Merry Christmas!

Well, today we are spending our first Christmas in our new home. It will be a day full of firsts. Our first Christmas where we will be the hosts instead of the guests. More significantly, it will be the first Christmas without my mom. I know she is here in spirit, though. Christmas was her favorite holiday and I'm sure she wouldn't miss it.

My family decided that we would continue her tradition of preparing lasagna for our Christmas feast. Who might be undertaking this responsibility? (Gulp) Me. Wish me good luck. I'm not the most experienced cook and I've never made her lasagna. She didn't have a written recipe and so I'm winging it. I'm sure my mom considers this a Christmas miracle. Hopefully, my memories of past Christmas lasagnas will be accurate.

Here's a little treat for all of our loved ones. We finally figured out how to download video snippets to our computer. No surprise, they all center around Sofía. We hope all of you have a Christmas full of happiness and peace.

Family Time

Here's a few pictures from our trip to Washington. We went to see Jeff's sister and her family before they move to Alaska. The best word to describe our time there would be RELAXATION.

It has been a year since the two girls saw each other. It was fun to see them interact with each other now that they're older. Lilley is only six months older than Sofía but she seems a lot older. The whole time we were there she called Sofía "baby". She's such a cutie and it was fun to get to know her better. We can't wait until we can see them again.

This is why we wanted to come visit Heidi and Seth. It gave the two cousins some time to play together.

Sofía immediately connected with Heidi. As soon as we arrived Sofía reached her arms out for her. I guess she knows who her aunt is.

This was the first time Seth met Sofía. It didn't take long for her to warm up to him. Too bad she couldn't go hunting with him. Maybe next time.

Mealtime was particularly fun. Each one wanted to sit in the others' chair. They tried to take each other's food. It gave us an idea of what it might be like with two children.

A trip to Washington isn't complete without a trip to Seattle. We love the vibe of the city. Sofía couldn't stop looking at all of the people. It rained, of course, but it was still a lot of fun.

We took a lot of breaks during our drive. This is at one of the rest stops in Washington. You can see the look of relief on Sofía's face. She did such a wonderful job during the drive. She definitely exceeded our expectations.

Mr. Lucky

Well, Jeff and I have finally jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. It has been pretty cool getting in touch with some long (and not so long) lost friends and family. Of course, guess what Jeff is doing along the way as he's reconnecting with friends? He's giving them a link to our blog. No problem. Of course, as I sit there watching him give out the link a thought goes through my head..."I better update our blog". Then other thoughts start to spill out: "I hope people find it interesting", "I need to make it look good", "I need to post more pictures",...the pressure! :)

So...I thought I'd write about Jeff for all of his new Facebook friends.

This man that I married is Mr. Lucky. Why do I call him that? Well, it's because this last weekend I was in the car with him as he ran a red light with a police car watching him and he didn't get a ticket. Just to make it clear...the light wasn't even a shade of yellow. It was full on RED! To make it even more absurd...he didn't even get pulled over.

I'm sure Jeff would like me to explain what happened leading up to it. He isn't normally a reckless driver. He's a very good driver. He just happened to see another police car pull over a car heading the opposite direction. We were so distracted by it that we didn't pay attention to the light ahead of us that was turning red. Instead of braking Jeff thought he had enough time to cross the intersection. He didn't. Before we even got to the intersection the light had turned red. We quickly realized the police car had seen everything and Jeff just pulled over. Yet, the police car just pulled a u-turn and headed the other way. Jeff lucks out. In all reality, it was lucky that no one else was on the road either.

This reminds me of when we were driving to Seattle a few years back. When Jeff was driving he was KIND OF driving over the speed limit (I won't say how much). Next thing we know a police car comes out of nowhere with his lights flashing behind us. Jeff knows he's been caught. Does he get pulled over? No. Instead, the police car pulls up next to us and then speeds past. THEN, the very next day it was my turn to drive and what happens? I'm driving about the same speed as Jeff (maybe a little slower) and I get pulled over and get the ticket. Yeah...you can say I was a little bitter at the time. At least we can laugh at it now. If only a little bit of Jeff's luck could rub off on me.

