Sophie Sessions: 10 months

* Sophie has been working hard on her fine motor skills... she's now a pro at the pincer grip, is starting to push buttons, and loves scribbling with a crayon or chalk (this is apparently not something usually seen until 12-13 months at the earliest). It's the one milestone Sophie is ahead of the curve on. All her other skills are on target or a little behind- which gives me more time to enjoy her as a baby! :)

* 3 more new teeth! Top middle two and one right next to it all emerged simultaneously. Unlike her first 2 teeth, these new teeth did a serious number on her sleep.

* Bring out the baby-proofing supplies! The same weekend Sophie cut 3 new teeth, she also learned how to pull to stand and climb the stairs. Now that's all she wants to do- practice her new skills day and night like she's training for the Olympics! Needless to say, Laith and I are exhausted from the poor napping and night sleep this caused for about 2 weeks.

* She's very interested in being just like Lucas; mimicking his raspberry motor sounds and playing with his cars and motorcycles- making them drive back and forth.

* Not much in the language department yet- she still prefers just making ahhhh sounds with a rare appearance of ba and wa and ga. We've begun working on sign language with her and she's currently learning water, milk (when she wants a bottle), all done, and more. She understands all these phrases and will flap her arms in the air to indicate "yes!!"

Favorite foods: spinach pesto, bananas, avocado, soy-glazed salmon and anything Mommy's eating.

Favorite pasttimes: plowing into Lucas head-first and climbing on him, laughing at Lucas' voices and antics, finding miniscule bits of things to put in her mouth, coloring/drawing with chalk, playing with balls, climbing the stairs, splashing in water, touch-and-feel books, and playing bouncing games.

For those who requested it, Sophie is wearing size 12 months onesies and pants. Dresses she can fit as small as 6-9 months but we are tucking her dresses into bloomers/shorts now so as not to get her frustrated when she pins herself down with a knee on the fabric while crawling.

Sophie Sessions: Nine Months

Notable from this month:

*Sophie has learned how to crawl! Now we're in trouble- guess we'll have to baby-proof before our August 5th move to our new home!

* Sophie's first teeth emerged. We love her new smile.

* She's babbling! Sophie's been using vowel sounds (mostly ahhhh) up until a few days ago. Now we're hearing occasional ba, wa, ma, and da sounds and it's adorable.

Father's Day Fun

Lucas picked this outing to a county fair for Laith's Father's Day celebration. Namely for the surprise gift both of us knew he would love... no, it's not a carousel ride...
Or a wild gator coaster ride...
It's a helicopter ride!!!

For a really reasonable price, all 3 of us were flown around beautiful Albemarle county for about 5 minutes. LOVED it!!




Happy Father's Day, Laith, to the kindest, most patient, and most fun Daddy!

Sophie Sessions: Eight Months

This month, Sophie....

* Has learned how to get into the crawling position. No movement yet, but she's at the starting gate! :)

* Gets stopped by strangers everywhere we go who want to comment on or touch her hair. It's been growing upwards- as if she's a mad scientist or electrically charged!

* Went swimming for the first time at the local wading pool. She was ecstatic! This girl loves water in every way- drinking it out of a cup, splashing in the bath, and kicking in the pool!

Sophie's Favorites:

TOYS: alligator xylophone and yellow smiley face rattle

FOODS: pickles, chevre (fancy french goat cheese!), cheerios, Aunt Connie's Salmon, and gingered carrots (we've got another high-flavor eater!)

ACTIVITIES: peekaboo with Lucas, flirting with herself in the mirror, working on picking up small objects

Peach Pickin' with Uncle Max!

Laith's brother Max came to visit in mid June for a long weekend and we had a great time eating out, relaxing around the house, and going peach-picking! The kids took to Max instantly- Lucas loved playing with him and was so sad when he left; and Sophie didn't have any stranger-anxiety at all when he held her! At one point, Laith and I needed to meet with our realtor for 30 minutes and Max volunteered to hold down the fort while we were gone. Sophie was napping so we figured it would be totally fine. Max is only 20 yrs old and has never babysat such young kids before so while we trust him completely, we didn't want to put him in a challenging situation. Well, challenge is what Max got while we were gone. Sophie woke up just 5 min after we drove off, clingy and crying, during which Lucas had a messy poop accident. Gotta love how the kids coordinate their personal emergencies like that- it's a well-honed and frequently utilized skill. Max did great, remaining his cool laid-back self while soothing Sophie and cleaning up Lucas. Max, you get extra brownie points times 100 for that! Thanks for coming out to visit and we all look forward to seeing you again soon!

Last Day of Preschool

This was such a sad day for us as we said goodbye to our teachers and friends not just for the summer but forever. The Montessori School of Charlottesville decided to close Lucas' classroom at the Elder Care Center for budget reasons and Laith and I don't think their other 2 campuses are a good fit for him (too quiet and creativity-stifling for an active, social boy). If the school had remained open, he would have returned to the same teachers and same students (minus the kindergardeners) for the next 2 years. We were really looking forward to the continuity of that and enjoying all the amazing skills he learns in an environment that encourages kids to learn what interests them and at their own pace. Lucas was already starting pre-reading activities and also identifing the 50 states when he left! We'll also miss the fact that his school and teachers emphasize courtesy and manners and good social skills above all else. It's amazing to see how Montessori kids are so friendly and thoughtful. Playground time looks completely different there.

Next year, Lucas will be attending a well-regarded 3-days-a-week program at a church.

Here are some photos from our last day at Montessori:

Saying goodbye to his teachers, Ms. Marchenka (above) and Ms. Crystal (below)
Lucas' "mentor" Ava, who took Lucas under her wing when he first started school and showed him how to do many of the activities there.
Last "Music with Ben" singalong with the Elders

And now we're ready for summer! Wading pool and Discovery Museum, here we come!

Austin Trip

The Riveras became really good friends just before we moved from Austin :( but it's been wonderful to spend time with them during both of our trips back to TX! Lucas loves playing the part of little brother with them and both kids are so amazingly sweet and thoughtful towards him. We miss you guys!

Yum! Breakfast at the Rivera house is always lovely.

Special delivery! Just a photoshop photo. We didn't really pull Sophie up to the playloft in a bucket- but wouldn't that be a fun ride? :)

Ready for Summer

Happy Father's Day!

Me and Dad "feeding the ducks" Father's Day 1976

Homemade Playdough

Usually homemade playdough is touted for its all-natural ingredients. Moms will often use beets, carrots or blueberries to tint their dough a pretty and earthy color for their all-natural children; and while I briefly considered this idea, it seemed much more labor intensive than making the dough itself.... So I used a purple crayola marker! :)