Ashes, Ashes and other nonsense!

Oh my goodness, it seems as though things are changing around here by the moment. Every day, Sofia changes and grows. This is a brief summary of her latest funny things. I don't want to forget them.

She shusshes herself. I hope that it isn't because we "shhhh" her too much, because we don't mean to do that. But, she will yell, or scream and then immediately put her first finger up to her mouth (sort of) and say "Shhhhhhh". It is too adorable. Maybe she got that from school, I just don't know.

She backs up. Sofia was in the TV cabinet with Daddy the other day trying to help him work the iPod. Clyde told her to "back up" and the girl started doing the moon walk backwards. The really funny thing about it, was that she walked backwards clear across the room until she backed into the furniture. And what is more amazing.....she knew it was funny. She had the cheekiest little grin on her face. I must admit that this command has come in handy several time since.

Ashes, Ashes......Sof's favourite song. She breaks into a grin as soon as we start singing it. Her rules......everyone must participate! Often this includes Barclay or any stuffed toys that may be lying around. She sings "ashes, ashes" and then we fall down. Sofia watches us fall down and then we must watch her fall down. The really cute part of all of this is how she practices her "ashes, ashes". Sometimes at night we can hear her saying it over and over in her crib.


Come on now.....everyone hold hands. Daddy, out of that chair.


"Ashes, Ashes"


Falling down. Oh yeah, in case you didn't notice.....four molars in the last four weeks. YOWZER!!



Phew......better take a bit of a breather before we have to do it again.

Bye!! Sofia says "Bye" and waves to everyone. It is too cute but it just breaks my heart when people don't notice that she is waving and saying goodbye to them. She does it so sweetly and just wants everyone to tell her "Bye" too. She even hides in the closet while I am trying to get dressed in the morning, closing the door after herself waving and saying "Bye".

Uh Oh! This was a new one today. I don't think she knows what it means, I think she just likes the way it sounds and feels.

She really is such a sweet kid and is at a stage where she gives kisses freely. Yesterday while out front with Jake, she went up behind him and gave him a big hug and then again tonight when Peter came over to visit she gave him a big kiss goodnight.....too damn cute.

Miss Dizzy

One lucky Mama!!

Yeah....I really have nothing more to add to that.

One last visit!

It is truely hard to believe that I am writing this post. When we were in the thick of Sofia's adoption it seemed as if the days couldn't go by fast enough and every step seemed to take an eternity. I was happy to go to bed at night, knowing that no matter how long it took, we were one day closer. Now that we have Sof home, it is unreal that it is coming up on a whole year that we have been able to kiss her and cuddle her and hold her in our arms (okay, so she's not exactly a great cuddler but we give it our best shot).

From the very beginning, we have had the same social worker guiding us through. She did both of our home study visits during the paperchase, and she has done three post placement visits since Sofia came home. This past Sunday marked our final visit with Angela - our one year post placement.

Everyone always seems to get nervous about having a social worker in their home, and to be honest, we did our fair share of cleaning each time before she came. Angela was always wonderful and we enjoyed every visit with her. She always gave us a lot to think about and talk about, and I really think she enjoyed meeting Sofia when she came home......that must be one of the cooler parts of her job. This last visit was especially fun. We just enjoyed hanging out with each other and watching Sofia do her thing.

So, as we finish up this whole process and tie up all the final loose ends, it really is kind of fun to reflect on all the amazing people who have helped us along the way.

Thanks for everything Angela.

Jake's Party

The Birthday Boy.....Happy 1st Jake.


Ruffles, ruffles everywhere! Finally a picture of the frilly bum.


Sharing dinner with Dad. While he wasn't looking Sofia reached over and grabbed his whole piece of chicken and started eating it.....the photo below shows the evidence. She loved all the party food.



Jake's party was a pool party and Sof did spend a fair amount of time in the pool, but the fountain ended up being the winner.



Yeah....Peter liked the shark cupcakes :-)


So did the girls!


Sofia and Lily. How beautiful are these girls? I have been waiting to get a good picture of these two together. We were fortunate enough to meet a very young Lily and her Mom when we were just starting our adoption paperwork. It just warms my heart to see the two of them together just two long/short years later.



Packed up and ready to go home. I so love where we live and how we are able to hop on our bikes and get any place we want. It helps that Sof loves being on the bike and really enjoys the ride.

Oh yeah!! Right after this photo, I dropped my camera. Damage still to be assessed. S*%T!!! This might put a halt to my blogging for a bit.

Mop Chop II

Much to the dismay of many people I am sure, we took Miss Sofia in for a hair cut. An inch or two was taken off her beautiful black hair and she came home with a super sassy beautiful little bob. And I know she doesn't look too happy in these photos but she was busy watching Elmo on the TV. Since we haven't let her really watch any telly yet it was all a bit of a novelty and she was entranced by the furry red creature.





Pretty cute, huh?

Plymouth

Last weekend we headed up the hill to go camping in Plymouth. The weather was beautiful and Sofia seems to really be getting the hang of this camping thing. So much so, that she napped well and a lot which gave Mum and Dad some time to play cards and read (holy cow...what is that?). We spent most of the weekend just relaxing and swimming and even ventured out for a picnic at a local winery. I think Sofia might be almost ready to go further afield.


Sofia found this little stool I have to reach all the high cupboards. I think it looks a bit like the little chairs they have at school because she kept pulling it out and turning it over to sit on it.



Entering the Story winery for our picnic. Isn't this garden pretty?



Feeding Daddy watermelon.


