Taking in all of Cleveland

Celebrating 100 Years
We joined the neighborhood to celebrate 100 years of our local library branch. It’s a beautiful building that we visit at least once a week. The festivities included face painting, balloon puppets, music, a puppet show, crafts, food, popcorn and of course cake!


Sofia LOVES face painting




Saturday night Joe and I went to Blossom with friends to see the Canadian Brass Band play and enjoy one of the last nights of summer (the above pic wasn't of the Brass Band, but musicians at the library).

Go Tribe!
Sunday afternoon we biked to Progressive Field to see the Indians play, courtesy of Chris who had extra tickets (thanks Chris!). The girls lasted about five innings.


At the Gate






Somehow Fiona was tired out by being pulled by mommy in the hot sun.

Fiona’s Newest Milestone
Fiona has ditched the makeshift highchair and has insisted in sitting at the kitchen counter alongside us.


Fiona sits in it one last time


Here we go…without the highchair there may be more fights and potential falls, but you can’t keep a good woman (women) down

In an update of Fiona’s potty training, it’s going well though certainly not without accidents. Nonetheless Fiona is trying and hopefully she’ll be fully potty trained in the next few months.

Ozo! Matli!
Joe and I went to the Beachland Ballroom on Sunday night to see one of my favorite bands, Ozomatli. We last saw them in Cleveland a few years ago at the House of Blues and this time it was an even smaller venue. They always put on a great show and it was a very fun time.

New School Year

Sofia's First Day at Preschool
Sofia began a new school year at a new preschool where her classmates include two of our neighbors. The class is an integrated classroom that consists of children with learning or physical disabilities as well as “typical” peers that are meant to serve as “mentors". The typical peers learn empathy and how to relate to children who are a "different" from them. The facility is very nice and includes a pool for weekly swimming lessons, two playgrounds and a hot lunch cafeteria. The best part is that although it’s quite close to home (about 8 minutes), a school bus picks her up and drops her off.

I rode the bus with her on her first day and she was excited.


The kids wear a little safety harness on the bus.

I love this photo. I think it captures a glimpse of a future young lady:


Sofia poses in front of a fish tank in the hallway.


Sofia and her teacher Beth

Sofia did great and had a lot of fun. I'm very proud of how easily she adapts to new environments and how much she loves school. We love you sweetie!

Biking the Towpath
This past Saturday we rode our bikes from our home to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath. I didn’t know we could actually pick it up in Tremont, behind Steelyard Commons, which meant we don’t have to drive to nature.

It was an overcast day, but it was beautiful, even after getting caught in the rain. We went with two other families and it was fun having a caravan of kids and bikes.











We ended the ride with a trip to Chiplote an then we raced back so Sofia could attend a former daycare classmate’s bday party. They had a very cool lemon wedge shaped cake, but I accidentally erased all photos of the party.

End of WOW
Last night we attended our weekly dose of Wade Oval Wednesdays and were sad that it was the last one of the summer season. And tonight is the last ice cream social at Fairview Park. Summer is truly coming to a close.

Nonetheless the fall begins with swimming lessons, ballet lessons, tumbling, classes at Beck Center for Fiona and preparations for other social gatherings including (maybe) our annual Halloween Tot Bash.

Sofia's Home!

Sofia is back safe and sound and speaking a lot more Spanish! It's amazing what three weeks will do and can only imagine how fluent she would be if she stayed longer. I'm hoping that she can stay longer next year, though we would also go with her for a few weeks and thereby also introduce Fiona to Mexico City.

Sofia came home laden down with new clothes, toys, crafts from school and other souvenirs. She had a fabulous time and I'm very grateful to my mom, Aunt Diana and grandmother for keeping her safe and spoiling her rotten (well, that I'm not so thankful for, but she should be getting back to normal soon).


Sofia plays with Zoe and Fiona

Chicago, Baby!
Emma and I spent several days in Chicago for a girls' weekend of shopping, walking, eating, drinking and relaxing. We visited with friends, went dancing a few nights and were vexed that we couldn't sleep in past 6:30AM thanks to our bodies' clocks, despite the late nights. Nonetheless we had a great time and picked up Sofia to bring her home.

Other Updates
A few weeks ago I went to Ingenuity Festival's Speakeasy Fundraiser held under the Detroit-Superior Bridge. It was such a cool venue, lots of fun people and great djs.



Jen, Emma and Kelly joined in the fun


The party was under the bridge across from downtown

Garden Keeps Growing
We've managed to keep our garden alive and growing. I think the key was the compost soil that took us two years to cultivate.






The rain garden is growing slowly, but didn't benefit from the composted soil

And finally...Joe finished the pergola! Although this photo shows it almost completed, so I'll have to post the finished product next week.


We're looking forward to inaugurating the patio soon.