Merry Christmas! Obama's President!!

I'm so excited that this New Year heralds a new beginning for America. While I realize President Obama is just one person and not a Messiah, I think his type of leadership will unite most Americans and improve our image abroad, hopefully leading to less conflicts and more resolutions. It's cute to hear Sofia yell "Obama!" when she sees him on TV even if she doesn't understand who he is.

On to Christmas...

We spent the Christmas holidays in Illinois with the Polanco and Boyd Families. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins and spending time with their grandparents and aunts and uncles. We also had a chance to visit the Museum of Science and Industry, visit with friends and go to a New Year’s Eve party. We all had a great time and can’t wait to see everyone again. Hopefully as Fiona gets older she’ll be more patient and tolerate the car seat for longer periods so that we can visit more often.


Opening gifts on Christmas Eve


Playing with Granny


Silly Papa!


Fiona’s sweet smile


Perfect snowball-making weather


Cute bowling shoes!


Just after midnight…

Fiona Update
As I was changing Fiona’s diaper last night she began clapping. It’s the first time I’ve seen her clap and she was very excited when I clapped along.

It’s already been at least a month, but Fiona is busy trying to walk and is really good at pushing her little walker. She’s a pro at crawling since she’s been doing that since she was about 5 ½ months old.

Fiona seems to going through a growth spurt because she’s quite the eater. She seems to like anything we give her, from pureed carrots, potatoes, apples, broccoli, bananas and pumpkin to beef stew broth and quinoa. Her next doctor appointment is in a couple of weeks and I’m curious to learn how much she weighs now.

Sofia Update
Potty-training is still going…she’s had a few accidents, but she’s taking naps without diapers. And she poops in the potty (sorry for the “too much info”). Our next task, starting this weekend, is to let her sleep through the night without diapers.

She’s also taken to using words against us…I recently asked her to help me “clean up” her room after she scattered her toys around and she said “You’re a big girl. It’s OK” meaning “you do it.” I say this to her when I’m trying to encourage her to do something for herself. She also says “What are you talking about, Daddy? (or mommy)” a lot, as well as “I’m talking to you Daddy!” and “What’s wrong with Fiona?” when Fiona’s crying even after she’s the one that caused Fiona to cry.

Sofia’s been taken with domesticity lately. She’s become very nurturing of her dolls and has them take naps and feeds them. We bought her a little crib/dresser/armoire set that she uses and she likes “feeding” us. She frequently makes us waffles and ketchup for dinner. I’m waiting for our kitchen remodeling job to be completed (and her birthday) to get her a little kitchen of her own. I’m hoping she’ll still be interested in playing chef by then.