5 Months Old and Seattle

Sophia turned 5 months old this past week.  She is currently going through a growth spurt too - eating and sleeping lots!  Her favourite things currently: letting Toby lick her hands, laughing and showers (still).  She is learning to push up more with her hands, has rolled over from front to back a few times, can support herself on her knees and hands for a little while, and is learning to grab things and pull them towards herself.  

About a week and a half ago, I went to Seattle for the AAFP (American Association for Feline Practitioners) conference.  I flew out on a Thursday morning, so I had a full day of sightseeing before the conference started early on Friday morning.  I really liked Seattle - beautiful city (I think I lucked out immensely with the weather, so that may have helped).  On Thursday, I visited Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, a Chihuly glass exhibit and Bainbridge Island.  I also met up with my friend Jenn (we met at U of A) and with my other friend Melissa (vet school) - it was great to catch up with them both!  The conference was great and it was nice to get away for a little while and have some time to myself.  I actually read a book!  I missed Sophia and Jeremy a lot though - Sophia was thrilled to see me when she and Jeremy came to pick me up from the airport.  I think Jeremy was pretty thrilled too - three days is a long time to be by yourself with a 5 month old :)

Sophia at 5 months old :)

Inside Pike Place Market

Seafood for sale - didn't get to catch a fish...maybe next time!

The original Starbucks - check out the line...  Opted not to go in...

The Space Needle

Enjoying the sunshine at the top of the Space Needle

A boat filled with glass, courtesy of Chihuly, at "Chihuly Garden and Glass" exhibit, just next to the Space Needle

Arriving on the ferry to Bainbridge Island, just across the Sound from Seattle (a 45 minute ferry ride)

Sunset over the Sound

Catching up with Jenn over some yummy Italian food

It was great to see Melissa and to have a conference companion!

A Fun Weekend

Arizona is fortunately starting to cool down a little, so we have been able to take Sophia outside on walks more frequently.  Emma and Toby are pretty happy about this also, as they have been cooped up inside for the past few months.  We managed to make it to the Fountain Hills Park twice this weekend, which was great, except for all the little insects that insist on also being at the park in the evening...

We met up with our friends Alicia and Max for dinner on Saturday night at True Food Kitchen for Arizona Restaurant Week.  Sophia was very good and even took a nap while we wandered around Scottsdale Quarter/Kierland Commons.  She did wake up when we went to get Cold Stone...coincidence?

On Sunday, we met up with Justine and Andrew for brunch at the Orange Table in downtown Scottsdale.  Apparently, pancakes aren't Sophia's thing, as she slept through the entire meal.    There is a really pretty green space behind the restaurant, just next to the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, so we took some photos after brunch, once Sophia was awake.

I'm off to Seattle on Thursday for a conference, so Jeremy will be taking care of Sophia by himself for four days...fingers crossed ;)

Sophia and Daddy

Playing on her mat

Trying on sunglasses :)

Out to dinner

Alicia and Max

Whoa!  What's this stuff?!

Trip to Prescott and Four Months Old

Sophia continues to grow taller and taller!  She reached 4 months old this past Monday.  Things that she likes:  standing up, giggling when Jeremy and I make faces at her, her stroller, swimming in the pool, car rides (makes a huge change from when she was 2 months old - she hated her car seat!) and being out and about - she loves to see new things.  Things she does not like: lying on her stomach (fitting for a baby with stomach reflux...), barking dogs when she is sleeping (Toby continues to irritate her in that respect), the heat (as we all do this time of year), and getting hiccups.

My mum and I took a trip up to Prescott with Sophia last weekend to visit our family friend, Suzanne.  The drive is just about an hour and 45 minutes away from Scottsdale, and the weather is about a 15-20 degree difference.  Such a nice change!  We took a walk next to Watson Lake and then went to a restaurant in Prescott called El Gato Azul.  It was wonderful to be able to spend some time outside for a change.  After lunch, we stopped in at a candy shop and had some delicious gelato (salted caramel!)  Sophia was a very good baby for the entire trip and seemed enthralled with seeing new sights.

She is quickly outgrowing Winnie the Pooh!

Mum and Suzanne

Sophia and I near the lake

Watson Lake

Happy baby! (with her toy stoat)

Out to lunch

Sophia and Suzanne

Checking out all the candy :)

How Is August Half Over?

I really have no idea where the last two and a half weeks have gone - where did August go?!  Quite a lot has happened since our last post.  Lyndsey, my younger sister, had been taking care of Sophia most weekdays, while Jeremy and I were at work.  However, she accepted an international teaching position a few months ago, thus had to leave on August 10th for Abu Dhabi (more of that to follow in a later post)!  As a result, we've had a little bit of a change of plans during the week.  She has been going to daycare on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Her Bestamama (grandmother in Norwegian; aka: Lori, Jeremy's mom) watches her on Wednesdays and Grandma (aka: Carol, Nicola's mum), cares for her on Fridays.  The adjustment to daycare was not easy on any of us, especially for Sophia.  She acquired a lovely souvenir from her first week in the form of a nasty cold.  Needless to say, she was not a happy camper on Thursday and Friday of that week - poor little thing was very congested and was having a hard time eating, as she couldn't breathe very well out of her nose!

