Summer is over!

Summer is over and school has begun!

Squeaky shoes dancing

Christian and I have been dancing a lot lately with Sofia. She seems to enjoy it. I didn't think she was watching our feet until I put squeaky shoes on her. My friend, S.T., had these shoes for her beautiful twin girls. She handed down a pair for Sofia on one of our visits to her house in B.R. Sofia loves the shoes! The video shows her love of squeaky shoes with some dancing and curiosity mixed in. It is long with some poor filming parts.  However, I think Sofia makes it worth watching.

Flat Friends on Sunday

We had a short adventure on Sunday. Then the fun was over until next time.

Sunday with the Gurkhas - how to create a free slideshow

My Flat Friends

My friends and I have flat versions of each other. We take each other places and take pictures. My friend, Shirley, was in town and we brought our two "flat" friends with us on our afternoon shopping trip. Here is a slide show of our adventure.

Gurkhas in Houston - slideshow maker with music

Zoo

This past weekend we took Sofia to the zoo for the first time. We met friends so we wouldn't have to suffer through the heat alone!   We only stayed for a couple of hours. In that short amount of time we  enjoyed the AC of the Natural Wonders building, oooed and ahhhed over the baby elephants, walked through the primates, and quickly went through the new Africa section. Sofia really seemed to enjoy the zoo and pointed at animals. If you ask me her favorite part were all of the fish but Christian would tell you the sea lions.

Sofia's birthday party..over a month later

I guess I forgot to post her birthday party. Sorry. It was fun. It was hot. It was exhausting. I am glad we did it for her in the end.  Daphne Lafosse photographed the party and all of the pictures posted are hers. She is wonderful and very sweet. If you are looking for a photographer, check out her website.

Sofia dancing before the guests arrived.

Favors. The buckets held sidewalk chalk, punch balloon, bubbles, beach ball, and a sports water bottle.  Everything was from Micheal's but the punch balloon. I got them in a package from Target.

Food. We had  sammies from Costco. They were awesome! I pinned tulle around the table and added a trim to hide the pins.

I made the banner. It had a front and back. Both sides said the same thing.

I saw this idea somewhere and Pinned it. It now hangs on Sofia's bedroom door.

We had just finished taking pictures with the "ONE" when guest arrived. Sofia went down the walkway to meet them.

Sofia had an outfit change into an traditional ao dai to select her future.

Vietnamese and other Asian cultures have the child turning one select items that indicait what he/she will have a career in. Sofia picked the thermometer. She is going into the medical field.

I made her smash cake.

We tried to get her to eat some of the cake but she just wanted to play.

She was so messy Grandma was reluctant to hold her.

Cake for everyone. We got it from Costco. Friends said it was yummy.

The pull pinata I made.

It didn't work so well. I think I added too many layers. I had to dump out the contents. It was funny.

Sofia's Venezuelan friends, Landon and Nicolas. Well..half Venezuelan like her.

Kiley Y.

I still can't believe this many people were at the party.

Our family at ONE.

Nap time drama

When we returned from vacation, Sofia's daycare teacher called and asked me to come in. I had left a couple of things and she wanted to give me the schedule for August. Sofia will be in new class and she knew I would want to try to adjust her nap schedule. Of course the very next day I attempt to put Sofia on a one time a day nap schedule. I tried everyday to give her only one nap. Most days, she and I cried. I vented to my dearest friends and sought advice. I tried and cried, tried and cried. I started to tell everyone that daycare would have to do it because I couldn't. Then today we had a breakthrough! She fell asleep shortly after the scheduled nap time and only woke up once. I know we may both be crying again tomorrow, but I will take this little victory.

P.S. She normally does not wear bows to bed.

Minnesota

This post is a little late but having Sofia full time has been a big adjustment. We took a wonderful trip to Minneapolis & Duluth a couple of weeks ago. My aunts, uncles and cousins live in Minnesota. It was Sofia's first time on an airplane. We were a bit worried about flying with her but she did great. The weather wasn't the cool sleep with your windows open I had hoped for but it was nice to get out of the heat. Of course, I took a gazillion photos and will leave you with just a few that capture the trip.

Getting ready to land!

Grass is different in MN.

Sofia and Aunt Kathy

Happy 4th of July. Sofia loved the flags. She kept pulling them out of the ground and "waving" them.

The stairs, Griffin, and spaghetti were a big hit.

Sofia and her Godfather, Peter.

Sofia and Queenie

We took a trip to Duluth and Two Harbors.

Betty's Pies (a must go to destination if you are near Two Harbors, MN)

Gooseberry Falls State Park. We had to park on the highway and walk in due to the state shutting down.

Then we headed back to Minneapolis.

We packed our bags and headed back to Texas.

At home Sofia found a pony her grandparents left for her.

Happy Birthday Sofia

Dear Sofia,

Happy Birthday to our amazing, kind, funny, little girl. You have brought so much more joy to our lives than Mommy and Daddy thought possible. We are very blessed to have you in our lives. No matter how big you grow, Mommy and Daddy will always remember when you were our baby who turned one. May God bless you and keep you safe always.

Love,
Mommy

Hours left...

It was dinner time for Sofia about an hour and half ago. When I glanced at the clock, I remembered it was a year ago today Christian and I said good-bye to our quiet house and life as we knew it. I checked in at the hosptial, got my cervix meds, and tried to sleep. Christian stayed and left for the night at 11. Don't think poorly of him. I made him go home. There was nothing he could do for me at night. When he left, I reminded him to feed, pet, and tell Chewy I loved him. It is hard to believe it is already one year later. Instead of zooming off to the hospital, I am watching the little human we set out that night to meet put pieces of chicken, peas, and sweet potatoes in her itty bitty mouth.


Heading out the door.


One last hug. See you soon.

Mid-Birthday Month

It is a big birthday month around Schickland! Sofia turns 1, Chewy turns 12, and Christian turns one year older. It will be very busy around here for the next few weeks.
Last week we borrowed the Leap Frog Birthday Cake from Sofia's friend, C. Each day Christian and I spend singing Happy Birthday to Sofia and "blowing" out the candle. She just likes to dance while we sing.
Sofia has become quite the little climber. She can climb up the slide of C.'s playhouse. She also is very good at climbing on the top of things quickly. As seen by photo evidence A.


A.



I was sorting clothes in her room, walked out for maybe 5 seconds to toss something in the laundry room. When I returned I found her like this. She stood there long enough for me to grab my camera and takes pictures. At one point I think she was redirecting me back to her clothes as seen in photo evidence B.



B.

In other news, Chewy turns 12 on Sunday. This is not the day he was born. He was a stray kitty. This is the day Christian gave him to me. He is such a sweet boy. He has adjusted to well to life after Sofia.




Life before Sofia



Life after Sofia. My poor baby. He tolerates only so much before he glares at her, runs the other way or looks at me for help.