San Diego

We have mostly gotten ourselves situated here in San Diego. We are well. Sophie [almost 15 months] is over her cold and is still crawling up a storm. She enjoys standing up by herself with no hands but hasn't taken the next step [hehheh, get it?!?] toward walking. She stood and drank her juice last week in the middle of the floor. She has learned to say a few more words, such as baby, mama, dada, yumyum, beep beep, yeah, and her little inquisitive sounds. She understands a lot of what we say, she just can't answer, and I think it's frustrating for her.
She has made a huge leap this week in communicating. She has learned to sign! She can sign for eat, drink, and more, please! We are so proud of her! This morning even, I asked if she wanted more. She went to make the sign for "eat" and stopped midway, then made the sign for more, please. I think she actually knows what it means and isn't just making the sign when she hears us. We're so proud of her!
She attended a new Kindermusik class Tuesday with about 10 other infants and toddlers, all under 18 months. They and the parents are wonderful! We sang, danced, played with balls and scarves, played with egg shakers, read a book, and smelled rosemary. This kind of learning and social interaction is really wonderful for her. There are a few other kids that are walking, so hopefully she can see them and try to mimic them, like she does with us. She is a little tape recorder! The other day, we were outside and there was a truck beeping. I made the sound just to be funny and she did it back to me! She is such a sweetheart! She makes me laugh all day. She adores anything to do with music. She was really whiny a few weeks ago and I got out my flute and she was instantly "cured" of whatever was bothering her. In fact, her bottom lip made an appearance when I put it away.














She has a table with all these tabs and buttons that make music whenever she manipulates them that she plays with constantly. A big thanks goes out to my cousin Stacy who let us borrow it. She does this really cute little wiggle when the music comes on. Here's a clip from Irvine. Not the best camera work, and I didn't edit, but you get the idea.

She is also very curious about what we eat, so even if we just fed her, she wants to try everything we have. We let her, of course, but it's funny. She's honestly like a begging puppy with her eight teeth. Oh, she barks too! Last month, we were watching the Discovery Channel and there was a foal. She saw it, pointed and started barking. I know it doesn't seem like much, but she's making connections. Like, hey, that animal has four legs and looks like a doggy. She's categorizing things already! I know I'm a bit biased, but I think this girl is really, really bright.

Our travels, part 2

Last week was our transfer week, when Cirque moved from Irvine to San Diego. Since it's only an hour and a half away, we decided to use our free days to do some fun things. Monday, we went to Knott's Berry Farm with Robin, Jimmy and baby Leo Slonina. We scored tickets through Cirque so admission was free! It was super fun. Sophie enjoyed the train ride [minus the "robbers" that jumped out in front of us] and the chicken dinner at the end of the day. Robin and I rode the log ride and when we got to the bottom, Jim was there with Sophie waiting for us. She saw me and squealed so loudly! It was very sweet! Here's a shot from the beginning of the day, outside the park.














Tuesday, we packed and made the move to San Diego.
Wednesday, I had an eye exam in Huntington Beach. We had an extra ticket to Disneyland, and we were already close by, so we decided to go to Disney's California Adventure. We watched a show where we saw Cinderella, Woody and Mickey. Sophie thoroughly enjoyed the music! She danced and smiled the entire time. We also rode the Monster's Inc. ride, saw Muppets 3D, and went on Screamin' a few times, while Sophie watched. We stopped for dinner and there was a little drum hands-on section where Jim showed Sophie some moves.
































After, we went on the Carousel. Sophie was NOT a big fan at first. I think she was worn out. As soon as we held her though, she was fine and having fun.




























What a day!


















Thursday, we watched the tent-raising and decided to drive the coast home. We randomly drove past an exotic bird sanctuary where the birds were very gentle. They even let Sophie pet them!














Sophie illustrating that feathers are like her hair.










































Our buddy Mandy. :]














Our transfer week has been amazing!

Our travels - part 1

Last week, before we left Irvine, we had a double dark [which means Monday AND Tuesday off!!] we decided to use Jim's comps to see KA in Las Vegas, since the last time we tried it didn't go too well. My parents decided they needed a mini vacation also, so they decided to go to Vegas as well and meet us there. We left that Tuesday morning to see the show that night. My dad and I had talked on the phone about how sick Sophie was [low-grade fever, runny nose, and coughing] and how he wished he could see her. I said, "Well, you're going to see her Tuesday." I could hear the smile over the phone. "Really?!?" he asked happily. I'd say the feeling was mutual.














Bridget and Lesley agreed to babysit Sophie for the night, and the show was AMAZING! I would even say it was better than O. And that's REALLY saying something! The imagery was so compelling and the music was transforming and enveloping! I felt like there was a nice contrast between the soft and heartfelt side and the intense and strong side of the show. They have this enormous stage that moves with the show. It was incredible. Check it out here.


















Here are a few more pictures that my dad took of my mom and of the Strip. Impressive. I don't know when we'll be able to head back to MI since the tour is in the Pacific Northwest for a good part of the year. We'll try to get home as often as we can and we think of our families often.

Flashback Friday

So a few months ago, I was certain that I had exhausted my stash of the cuteness that is Sophie as an infant. Therefore, I have not been posting any FFs. Until today. Jim and I were reminiscing, looking at Jim's computer. This movie popped up that I have never seen before that I would like to share. We were in Mt. Pleasant, MI, probably during the summer, since she is wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Grandpa Lutz filmed while Grandma and Sophie played. I'm guessing it was between Baltimore and New York, so Sophie was 4-5 months old...ish?!? No idea. But enjoy.