Baby's First Christmas

Sophia's introduction to Christmas began during our Thanksgiving trip when we took her and Katherine to see Santa. Sophia stared at Santa for about 3 seconds...and then the terror set in! She saw Santa 2 more times this year, and she had the same reaction each time. For Katherine, the terror was instantaneous, and I have a feeling it'll be the same for Sophia next year. Aunt Traice and Gramma drove up on the Sunday before Christmas. Although Sophia hadn't seen Aunt Traice in a couple of months, the two hit it off immediately. Sophia thinks everything Aunt Traice does is totally entertaining.
Here's a video of Aunt Traice dropping leftover Halloween candy into a bowl, and although Sophia was battling a case of the hiccups, she giggled every time!

We spent Christmas Eve in Napa at Aunt Susie and Uncle Greg's house. We were excited to get Sophia together with my cousin Erica's 2 boys, who are both under the age of 3.The kids didn't really want anything to do with one another, and Sophia was far more interested in chasing the cat around. Oh well, maybe next year they'll have more fun together. Sophia definitely looked cute in the Christmas outfit my BFF Jennie gave her!
Daddy came home from work at about 10:30pm on Christmas Eve. We woke up bright and early on Christmas morning to see what gifts Santa had delivered.

Sophia had a great time pulling her gifts out of her stocking.
Sophia's first gift was from Gramma. She had surprised us all by refinishing the old rocking ram that my grandfather gave me for my first Christmas (it is a ram rather than a horse in honor of my astrological sign of Aries)
Santa must have seen what a good girl Sophia was, because she got lots of presents. It would take me forever to list everything she received, but one of her favorites is a toy piano from Moyses.
She was also really excited to receive a toy Elmo from Sharky, one of Daddy's U2 buddies.

On Christmas day, we drove to the Bay Area to Aunt Sandi and Uncle Mike's house. We met Grandpa and the rest of the Caretto clan there. The only rule in Aunt Sandi's house was that there weren't any rules. Sophia was allowed to touch and/or break whatever she fancied. She went straight for the digital camera, but fortunately she didn't break it.
Gramma stayed one extra day before heading back home. Sophia and Trent enjoyed the last bit of spoiling by sharing Gramma's toast.
I think Sophia was a little overwhelmed by her first Christmas, but hopefully she'll be more aware of what's going on next year. She is definitely enjoying all the new toys and books she received, and is looking darn cute in her new clothes!

Like Mother Like Daughter

I know the entry about Sophia's first Christmas is long overdue, but I'm having some technical difficulties getting the pictures from Gramma's camera onto my computer. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the gift Sophia gave her Gramma.
The first pictures are of me with my mom, followed by pictures of me and Sophia.




And here is Gramma trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears after she opened her gift:

Blackmail

The other day I realized that we didn't have any naked baby pictures of Sophia to use as blackmail for when she becomes a way too cool teenager. So, off went the diaper and out came the camera. Sophia loved this new freedom... ...and proudly showed off her adorable love handles...
...but then she scrunched up her face and tilted her pelvis forward. By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late:

I think that will be the last of our nude photo shoots!

10 months

It's official -we now have a toddler in the house! Between cruising along the furniture, using her push toys, and taking a few steps on her own, Sophia can now get just about anywhere. Her favorite destinations are the Christmas tree and the the front door (where we have some bells hanging) Here's a picture of her admiring the garland on the Christmas tree:

Her favorite activity seems to be making messes. She loves to "organize" the tupperware
empty the drawers in the office
and help sort the mail
Sophia can now clap and dance, and she's been trying to make what I call "indian noises" (she covers and uncovers her mouth while yelling). She's developing into a very generous little girl who loves to share her snacks with the rest of the family. She'll go around in a circle and carefully place a cracker in Mommy's mouth, Daddy's mouth and Trent's mouth. We've been trying to discourage her from feeding Trent, but so far it doesn't seem to be working. Our efforts to keep her away from boys haven't been working either. Last week she made out with our neighbor's 2 year old grandson - he hugged and kissed her while she licked his cheek!

And I can't end the post without sharing this picture. Trent was a little jealous and wanted in on the action!

The Adventure Begins

SOPHIA'S WALKING!!!!

Let the baby proofing begin!

Poor Baby!

Our sweet little girl has come down with the worst cold. She has tears streaming down her cheeks, snot streaming down her nose and chin, and if you can call a cough cute, Sophia's got one. She also has a rash on her face that seems to be spreading to her legs and backside. She's still sleeping great at night and during the day, but she wakes up every 10 minutes or so to cough, then she'll whimper, roll over and go back to sleep. It's so sad! Amazingly, she's still her sweet self and can't help but giggle when Mommy plays peek-a-boo or when Daddy tries to sing Neil Diamond Christmas songs! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Uhnn Tiss Uhnn Tiss Uhnn Tiss