We didn't think Sofía has too much hair until we looked at her younger pictures. What a change a few months make.

Jeff just chillin' with his daughter.

New First: Camping

We went camping with my brother and his family. Sofía had such a good time. What did she do? Most of the time she just walked around the campsite over and over again. Even when the sun went down, she kept walking. That's when we figured we should stop her before she injured herself.
The cool thing is she never wandered off too far. Whenever she tried one of her cousins was right there to stop her. Anyways, here are some pictures. Enjoy.


For some reason Sofía had to have these two badminton rackets in her hand at all times.


When my brother took this picture for us he commented how it was going to be put on our blog. I guess he was right.



Do you think she enjoyed herself? Sofía was so wired that it took her a good while before she fell asleep. She thought it was the neatest thing to be sleeping in a tent.



Her first hula hoop. Now how do you work this thing?

I think she almost has it figured out.

Happy Anniversary!

Well, so far so good. Today Jeff and I are celebrating five years of marriage. After the day we had Sunday we could use a night out without little Sofía. I've been warned about how difficult it can be when a child is teething but WOW it's another thing actually experiencing it. Sofía hasn't been too bad until today. Just imagine non-stop crying.
I had to take Sofía out into the foyer during Sacrament meeting. I joined four other parents with their own fussy/crying children. Who else was out there with us? A husband and pregnant wife. I'm thinking they were probably having second thoughts about the whole parenting thing.
After Jeff went to bed I began to peruse our collection of photos. It brought things back into perspective for me. Seeing our five years of marriage pass with each image I realized how quickly time goes.
I thought I'd share with you a few photos from our wedding day.

Jeff is pretty easy on the eyes, isn't he? One of the many reasons I married him.

...and another reason .

This is the SECOND time we left the temple. We had to reinact our exit because our photographer was late. Yeah...let's not get started on that.

Here we are dancing. This is my not so subtle hint to Jeff. He knows what I mean.

Happy Anniversary Jefe!

Happy Birthday

Sofía is officially one year old. We had such a busy weekend that we wore little Sofía out. We started out the day by getting up early and meeting the McConkie/Beasley family at the parade in Provo. Burke was nice enough to get up before everyone else to snab a perfect spot. I believe he was there at 3 am.

As you can tell Sofía enjoyed the parade. What's not to like? There was music which she danced to. There was plenty of applause from the crowd which she clapped with. There was food which she ate. Best of all, there were plenty of family whom she played with. She warmed up to Uncle Burke instantly.

This is the ideal. You can hold the baby and then give her back to her parents when you're done. Rather, I think LaMonte and Callae would have taken her home if we had asked them to. Sofía was taking it all in.

Since neither Jeff or I have much experience in throwing big parties we thought we'd keep it simple. We opened gifts and ate cake & ice cream. This actually took place the day AFTER because on the fourth we were out all day.

We helped her blow out her candle. All week I had been practicing with her on how to blow. She got to where she could do it, but I guess she got stage fright.

Sofía usually likes to flip off whatever is on her plate on to the floor. I'm guessing she liked the cake and ice cream too much to spoil it.

One Day 'til....

First off - our apologies for no recent posts. Our computer went out and since then we've been getting all of our programs reloaded on the new computer. Hopefully you don't know how it is because it's a pain.

Anyways, tomorrow is Sofía's first birthday. Jeff and I have been eagerly awaiting the day and can't wait to celebrate with her. There is something to be said about anticipation. I love how the excitement grows as the marked day nears. Your imagination mentally creates the event and how it's going to play out. For me, the anticipation is just as enjoyable as the actual experience. I like how the Webster's dictionary describes anticipation as "the mental attitude that influences a later response."