Look at this little girl dancing. The winery had a guy sitting outside playing guitar and singing. It was wonderful and Sofia had a great time dancing on her own.



Warming up after a dip in the pool.

It's a kind of sickness!!

Okay, I'll admit it.....I have a sickness! I'm not sure what it's called, but I am sure it has a name. I mean seriously, what's a Mama supposed to do when faced with a ginormous 50% off sign, the Sofster's 1st pool party looming and a girlie with a body this swimsuit ready. Really!!! You can't get away with wearing togs like this for very long, and I have waited for a very, very long time to dress my daughter, so I don't care if she hates me for it in her teenage years and I don't care if Daddy thinks it is ridiculous that she has 5 (okay maybe 6....another pair might have slipped somehow into the shopping bag) pairs of togs......I LOVE IT!

Night Night!

Ready for sleep from left to right - Bear, Sof, Fugly and Bella.

Oh, No!

Well, I knew it wouldn't last forever.

Tonight, Sofia was reaching up to the table to get something. I thought that something might be her cup of water. I asked her if she wanted her water, to which she replied, clear as can be.....

NO!!

There it is. That magic word is now, officially, part of her vocabulary.

Our Little Monkey

Today, our Sofia is 18 months old. UNBELIEVABLE!! This time is just going by way too quickly.

Of course this meant that the girl had to go and see the doctor for a check up. I am happy to report that all is well. Sof is 22lb 12.9oz (10.345 kg) (29%), 2' 6.75" (0.781 m) (26%) and her head measures 18.5" (47cm) (65%). Looks like the girl is putting all her energy into growing brains.

She got three shots and as usual was very brave. A little crying, but no real tears to speak of. She's one tough little cookie.

Anyway, Dr. Frank gave her the all clear and also a book "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". Sof can't read yet, but it seems that she didn't take the advice in the book too seriously and this weekend while we were camping, she learned just how much fun it is to jump on the bed, and who can stop a girl when she is having this much fun?





For the record Grandma and Grandpa, Dr. Frank didn't say she was the cutest kid ever, but I know he was thinking it ;-)

Great Grandma's Birthday

Another Dad's Corner Moment. This summer, Sof and I have been making regular visits to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. This week we went up on Great Grandma's birthday.


Happy Birthday Great Grandma


Sof loves Great Grandma's cat, it is the only cat that doesn't run away from her. I don't think she knows that ceramic cats aren't real...


Having fun playing chase with Great Grandpa.

Sweet for a second

Barclay John put aside his not-so-inner Border Collie for a few moments and hung out with Jeeves on the sofa. Very sweet while it lasted.

Barclay's Bed

Seems that Barclay is going to have to share his bed from now on. This has become Sofia's favourite new hangout. When it gets quiet around here we know where to find her, never mind that his bed is covered in dog fur...after all it is a dog bed. Looks like we might have to find her a bean bag of her own if Barclay is ever to be able to sleep in peace again.

Glass Noodles

So, I think it has been fairly well documented here on this blog that Sofia loves her food. And I am not talking about the usual food that kids seem to like. She likes well seasoned, well cooked food just like Mummy and Daddy. And, she loves fruit and vegetables. In fact, she will choose zucchini and broccoli over just about anything. Weird, huh?

Anyway, tonight we had friends over and ordered in Thai food. Sofia had already eaten her dinner and desert but Nobuko gave her a little taste of the glass noodles off her plate. OMG.....the girl went crazy. She kept going over to N and doing her little "I want more" dance. She ate and ate and ate glass noodles.

Don't you love the way that Barclay John's nose got in this photo. Our dog, unlike Sofia is not a food hound (at least not for dog food). Now, after almost a year he has finally figured out that Sofia is a good source of people food and likes to stick close whenever she is eating. And yes, he did get his fair share of glass noodles.

Thanks Nobuko, for being so generous with your dinner.

Pictures

Here are two more of the photos that were taken at Sofia's portrait sitting. I just love them and can't wait until she gets a little older and we can get some more done. Next time we won't subject the poor child to the 100 degree weather. Even so, I think they came out so great. Check out the Enchanted Images blog and see some of the fantastic work that James and Stefani do. What talent.

Cupcakes

Ahhhhh...just look at these two. How sweet! There is no denying that our cupcake LOVES her cupcakes. In fact anything even remotely sweet seems to go down a treat and the only thing that makes it even better is fresh berries or fruit. Daddy had better look out now........he's gonna have to share.

I'm ready for my nap Daddy

Now that summer is here, I have some time off of teaching to spend with Sofia; so tonight I have absconded with the blog and I'm starting a "Dad's Corner". Today, as we were getting close to Sofia's afternoon nap I walked into the kitchen to see Sofia tucking herself in. It seems she was more ready for her nap than I thought.

Mates!

Missy on a Mission

Does this girl look like she knows where she is going? And how she is going to get there? There is no holding her back.

Picture perfect

This smile just melts my heart.

Water Rat

Recently, we started taking Sofia to some swim classes. At first, she was very cautious about the water and, I think really was quite happy when it was all over and done with. Three short weeks later, the girl can't get enough of it. She is going under the water and coming up all smiles. She is kicking like crazy, although this doesn't work out too well when she decides to practice in the bath. Anyway, I am so thrilled that she seems to be enjoying being in the water. I was a water rat when I was a kid and will be so happy if she is too.


Getting used to the water. It appears that getting that tummy in is the tricky bit for everyone.



Swimming between Mum and Dad.


On the edge, ready to take the plunge.


The resurface. Let's do that again, Mum.