Goodbye, Mini Cooper.... Hello Jetta SportWagen!

I can't believe I'm typing this, but I finally got tired of not being able to fit everything in the Mini Cooper, and I bought a true "mommy" car: a 2010 Jetta SportWagen SE.


Yes, I'm aware that it looks a heck of a lot like Niki's station wagon.... My wedding dress, also purchased second, was virtually identical to hers. We're identical twins. Deal with it! :)

Sitting at the car dealership last night, I cried when I signed the paper to sell the Mini to the dealer. They felt so bad for me that they offered to take a cellphone picture of me hugging the Mini. I took them up on it:


You can see the new car on the right, waiting to whisk me away. Here's a slide show of the pictures I just took to document Sonia's and my new chariot:

Jetta

I miss you, Pepper White Mini Cooper, but I love my new car, too!

Happy Birthday to Sosi's Grandma JoAnn!

Sonia would like to wish her Grandma Jojo (my mother) a very happy birthday today!



Even though she doesn't get to see her grandma as often as she would like, Sosini loves her very much. I tell her all the time about how Grandma Jojo had not one but TWO babies to take care of when I was Sosi's age. And, my mom was so successful at raising Niki & me that when we were almost two years old, she had another kid-- on purpose! Sonia wears me out so much that I simply can't fathom the strength and energy it took to be my mother during the first few years of my life. She is truly a superwoman! Whew.... there's nothing like having your own kid to make you appreciate your mother even more than you already did.


Anyway, Sosi loves her fun Grandma Jojo and can't wait to see her this summer.

Cheer, cheer for....

...old Notre Dame, of course! Was there ever any doubt?


Sosinini got this fantastic ND cheerleader uniform for Christmas from Grandma Jenni and Grandpa Dick (who is hoping that Sonia might take to calling him "Gipper" when she starts talking). She fits into it right now, and supposedly, babies thin out a bit when they start walking, so it will probably fit for a few more months. We might need to get a bigger size for football season, though!


Sose was able to wear it to cheer on the Irish during their spring scrimmage (the Blue and Gold Game) this past weekend. The weather was a bit chilly out, so we stuck the uniform on over another outfit. Andrew hooked up the laptop to the TV to stream the game live, and Sonia liked watching the football men run around.


We're hoping that with Sonia's loud cheers (seriously, this kid can bellow "GA GA MA BA!" loud enough to wake up the echoes) will inspire the Irish on to a great season with their new coach.

Dr. Evil-- from way back in February

I just found this video from February-- I can't believe I didn't post it back then. I thought that the way Sonia was sitting in the desk chair made her look a bit like Dr. Evil (you can even see Margie, AKA Mrs. Bigglesworth, in the background).

Future Spelunker?

Yesterday, Sonia decided that she'd much rather climb into her toy cupboard than actually play with the toys.


I think she was looking for stalactites. Now that we've fixed our leaky master bathroom shower, hopefully there aren't any to be found!


"Now how do I get back out without conking my noggin?"


Phwew. Not her most graceful moment, but at least there were no tears!

Busy busy busy!

Sonia and I continue to be constantly on the go-- I can't remember the last day where we just stayed home.... We are having too much fun! I haven't taken too many pictures of those outings, though, for some reason. I think I'm too busy chatting with the moms of Sonia's little buddies. Sosini and I belong to a really, really cool play group, and we feel so lucky to have such awesome peeps to hang out with. It's so true that babies love to watch other babies, and they most definitely learn from each other.

I took these pictures of Sonia wearing her new "skinny jeans" leggings (they are a soft cotton, but they look exactly like denim), and I think she looks a bit like Jerry Lee Lewis playing "Great Balls of Fire" on her play table piano.





Driving off into the sunset in her Mini Cooper....

6 years!

Sonia helped Andrew and me celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary today by taking us to Uncle Julio's Hacienda for lunch. She impressed us with her ability to eat rice and guacamole. I think there's a bit of guac on her chin in this picture!


Dad, lemme have this chip... I promise I won't smash it into smithereens!


The waiter brought us apple juice for Sosini in this cup. Apparently, Uncle Julio's crazy grin doesn't dim while he's in space.


Sosi loved sitting in the little booster seat thingy that strapped to the chair.... Normally, when she sits in restaurant high chairs, the table is at about the same level as her chin. Today, though, she was sitting at the table like a big girl!


Thanks for 6 wonderful years of marriage, Andrew! Sosi and I both love you.

Goofing off

Sosini and I have been going non-stop this week! We just can't stay in the house when the weather is this beautiful. Sosi has decided that the outdoors is way cool, and staying in one place on a blanket is boring. It cracks me up, watching her crawl away, going on an adventure.

The other day, she was pushing her stroller like a little walker....


And then she let go and stood on her own!


She got some brand-new Pediped sandals, so I took her outside to test them out.


I love my little explorer!

11 months young: a state of the baby address

Holy moly, this baby is getting big! Sonia is creeping up on her first birthday, and I am having trouble believing this can be possible.

