Farmer's Market Fun

There's a scrape on her forehead and her arm from when she tripped and fell into a tree. Both of her knees are scraped and bloody from multiple falls. Her skirt is dusty from wiping her hands off on it. Her fingernails are caked with dirt underneath. There is a dribble of red cherry juice down the front of her shirt. Her hair is a disaster. Her cheeks are flushed from the heat.

Sophia had a great time at the Farmer's Market! She fed the ducks, chased a dozen squirrels and dug in the dirt underneath the trees with little sticks. Then she happily sampled cherries with me. There was a little crying with some of the falls, but she recovered quickly and kept on going. Once we got home I stripped her down and washed her hands. I can't wait for her to take a bath tonight!!!

(This picture was early in our trip.)

The Pool is Open!

Today our first little activity was a trip to a park known as "the cow park" by most locals. Can you guess why?



I think this park was actually funded by a local dairy. That cow looks like it could really moo. We played there long enough for Sophia to try out all the equipment and for both of us to get mosquito bites. I was glad when it was time to go -- I hate mosquito's!

Next we had lunch and nap. Then we took a trip to Target. Sophia was an excellent shopper. She held my hand most of the time and cried only once (briefly) when we were in the toy section. Since she was staying close to me, I allowed her to play with toys on the shelf while I looked for a birthday present for a friend's child. It seems that she really enjoyed pressing all kinds of new buttons and picking up (and then putting down) all kinds of stuffed animals, trucks, and boxes. I was really quite surprised at how compliant she was about putting things back. That probably won't last, but I'll enjoy it while it does.

After shopping came dinner and then pool time. Our back yard has shade in the evening, so it turned out to be a little cooler with the breeze than I had planned. Sophia didn't care. She kicked, climbed, danced, poured and splashed. Hopefully she'll enjoy swim lessons next month as much as she enjoys 3 inches of water in her kiddie pool.

Before bed we played a game with some flash cards my mom gave to Sophia. Right now I put down four cards and ask her to hand me one with a particular picture. She really likes this game and it very good at it! She said "baby" as clear as a bell when we played last night. Eventually I'll try teaching her the words on the back of the cards.


If anyone has any other toddler friendly game ideas, I'm all ears. Sophia needs new activities and I'll take all the help I can get.

Ticka-Ticka-Ticka

What is "ticka-ticka-ticka"? It is what Sophia says if she is tickling you. She just started this week. It is pretty much what I say if I'm tickling her, so it's funny that she says exactly that. Lately she also seems to be saying things like "I did it" and "done" and "go-gee-go-gee-go-gee" which I have not figured out if it means anything (I don't think it does). We've also noticed her say "yeah" and "that" or "that one" in our question/answer conversations. She also nods "yes" or shakes her head "no" when answering our questions (and usually means what she says). Of course she also says hi and bye-bye when she is in the mood -- otherwise she just waves.

Sounds and words she says associated with animals: whispers "ki-ta" when she calls the cat, "og" for dog, "mmm" when she sees a cow, "ba" for the sound a sheep makes, moves her mouth like a fish... there are others that I can't think of now.

She might be saying a lot more, but we haven't deciphered all of it yet.

Words I've heard her say since I originally posted this: ball, baby (very clear!)

County Fair and Other Stuff

This has been one of those weeks where I just couldn't seem to get myself to sit at the computer much. I've either been busy or sleepy - must be the heat. Now that the holiday weekend is upon us, we will be staying home to avoid the crowds.

This morning we took our last "big trip" out to the county fair at Cal Expo. Since it is a weekday, there were lots of kids there with their schools. However, even with all the school kids it wasn't terribly busy. We wandered around the booths and then took Sophia to see all of the 4-H animals. She saw pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, cows and horses all from the confines of her stroller. We were very entertained by her increased ability to say "baa" and "mmmm" (her "moo") and something that sounded like a gobble. After our barn tour, we got some fair food and found some shade. Sophia LOVES corndogs and churros. Strangely, I did not take any pictures of our trip. I knew the camera battery was low and I was waiting to take Sophia on the merry-go-round. Unfortunately, the ride didn't open until we were leaving and I didn't see it being worth $4 of tickets to stand in line twice.

Yesterday we missed a chance to put Sophia on the brand new merry-go-round at the zoo. They wouldn't sell us a ticket even though the last ride of the day hadn't started and there was no line and there was only one kid on the whole ride. Oh well, Sophia didn't know the difference. Our zoo visit turned out to be a good one because there were no crowds and most of the animals were out where we could see them. Sophia really liked looking at the animals, but she was most excited by the cool misters that they have to keep people comfortable on hot days. Here she is trying to grab the mist:

The big cats were also out where she could see them:

In this one the tiger is yawning:



It's too bad the animals and crowds weren't so cooperative when my mom and I took Sophia to the zoo last week! Thursday afternoon is apparently the best time for us to go. Temperatures in the 80's probably help, too.

The rest of the week is a blur. I know we went to a couple different parks, did some shopping, voted in the special election, went to the farmers' market and some other stuff I can't recall right now. Franco is home for a couple more days, so I'll be back to writing about laundry and shopping next week.

