Sophie sings an old favorite, with a new twist:
Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO
And on this farm he had a MOON, EIEIO
GOODNIGHT here and a GOODNIGHT there, everywhere a GOODNIGHT
Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO
Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO
And on this farm he had a RASPBERRY, EIEIO
With a EAT here and a EAT there, everywhere a EAT
Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO
Lisa and Gogi put Sophie to sleep so I could take Tim out for Father’s Day. After they put her in her crib, she chattered for a while until falling asleep. Here’s what they heard:
“we’ll go to lollipop mountain. swiper, no swiping! don’t you get it! YOU’RE TOOOOOOO LATE! you’ll never get it now! oh dora, where is it? it’s on lollipop mountain! how do we get there? lake, cabin, lollipop mountain!”
“charlie can take a car or a train. a car or a train. charlie can do it!”
“dee dee’s having coffee!”
“gogi’s going hoooooome.”
“diego, you can help! you’re a BIG BOY. you need energy. snack, snack, snack snack snack! woo hoo!”
(she sneezes)
“oh no! not again!”
half an hour of silence, then….
“diego. i’m two, and i’m TIRED.”
On Tuesday May 26th, we packed up the car and headed to Astoria, Oregon to visit Allen, Amanda, Cody, Gabriella and Eileen. They took a Carnival cruise to Canada and had a stop in Astoria. Since it was a 3 hour drive from Seattle we took the opportunity to meet them for some sight-seeing and dinner. When we arrived Sophie threw up her hands and said “cousins!”
Despite the cold and drizzle, we had a fun time walking along the waterfront and rode the little trolley which runs along it, which all of the kids loved. Uncle Allen got lots of hugs from Sophie and she even wanted to hold his hand as we walked along. Cody is a sweetheart, and loved hanging out with his Uncle Tim. Cody was also very sweet to Sophie. It was fun to see the cousins together. For dinner, we had fish & chips at a local restaurant (well, Tami went against the grain and had Shepard’s Pie!) and then walked the family back to the cruise ship.
We stayed at Hotel Elliot in downtown Astoria. It was a cool little hotel, converted from an office-building which seemed to have been originally built in the early 1900’s. Sophie enjoyed the hotel room and the art that decorated the walls. We are so pleased she loves to travel.
It was nice to get away for a couple of days, and a fun roadtrip. As well, of course, it was great to see the family, even if just for a quick trip. We hope to see everyone again soon.
We found the best place to celebrate a beautiful day! Each May, in the Madrona neighborhood, the community puts on it’s MayFair. It started with a parade of kids of all ages riding their bikes, scooters and riding in wagons, decorated with streamers and balloons. Leading the parade was a firetruck and a drum band. For about 4 blocks, the kids walked or rode with their parents down the street to a nearby park. At the park, they had pony rides, 2 bouncy houses, face-painting, balloon animals, and of course, snacks.
Sophie loved riding her trike in the parade. Wearing her helmet, she rode with the other kids and just beamed at all the excitement. When we got the park she played on the slides and ran around with her friends, Patrick and Ella. Next were the pony rides. We waited until the line died down a bit before heading over to see them. Once we got in line, it was about 5 minutes until Sophie climbed into Pippen’s saddle. Pippen was a silver pony (or maybe a horse.) We made our way to the bouncy house where she couldn’t wait to climb in. A very patient Sophie waited another 5 minutes in line. She bounced with about 5 bigger kids and she held her own, bouncing away. We stopped to see the clown show, but it was so packed we couldn’t see very well. We stopped one last time to see the ponies before heading home for lunch. This time, Sophie rode Marlin, a brown and white pony who liked to shake his mane.
After lunch and a nice nap, Sophie woke up talking about the fair. Especially the pony rides. Here’s an excerpt from the conversation she had with herself: “Would you like a pony ride?” “oh, yes, I LOVE pony rides!”
For Mother’s Day this year, Tim, Lisa, Sophie and I drove down to Portland to celebrate. My Mom was so excited to have her family together.
Dan treated us to a great dinner of red beans & rice and cornbread, a little taste from his southern experience. On Sunday, he made us homemade waffles! He sure treated us well.