We're so busy these days-- now that the weather is getting warmer on a more consistent basis, we are becoming a fixture at the park. Yesterday, Sosini and I met our friends, Maritza & Sara (who is turning one year old in a week) to hang out at a beautiful grassy area. M&S brought their maltese, Killer (named that precisely because he is the exact opposite of one), and two other small dogs (a cockerpoo and a bichon mixed with something else that I can't remember) came over to our blanket to visit. Sonia thought those doggies were awesome, judging by her smiles and giggles! When they were running around, she kept crawling after them. I think she was saying, "Come back and lick me some more!"


We're in the midst of figuring out how to make the transition from formula to 100% solid food. Sonia's still a bit averse to slimy foods at times, and she does best when eating dried finger foods like cereal. I want so desperately to get away from feeding her pureed food, but she just won't eat enough finger foods to make that possible yet. Any and all advice would be welcome! I see the end of bottles in sight.... Woo hoo!


We took Sosi to the arboretum for an impromptu picnic the other day, and she loved this little flower that Andrew gave her. It got nommed a bit, but she realized it didn't taste all that good and abandoned those efforts.


This picture cracks me up-- we were swinging at the park, and she kept craning her neck so she could watch some kids running around.


Tooth #5 broke ground last week (the first tooth to the left of the top front teeth)! I don't think it had quite erupted yet when this picture was taken, but you can see the first four teeth pretty well.


Sonia continues to crawl and pull up to a standing position constantly. Every once in a while, these activities result in a noggin conking incident, and because she is still pretty darn bald, you can see every single bruise perfectly. Argh!! She recovers from head bonkings pretty quickly-- I don't think she's ever cried for longer than 15 seconds, and I'm not exaggerating one bit. The picture below was taken after she bonked her head on the coffee table, and she was smiling within 5 seconds after the picture was taken.


We're having some work done on our house right now (our master bathroom shower was installed improperly 4 years ago when the house was built, so we're ripping the moldy/leaky/cracked thing outta there and getting it done right. As I type this, Sonia is napping right through some ridiculously loud construction noise. I think I've been worried about her being a light sleeper for no reason! I love these kitty pajamas that she's wearing in the picture below.


We love you, Sosi!

Hijinks at the playground with the Nelsons

Our friends, the Nelsons, visited us on Saturday, and we had a fantastic time! Matt and Andrew went to law school together and have been friends ever since. Matt and his wife, Susan, have two beautiful daughters named Fiona (almost 4 years old) and Whitney (just turned two a couple of months ago). Sonia was simply fascinated by and smitten with Fiona and Whitney. I don't blame her! Those two girls are a ton of fun. Since the weather was so nice, we all went to Kingston Park.

Sonia and Whitney thought it was fun to stand at the bottom of the slides. Can you tell by Whitney's hair how windy it was that day? Even though the breeze was a bit much, the weather was still beautiful and we were happy to be outside.


Checking out the playground equipment with Daddy


Fiona climbed all the way to the top of this cool climbing wall (with a little help from her daddy)!


Swinging was on the agenda, of course....


Matt and Fiona dug all the way to China!


Fiona was doing well pumping her legs, but it's always nice to get a push from Mom.


Whitney and I took a Thelma & Louise picture-- the wind was wreaking havoc on our hair!


Thanks for visiting us, Nelsons! As usual, we had a wonderful time. We can't wait to see you again!

Some of Sonia's favorite activities

SWINGING! Now that the weather is starting to get nicer (at least in fits and starts), Sonia has gotten to play on the swings several times. She LOVES to swing! It never fails to make me grin like an idiot every time I see her giggling, smiling, and kicking her little legs as she swings back and forth, back and forth....




STANDING UP! Sonia's drive to pull up to a standing position is insatiable. I think sometimes, when she's standing up, she falls down on her bottom just so she can stand back up again.




BEING UPSIDE DOWN! I don't know why kids find that so hilarious, but Sonia cackles so hard that she gets the hiccups if you turn her upside down repeatedly.....

Happy Birthday to EBG!

Happy Birthday to Sosini's fabulous godmother, Emily Buser-Gonzalez (aka "Auntie" Em)!


(I had to take this picture quickly because Sonia was in the midst of pulling everything out of the pantry.... She's not in a smiley mood today, unfortunately!)

No, not this Auntie Em:


Or this Auntie Em (this one is Emily Borlik):


THIS Auntie Em!



Sonia is lucky to have Emily as her godmother, and Andrew & I are lucky to have Emily as our friend. She is gorgeous, whip-smart, blessed with an amazing ability to win all games having to do with pop culture trivia, kind, loving to her fabulous kitties, and a great counterpart to her husband, Gonzo. We can't wait to take Sosi on a road trip this summer to visit her godparents in Dublin (Ohio, not Ireland!).

One more awesome thing about Emily: she took us to see Rat Basketball at COSI. Seriously-- could Em get any cooler?


Happy birthday, Emily!