Soccer Ball Incident

Today I violated one of my own parenting rules by taking Sophia out to stores too close to nap time. The results were not pretty.

It all started out OK. We were just going to Old Navy to look around. Sophia is currently learning how to walk through a store holding my hand. Yesterday I took her on her first shopping trip without the stroller and she did great. Today started out well, but there was a ball in the dressing room...

Why is Old Navy selling soccer balls?!

Sophia found the ball under the seat in the dressing room when I tried on a skirt and didn't want to let it go. Not to set a bad precedent, I told her it needed to stay in the dressing room. She tried to put it down but was too sad to let it go. I could actually see her struggling with the direction. She would start to put it down, but then cry and hug it again. When I finally had to firmly insist, she broke down. We walked around the store for a minute and she just kept crying and pointing back to the dressing room. It was so sad.

After I finally got her calmed down and finished our little bit of shopping, she didn't want to get in the car and pitched another fit. Note to self: Don't do that again.

On the upside, she sleeps a lot better when she gets to walk around instead of ride in a stroller everywhere. Last night she only woke up once.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday we returned home from our special Mother's Day trip to Monterey. It was a nice trip and we had excellent weather.

We left on Wednesday and headed to Franco's parents' house for lunch. Sophia appreciated the opportunity to run around. From there we drove straight to Monterey (about 2 hours) and Sophia slept most of the way. A very relaxing drive! After checking in at the hotel, we took a walk down around the wharf and ended up at San Carlos Park.


Sophia ran around, chased birds, and then fell and scraped her knees right as we were leaving. She was very sad every time she looked down at her knees and saw them bleeding. She held her sore knees the entire time she rode back to the hotel (in the stroller).

That night Sophia slept terribly. She woke up in the middle of the night and didn't go back to sleep for at least 3 hours. After only getting about 4 hours of sleep, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in Monterey for another day. Luckily the hotel had an awesome breakfast buffet. I ate all kinds of goodies and offered each thing I ate to Sophia. She didn't accept hardly anything, until I gave her sausage (we told her it was chicken -- every meat is chicken). She ended up eating two sausages and a few bites of different breads. At least it was something.

After breakfast on Day 2 we went to Dennis the Menace Park. It's a great park with lots of nifty climbing structures and slides. Sophia went down the biggest slide first.

We played there until Sophia seemed to be slowing down. Then we walked back to the hotel for a much needed family nap. Everyone felt better. Upon the suggestion of hotel personnel, we headed to Del Monte Beach to let Sophia play in the sand.



It was a nice afternoon to hang out at the beach and Sophia really enjoyed digging. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We had a delicious dinner on the wharf and got Sophia a souvenir t-shirt. Sophia slept much better that night thanks to all the walking.

In the morning we had another awesome buffet breakfast where Sophia ate fruit, sausage and bread. To burn off some energy before we started driving, we took Sophia back for another run around the park.


This time we found that she really liked going on the bridge and jumping to make it sway. Weird little girl.

Midday we loaded Sophia and all of our stuff up in the car and headed towards San Jose. We planned to meet some friends for dinner who just had their second baby. Laura (almost 3) and Sophia hit it off. It was very cute to watch them play and to hear Laura call Sophia "Fia." Laura is actually very articulate, but she just kept forgetting the beginning part.


They ran at the park and took a ride down a gravel path in Laura's wagon to look for ducks.

Here is a picture of Laura's new baby sister, Clara:


She's two months old. Isn't she a cutie? Poor thing had her first shots that morning, but did pretty well all things considered.

We stayed one more night in a hotel (Sophia slept well) and then headed home right after breakfast. The ride home did not include a nap for Sophia, so it felt like a long trip. However, we all made it and were happy to be home.

Thank you to my wonderful husband for such a nice Mother's Day trip.

18 Month Check-Up

Today we took Sophia for her 18 month Well-Baby check-up. I was really looking forward to this because it had been a while since we had weighed her or measured her height. Everyone at her doctor's office is so nice. We had the first appointment of the day at 10AM (they start later on Tuesdays) and actually had to wait outside for them to open the doors. So much for worrying that we were running late.

This morning Sophia weighed 26 pounds 3 ounces (naked and screaming), which is in the 75th percentile. Not bad. However, she was found to be 33.5 inches tall (diapered but still crying), which is between the 90th and 95th percentiles. Wow, tall girl. The doctor said that she is the more the height of a an average 2-2 1/2 year old. Being the not-terribly-tall people that we are, it is surprising to us to have a taller than average toddler.

We got lucky that Sophia did not have to get any shots today. After having them at every other appointment, I was surprised. Tomorrow we leave for Monterey, so at least we don't have to worry about her having a fever, sore legs, or being extra cranky. Now we just have plain old worries about baby getting bored on the long drive.

Apple Eater

Franco pulled an apple out of his bag when he got home today and Sophia grabbed it from him. Immediately she put it in her mouth and bit down, like she had done it every day. However, she has never eaten from a whole apple. I always peel and slice them. Before she could eat a second bite I wrestled it from her to wash it -- that apple had been traveling all day!

It was kind of funny to watch her chewing on this big ol' apple. I guess we will be buying some small red apples next time we go to the store.