Oktoberfest

Aaaah, we've spent many a Friday night at the Knights hall, but this one was the best one so far! It was Oktoberfest night, a yearly tradition, and although I have apparently been before, I guess they just weren't as memorable as this year! ;) The buffet was a delicious spread of various German cuisine and there was even a real, live German band in full lederhosen regalia! Sophia had a great time, not only because she was surrounded by her family, but she was really getting into the dancing!

I don't know what that thing is called, but it takes some lung power that's for sure!

Sophia enjoyed pushing Angie around in her stroller

Three generations of silly fun!

Papa Leo with the two youngest granddaughters...aren't they cute!? It's amazing how dark Sophia's eyes are and how light, light blue Angie's are...don't ya just love genetics!

Here's a little snippet of fun dancing with mommy...unfortunately the video doesn't capture her little giggles!

Frankenbaby

I have had a few things to post and went to the computer several times today but never actually managed to do any thing to my blog! But...I guess it was worth the wait, because Sophia produced some winning video tonight! I will post my other goodies, although nothing that lives up to this I'm sure, tomorrow. I have been wanting her to walk so bad, but I must admit, I'm getting a little verklempt...talk amongst yourselves...

GObama

Missouri is one of the most important swing states during every election, and the voting citizens of Missouri have chosen the winner of those elections every time. So, lucky for us, we're in the middle of controversy and always have candidates coming through. This is Obama's second trip to the KC area (although the first was before he was even the nominee) and he succeeded in pulling big crowds! He began his day in St. Louis where he drew a record number of people for any political supporter ever (over 100,000) and ended in KC with an equally substantial number of about 75,000 people.

Our group started out small with Chris (Cody's friend), Cody, Pam, Julie and Me....
and grew ever bigger when RaeAnn and her friends met up with us too!
So, I know I shouldn't even show pictures of these crazies because it will only encourage them, but sometimes we need to be reminded how un-crazy the rest of us are...besides when you're waiting in line for about 3 hours you have to entertain yourself some how!
The Phelps family is famous is this area as the "Reverend" himself has fathered dozens of children and they all go around protesting things like soldier's funerals, theatre productions, concerts and the like. They even traveled to Wyoming to protest the funeral of Matthew Shepherd a number of years ago.
Sorry, but this was my favorite sign. Again, just remember how stable the rest of the world seems now.
This is the crowd heading towards the speaking area, the large phallic symbol like a beacon in the sky.
(You shouldn't be surprised that when there aren't political rallies here, it is a hot spot for illegal activities for the gay men!)
Look...snipers!
We put RaeAnn on top of Chris to snap the hottest pics! We weren't lucky enough to get into the stage area, we had to huddle with the masses on the outside listening through the loud speakers! But, we were directly in front of Obama and the stage so RaeAnn was able to see and get some pictures for not only us, but the people around us too! LOL!

Aaaaah, but I always find a way....we were right by the road leading up to the monument and wouldn't ya know it...that's the road that Obama's motorcade used. I made friends with the nice Secret Service agent in front of us and she gave us some inside info. Of course there was lots of guessing and winking involved b/c technically she's not allowed to tell us anything! Obama was in the fourth car, the first SUV...
Here he is waving from the back passenger seat. When you zoom in you can see him really well, but I'm not that technically advanced....so, when technical support gets back to me the enhanced picture, I'll put it up!

At the end of the evening we were worn out, fired up, and ready to eat! We had a great time and hopefully made some history while we were at it!

Fall Fun

It was a beautiful Saturday morning that was supposed to be filled with pumpkins and other fall treats, but the children had other things in mind! Julie, Massimo, and Luca invited us to hang at a local festival with some of their friends, but when we got there, the older kids had a freak out about ponies, lions, and really any thing else they could think of! Luca and Sophia were happy as clams to tool around in the strollers, but we seriously didn't make it past the display of pumpkins...so we took as many pictures as we could! We ended up at a local coffee shop instead so at least the morning was not a complete loss! :)

Simple Pleasures

New Things

Today I had a moment when I looked at Sophia and realized that my tiny baby was gone. It was very sad. I now know why people want multiple children....you just want to hang on to that baby stage! ;) She is growing and changing and learning so rapidly right now and it is so fun to watch. Here are some new things that she is really into right now.

• utensils: She loves using a fork or spoon. Sometimes she will only eat if she has one. Now, mind you, she really doesn't have any control over them at all, but she tries her little heart out.
• slides: She discovered the slide in a recent playground visit and is now completely hooked. It makes for a tired mommy but a happy baby.
• words: Her new words include meow, vroom, ei-ei-o, and me. She is using me as a both a question and a demand. She will point to something and say me...sometimes meaning "can I have it" and other times meaning "give it to me now!"
• playground: Sophia has always loved the playground but now if she sees one she will squeal, point, and bounce until we get there. God forbid if we actually attempt to pass it by without stopping.
• foods: We haven't introduced many new foods lately, as she's really had most of the basics. We did give her eggs last weekend though and they were a HUGE hit. Her current favorites also include olives, bananas and blueberries. She loves most vegetables really and was feeding herself spinach by the fist full last week. She still will not eat chicken, no matter how it's prepared.
• books: Her favorite book by far is Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar. It is a book that is just like the song and has 3D cookies on every page...it calms her down or pleases her in any situation and is a staple in the diaper bag. Most books we read she loves, but there are a few that get rejected every time.

We are still waiting for her to walk but she did take a few steps last week. That was it though. Charlie is really pressuring her to walk while I'm not around, loving isn't he!?! ;)

Oh the Shame of It

Oh so shameful...it has been 2 weeks since my last post. How did I let it get this out of hand? I had people there for me, reminding me: it's time to post they said, but I fell off the wagon and you, my faithful, missed out on so many memories.

To make it up to you I sat down and worked through dinner (and Heroes, thank God for DVR) to bring you the updates of Sophia. In the last two weeks I have taken 144 pictures. Yes, a sickness, I know. But here are the best of the lot...I hope you enjoy. One last note to mention, I have listed them in reverse chronological order so to start from the beginning you will have to scroll all the way down--in fact, you'll probably even have to go to 'older posts' to see the first post...so sorry. I could have done it the other way, but part of my sickness is that I could not destroy the order that they are already in...so that if I had actually been updating regularly, they would stay in that order. I know this is confusing and you don't really care, but I do. So, thank you and enjoy! ;)