Top 10

Here are some highlights from our week thus far:

Alex's top 10 favorite moments

1. The past 2 days, before her bedtime, Sofia has crawled into my lap and fallen asleep. She hasn't fallen asleep in my arms. I love it!
Tonight, she took a nap from 8:00-9:30pm and I put her to bed since Syd had a basketball game. I rocked her and put her in her crib. Although she wasn't asleep, she just sat there so sweetly, I said goodnight, left and she fell to sleep all by herself.

2. Sofia has started patting her face with a napkin to get food off- like a 45 year old woman at English tea.
3. She has started greeting her favorite people at the door with a huge smile on her face and screams of excitement.
4. Sofia now says 'please' and 'thank you'. A lady at the library opened the door for her and she politely said 'thank you.' The lady thought it was darling, I did too!

5. Sofia slept for 14 hours last night.

6. She loves talking on the phone so much, today she picked up the tv remote control and started a conversation. It lasted a good 5 minutes. She has also been known to talk to bananas as well.
7. Our sweet girl sat through me getting a pedicure without making a peep. When it was her turn to have her nails painted, she said "No!" She did, however, enjoy the massage chair and didn't want to leave.
8. Sofia is great with utensils, the problem is she might be a bit too rough. This week, I noticed fork marks in the table where she had 'stabbed' her pasta.

9. Right after I went to the restroom, Sofia threw her shoe into the toilet. It was before I had flushed.
10. Sofia doesn't like to see other babies cry. When we were eating lunch today, there was a little boy crying in his high chair. She got of her booster seat, walked over to him and said 'uh oh'. I think that was her way of appeasing him.

To all the mamas out there, does anyone have any thoughts on vaccinations and autism? There is an article about it in the current TIME magazine. My neighbor has advised me strongly to wait on the MMR vaccination. I have tried researching the issue myself but there is so much conflicting data out there, I'm not sure how to feel about it. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Friday, I leave for California. Sofia and Syd will be spending the weekend enjoying each others company. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my mama, Danielle and Georgean. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is the Jackson Brown concert- the reason for our trip. Don't ask.

I'll let you know how the Harris family fares as we go our separate ways this weekend.

Have a glorious week and an even better weekend. Hasta luego muchachitos! Besos!

if you're happy and you know it

Thursday, Sofia had her 18 month well check. I am happy to report that she is catching up in both weight and size for her age. She is still in the 25th percentile for her weight, just 23lbs, but she is in the 50th percentile for her height. She grew 2 inches in 2 months! She behaved very well at the appointment and was so very brave when she got her shots. She didn't even cry!

When we got home from the doctor's, Sofia wanted to play dress up and since she had been such a big girl for me, I allowed her to play with my shoes. For weeks, she has been sneaking my stilettos from the closet eventhought she knows she isn't supposed to but Friday was special so she had a free-for-all. Amazingly enough, Sofia walked without any trouble in my size 10, 5 inch heels that she managed to put them on herself. She walked all around the living room without falling once. Ladies and gentlemen, this little girl is destined for the catwalk, she's a natural.

strutting her stuff big girl what a pro
After the fashion show, Sofia and Isabella played 'princess' at the park. They both loved the swings and Sofia giggled the whole time I was pushing her. She especially loved when the wind blew as she in the air. It was entirely too hot outsides so after the park, we went home and the 2 princesses played in the bathtub.

Princess Sofi

bff
Saturday, I was out all day looking at condos with my brother so Sofia and Syd had a father/daughter day. Syd is a precious daddy. He went out of his way to ensure that Sofia had fun. They danced all morning long to MJ, went to the indoor park, walked around the neighborhood and had a grand ol' time. Next weekend, Syd and Sof will be spending alot of alone time together while I am in California and I have no doubt that they will be just fine without me.
That night, we went to Joaquin's 2nd birthday party. Sofia had the time of her life at the party, mainly because everything was just her size. She found a tiny lawn chair that she could pick up and carry. She made it her duty to move it every 5 minutes and she did that for a good hour. Afterwards, she went to the loft to play with all the tricycles and toys. She loved that. She also jumped on the mini trampoline, played in Joaquin's 'house', and towards the end of the night, she found Ginger, the family dog. Sofia fell in love with their dog and proceeded to strangle the poor thing all night long. The dog was very well with kids so all she would do was wiggle around, trying to escape the death grip. Sofia loved the dog and surprisingly, so did Syd. He has always vowed to never have dogs since he has a fear of them, but I don't think he would mind this one.

