Pure Bliss

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease...no trapeze here. Just a toddler swing, which Sophia absolutely loves. When ever she gets the chance to swing the air fills with her giggles and babbles, and she smiles her biggest smiles. It is a delight to behold, and pretty good for the soul.

She looks pretty happy, wouldn't you agree?

Wind in her hair and a smile on her face!

Some swinging help from buddies, Finn and Madelaine.

Happy girl on a swing within walking distance of our place! Woo hoo!

Okay Daddy, let's go higher!

Walking

I think she has the hang of it now.

A quick photo update

Each morning, Sophia likes to read the paper to keep up with the events of the day.


After a long day, Sophia likes to relax in her easy chair with a good book.


Sophia has taken to sticking out her bottom lip. Not to be defiant, just to see what happens.


Sophia has started to experiment with different hairstyles. This is, I think, better than the single pony tail she had going before.

The Birthday Party Part 2: The Cake!

The cake is, of course, always the highlight of the party. Tricia made a cupcake-cake, making portioning much easier. It is becoming very popular at weddings, I hear. So anyway, this photo-montage begins with the undisturbed cake, in the shape of a number 1, with beautiful, neon-coloured, stain-everything-in-sight polkadots.


the cake, pre-mess

Tricia gave one of the cupcakes, slathered in icing, to Sophia. Sophia was not entirely sure what to do with it. Here is the result


Umm... for me? I do what now?




Here. Mommy will help you. You eat it. See? Mmmm... tasty!




Well, I can mash it up with my hands but I'm still not quite sure.




In my eyes? probably not, but it's fun





Oh MAN that was good. You were right.




I can't believe I ate the whole thing

The Birthday Party

Sophia's party was not even a week ago now but it feels alternately like it was yesterday and months ago. I know it's cliche, and none of you will believe me, but she actually does look and act older now that her first birthday has come and gone.

Everyone says the first birthday party is for the parents, but I know Sophia had a wonderful time even though she probably didn't quite get that all these people were in the house to celebrate her life. The dog wasn't even that concerned with the influx of new humans, although she did kind of stick to herself for most of the time.

It was a beautiful day, hot and sunny, so we were able to have people out on the deck (under a shade-tent type thing) and the kids playing in the grass. It was the first big summer party we have had at the house, and it felt very good - people were milling about and there was lots of room and people didn't seem to feel crowded or bored or overwhelmed.

Daryl and Jennifer and Madeline and Finn came down, as did Marie-Eve and William. Ruth and Don and Ev came out from Wolseley, and got briefly lost in the maze that is Wascana Heights. And of course my parents and Tricia's parents and Aunt Pat (all the way from Washington State) were in town visiting as well, so it was a well attended party. Now to pictures.

Preparations began many days in advance - Tricia made a cupcake cake, bison burgers, salads and other fixings before the day arrived so we could concentrate on decorating and having fun with friends. She is so motivated and anti-procrastinating, it's hard to believe. They say that in University, she frequently had papers finished and handed in before the deadline. Can you imagine?


Tricia furiously polka-dotting the cake the day before the party. She actually stained her hands in preparing the bright icing. This mommy is willing to make sacrifices for her kid!

Tricia chose a theme of polka-dots for the party, and everything was polkadots. From the brightly coloured paper plates (round, hence polkadot) to the cake (cupcakes = round = polkadots, with neon polkadots of icing) to the goodies in the goodie bags (bubble stuff, floam, and other cool stuff), it was a cohesive theme. you could even consider the buffalo burgers as polkadots, and the turkey wieners (if viewed end-on) but this may be a stretch.


The food was, of course, masterfully cooked...



and enjoyed by all, both out on the deck...



and inside the house where it was a little cooler.

And then came the cake. We sang happy birthday to Sophia as the cake came out and she looked kind of shy and coy as we were singing, almost as if to say "Aw shucks guys, you shouldn't have" Very cute, and she had done the same thing when we sang to her at our little family party a couple days before!



Happy birthday to me? really?

Stay tuned for "Birthday Party part 2: the Cake!