Mom's Helper

Yes, we can get into cupboards now. These pics were taken on November 1oth.

Seeing Mom's Family and Friends

Sonia and I traveled to see my family and my best friend from high school from October 31-November 5. Everyone was so great to us. It was so nice and comfortable to be around people who I love so much. Sonia ate up all of the attention from the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, greatgrandparents and friends. What a rough life...wouldn't it be nice to be 10 months old again?

My best Mindy and her new little baby, Kaia with Sonia and I at a restaurant. Two hour breakfasts are the best!

Mindy's daughter, Ayla, with Sonia out in Mindy's front yard. This is my favorite picture of the trip. Sonia with my Dad. What a great picture of the two of them. You can tell they were having fun together.

And here's all the grandparents and great-grandparents with all of my mom and dad's grandkids...

And Sonia with her newest cousin, Marc.

And the great-grandparents with Sonia. They are so wonderful. Young at heart and lots of fun to be with. I was so happy to see them this trip as I hadn't seen them since their 60th anniversary celebration just over 3 years ago.

And the prized four-generation picture that my mom has been talking about wanting ever since Sonia was born. Here you go, mom... I even rescheduled my trip to make this one happen. It was well worth it. :-)

I Voted Early

While Don was out on the East Coast for work, I took Sonia to my local grocery store where they had voting booths for early voters. Sonia was such a good sport that the attendants even gave HER an "I Voted Early" sticker to wear. Lucky kid...and I had to WORK for mine...

Apple Hill

We had a wonderful time at Apple Hill this past weekend. The apple orchards and the beautiful Northern California landscape were absolutely worth the 3-hour drive. Grandpa accompanied Don, Sonia and I and we stayed with Don's great aunt and uncle who were the most wonderful hostess and host for our much needed weekend vacation out of town.

Sonia is seen below in a pumkin patch at one of the orchards. It was difficult to get her to look up at us for a picture as the pumkins and the grasses were WAY more interesting than ol' mom and dad.

The last picture is of me in the same pumpkin patch just over a year ago with the pumkin we now call "Sonia" still in my belly. Wow...one year can sure make a big change. :-)

Dancing Baby

Last night, with Daddy at Aunt Kerry's house, Sonia took her first steps...and they were...you guessed it....towards the cat. With her first word "Kitty" and now this, sometimes I wonder if I should just put a little more cat food out in the morning and not worry about mixing bottles anymore... The cats seem to be her greatest joy other than being turned upside down by Daddy or tickled by Mommy. I guess we rate somewhere decent on her approval meter. Maybe not as high as cats, but I'll keep working on it.

She does walk behind her little, toy walker that you see in the photos/video below, often times falling over to the side or backwards. She'll learn. I don't see any permanent brain damage from the falls, so I think we are still doing ok.

She got into one of my cupboards for the first time today. There were a bunch of magazines in there and my good crystal (a vase, some candle holders and a decantor). Needless to say, the crystal has been put up in a higher cabinent and, well, I still think it's funny watching her rip up magazines, so I let her "have at it" on that.

In one of the videos below, you'll notice the camera is rather unsteady in a couple, short spots. That's just me shaking with laughter on the other end of the camera. Enjoy!

On Mom and Dad's Bed

My baby is growing up day by day it seems. Her favorite thing to do now is to grab both of your hands and take off walking...whether you were ready to or not. She continues to chase the cats, cruise around the furniture, dig in my potted plants whenever she gets the chance, and eat anything she can get her hands on (yes, including potting soil and all the "what's THAT?" stuff she somehow finds on the floor). It must be doing well for her, because she is still happy. She goes to bed at 9pm and this is my hour of adult time before bed. Love it, love it..... Thanks for visiting the blog. Take care.

First Cold

And again, for the record, she now has her first cold. She got sick on September 13th and I am still wiping her nose today. She HATES that little nose suction thingy. She caught the cold from the babysitter's daughter and it has gone through their whole family as well as ours. Don called in sick to work the last two days. I'm just lucky I can work from home becuase I wasn't getting out of my pajamas for anyone.