sweet ride Her obsession. We must get one now.

playing house Happy 2nd birthday, big boy! poor, poor Ginger
Sofia's newest best friend, I'm not sure if the feelings were mutual
After church today, we went home to rest up. Then, Sofia went to my cousin's house for a few hours so Syd and I could go on a date. It was wonderful as always, to spend some time with my love, and Sofia enjoyed herself with the primos.

We have been quite busy this Memorial Day weekend, and we've got more planned for tomorrow. Time to get some rest, hope you all have a great day tomorrow, remembering the men and women who have fallen for our freedom!

Uno.5 and loving it

Today marks Sofia's 18 month birthday, happy birthday sweet girl!

To celebrate Sofia's special half birthday, we went to the pool for the first time this summer. Yes, with the 94 degree heat Houston has experienced for the last 2 days, we needed to cool off so we headed to Lifetime. Sofia wasn't really into the swimming itself- she did enjoy the life jacket, playing in the sand and baking in the sun.

look Mom, just my size

After our day at the pool, we treated Sofia to an Astros game. I know, it's the perfect gift for an 18 month old! She enjoyed running around, eating ball park food, dancing during the 7th inning stretch and joining in the thunderous applauses that occurred sporadically through the game (she thought they were clapping for her). We even let her stay up till 9:30 which is a good 30 minutes past her bedtime so I must say that Sofia had a fun-filled half birthday.

Sofia was more interested in the miniature water bottle she found than in the picture

This week, Sofia has decided that her dolls need a bath. What does "bathe" mean to her? Throwing her dolls in the toilet and washing them off. I know, all kids do it. When I catch her in the act, I always laugh, then realize that she has ruined one of her precious baby dolls. There is no way to salvage anything that has fallen in the toilet so I do what any normal parent does: First I take a picture, then I get a trash bag, cover my hands, remove it and throw it away. We are down to 3 baby dolls. My only method of prevention is to keep the bathroom door shut so let's hope she doesn't find a way to open that door otherwise, she can kiss those dolls bye bye.

good intentions

bad outcome

Sofia has also been talking like crazy. We have very interesting conversations, today was no exception. I asked her how old she was and she said, "two." I don't know who taught her that but my little precious is a bit ahead of herself. I said, "No, Sofia, you're one." I said, "one, one, one" but she wouldn't repeat it. She repeats everything we say, whether we like it or not, but the one thing I want her to say- she won't. I changed my tactics and told her to repeat "uno" and she did. So today, on her 1.5 birthday, Sofia has learned that she is in fact, uno, not dos.

playtime

plant time

In just a year and a half, we have created precious, unforgettable memories that we will cherish forever. Being such an easy-going, joyful little girl, Sofia has made our job incredibly easy.

Our continual prayer, Proverbs 22:6

birthday bash.

This week, it seems like Sofia's talking has improved dramatically. She is now forming sentences and although 80% of what she says is incomprehensible, we get the gist of what she is saying. She has quite the little personality, sometimes she will say something and then chuckle to herself, it's darling! She has also perfected the art of mimicking so we have to watch what we say. I just love her sweet little voice!

Here's a video I made at my parents', can you understand our little chatterbox?

This week we have also experienced a change in Sofia's sleeping pattern. She had been waking up between 8:30 and 9am for the last few months but this week, she made a change for the better. Sofia prefers a 10:00am wake up time these days. The past few months, when Sofia would wake up, she would cry for me to come get her out of her crib but this week she did something different. Monday morning, I went into Sofia's room at 10:15 to see what she was up to and I found her awake, giggling and talking to herself. She awoke happily and waited patiently for us to come get her to start her day. We are so proud that she has learned to self soothe.

Happy girl!

Thursday, Friday AND Saturday were spent celebrating birthdays with 3 very special people in our life. Thursday, we celebrated Sofia's Godmother, Laura's birthday, Friday, we went out to dinner with Adam, Liz's boyfriend AND Sofia's Godfather, for a belated birthday fiesta and Saturday we went to our cousin, Waldo's birthday party.

