Practice Makes Perfect

Whoa, now...steady!

Yeah, I'm using the walker, whatdya have to say about it?

Almost there!

Look at that power-walking posture!

All on her own!

Sophia has been consistently walking since Sunday...hoorah! It is not her primary means of transportation yet, but it will be soon. If she's already standing, she'll walk, if she's not she'll crawl. She is really pretty good, though and lots of people have commented on how stable she has become so quickly, so that's good. She still loves to use the walker and will hold my hand sometimes too...very cute.

Triple Threat

Hello, Babies!

Aubrey doing the stiff-arm dance!

Lauren chillin' in the swing

For a day with no plans we sure kept ourselves busy! I did some intense cleaning around the house and still managed to get some visiting done! Sophia and I visited Jill and the babies, who are just growing so big, and had a great time! I thought Sophia would be smothering them with her 'love' but instead she petted each of them and went about her business. She was really more interested in playing with Jill's candles and chasing poor Addie (the dog!). Although, once Lauren fell asleep in the swing, Sophia was then interested in trying to touch her and push the swing...typical.

Cold Weather Changes

Sophia LOVES to be outside...sometimes I think I've created a monster! She has even started crawling to the doors and grunting and pointing to let me know it's time to play outside and she does not care if it is cold or raining! Aaaaah! I will definitely have to invest in a warmer coat for myself to accomodate her this winter! I wanted her to be an outdoors girl, I think it's important to play outside and appreciate nature, but with this turn from summer into fall, it reminds me how much I hate the cold! Plus, I've had a dickens of a time trying to find her a hat/mitten set so far. I know more will be coming into stores soon, but since she sucks her thumb, her hand is always wet and therefore always cold! She's got one set, but I just don't think that's going to cut it. I am also on the lookout for a winter coat and snowpants. I've looked at quite a few coats from various stores and it's hard to decide....so if any of you experienced moms have any good advice on this topic, let me know!

We have also moved our Baby Boot Camp classes indoors to a local mall. The mall is very, maybe a little too, kid friendly! ;) They have a bunch of play places and lots of candy machines and coin-operated cars. Luckily Sophia has no clue what candy is and doesn't know the cars actually move, with that I've bought myself a bit more time! Here she is looking at the pretty colors and turning the knobs...fun! Below is the big playground in the mall, which is a great alternative in cold weather but it gets very busy!!!

But, if nothing else, she can always stay inside and play dolls with Daddy! I mean seriously, how cute is this picture!

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! :)