So what other events are we anticipating? The new Harry Potter movie. Jeff and I bought tickets for the midnight release. There's something to be said about watching a movie with crazy, devout fans. I love the energy in the theater. No, we're not going to dress up in costumes. Although, we would if we could. Jeff has finally read the books and so he can't wait to see this sixth movie and compare it to the book.

We're also very close to buying our first home. We put an offer on a short sale and so we're just playing the waiting game with the bank. If everything goes well we will soon be moving in to the house by the end of summer. Gulp! While I'm looking forward to having our own place I also realize the cost in time and money of keeping up a home. It's scary but will be well worth it.

We'll be sure to post pictures of Sofía's first birthday. Happy Fourth of July!

Tag, I'm it

So, I guess I've been tagged and now I'm supposed to post a few lists of 8s. Here it goes -

8 things I'm looking forward to:
Memorial Day, Jeff has the day off
July 4th, Sofía's first birthday
our next trip
Sofía's first words
Sofía walking which will be any time soon
Harry Potter midnight opening
moving into a house
a visit from family who live out of state - you know who you are

8 things I did yesterday:
saw Miss Saigon for the first time, outstanding
cried as I discussed Miss Saigon with Jeff
cooked dinner
went for a walk in the avenues
reorganized our books
read more of Angels and Demons
changed Sofía's diaper repeatedly
cleaned out our fridge

8 things I wish I could do:
sing well
dance well
take a trip around the world
adopt a child from Bolivia
go back to school and get an advanced degree
swim like Jeff
write a screenplay
speak italian fluently

8 shows I watch:
Survivor
Amazing Race
Lost
Office
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
24
news

8 people to tag:
Brooke
Karen
Jenn
Cory
Alyssa
Bonnie
Colleen
Carrie

Happy Mother's Day!

Most of you know that I was terrified by the idea of becoming a mother. I'll spare you from psychoanalyzing myself. Suffice it to say that a lot of those fears have been conquered. Every day I am so grateful for Sofía and what she adds to our family. I'm humbled that Jeff and I have been given the responsibility of raising her. Thankfully, we have a number of family and friends that have bombarded Sofía with love and support. To all of you thank you. It means the world to us. I believe there's a lot of truth to the concept that "it takes a village to raise a child". I've seen it take place in my life and now I'm witnessing it in Sofía's.

This is for Jeff's mom or as Sofía knows her, Nana.

She really likes to play with dolls now.

This is Sofía with my friend's two daughters. It was the first time they met.

Who are you again?

Can you guess what's in my mouth? (the little cup that holds the sacrament water) Don't worry, we took it out before she could choke on it.

Surprise!

Jeff talks in his sleep which can make for some funny stories. Want to hear one?

I'm up in bed reading one of the Twilight books (yes, I finally succumbed to all of the hype) and it's about one in the morning. Jeff has been asleep for a few hours. All of a sudden Jeff begins to giggle. I look over and he's got a big grin on his face as he laughs. I wait for him to say something but instead he opens up his eyes. He looks at me as if he doesn't recognize me. I can't tell if he's awake or still asleep.

Then, all of a sudden his eyes start to bulge out in surprise. They look as if they're going to pop out of his head. (Have you ever seen Pee Wee's Big Adventure? Do you remember the trucker lady that ends up being a ghost? Yea, that's what he looked like) Jeff also has his arms crossed over his chest. He sits up as if he's frightened of me. He's literally shaking. I can't figure out if he's in pain or what. Next thing I know we both scream. I'm not sure who screams first but I jump out of the bed and yell out, "Jeff!" He finally wakes up and we're both looking at each other trying to figure out what just happened when we hear Sofía next door crying. Our screaming woke her up. Poor little Sofía.

Speaking of her, here she is at Sugarhouse park.

Easter Egg Hunt

I've always been told that the holidays are more fun when you have children - it's true. We get a kick out of experiencing everything anew with Sofía. For Easter, we went to the Easter egg hunt near my mom's house in Cottonwood Heights. It was really nice because they had things split up into age groups. Here Sofía gets ready for the hunt with her notorious game face on:

She went from basket to basket like a little pro.

