Breakfast with Santa

Is this a classic first time Santa photo or what?!

Is Santa even in this picture? Oh, wait...there he is!

Grandma Sue isn't scary like Santa!

All smiles with the toys

Sophia happily chatting with the finches in the lobby

Grandma B's nursing home sponsored a Santa Breakfast this weekend. Sophia, who is usually cheerful and friendly (sometimes overly) to strangers was having no part in this Santa Claus stuff. Her cousins did happily oblige though, so at least some of the pictures turned out cute! The picture of her with the Jolly Old Elf really just breaks my heart. I've heard of some parents who think it's cute and whatever, but truly it did kind just make me sad. We do have another Santa Breakfast scheduled in a couple weeks at the Knights Hall, so we'll see if we fare any better then!

I must say again how in awe I am of my child at this stage in the game. I forget that they truly are such sponges! I mentioned in the Family Outings post that Sophia saw and was fascinated by some eagles in Minnesota. When she saw the finches she was again thrilled as she giggled, pointed and bounced at their very sight. She continued to point at them and say "eagle, eagle". Although I tried to explain species and class to her, I think it was a little over her head. But hey, at least she's making connections! ;)

Happy Little Reader

Papa Leo and those wacky dogs!

Aunt Cathy reads as Sophia points out pictures

Aunt Pam is happy to oblige too!

Sophia is a definitely one happy little reader from morning until night. The first thing she does after waking up in the morning, literally, is to grab the closest book and force it upon you. I'm not sure if this is a blessing or a curse! ;) Actually, it is wonderful to see her so excited by reading and learning new words. She is consistently adding new words to her vocabulary and I just giggle every time I hear a new one come out of her mouth! She also responds accurately when asked about the sounds of a dog, a cow, a duck, and sometimes cat (she used to be really good about that one, but maybe she hasn't been around Grandma Sue's cat enough recently!)

In the video Sophia is reading Go Dog, Go to herself. It's been hard to capture her "reading" on video but it is maybe the cutest thing ever! This video isn't quite a perfect sampling, but it's still pretty darn cute. My favorite part is when she scratches the page...that's the part I always use my finger to imitate the climbing of the dogs on the ladder--she does it twice, both times on the same page. Notice how she reads and points just like a pro!

The Heart Attack Method

Although the video is a little dark, you should be able to get this gist of her now preferred way of moving down a flight of stairs. She has yet to injure herself, but I swear it makes a mother a little (okay maybe a lot) nervous!!!

Stripey Little Elf

Well, seriously this outfit could not be passed up. I mean really. It is a full body sweater, with a hood...LOVE IT! I only hope that one day Sophia has similar clothing taste to me (although I'm sure my brother is cringing at the thought) because otherwise she is going to look back at some of these pictures and be mortified. She really did just look like a happy little elf toddling around the house, just too cute.

In this video you'll see Sophia happily playing with her puzzle and then singing and dancing along as the music starts.

Family Outings

Our first stop was Oxbow Park, a nature park that is home to many of Minnesota's native animals. We saw mountain lion, a lynx, bison, elk, deer, eagles, and various other snakes and birds. It is November in Minnesota so everyone was bundled up!

Sophia was content for a little while in the stroller but soon took to gazing by foot!

Little Red Nose!

Sophia and Aunt Ellyn looking at the bald eagles. Sophia even said eagle a few times. She also told AE that there were big birds in the cages by saying 'big bird' and pointing a few times. Wow, I didn't know she knew all that!

Brenden getting a lift from his mom, Louise!

We were all fascinated by the cougar who was getting fed as we arrived. It was pretty neat to watch it eat such big hunks of meat, but also a little gross.

After Oxbow and a lunch of yummy leftovers we headed to the bowling alley. We divided into three teams according to birthdays. My team won by a landslide, naturally!! ;)

No, Sophia the crane move is only for Karate, not bowling.

So many colors to choose from!

Ellyn and Owen relaxing

Louise asked for a print out of the scores so she could tally the totals herself! To her disappointment though, her team still lost!

Fun Times

This is Sophia in her "room" (AKA the closet). The 4 of us, Shelby, Sophia, Charlie and Myself, all had to share one room and with Sophia being such a light sleeper we decided it best to put the pack-n-play in the closet and see how it worked. And, surprisingly it was PERFECT! We didn't latch the door and in the morning she would push it open and call out to us to come get her.

Once Evan finally talked us into blackjack, we couldn't get enough! Uncle Owen kept us in line and instructed us how to play according to "The System" and although we were just playing with chips (no real money) everyone had a great time! Shelby and I were fairly new to the game and really honed our skills!

I also played Dominoes for the first time. We played regular style, Mexican train, and then Shelby and Jenny enjoyed just stacking them up and knocking them over too. Mexican Train was the most fun for me!

Sophia learned how to hoist herself onto the piano bench all by herself. We were entertained by her musical stylings all weekend!

Maren and Sophia hug it out after a long day of play!

Happy Thanksgiving

Sophia and her new buddy Jake--if it were up to her, she'd climb right up on in there to cuddle!

Charlie putting the squash down on Shelby and Connor's DS challenge

Everyone pitched in to help cook...here's Shelby chopping chestnuts for the stuffing!

Sophia and Aunt Jenny were two peas in a pod!

We traveled to the great state of Minnesota for Thanksgiving this year. All in all we had a wonderful time and couldn't have been happier to spend this time with family. We managed to leave just before 5am on Wednesday and it really worked out well. We stopped for breakfast in Des Moines and arrived at our destination right about noon. Which, as it turned out was perfect because poor Aunt Ellyn had just returned from a trip to the ER resulting in 5 stitches! Yowser! This way Sophia got acclimated to her sleeping conditions, which just so happened to be in the closet and we got to help prepare both Wed. and Thursday night meals.

Pumpkin Pie face! This was dessert, of course, and Sophia ate it up!