That weekend (Sophia with her cold and all), we packed up the car and headed north to Flagstaff for my friend (and vet school classmate) Alicia's wedding.  We brought Grandma (Carol) along for the weekend, as she graciously volunteered to take care of Sophia while we attended the wedding.  When we got up to Flagstaff, we first visited the Flagstaff Arboretum and absolutely loved spending some time outside in the cooler weather.  This was Sophia's first time ever wearing pants (trousers) and a sweatshirt!  That afternoon, we fortunately dodged some thunderstorms and helped Alicia and Max celebrate their wedding, which took place at the Flagstaff Nordic Center.  The wedding itself took place in a beautiful field and Alicia had arranged for a horse-drawn carriage to be part of the ceremony!  The reception was a lot of fun - Jeremy and I had fun playing some beanbag games (see photos below) and got to catch up with some of our other friends from Colorado.  Such a great weekend and we were thrilled to be a part of it.  Congratulations Alicia and Max!

In the car on the way to Flagstaff

Ready for a walk around the Flagstaff Arboretum

Enjoying the beautiful weather!

Beautiful wedding with a horse-drawn carriage!

Impressive!

Sophia trying out Toby as a horse

Playing dress-up - quite a headband!

3 Months Old!

Last weekend, Jeremy's Aunt Maggie, Uncle Dave, cousin Portia and Maggie's mom Elisa came to visit from California.  We went out to a local Mexican restaurant, where Sophia was a very good baby and fell asleep on my lap.  After lunch, we showed them around the fountain.  Portia had fun playing on the swing!


This week marked Sophia turning 3 months old.  She is growing so quickly!  We had a visit with the pediatrician where she weighed in at 12 lbs 3 oz (50th percentile).  She's also in the 95th percentile for length - tall baby!  She is discovering that her hands will fit into her mouth, drools all the time and is generally a much happier baby!  Sophia's favourite toy at the moment is her play mat - she loves hitting the little rattles that hang from it with her hands.  She also has managed to roll over from her stomach to her back a few times.  We take her out with us frequently, to get her used to lots of different environments.  Sophia really enjoys looking at everything and gets frustrated when she isn't sitting upright.  She is always moving (see photos below) and has been in the swimming pool a few times, which makes her very happy, since she can kick her little legs.

Sophia and Great-Aunt Maggie

Out for lunch with everyone

Portia, Maggie and Elisa

Chris, Portia and Maggie

Portia trying out the swing at Fountain Hills Park

Sophia at 3 months - notice how her legs are never staying still!

She is definitely getting quite a bit larger than Winnie the Pooh!

Lazy Sundays

We love Sundays.  They are the epitome of relaxation.  Sophia had a great day today and by that we mean that there was very little fussing and that she was fairly tolerant of us taking her out to do things.  We started the day by meeting my mum for breakfast at Flapjack's in Fountain Hills.  Since not many people are awake at 7:30am on a Sunday, we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  The weather has been overcast and rainy for the past few days - a novelty in Arizona - so we had fairly nice weather this morning.  Perfect for sitting outside on the patio at Flapjack's, followed by a walk around the Fountain Hills park.  My favourite part of the day: an older gentleman approaching us while we were having breakfast and asking, "Is that a baby?  I haven't seen one in a long time!  They still make those?"  Ah, Fountain Hills... How I love it...  This afternoon, we took Sophia to my mum's for her first official swim.  My mum had bought her a tiny bathing suit, so we had to try it out!  Sophia apparently really loves the water and was kicking her little legs over and over.  Maybe we can have her swimming by herself by the time she is two!

"Why do you get French toast and I don't?"

Swimming with Daddy

Blowing bubbles

Ten Weeks Old

Sophia is 10 weeks old today.  This week, she had her first 4th of July.  We took a trip to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM - love that acronym!).  Sophia slept through the entire thing (in her Ergo carrier of course)!  It's actually a pretty good place to take a sleeping baby, as the museum uses headphones as part of their exhibit.  Basically, when you walk up to one of the displays, the headphones wirelessly sync up to the display and begin playing music.  My favorite exhibition was the Artist Gallery, which held instruments that were donated or loaned by various famous musicians, such as John Lennon's piano and Carlos Santana's guitar.  We only made it through part of the museum - still lots to explore another time!  No fireworks for us this year - perhaps next year when she is a little older!

In other news, Sophia had her first set of vaccinations about a week ago.  Not a pleasant experience for either of us...(Jeremy escaped the ordeal, as he was at work).  She actually did well at the doctor's office this time around, up until she received three injections into her little legs - I heard a cry I have never heard from her before!  Fortunately, the wailing was short-lived and she was okay until a little later in the day.  Around 4pm, she got a low-grade fever and was pretty fussy/upset for the entire night.  None of us got much sleep that night.  Luckily, we have another two months before we have to repeat the process!

These photos are from yesterday - we had a nice, quiet day at home :)