Happy Thanksgiving

Since we will be gone for Thanksgiving this year, our family generously moved the celebration to today. It was a perfect day with all the things that make Thanksgiving so wonderful.

We started the day watching "Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown". Sofia especially loved the scene where Snoopy fights with the folding chair. She was laughing.



A pretty Thanksgiving dress....


A wonderful family....


A football game on TV that the Niners actually won....


A big old delicious bird....


Pretty flowers on the table....


A little plate of Thanksgiving goodness.....
Sofia has some pretty wierd tastes in food and will eat things that well, quite frankly, I would never expect a 22 month old child to eat. Case in point....today for dinner I cooked some pearl onions in a port reduction sauce. Yummy I know, but not something I would plan to put on my child's plate. Well, Sofia spyed the onions and knew they weren't dished up on her plate and she wanted to taste one. That was the beginning of the end. No potatoes and gravy were going to do now....it was onions all the way. In the end we had to hide the onions out of her sight just so there would be some left for everyone else. I am not looking forward to what all those onions are going to produce tomorrow (tmi I know!) but hey, she loved them and that is what matters.


And pie.....munkey pie....


We have a lot to be thankful for.

Daddy's Little Helper

So, Sofia got in on the act and decided that she would help Daddy pack the bags. Her technique.....Daddy packs one shirt, Sofia hands him two back in return.
Way to help Sofia!!

Just wondering....

How is it possible that you can put a lovely plate of polenta with fresh tomato sauce, home made chippies and watermelon in front of one wee person and have her turn her nose up at all of it only to find her 15 minutes later with cat food stuffed into her tiny mouth. Is there something we don't know, or does cat food taste a damn sight better than it smells?

Running Amuck in the Vineyards!

I have really nothing to post here except to let you know that after spending most of the weekend doing chores around the house, we escaped on this absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon, down the Delta to fetch some wine. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit outside in the beautiful gardens and let Sofia run wild through the vineyard.

Our new table

Tonight our family sat around our new dining table and enjoyed an awesome meal together. And our girl, who always seems to manage to surprise us with the new things she will try, chowed down on Mint Chicken Pasta and Garlic Bread. Well, we did cook up a fair few peas to go along with it all. One can never have enough little green lollies.

An extra special gift.

Sofia is one spoiled rotton little girl.....we know there is no way to deny that so we won't even try. But, is it not just her Mum and Dad who can be held solely responsible. She has friends who send special things to her in the mail. Every once in a while, when we go to the mailbox, the mailman will have delivered a package. Well, last week one of these packages arrived and this is what we found. A book titled "Sofia Sees", written and illustrated by these very special friends. The book contained a wonderful story of all the things that are important in Sofia's life right now. These photos don't do the book justice but maybe give you some idea of just how wonderful it is.

Thank you A & C for a one of a kind, extra special gift. Sofia loves it.

Sofia plays the monca

My Grandpa was a wonderful harmonica player. All of the grandkids (all of us girls except one) would follow him around like the pied piper, with a barking dog bringing up the rear while he played and danced. I think if Grandpa were still here with us he would think that Sofia had a real talent for the "monca".

Lil' Miss Piggy

So it was inevitable that Halloween would come to this. The signs were all there. Sofia had no interest in her costume at all. Good old Jake had to step up and model for us just so we could get a look at it, and it was a good thing that he is such a good sport or else we would not have known that little Miss Piggy needed some minor alterations. G-ma came to the rescue and patched and adjusted and we tried to make it all fun. Well no need really......Sofia was not going to make this easy.


Torture...torture. Can someone please call someone to come to my rescue!!


Don't you make me put this thing on. Seriously, don't you make me!


NO...NOOOO....NOOOOOOO!!


Success at last. A quick tail twist from Mum and we are off to attempt costume dressing stage two.....the hat.


G-ma tried on the hat....


Nope, not gonna do it!


Yikes, flash forward 12 years or so. I can just picture the teenage version of this face. Is this a little piece of attitude, or what!


Jake the lion pays a visit. Is he not the most adorable lion you have ever seen? Last year, Sofia took one look at Jake dressed as a skunk and promptly burst into tears. I think Sofia fancied the lion a little better and maybe, just maybe if she sees how nicely Jake is wearing his hat she might join in the fun.


C'mon Sof, put the piggy hat on?


Fools.....I will just fling myself down to the ground rather than wear that piggy hat.


Headless pigs do like to hang out on the steps with "munkeys" - a little known Halloween fact.



Pirate Pete and his dad come to join in the fun as well. Peter wouldn't wear his hat either so I don't imagine he will be any help at all in persuading Sofia to give it a try.


Mummy tries the piggy hat on. Stunning don't you think?


Papa wears the piggy hat and sneaks up behind Sofia so that we can get some idea of just how cute this little piggy could be. I'm not buying it Papa!!



Even the "munkey" tries the piggy hat on!!! But wait, what is this? Is it really? Could it be.....?


Sofia is wearing her piggy hat. Blink and you could have missed it but we did get a brief glimpse of the cutest piglet ever. Her costume did come with hooves as well but this mama knew better than to fight that battle.


We had a super Halloween with our friends from the neighbourhood. No trick-or-treating but the kids had fun playing together. I wonder what Sofia will be for Halloween next year? I would imagine she will have a bit of a say in it all and I think she might opt for a costume without a hat.





This is Sofia right after we had finally taken her costume off. She was so happy to be in her shorts and t-shirt again, she was jumping up and down on the costume.


Treats for the kids made by the super talented Meg (of ladybug cake fame).


All tuckered out and snuggling with Papa.
Happy Halloween my little piglet.