Friday at P.F. Changs, Sofia sat in a booster seat and did great! She has grown accustom to her Stokke high chair at home, which is essentially a normal chair, it's juts got a chest harness to keep her from tumbling out. She protests when we put her in the standard ones all restaurants have plus, she has turned into quite the escape artist these days so she ends up standing in them, begging to be taken out. We tried the booster and she was an angel all night. People don't understand how hard it is to keep a toddler entertained and happy through an hour and a half dinner, it's work! Luckily, chop sticks make for a great toy and Sofia played contently while we waited for the food. We had a great night with the fam!

Big girl chair, big girl pose?

Saturday, Sofia played all day at Waldo's house with Isabella. With Missy being a kindergarten teach and having 2 kids of her own, their house has more toys than FAO Schwartz. In particular, Sofia enjoyed playing in the sand and playing with Aevary. After she started eating the sand, we took her inside and she found Aevary (her 8 month old cousin who is now bigger than her). Sofia gave her a bottle, shared toys with her and loved on her. While Sofia and Aeva were playing, the
2 yr. olds were having a birthday party in Isa's room. Turns out, it wasn't just Waldo's birthday, it was everyone's birthday so they took turns singing to one another and had a tea party. They invited Sofia and she enjoyed them for some cucumber cake and chocolate milk. How precious is that?

Sofia has her 18 month well check this week. I can't believe she is almost 1.5 yrs. old! We'll keep you update so until then, we send each of you love. kisses. hugs.

If you look closely, you can see Sofia's rockin' some pearls and a bracelet

Mamma Mia

This Mother's Day weekend, my sweet family and I shared lots of quality time and I loved every minute of it! I am thankful for my perfect baby girl and amazing husband!

Friday, Sofia got ready for summer- we went to the mall and she picked out 3 new pairs of sandals, sunglasses and some cute summer outfits. She marveled at her new shoes for hours; if you haven't yet picked up on it, my 17.5 month old daughter has a shoe addiction. Can you blame her?

Later that day, we left for San Marcos for Tosha's graduation party. We were planning on going to Austin but found out late that day that 35 was closed. Boo. On the way to our hotel, Sofia fell asleep. She woke up when we got to the room but we figured that she would go back to sleep since it was already 9:30- turns out, she had plans of her own.

For an hour and a half, Sofia "taunted" us. She would lay down for a few minutes then pop back up and start singing, playing and laughing. Syd and I both knew that she was past the point of exhaustion and the reason she was toying with us was because her routine had been broken and she was mad. We did everything that we could to get her to sleep- we even turned out all the lights and sat in darkness but nothing worked. Finally, at 11:00, we decided to drive so drive we did! After 10 minutes, Sofia was asleep but in order to ensure she stay asleep, we drove all the way to New Braunfels and back. The drive was well worth it- Sofia slept until 9:00am.
Saturday, Sofia rode back home with my parents while we stayed in San Marcos to shop. Sofia missed Nana alot while she was gone so they spent the day together playing. When we got back home, we ate and immediately afterwards, Sofia passed out on the couch. My poor baby had a rough night and needed to catch up on her sleep! Syd surprised me with my Mother's Day gift at midnight, I got a precious card, a new handbag (which can fit all of Sofia's stuff & more) a 'shopping spree'.

I guess Sofia picked out my gift, she sure loved it!!

Today after church, Syd, Sofia and I went shopping. We took Sofia to the playground beforehand so she wouldn't get restless and spent most of the day at the mall. We had a great time, Sofia behaved like an angel and I was given carte blanche to shop, courtesy of Mr. Harris.

After Sofia napped, we went to dinner with my family. My mom had been working at the restaurant all day so we showered her with gifts at dinner. The whole family was there (minus Liz who will be rejoining us tomorrow) and we talked, laughed, ate and Sofia played with pizza dough for the first time. Good food mixed with great company makes for a good night.

This weekend was absolutely perfect, I loved all my presents but my greatest Mother's Day gift is and always will be that precious little girl that God blessed us with.

Thank you.

No Love like a Mother's Love

There is no love, like a mother's love,
no stronger bond on earth
like the precious bond that comes from God,
to a mother, when she gives birth.

