Spring Break 2011

This week was Sofia's Spring Break (as well as for all kids in Texas) and I tried to come up with a fun activity every day, however, one that didn't involve the aquarium, zoo, or museums since every other kid from North Texas would already be there. When I picked Sofia up from school on Wednesday, I told her that she wouldn't be going to school the following week and tried to explain Spring Break. She got really sad and nearly started to cry saying that she'd "miss Ms. Christina's too much." Needless to say, she had a very fun and busy week and didn't miss school or Ms. Christina.

On Monday we met our friends Mya and Grady for lunch at Central Market and let the kiddos play in Central Market's playground for nearly three hours while Mya and I caught up. It was a blustery cool day, but Sofia didn't mind and ended up getting coated from head to toe from the broken up tire pieces that are the base of the playground.

Climbing on the Central Market Dragon with Grady


Taking a snack break together


Drawing in the afternoon while wearing her swimsuit. She's gotten into the habit the past few weeks of changing into one of her swim suits (usually this one) after we get home and wearing it around the house.


Adding faces...


The final product


On Tuesday morning we visited one of her closest friends, Isabella, who she always plays dress up with and another friend Milani, while Thelma and Michelle and I caught up. The three girls ran around playing dress up, played with trains and puzzles and chased each other around the house. Needless to say, Sofia took a nap as soon as we got home. Later we visited our neighbors so Sofia could meet their four-day old son, Antonio. She loved rubbing Antonio's hair and kept saying "He's so cute."

Lunching with Isabella and Milani


On Wednesday we had plans to meet CK for lunch and see his new office and decided to take the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) from DFW to downtown Dallas and then switch to DART for two stops before walking a few blocks to his office. Sofia slept in until after 9am and when I reminded her of our planned TRE trip, she got dressed and ready faster than I've ever seen her move. The trip was really fun and Sofia loved how fast the TRE went between stops. We met CK at his new office and got the grand tour.....what a view from the 27th floor! We walked to El Fenix for some tasty Mexican food before returning to CK's office and saying our goodbyes. From there, Sofia and I headed to catch the McKinney Street Trolley. While waiting for the trolley to arrive, Sofia immediately made friends with an adorable 5-year old named Sydney and they were holding hands and sitting next to each other as soon as the trolley arrived. I chatted with Sydney's Dad while we rode and we compared stories of being rather new transplants to the area. They were heading to get gelato at Paciugo's and invited us along. We all enjoyed some delicious gelato and the girls continued to play together. We then all headed back onto the trolley and returned to where we'd gotten on before saying our goodbyes and switching contact information. It was such fun to watch Sofia and Sydney play so well together and hopefully we'll all see each other again. Sofia was shot and climbed into her stroller while we headed back to catch the DART followed by the TRE home. She fell fast asleep shortly after we got onto the TRE.

Waiting at the station for the TRE train to arrive


First sighting of the train - pure joy!


Ready to leave the station


Passing by Dealy Plaza on our way to our stop


Waiting for the DART


The building where Papa's new office is located


With Papa in his office


The trolley


Sofia's new friend, Sydney


Standing next to the TRE before heading home


On Thursday Sofia wanted to play with her trains (what a surprise), so we had a lazy morning, checked on and watered our garden and talked to Grandma on the phone before we headed out. We decided to visit the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which we've visited before and which has fantastic kid's activities throughout. We arrived after 2pm, thinking the mass of Spring Breakers might be less, but that wasn't the case. The museum was crazy! All Sofia wanted to do was play with the train track in the Kid's Museum section, but given the line to get into the area, we decided to visit the Dino Dig first (it too had a line, but much shorter). It felt great to sit outside in the warm weather while Sofia "found" dinosaur bones. Mainly she liked walking in the small river and burying her brush and finding it... After awhile, we brushed off the sand from Sofia's feet and headed for the trains! I think we ended up spending nearly two hours there, despite my suggestions of all the other exhibits to visit (including an outdoor water area). I did convince her to go outside to see the water playground and we spent a short amount of time there before heading back to the trains. We ended up leaving shortly before the museum closed. On our way out we decided to stop at the Imax theater and pick up some waters and popcorn. Once outside we decided to sit on the grass and enjoy our popcorn before heading back to our car. Once on our way home Sofia quickly fell asleep.

Watching her strawberry ripen.


