Pumpkins!!!

We spent a beautiful Sunday at Anderson Farms with our friends Patrick and Liz. To say Sofia adores them is an understatement. The night before we went she made Scott come in her room after I put her to bed just to remind him that we were going to get pumpkins with Patrick and Liz in case we forgot. They are truly awesome and we had so much fun. Sofia made us put this picture up on the computer so she could relive the experience over and over AND over again!

Anytime she wasn't with Patrick and Liz, she spent the whole time pointing at them. Just in case we forgot were they went. 

Sofia posed for a picture on top of her pumpkins ..... yes those are in fact mostly all ours. She got a little carried away upon her arrival at the pumpkin patch and couldn't quite decide on just one. 

Sofia Meets Her Favorite Author!

It is no secret to anyone who knows Sasa that she is a bit of a bookaholic. Her first favorite book when she was all of 6 months old was Knuffle Bunny, Too by Mo Willems. She couldn't get enough of it and still can't. Since then we have added to the list the first Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Edwina the Dinosaur. She can recite the books by heart from front to back and thanks to Mr. Willems she has therefore begun "reading" or memorizing the words and therefore beginning to now know them by sight when she sees them in other places like food packages, signs, etc.. We were lucky enough to get the opportunity to meet Mo Willems in person and have him sign a copy of the last installment in the Knuffle Bunny trilogy. She was so excited to share it with one her best friends Noah or as she refers to him "happy NoNo" and his mom Holly. When she met Mo she said "thank you for the bunny" and clapped. 

Enjoying the Outdoors with Friends!

We are spending every moment we can enjoying the beautiful autumn weather at all the great playgrounds in our neighborhood. One of Sofia's favorite toddlers is my friend and business partner Sarah's daughter, Ava. They are a lot a like. They talk, read, and enjoy all things artsy. Sofia is always excited to see Ava because she is one of the only toddlers her age who can talk back to her. So this makes Ava the coolest chica ever in Sofia's book! I wonder if they will end up being friends as they grow older.

Ava was laying down on the slide getting some sun on her tummy and Sofia kept pulling her shirt down. I think she thought Ava didn't realize her belly button was exposed for the whole world to see. Sofia doesn't even like to acknowledge she has one. She loves her belly but when it comes to her belly button she thinks its "yuck". No idea where she gets this stuff. 

Just The Girls:

We spent a couple of days minus a dad when Scott escaped to float the Colorado River with some friends. We began by celebrating with an ice cream party (ha ha just kidding Scott!) and we ended our two day solo adventure with breakfast of orange scones and pear infused green tea (Sofia's new fav. beverage) while listening to music at the farmers market. So nothing was missed in between here are a few of the moments we shared along the way. All in all we were glad to get him home - one active & talkative toddler + 2 cats + 2 dogs = momma insanity!!

She worked hard to make a super special "Sasa treat" to welcome him home with. ( Sasa is what she calls herself and two out of three of her baby dolls. The third is named Jolee after her music teachers 8 year old daughter).

We played hide and seek - well kind of.

Mostly, she looked out the window wondering where "my Daddeee" was. She thought he was "my Daddee mow" for the first day and a half but then soon realized that was an unusually long time to spend mowing the yard. We both missed him very much!!xo

Chatty Sofia

At our 18 month doctor visit her pediatrician asked me how many words Sofia knew and used. Anyone who is around her enough knows that this is not an easy question to answer since she pretty much knows and uses them all. We counted at 10 months and she was at over 50 , at 12 months it more than doubled. Now she has over 200 and rarely stops talking. She also knows about 150 baby signs which she only uses when she really REALLY needs to get her point across - like um hello perhaps you didn't hear me the first time but I'd really like some more crackers PLEASE. At least she uses please and thank you appropriately. She knows all the names of her closest friends including their moms and some of their dads. She can say the alphabet completely now without any help, count to 15, and to 5 in Spanish. She also knows a handful of songs by heart and has memorized the words to some of her favorite books. All of this is amazing and we have no idea how she got to be so brilliant but we do know that we are in some serious trouble. She already thinks she's smarter than us and she's not even two yet. 

a word about the song below...

Because our house is so small and we have to walk by Sofia's room across super creaky floors A LOT we have an Ipod that plays constantly through the night as well as her nap time. Sometimes we play classical and sometimes we mix it up a bit. One night around 12 or 13 months she asked me to play "Hold Me" over and over again. She suddenly began trying to sing along to the chorus and I couldn't believe she new it AND was trying to hit the notes. Last night she began singing right along to  the verses - I'm pretty convinced that all the exposure she's had to music has contributed to her incredible ability to memorize anything from a song to a book to her conquering the ABC's with little coaxing from us. The power of music is truly amazing. 

Sofia's Favorite Song

Crazy Summer Weekends!

There were tea parties with her friend Sofia (yes same name spelled with an F), sidewalk chalk art on the patio with her music teachers daughter Jolee ( Joleeee), a Children's festival, Dragon Boat Races, Break Dancers,a bike ride, and a little jazz in the Park. After such a long exciting weekend she felt it necessary to make a toast  - with WATER people relax it was only water and the glass was plastic.  

100 degrees in Denver = 67 degrees in Winter Park!

So it was just about a year ago to the day that we went on our first hike together as a family...today Sofia took her first steps on the same mountain. She loves being outside - actually she is OBSESSED with being outside! She especially loves sitting on the front porch with us for like EVER! She is currently attempting to figure out how to bypass both of us and simply unlock the front door herself. Car rides, bike rides, walks .... whatever it is that can get her out of the house. Her reaction to seeing the mountains .... "WOW"! 

Oh Sweet Little Blog I've Missed You So!

It's been so very long since I wrote here and I've truly missed it. I loved being able to recap all the wonderful turning points in my little girls life. Starting a business and going back to work part time mixed in with all the day to day craziness has kept me very busy, but I realize how important it is for me to keep a journal of all the little moments in her life so she can look back and see just how amazing it has been to have her in our lives. So here we go ya'll Sofia's new chapter begins - 18 months old: walking, talking A LOT, sharing tea parties with anyone who'll participate, reading along to her favorite books, practicing her ABC's and 123's, learning to clean up after herself, practicing her new fancy footwork dance moves, listening to her favorite band She & Him, still attending music class, learning the names of all her favorite people especially her friend "Happy NoNo", learning to sing along, taking walks around the block without her stroller, taking rides in her "bike car", going swimming for the first time, teaching other kids to share, taking care of her baby doll Sasee (which oddly enough is what she calls herself as well), still loving on her Curious George her pal since early on, obsessed with having everything in two's, making funny faces until you laugh, learning how to tickle, and enjoying eating out more than in toddler I know especially when they give her a big girl napkin. Sofia- your are pure delight every minute - your big smile can melt my heart and your hugs & kisses make me happier than I've ever been in my whole life. Thank you my little rock star for showing me how beautiful the simplest moments can be. xoxo mama