, so we need to help her out a lot, but she is fearless! She LOVES going down our slide and jumps into the pool without hesitation when we're in it. We bought her a swim vest which she loves! Her favorite being that she can twist around in the water while singing "The Wheels on the Bus...." On Thursdays we go to a tumbling class which is great fun, but it too is a 'Mommy and me' so I can't exactly take pictures! We just started yesterday and Sofia loves it! She's pretty good at the balance beam (it's only a few inches off the mat) and enjoys her forward rolls. It's so cute to watch her and help her do the moves.

So, after her nap yesterday, we went to the Hurst Water Park which is designed for little ones. It was awesome! They have a play structure with water as well as several pools and a few easy slides. Sofia loved going from the play structure to the large graduated pool, where she could walk until she could swim around. It was great. I only took a few pictures since I was on my own and didn't want to bring my camera where it could get wet.

Heading out to the play structure


Taking it all in - getting a good look at the water park!


Our little swimmer


Playing


After nearly two hours of playing.....arranging her own towel to cover her feet.


Covering the rest of her


One exhausted girl taking in the scene


Yes, she slept VERY well last night.....

Growing up so fast....

After a few weeks (ok, months) of taking a break from regular exercise, we are committed to hitting the gym regularly - thanks in huge part to a friend who needed a new workout partner! Sofia loves the baby care center and has so much fun that she bolts as soon as I arrive, with hardly a "bye, bye." When I go to pick her up she smiles and says "Mommy came back! Pizza" because we generally have lunch at the gym's cafe and she really likes their cheese pizza (it's very good!). As we leave the gym she always walks under the bike rack that is on the way to our car and I was amazed the other day when she was playing because she literally used to be able to walk under the rack without ducking about four months ago! Now her head is far above the top rail, which is amazing!

So Stylish!

I wanted to capture a few of Sofia's doing lately. She's very much into putting on Mommy or Papa's shoes and walking around the house - usually with the shoes on the wrong feet which is cute. She's also good at going into my closet and picking out shoes and she generally chooses two different pair to walk around in. Recently she was wearing a Mimi-made dress and went into my closet and picked out red shoes which went perfectly with her dress! So clever and stylish! She also LOVES to wear my sunglasses, and aside from getting them all grimy she's very careful with them. Once she puts them on she says "So stylish!" which is adorable!

Such the fashion plate - Sofia and the red shoes


So cute.


On a recent outing - eating butter out of the little containers.....


Studying the butter on her finger


"So stylish" - wearing Mommy's sunglasses (while eating popcorn at Target.....)

Here are some random pictures

Visiting Ft Worth

On Monday we drove out to Ft Worth, had lunch and walked around. It was great to visit downtown Ft Worth without the crowds, but we missed the cattle drive and cowboys. Sofia's Grandparents bought her a horse that she and Grandpa named "Old Paint" and she rode him around the entire time! It was adorable!

Grandma and Sofia walking down the street


Sofia and Old Paint - look at that smile!


Grandpa and Sofia figure out a good name for her new horse


All of us at the Stockyards sign


Sofia compares horses......the police officer let her pet her horse just after I took this picture


Riding another horse. There are about 6 different mechanical ponies in one area and Sofia rode them all!