A mother's love is forever strong,
never changing for all time
and when her children need her most,
a mother's love will shine.

God bless these special mothers,
God bless them every one
for all the tears and heartache,
and for the special work they've done.

When her days on earth are over,
a mother's love lives on
through many generations,
with God's blessings on each one.

Be thankful for our mothers,
for they love with a higher love
from the power God has given,
and the strength from up above.
To all the beautiful mothers, may you know that you are the greatest and the precious gift we receive from God! Have a wonderful day being pampered and treated like the queen you are!

Words will never be enough to describe the gratitude I have for my own Mom.

Happy Mother's Day, I love you all!

This week, Sofia and I have both been trying to catch up on our sleep. As it turns out, she was having so much fun with her babysitters, she may have missed out on some sleep. Both yesterday and today, she woke up early, turned on her music and went back to sleep. I love it when that happens because that means that I get to sleep in as well!

I don't know how she does it but Sofia can walk in a size 9 shoe!
As I said, we've both been dragging this week. I think the weather also has something to do with it; yesterday it poured all day and today it was overcast. Since we couldn't go to the park, we explored the house, played dress up and took short walks around the neighborhood in between thunder storms.

My little derby girl.

While we were on a walk today, Sofia fell down while running and got her first real "boo boo." She didn't cry when she fell but she definitely knew she had hurt herself. When Syd got home from, she showed him her knee and wanted him to kiss it. I don't think it's painful but when she looks down at her knees and sees the cut, she remembers and says "boo boo" over and over. I'm so proud of my resilient little girl for handling her first cut so well.

Checking out Sof's minor injury.

At dinner this evening, Sofia ate corn on the cob by herself for the very first time! Instead of eating the kernels that I had removed for her, she grabbed the cob from me and used her tiny little front teeth to eat it. I never thought she would be able to eat corn on her own but she managed quite well. The cutest part was watching her try to get the kernels off the cob one at a time. Since we have been back, Sofia has been "fake laughing" alot. I think my cousins taught her this weekend and she has been doing it non-stop. No matter what we are doing, whether she thinks it is funny or not, if someone is laughing, she will join it. We all have "courtesy laughs", I just can't believe my toddler has one!

Hope you are all doing wonderful and enjoying the week!

Derby

Wow, what a long weekend! I know we were only gone for 3 days but if feels like I've been gone for 3 months! We had such a great time at the Kentucky Derby, I could write a 20 page paper about it but first, I have to brag on how wonderful my baby behaved while we were gone.

The whole time we were away, Syd and I were keeping tabs on Sofia. Friday, I talked to Alexandra twice, I spoke to Liz once while she was with Sof and then I talked to Ivy after she had put her to bed for the night. Each of them said the same thing, she was perfect. She ate well, behaved and entertained them all. We talked to her twice on Friday and she had alot to say to us, from the sound of it she was having the time fo her life. We missed her so much after just 24 hours, but we knew she was in good hands.

Saturday, Liz went to Ivy's and picked her up and she spent the whole day with my family. Cheo even took her swimming! My dad kept telling me how beautiful she was, he was so proud because he taught her how to say "I love you." When I called him, she took the phone and said "I love you." It was so sweet! Sofia and Abuelo had a busy day together and they both loved every minute of it.

