Sofia's Island

Guess What? I Turned One!

Hello, my peoples! Sofia here again with more tales from my wonderful life!

Man! I have been sooo busy the last few weeks getting ready for my big day! I have been practicing my walking everywhere I can and tearing apart anything made of paper to get ready to open presents!

Well the big day came and went like a pair of Paris Hilton's shoes! Whew! I don't think I've seen Momma and Poppa run around the house like that in a long time. Chill out, people! ... Hello? Hello!? ... Pay attention to me, people! Birthday girl over here! Hey what's that smell? Is something burning?

Yes, as a matter of fact, something was burning. Momma managed to start a fire in the oven cooking all the chicken for the party. Momma started yelling "Help! Fire! It's burning!" Poppa came running in and got the baking soda and put it out. Yikes! Time to back off on the cooking Momma! I'm too young for flambé!

Anyway, things calmed down a little and people started to arrive. Lot's of 'em. Too many, I was thinking for a little while. "Who are you people and what are you doing in my living room?! What's that? You have presents for me? ... Well, OK. I guess you can stay."

Eventually I warmed up to all these home invaders and played a little with my friends Nathan, Josh, Drew and my friend Beatrice who is so big now! Some of my even younger friends Leila and Sadie came too! Cool! I was a little sad that Zoe and Nicholas were sick and couldn't come, though.

Let them Eat Cake!
Finally, after a bunch of munching and playing and socializing, it was time to eat cake! We had a lot of cake! Three cakes in fact, a strawberries and cream cake from Palo Alto Bakery, an ice cream cake from Baskin Robins AND Momma made me my own little Black Forest chocolate cake with raspberries on top, mmmm, raspberries!

Mommy tells me that the Black Forest cake is a tradition in the Stalder family and apparently as the birthday girl I am expected to smash it into a big, squishy chocolaty mess. Well, apparently I missed that part of the birthday briefing, because when Momma put it in front of me, I had no idea what to do. I froze, there's no other word for it. Probably it was all that "Happy Birthday" singing that threw me off. So many people singing for me all at once. I was a little overwhelmed.

Anyway, cake munching ensued and Momma was pleased to see the guests demolish almost the entire strawberries and cream cake and make a good dent in the ice cream cake. Mmmmm. Caaaake.

<Sniff, Sniff> Do I smell presents?

The next day was like an early Christmas for me. So many presents! Wheee!

I must confess, I was a little confused about the whole unwrapping procedure. "You mean I can rip all this pretty paper to shreds? Cool! I'm gonna enjoy this!" After my initial confusion, I dug into the present unwrapping with my usual delicate touch, tearing off postage-stamp-sized pieces of wrapping paper and handing them to Poppa to put in the recycling bin. I musta spend 15 minutes unwrapping some of them!

I got a few outfits that Momma did a bunch of "Oooo-ing" and "Aahhh-ing" over AND I got a lot of cool toys!! Thanks everyone! You guys have to come over and play soon, OK?

Love and presents,

Sofia

Standing Free!

Hello, my peoples! I have some exciting news:

Today I stood all by myself! No wires, no green-screens, no couches, no coffee tables, no skirts, no pants! For just a few seconds today, I stood on my own with no other support than my two little feet under me.

Momma and Poppa were very pleased and a little surprised. They laughed and clapped and told me how proud they were. Aww, shucks, folks. T'wern't nothin'!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I figured out how to crawl properly last week. No more of that crazy, throw myself at the floor, inch-worm move like something out of Breakin' 2. I can crawl! Hide the liquor and the Cheerios, baby! Nothing is safe from my little paws now!

Love and perambulation,

Sofia

9 Month Checkup!

Hello, my peoples! Sofia here again with another update on my wonderful life!

Today I had my 9 month checkup with my pediatrician (big word, huh? impressed?). She asked Momma and Papa all kinds of questions about what I had been up to. Was I crawling? Yes. Was I sitting up on my own? Yes. Was I standing up? Yes. Was I eating solid foods? Yes. Was I feeding myself a bit? Yes. Did I think Barry Bonds would hit #756 this year? Yes. Will Britney Spears ever go back on tour again? Yes.

C'mon, Doc! Give me a hard question!

Overall, she was very pleased with my progress. Here's my vital statistics:

• Height: 28.5 inches - I'm pretty tall for my age: 90th percentile.
• Weight: 19 pounds, 5 ounces - I'm a still good sized: 60th percentile.
• Head Circumference: 46.5 centimeters - I've still got a big head: 97th percentile.

Looking at it another way, here's how much I've changed in 3 months since my last checkup 3 months ago:

• Height: grew  1.5 inches
• Weight: gained 3 pounds and 1 ounce
• Head Cir: grew 2.5 centimeters

And, going back even further, here's how much I've changed from 7 months ago (my 2 month checkup -- back even before I could blog!):

• Height: grew 5 inches (was 23.5 inches tall)
• Weight: gained 9 pounds and 12 ounces (was 10 lbs, 9 oz.)
  
• Head Cir: grew 6.75 centimeters (was 39.75 cm)

Whew! All those numbers make my head spin! I'm tuckered out, my peoples. Time for bed.

Love and statistics,

Sofia

Standing: The New Old Thing

Hello, my peoples! I have discovered my new favorite thing in the last few weeks: Standing!

Now that I can get around a bit, I like to scoot around to things like the couch, shelving and anything else I can get my paws on and pull myself UP! Momma and Poppa got a little worried about this and built me a little climbing baby gym in the middle of the living room. Basically they got a couple of shipping boxes and a moving box, filled them with books so they don't tip over, and bingo! Instant climbing gym.

Now I spend almost all my playtime pulling myself up on these boxes and playing with my toys on top. Except--of course--when I decide to go adventuring around the living room, trying to grab and bite everything!

Lately, I have been improving on the standing up trick by only holding on with one hand, or holding myself up by putting my tummy on the boxes and using no hands at all! Woo HOO! Momma and Poppa get these slightly nervous looks on their faces when I do that. So I just laugh at them.

Love and giggles,

Sofia

Call me Scooter

Hello, my peoples! This week, I figured out how to move myself forward on my tummy. It's not actually crawling, mind you, more like playing inch worm with my arms. I reach out with my little fingers and forearms and then pull the floor toward me. Except, well, the floor doesn't move, I do (unless I'm on a blanket or something).

Mommy and Daddy thought this was fantastic for a little while and Daddy started calling me "Scooter." Then they figured out that this means I can basically go where ever I want now, grab anything I can get my hands on and put them in my mouth. Stereo system! Yum! Fireplace! Delicious! Electrical cords! Woo HOO! Hey! I was eating that! I don't think I've heard the phrase "NO, Sofia!" so many times in an hour.

Anyway, after a few days of this fantastic fun, Mommy and Daddy started saying things like "baby proofing" and "baby fencing" and "gerbil runs." I'm not sure what that's all about, but I've noticed that they pay a lot more attention to me when I'm on the floor.

See more scooting video at my YouTube site.

Love, kisses and rug burns,

Sofia

6 Month Checkup!

Today, I had my six month check up at the Doctor's office (I officially turn 6 months old tomorrow).  My vital statistics:

• Height: 27 inches! - (I am super tall for my age. 97th percentile)
• Weight: 16 pounds, 4 ounces. (good sized: 60th percentile)
• Head circumference: 44 cm. - (I have a big head. :-)

The doctor examined me and asked Mommy and Daddy a lot of questions about what I've been doing and eating. Overall, she said I was doing very well. Nice!

Then, as a congratulations on all my hard work, I got two shots in the leg! Owwwie!!!

I don't think I'll ever understand doctors.

Love,

Sofia