Sledding

Sofia's first trip down the hill with Daddy on the sled.

The Snowman

Sofia and Jake both love "The Snowman" movie. They will watch it over and over and over and they never seem to tire of it. When we told Sof that we were headed up to the snow, well, all she could really think of doing, was building herself a snowman. Not wanting to disappoint, that is exactly what we did.

And now, one awesome snowman stands guard at the entrance to our beautiful house in Tahoe.

Snow Play

This morning we got ourselves bundled up for some fun in the snow. We were going to head over to a snow park and got both cars packed up, but as soon as we stepped outside we realized that we had the perfect play place right outside our front door. That was, of course, until the snow blower came by and blew all of our snow away. Didn't matter.....the kids had a blast making snowballs and snow angels and for Sofia, just taking a nap in the snow seemed like a good idea.

And all the while, we got to enjoy this view.  Not too shabby.

Good Morning Tahoe

This is what we awoke to this morning at beautiful Lake Tahoe. Everything is coated in a new dusting of snow. There are pancakes and bacon cooking and a full day of snow fun ahead.

LIFE IS GOOD.

Nighties

This year for Christmas, Sofia's Geema and Papa gave her the sweetest gift ever. Geema always got a new nightie and dressing gown for Christmas when she was a little girl and she wanted Sofia to have the same thing. Turns out that it is not easy to find old fashioned night gowns, and so Geema had them made, especially for Sofia.

We were a little anxious that Sofia would not appreciate or get wear out of them as she is a little wierd about her PJ's, but not to worry. We put one on last night and Sofia twirled and whirled and said "just like a princess".

So there was really nothing else to do but have a cupcake princess picnic and head off to bed.

Thanks Geema and Papa for the beautiful gift. 

Big Girl Bike

The clouds parted this weekend and we had a chance to take Sofia's new big girl, out of this world, super pink, Pink, PINK bike out for a spin around the block.

It took a little while for her to get the hang of it, but I figure it will only take another couple of outings before she is cruising full steam ahead.

More Cake

Sofia had one last final birthday celebration with her friends Jake and Peter last weekend. Meg made her a beautiful cake and there were more presents and more singing and more candles. Life is good when your turn three.

Party Time

Presents...Pasta...Family...Tinkerbell...Cake...Candles (and a sparkler)...Singing...Smiles.

Sofia had a wonderful 3rd birthday celebration with all of her favourite things.

THREE

Three years ago today, sweet Sofia, you made your grand entrance into this world in Villa Nueva, Guatemala and changed our lives forever.

You are one sweet, smart and totally sassy little individual. I absolutely respect and admire your streak of stubborn independence, even if it does drive me crazy. "I can do it" is probably the phrase we have heard out of you most this last year and by crikey, you pretty much can. You love to swim and are completely fearless in the water. You have mastered riding your trike and will ride for block after block given the chance. You are nutty for a good slide in the playground but still insist on giving the swings a miss. You love going to school and sing your ABC's over and over. You can count to 20 (okay so 16 sometimes gets skipped, but who's counting) and are starting to recognize a few of your letters. You can be so, so sweet. You will thank us for making dinner or watching a movie with you. You come into the kitchen and offer to help cook.  Most of the time, I think you are just looking for some cheese worms, but you are very talented at washing tomatoes and will stay focused for quite some time if given work to do. You love, love, LOVE to sing and dance more than anything else. Music classes with Geema are a highlight of most every week and any time music starts you can't help yourself but move. Your body just has music in it......of that there can be no doubt. You love your friends. Jake and Peter are still your best mates.  You have a real wicked sense of humour and sometimes you find the oddest things completely and utterly hilarious. When you laugh, you really laugh and there is almost no room for breath. You love your Geema and Papa like no two other people. No one plays "Follow the Leader" quite like Papa does. You love to have long, long chats on the phone with Aunty Claire, even if she is not on the other end. You are pretty adventurous but at the same time you like to be home, in your own space. This is where you are most comfortable. You still enjoy your food. I think you could survive on a diet of pasta, nuts, melon and chocolate if you were allowed to, but you are also willing to try something new if presented to you.  You have given your Daddy and I a run for our money this year.  You have challenged us as parents and you have spent more than your fair share of time in "time out", but at the same time we have watched as you have become so much more grown up and able to tackle things on your own.  You are sleeping in a very big, big girl bed and are almost entirely potty trained.  You never forget anything and you hear and see everything.   There have been a few times this year when things have come out of your mouth that I know I should reprimand you for, but it sounds just like me, and you are very good at using them in context so it is hard to punish you for the bad example set by your mother.  You have a better sense of direction at two than your Geema ever has the hope of having even if we get her GPS.  You never let us leave without a hug.  If we do forget, you come running after us with your arms out wide saying "You forgot your hug".  Sometimes, out of the blue you say "I got something to tell you......I love you Mummy". 

So, here we are Sofia.  Another year under our belts and your Daddy and I are so head over heels for you.  We count ourselves unbelieveably blessed that out of this whole big wide world, we found each other to be a family, together.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sofia!

ONE

TWO

THREE

Cheeeeky