We decided to rock out a little with a Rockband session, with Sophie and Tim alternating on drums. Afterward, Mom, Lisa and I snuck out to a movie on Saturday night and we saw Star Trek, which I loved! Kelly and Dan caught a later show, while Tim stayed home with Charlie and Sophie. Thanks Tim!
We had a wonderful trip to Tim’s home town Sarasota, Florida to see Tim’s parents and rendezvous with Ali and Marc. We love traveling to see our family, especially during this time of year. The weather was beautiful and we made wonderful memories together.
Starting in Seattle, Lisa dropped us off at the airport and got to see Sophie with her backpack on running down the sidewalk saying “go team!” We were all ready for a fun trip. She was very good on the airplane. One trick that we pulled out a few times was Tim’s Ipod Nano which we loaded with “Dora The Explorer” and “Go, Diego, Go.” She loved watching her shows while she wore her headphones (a.k.a. “earmuffs”). We had one tantrum on the plane when she asked to watch her show, but we couldn’t have any electronics on. That was “really fun.”
Steve made the trip up to Tampa and picked us all up. Thanks, Poppa!
Once we got to Sarasota we settled in to mellow dinners on the deck and time by the pool. Steve and Kay are wonderful hosts. They even treated us to a Stone Crab feast. They’re such gracious hosts and really treated all of us so well during our trip. Alison arrived on Thursday and stayed with all of us at Poppa and Nanna’s. Marc joined us every evening as well, which was great. He and Sophie really get along quite well and he’s great with her.
On Friday, Tim, Steve and Marc went on a boys fishing trip. Pop caught “the big one” of the day, a nice Redfish which we cooked up later in the trip. It was a good day on the water and the guide they went with was great. Tim and Steve had been out with him the year before and had great success then, too. Luckily Tim didn’t get sunburned and heat-stroke this time.
Kay, Ali, Sophie and I headed to Casey Key to have some beach time. We had a great girls afternoon playing in the ocean and building sandcastles; “No boys allowed!” That night I, Tim, and Ali were all invited to a wine dinner at Publix, a Florida supermarket-chain. Marc distributes wine to Publix and was able to pull some strings and get us into the dinner. Thanks, Marc!
Tim treated the family to a day at “Jungle Gardens”. He and Alison spent a lot of time there when they were growing up. I had heard so much about it, it was great to finally see. When we arrived, there was a parrot show just starting. Those parrots were really talented. One rode a bike and another one rode a scooter. It’s amazing what they do for sunflower seeds! Pink flamingos were walking freely down the sidewalks as the begged for food. We took a little snack break. Sophie’s Poppa, Steve, bought her a hot dog, which was quickly snatched from the bun by a swooping seagull. He took the entire hot dog and smacked Tim with his wing as he flew away. On our way out of the park, Sophie’s Nana, Kay, took Sophie to see more parrots, and even got a photo taken of Kay holding Sophie in one arm and a parrot on the other. On the drive home, Sophie started saying (out of the blue) “Yo, baby, yo baby, yo.” She had the whole car in stitches. I wonder where she learned that from…
We made our way to Siesta Key for some fun in the sun. Sophie LOVES the beach. She splashed around the water and made more sandcastles. The water was nice and warm and the Siesta Key sugar-sand was perfect. We’re so lucky to have the opportunity to see Florida as the locals do.
On our return flight home we stopped in Denver. As we descended we hit a big pocket of turbulence, so bad that all of the kids, including Sophie, used airsickness bags. Just as we started to touchdown the pilot pulled back into the air (due to strong tailwinds). We were all ready to get off that plane once we circled and tried to land again. Sophie was a trooper through the ordeal, and really loved making new friends wherever she goes, such as the little girls she exchanged stickers with on the plane. Sophie’s a pretty friendly kid.
So, here are some fun quotes from Sophie:
We asked Sophie to say Barack O’bama. After saying it, she switched it up with some funny ones: “Barack O’baba” (baba is her lovey), “Barack O’Cute” and “Barack O’Mama”
“Yo Baby Baby Yo”
“I love lollypop, lick it”
“Mommy is so cute”
“Pretty lady, Mommy”
“Airport Day!”
