Santa!

Apologies to those who already saw this on Facebook, but I wanted to post the picture of Sosi's triumphant Santa visit on the blog as well. She was such a good girl! No smiles, but that was just because she was way too interested in all of the kids and lights and colors and sounds and smells and Mommy jumping up and down trying to get her attention and.... and.... and.... well, you can see that any baby would be filled to the brim with curiosity.

Sonia asked for teeth, hair, and a longer dress for Christmas. Why do they sell baby dresses without the cute little underpants to wear underneath?!? I do love the tights with mary jane shoes painted onto them. That Santa was awesome-- real beard and everything!

Curious Baby at Noodles & Co. -- a photo essay

The world looks very different when you start sitting in a high chair while out in public!

Finally.... Time for the curious baby to eat her own lunch!

Comfy overalls

Due to her rotund little belly, Sonia currently fits into 12 month pants in girth, but not in length. When she isn't wearing pajamas, she seems to enjoy one-piece rompers/jumpsuits and overalls. Denim overalls are extremely cute, but they don't seem wildly comfy when it comes to naptime. So, I was really excited when I found a pair of fleece overalls, and get this-- they have a CAT on them! Comfy, warm, and feline-themed.... how could they possibly get any better?

They could be some other color than WHITE!!!

Oh well. I'm prepared to use stain remover spray and bleach until the overalls fall apart in my hands (or until Sonia outgrows them!). These overalls are just that awesome.

Sosi seems to like them, too. Here's the budding maestro playing her piano while sporting her comfy overalls:


Hey, ice-skating snowman-- would you mind if I gave your leg a little nom-nom-nom?

This season's top fashion

Today, Sonia is modeling the crown jewel of the hand-knitted collection by top designer Carol Murray. On the stunningly beautiful sweater, purple is presented in two different shades-- light on top, dark on bottom (which we all know is very slimming). Accenting the purple is a pop of pink, which coordinates nicely with a pair of pink pants, white socks, and black mary jane shoes (not very visible due to the poor photography skills of the supermodel's mother). We foresee a bright future ahead for this talented designer. Carol is on her way to the top!

The model got a little crazy and flashed her belly at the photographers.... Risqué!

The matching hat has the most beautifully intricate knitted details.... Carol's incredible skill has no rival in the fashion world!

More Thanksgiving pictures

Between my post on Friday and Niki's post yesterday, I think we have shared most of the best pictures from our Stringer-Malahowski Thanksgiving in Nashville. Here are the last few that I can't pass up posting....

One last Gymboree picture-- the look of wide-eyed wonder & glee kills me!

Speaking of glee, the beautiful Charbunkle loved playing in the leaves!

Sonia thought the sun was awfully bright!

The next two pictures are from the car rides.... Andrew tried to see if Sonia wanted to drive for a couple of hours, but she didn't seem interested. (No need to call Child Protective Services-- we were parked when I took this picture!)

We fed her in the car seat for only one of the feedings while traveling (she eats every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and we needed to stop for gas and food anyway, so we mostly fed her during pit stops). Sosi decided she wanted to hold her own bottle (this lasted for about 3 seconds until she got distracted). Goofball!

Sosi at the gym

I swear they're not paying me to say this, but Sonia LOVES Gymboree! She has been to Gymboree 4 times now (twice with just me, once with me & Andrew, and once with me & Niki), and The Great Sosini really enjoyed herself.

Andrew took Sonia to class on a Saturday, and he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. I was happy that I got a chance to take some pictures while Andrew helped Sosi do each activity.

Sosi really likes the rocking rowboat, but she never wants to sit down in it-- she likes to stand!

Guess who loves bubbles?

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Niki and I took Sosi to class. This crazy kid had more fun than should be allowed. Parachute time is always a bit hit!

BUBBLES!!!

Sonia thinks that the sheer fabric scarves are way fun. Goofball!!!

Thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving Day, Andrew, Sonia, and I packed up the car and drove down to Nashville. We cooked our actual Thanksgiving dinner today (Friday), and by "we", I mean "Andrew with a little help from me & Niki". Corey and I washed about a billion dishes, and Niki did a lot of coordinating and gestating. Niki is now 37 weeks pregnant. Eeeee!!!! I was secretly hoping that perhaps li'l Peter-in-the-belly might make an appearance while we were here, but he seems to be pretty happy to continue cooking a while longer. I did get to feel him kicking and squirming in Niki's tummy, though.

Within a few hours of our arrival, Charlotte roped Uncle Andrew (which she says kind of like "an-joo") into reading her a bunch of stories.

Charbunkle and Sosini have fun playing together (well, Charlotte attempts to show Sonia how to play with all of the toys while Sonia noms on them).

We dressed The Great Sosini up in Charlotte's old Thanksgiving outfit. Hee! She's a little turkey.

Sosi is still a huge fan of crazy Uncle Corey and the silly songs he sings.

Dan and Alicia stopped by to snuggle Sonia and tickle Charlotte.

Tomorrow, Niki and I are leaving Charlotte to hang out with her daddy and her Uncle Drew-Dawg (whoops, "Anjoo") and taking Sonia to Gymboree. Niki wants to see Sonia going bananas over the bubbles and parachute in person! We're also going to try to see Joslyne & Zozo, too. Gotta pack in as much fun as possible-- the next time I come here (in January), I'll be alone (I'm leaving Sosi with Andrew for a couple of days) because I'm coming to help out after li'l PJ is born.

Spoon fail

I had read in a couple of different places that if your baby tries to grab the spoon while you're feeding her, you should just give her a spoon of her own to hold. She'll be totally adorable and bang it on the highchair tray while you happily spoon the rest of her food into her mouth (which will open just like a baby bird's in eager anticipation of the nutrition you are providing).

Maybe I should have had Sonia read those same works of fiction....


Daddy-Daughter standoff (this was the first, but I'm sure it will certainly not be the last!):


At this point, Andrew declared FAIL on the extra spoon idea, did a little mid-feeding cleanup, and continued to try nourishing our daughter. Sonia had other ideas.


Oh well.... She's OBVIOUSLY not starving!!!!

Just like a big girl

Sonia is now sitting virtually unassisted (I have to put a pillow on the floor behind her, though, because when she's done sitting, she just falls backwards!), so we decided it was time that she start riding in shopping carts without her carrier. She loved it!!! It reminded me of this blog post that Niki did when Charlotte first got to ride in the shopping cart. Hee hee!


It was near the end of the day, so Sonia wasn't in the smiliest of moods-- I wanted to get her to smile for this last picture, so I was singing Ob-La-Di for her, and a Jewel employee walked by and laughed at me. I hope she wasn't laughing at my singing abilities! FYI, I think I put the shopping cart cover thingy on backwards. Oh well.

Sonia and Kellen

Sonia loved meeting another potential future boyfriend a few days ago-- handsome li'l Kellen Burke! He is the son of two ND Band members: my class of '99 clarinet buddy, Christy (Veldhuizen) Burke and class of '00 trombone player Andrew Burke. The whole family (including Kellen's older brother, Brandon, and older sister, Kathleen) were in town, visiting Christy's family, so Sosi and I trekked west to Elburn to hang out. The ensuing cuteness was epic. It's funny-- I remember us laughing about how much smaller Kellen is than Sonia when we were there, but in the pictures, they look pretty close to the same size. Huh.

Kellen is a little more than a month younger than Sonia, if I remember correctly. They were both rockin' overalls that day!

Brandon & Kathleen did crafts while the two lovebirds were hanging out on a blanket together.

Sonia, are you getting a little fresh? Kellen doesn't seem to mind....

Sonia loved Kellen's Nuby "Bug-a-Loop"! She cut a tooth not long after this, actually.

Kellen, do you want your bug-a-loop back?

Shoo, paparazzi! Give us some privacy! Kellen and I are holding hands, can't you see?