Talking to Grandma


Walking through the little river


Playing in the Dino Dig


Trains! I think we spent at nearly two hours here!


Playing on the train bridge


Tucking in one of the babies


Sitting on the turtle outside of the museum...she named him "Hootie"


Our popcorn party before heading home


On Friday, we met Isabella and Thelma at Jump for Fun for a few hours of bounce house fun. Sofia loves going to the bounce house and she and I have gone nearly every Thursday since the week after Christmas. It's usually very empty with just three or four other kids, but given that it is Spring Break, it was pretty crazy. Sofia and Isabella had a great time and were completely exhausted. We went to lunch and Sofia was asleep less than five minutes after we drove off for home. After her nap, she spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her trains. We ended up going to Central Market to pick up a few things for dinner and both enjoyed a gelato since it was so warm out. As usual, she had a few bites and was done. It was a good ending to a very fun week.

On the big slide - one of her favorites. She usually goes down head first, which is fun to watch.


A happy girl


Doing her "balance beam" in the Central Market parking lot - she has to do this every time we go


What's Spring Break without a little gelato?

Sofia's first dentist visit

This morning Sofia visited "Dr. Harold" the pediatric dentist for her very first cleaning and dental visit. We have an appointment scheduled with our family dentist in a few months, but after her tooth chipping incident on Saturday morning (more on this later), we decided to take her sooner than later. CK went quail hunting a few weekends ago with his boss and Dr. Harold, so we gave him a call. The waiting room was completely tricked out for kids - books everywhere, little chairs and tables, toys, leggos, and a mechanical stagecoach! Who can beat that?! She road the stagecoach and the horse just before being called back for the appointment.

First, Ms. Cathy, the hygienist had Sofia lay down in her dental chair and wear sunglasses to block out the light for her mouth. Sofia has been to every one of my dental visits and usually lounges on my chest and watches as our dentist and hygienist work, so I was glad she's had the exposure and sort of knew what to expect. Plus, I talked about what would happen this morning and last night and she seemed excited for it all. So, once in the chair, she was a trooper! She listened to Ms. Cathy's requests, kept her mouth open the whole time and did a great job as her teeth were scraped of tartar, brushed with bubble gum-flavored paste, and given a flouride treatment. After, they took x-rays of her top and bottom front teeth before she met with Dr. Harold for the first time.

Unfortunately, she has a cavity in her back molar, so we will be returning after Easter to get it filled. Apparently, they will give her a sedative about 11/2 hours before they drill.....I'm already nervous at the whole idea. I told Dr. Harold how Sofia and I were horsing around after her shower on Saturday morning when she slipped and fell (likely on a toy she had in her hand) and chipped both of her top front teeth. One is particularly jagged to the touch and other than being sensitive about them for a day or two, Sofia seems completely fine with how they feel now. He said they may discolor, but will likely be fine, although they may be the first to fall out once she's around seven.

Ms. Cathy and Dr. Harold were so impressed with Sofia's behavior that they gave her two tokens to pick out gifts from a gumball-like machine in his office. She picked out two little animal figures and we headed for home and lunch.

Her two chipped teeth....


On the stagecoach


Relaxing as Ms. Cathy works


Removing all the tartar..


Scrubbing with bubble gum-flavored paste


Counting all of her teeth


The flouride rinse


X-rays!

Sofia's First Play

On Saturday afternoon we attended "My Son Pinocchio" at Casa Manana Playhouse in Ft. Worth. It was billed as a "play for all ages" but we were a little skeptical, especially given that Sofia hadn't ever seen Pinocchio. We arrived and found that there were many kids much younger than Sofia and were surprised at how quiet the entire event was, given the number of little kids in the audience.

Our seats were in the second row, but all the way over on stage right, but still a decent view. The story was a play on Pinocchio and took place after Pinocchio became a real boy. It was a very well done play and all three of us were impressed and interested throughout. It lasted just over an hour, which was the perfect length and we can't wait to do it again!

With Papa before the performance starts....


The view of the stage from our seats - the horse was moved 15 minutes into the play, thankfully.


With Mom before the show starts....

Taos

On Friday February 25th, we headed to Taos for a weekend of skiing and hanging out with Arren and Susan, a couple we've traveled with before and who haven't skied in about as long as CK has. I decided not to ski and to enjoy time reading and relaxing (and drinking hot cocoa, of course). The flight to Taos went well and we flew right over Santa Fe before heading up the valley to Taos. The views of the mountains on one side and the arroyos on the other were incredible.