Again, we had a great time and feel really lucky to be able to spend time with our family … especially in such a beautiful place. Stay tuned for the next installment. We’re seeing Allen and Amanda soon, and are looking forward to it.
Bye!
Oh, our sweet girl is 2 years old! It’s been so wonderful to see her personality bloom. She’s really quite thoughtful, empathetic, sweet and funny. Preschool has been a great experience for her. She has many friends and is very social. Often when I ask her what she would like to do, she says “friends!!” We enjoy going to a local coffee shop that has a play area and a fantastic train-table. “Thomas the Tank Engine” is one of her favorite toys/shows. She also enjoys playing with Tim’s vintage Luke Skywalker figure … and Tim is very excited about that.
Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are still her favorite foods. She also loves apple juice and vanilla soy milk.
For the small amount of TV she watches (she would watch is all day if we let her: “Momma, watch TV please?”), she does have some favorites: “Yo Gabba Gabba,” “Dora The Explorer” and “Thomas The Tank Engine.”
We celebrated Sophie’s birthday on Saturday at her favorite place, the library! We rented a meeting room and had about 10 of her friends and family join us for cupcakes and juice. It was a bit overwhelming but we all had a great time. On Sunday, we had a birthday brunch with Nana and Popa Aidlin. We enjoyed a nice morning visiting and opening more presents (even her first tricycle!) She loves her family so much! And we love her!
Here’s the summary:
Happy holidays to our friends and family. we had a wonderful Christmas week with Tim’s family in Snoqualmie Pass. Tim’s sister, Alison, flew in from NYC. Steve and Kay hosted a wonderful celebration. There was so much snow in the Cascades it was the perfect winter wonderland. We had lots of walks in the snow. Sophie loved walking in her snow gear. She was also a big help giving Max his daily treats. Sophie had a great time playing us songs on her new piano. She even let Alison have a turn! Great food, good wine and awesome company made for a happy holiday!
In January, we had a holiday celebration with my Mom, Lisa, Kelly, Dan and Charlie. Charlie sang “Up On The Housetop” and had everyone in tears. He has a wonderful voice! Sophie and Charlie treated us to a little dance after dinner. Those two cousins sure know how to dance! The next day we all went to the Children’s Museum. There was a fun Mr. Potato Head exhibit and lots of things to see.
Thanks to our family for making the holidays a memorable one!
To help celebrate Steve & Kay’s recent wedding anniversary, Tim and I met them at Jerry Traunfeld’s Poppy for drinks and dinner. The food was amazing. To start, we had fried mussels and eggplant fries (battered eggplant, fried, salted and drizzled with honey). The drinks were excellent. My favorite was the Papi Delicious martini - hornitos plata, curacao, red bell pepper, jalapenos, lime & mint (and a sugar rim). I was skeptical, but Tim ordered one and I had to get one for myself. I’ve never had a drink like it and I’ll be back!
After cocktails and appetizers, we ordered the Winter Thali:
Dungeness crab, avocado and shiso salad (AMAZING!)
Albacore tuna with cilantro slaw, yam shoestrings and picklet shallot (EXCELLENT!)
Lavender-rubbed muscovy duck leg (DELICIOUS! Best Duck ever!)
Swiss chard gratin (YUM!)
Sweet potato naan (TASTY!)
Herbed ricotta dumplings with black truffle & leeks (JOY!)
Roasted cippolini onion stuffed with quince, almond and kale (SWEET and SAVORY, YUM!)
I was a little hesitant to learn there was one set of small plates to order (with vegetarian options). But, I was pleasantly surprised by the marriage of flavors and textures. Chef Traunfeld does not disappoint.
Tonight we tried a new restaurant, Oddfellows Cafe co-created by Linda Derschang (of Linda’s) and chef Ericka Burke (of the Volunteer Park Cafe), in Capitol Hill. Tim had Shepard’s Pie and I had the Chicken Panzanella Salad and Butternut Squash Soup. Sophie tried the fries and Pork Nuggets (shredded pork, battered and fried), both with yummy dipping sauces. Sophie wasn’t very interested in eating, but talking to the “Lady”, our server, and looking at all of the people. I can’t wait to go back!