Of course afterwards she had to taste test each new toy.

Time to Eat

Perhaps if we started feeding Sofia this:

she would be less likely to do this:

One minute we're feeding her in the high chair and the next Sofía tries to make an escape. At least we can take comfort in the fact that she likes to drink water

but maybe we need to control the amount that she drinks.

Seriously though, Sofía has been a very good eater...so far. She'll eat anything she can put in her mouth. No teeth yet, but since she's still nursing I'm okay with that.

An Overheard Conversation

Last week I was witness to some parents giving the old birds and the bees talk to their ten-year-old son (give or take a year). I have to admit it kind of struck me as weird. Why? Because they were at a fine dining restaurant surrounded by other guests. They even had a book which they were reading questions from. I believe it was titled "How I was Created". I didn't pay much attention until I heard the mom ask, "Where did you come from? A) the stork, B) the grocery store or C) mommy's vagina. Okay, she might not have said that third one exactly, but I promise you that it was mentioned before they left - along with some other sexual terms.

Now, I have to give the parents credit for caring enough to teach their child about sex. These days it's important to talk about it before others do. Yet, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. He definitely squirmed in his seat. Could you imagine your parents explaining sex to you in a public place? Here he probably thought he was just going out to eat with his parents and then BAM they surprise him with this. His dad asked him at one point if he had any questions. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, if I did have any questions I'm certainly not going to ask any. Not here anyways!"

Just so you know I couldn't help but overhear what they were saying. Since I was at work and they were in my section I had to pass by them often. At one point I had to clear and set the table right next to them just as they were explaining the ways our bodies change. I just about died. I seriously had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. The whole time I told myself, "Don't make eye contact. Act like you can't hear them." I could tell you more of what I overheard but I'll keep it to myself. It does make me wonder how we'll explain things to Sofía. Thank goodness we have some years before we have to decide.

Enjoy the pictures.

Sofía went through this stage of sticking out her tongue for about two weeks. Too cute.

Here's Sofía sporting the swimming diaper Steve Urkel style.


Future Olympic Ping Pong Champion.

Remember Me?

This last week we went out to eat and Jeff recognized our server. He had been her manager about five years ago and had fired her. What do you do under this circumstance? He acted like he didn't know her. It's not like he could say, "Hi, remember me? I fired you a few years back. How's it going?"

Jeff was certain that the girl did not recognize him. I, however, thought otherwise. If anybody fired me, not that it's happened, but IF it did I would ALWAYS remember the person who did it. Well, the girl answered the question.

Near the end of the meal she looked at Jeff and asked, "Didn't you used to work at Litza's?"

Jeff's expression was priceless! Picture a thief caught in the act. It's one of the few times I've seen him speechless. The only thing he could utter was, "Yeah." You could see the shock he felt that she called him out. He was just waiting to see what she'd say next. The only thing she said was, "Yeah. I thought so," and then she turned back into the kitchen.

We couldn't get out of the restaurant fast enough for Jeff. Since we've both worked in eating establishments we knew that the whole restaurant full of employees knew who he was and what he had done to her. He wanted to leave before she came back out. As we were walking to our car we could see inside and sure enough, the girl was getting a good laugh at our expense.

I have to hand it to her. She was pretty brave to call Jeff out. I don't think I could have done that. I would just play the "I don't know who you are" game.
By the way, Sofía had one of her regular check-ups today. Her head is finally growing. For a while there it was on the small side. Now it's her weight that needs to catch up. She's rather light especially since her height is in the 50th percentile. All in all, Dr. Omura tells us she's doing well. It's always a relief to know we haven't done too bad of a job with our little girl.

These four pictures are to show everyone that Sofía really does smile. I noticed that a lot of the pictures we post don't show her smiling. We'll try to fix that.