Today, Sofia played all day at the primos house. They told us she was an absolute doll, they even suggested we take another vacation, this time for a whole week! I don't know if I would last that long without my girl. When we picked her up today, she immediately started crying (tears of joy) and was ecstatic to see us-the feelings were mutual. We were glad to be home again. We are so proud of our big girl, she was an angel. The whole car ride home, she was giggling and talking to us. It was precious. As for the Derby, it amazing.We left early Friday morning, no one knew what to expect but when we arrived to Louisville, understood the immensity of the event. Every single hotel in the city was booked, you needed reservations months prior for any of the upscale restaurants and everyone was talking about Big Brown. Little did we know, once we hit Churchill Downs, we would all get sucked into the excitement and hype of the Kentucky Derby. By the end of the race, we knew the names of the horses, knew the difference between place, show, win and what a trivecta was. I know, we caught derby fever.As soon as we got to the hotel, we changed and went straight to the race track for the Kentucky Oaks, the race prior to the Derby. The weather was terrible but luckily, our seats were on the covered balcony and we enjoyed real southern food at a luncheon before the races. At the luncheon, we were seated with a group of first Derby-goers who convinced us we HAD to place bets on the races as it was part of the tradition so, we did. With money involved, the races got to be alot more interesting, Syd and I even picked a winning horse! The Oaks was fun, but we knew the Derby would be 100 times more exciting so after we left the race track, we headed to a querky little cafe, Lynn's Paradise, and had a relaxing evening back at the hotel.
Saturday we woke up bright and early to blue skies and 70 degree weather. We arrived at Churchill Downs at 11:30am and had a long day ahead of us. The actual Kentucky Derby wasn't till 6:05 so we had alot of time to kill. We had a great time hanging out at the track, people watching, 'researching' our bets-by researching I mean picking random horses, watching the horses warm up in the Paddock and enjoying the atmosphere. There were 157,000 people at the race, all the the women were in dresses and fab. hats, the men in suits and bow ties and everyone was sipping on Mint Julips. Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade, Molly Simms, Hugh Hefner and 'The Girls Next Door', were among some of the stars who were in attendance. It was absurd how big of a deal this race was! We spent the majority of the day placing bets and watching the horses. We even waited on the Paddock for an hour just to see the Derby horses come out before the race. It was incredible how huge the horses were, especially Big Brown. Compared the rest of the horses, he was a beast. We watched the Derby from our seats and needless to say none of us bet on the favorite. Syd picked a 50-1 horse thinking he could win big but we didn't. Big Brown won by a huge margin and people went bananas afterwards, turn out people bet ALOT of money on these horses.

After the Derby was over, we all noticed that Eight Bells (the 2nd place horse) had fallen after she crossed the finish line. Apparently, she broke both of her ankles and had to be euthanised on the track. It was devastating; she was the only filly in the race and had almost beat Big Brown but just seconds after that, she was gone. The vet spoke afterwards and said she was in excruciating pain and this was the best thing for her, as her injuries were detrimental. It was a bittersweet ending to our day but all in all, we had a fabulous day at the Kentucky Derby.
Everyone at the Harris household is officially exhausted after a long weekend. We all enjoyed the adventure, we will definitely remember this trip for a very long time but we are glad to have our baby back in our arms and sleep in our own bed.

Bye bye.

Tomorrow, Syd, Sofia and I will pass a new milestone in our lives. It will be the very first time that we leave Sofia for the weekend. Da, da, da (that was supposed to be mysterious music alluding at the fact that this could turn out to be a complete disaster).

So, today at around 2:00pm, Laura calls me and asked if Syd and I would like to go with her and Will to the KENTUCKY DERBY. HELLO?! The chance of a lifetime is calling me and YES! We would love to go! Her mom and dad planned the trip and were supposed to go until, poor Aunt Debbie (Laura's mom) pulled a muscle in her back. She doesn't want to risk reinjuring her back so she told Laura to find someone to fill their spots. Syd and I both agreed, we were going to be spontaneous and go for it.

The trouble lie in the fact that our #1 babysitter, my mom, left for Chicago today so I was scrambling all afternoon to find people I know, trust and love to take care of my sweet baby. My dad would be the second most likely babysitter but he just got back from Venezuela today, he has alot of work to do AND he's terrified when Sofia cries so I know he wouldn't last a weekend with her, alone.

Tomorrow, Sofia is going to be with my cousin for the day, then she is going to play with Aunt Liz for a while and she will stay the night with Titi Ivy. I have no doubt that Ivy and her mama will love on the baby every single minute she is there. She is a dear friend and I know Sofia will enjoy herself. Saturday, Sofia will go back to my parents' house with Liz, play with Abuelo and Liz for a while and stay the night with my cousins. Yes, things become complicated when you find out last minute about things but I believe this is one opportunity we can't miss out on.

I am 110% Sofia will be WELL taken care of but please pray for her as she experiences her first weekend away from Mama and Papa. We'll say bye bye tomorrow morning and we'll be back Sunday afternoon. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes and take lots of pictures of the weekends activities.

Have a blessed weekend!