Once we arrived in Taos, we met up with Arren and Susan, who left Dallas at the same time but beat us there by a little bit (they went over the mountains and we went around). We headed into town for lunch and stumbled upon an outstanding place called Graham's Grille. After lunch we walked around the square a little before heading up to the mountain so we could check out the ski slopes, gather the rented skis and get a lay of the land. It was about a 30 minute drive up and Sofia was so excited as the amount of snow grew as we headed up the mountain. She kept saying she wanted to "hug" the mountains in the distance because they were "little."

Once at the Taos Ski Valley, we got situated and set up for the next morning of skiing and ski school for Sofia. Sofia enjoyed playing in the snow and eating it, of course. We then headed back down the mountain and found our bed and breakfast which was a cute little place not far from downtown Taos. Our room was spacious and cozy and we relaxed and settled in for the night.


Playing with trains in the airplane


The changing landscape between Texas and New Mexico


One sleepy girl.....We were both asleep earlier in the trip....


The mountains around Taos


Walking around Taos after an outstanding meal at Graham's Grille.


Our little ski bunny tries on goggles - in pink, what other color is there?


Sofia and snow = LOVE!


So happy!


Lounging on the couch "reading" her Duffy Driver book before bed.


Breakfast before we head up the mountain for some skiing.

Little and Big Ski Bunnies

On Saturday CK and Sofia got all dressed up in their ski gear before we headed to the common area for breakfast. After breakfast we all headed up the mountain for a day of skiing. They dropped Sofia and I off at ski school while the three of them found parking and headed up to pick up their skis and get ready for the day ahead. At the ski school entrance I gave Sofia a big hug goodbye...she was a little reluctant to go, but I saw her less than a minute later with her ski instructor and another little student and she was happy as a clam. I walked to the main lodge and met up with CK, Arren and Susan and watched them take off for the chairlift and their first run of the day. After an hour or so of reading and drinking cocoa, I returned to the ski school to 'spy' on Sofia and watch her progress. Once there (hiding behind a wall so she wouldn't see me) I heard the instructor call her "Caroline" while giving her instructions....later I found out that one of the three other kids in the class was also named Sofia (with the same spelling too) and our Sofia told the instructor to call her Caroline.....so she did!

The three year old ski school experience is pretty basic, but Sofia seemed to love it and she kept taking off her glove and eating snow, which the instructor kept asking her to stop. She wasn't really the most natural skier and I'm not sure we'll be seeing her at the Winter Olympics in 18 years, but she sure had fun. When I picked her up at 2pm, her instructor asked if I wanted to take Sofia out and let her show me her progress, which Sofia was more than eager to do. So, we spent nearly another hour with her skiing toward me (on a very minor slope) back and forth. She loved it and kept saying how much fun she had. After, she and I headed to the main lodge and enjoyed some hot cocoa before I pulled some chairs together so she could nap on my lap. She fell asleep about 10 seconds after she laid down. After a while CK, Arren, and Susan met us and we headed back down the mountain for a warm dinner and bed.

They had plans to ski for a half day on Sunday while Sofia had a half day of ski school, but they were all pretty tired from the day before and the weather was a bit iffy, so we decided to head home instead. CK stuck around another night due to a work meeting on Monday and Sofia and I rode home with Arren and Susan. When we told Sofia about the change in plans she cried because she was so excited for more skiing.....guess we'll have to plan another ski trip!

My two ski bunnies - all ready for the slopes!


CK, Arren, and Susan ready to ski


Ready to head to the ski lift for their first run of the day


The view from the main lodge - the mountain is a lot steeper than it looks in this picture!


Sofia's ski school - she's the one on the left wearing the black and neon green jacket.


Getting her skis on


Practicing moving across the snow


Being pulled across the snow by her instructor


After a half day of skiing and lunch....ready for more!


Sofia (or Caroline) the ski bunny!


So cute!!


Showing off her skills for me!


Her other favorite part of skiing....eating snow!


The post-ski school hot cocoa...


...and a good nap!


A great view of the Rio Grande Gorge on our way out of Taos


Proof that Sofia can sleep in any Baron, not just her Papa's (we rode back with Arren and Susan since CK had a work meeting on Monday and I had a doctor's appointment I couldn't get out of).