Monday, August 31, 2009

At the Fair







After a lot of running around the past couple weeks - mostly with too many trips to the Bay Area, whether it be Joe's work or rock shows or socializing - it was really great to spend this past weekend at home doing all the things the weekend was made for: a little cooking, a little cleaning, some errands, and a yummy Sunday brunch with my folks. It was all quite restorative. And we kicked off the weekend with one of my favorite summer activities: going to the State Fair.

I have been going to the State Fair since I was a kid and have many fond memories of fried food, rickety-looking rides, animals, and exhibition halls with people in headsets hawking cookware. And once my grandpa won a HUGE stuffed bear for me from one of the midway games, which was just about the coolest thing that could have ever happened to me, of course. I was excited to take Joe and Isota to the Fair for their first times and I am happy to report not much has changed since I was a kid. We saw cows and goats up close and (stinky) personal, had kettle corn and sarsaparilla, and even managed to score Sody a sweet stuffed purple stingray with our stellar balloon dart skills. We named him Louis. He is French.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sody is a Punk Rocker

A snarl and a mohawk, what more does she need?


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Finally!






Big furniture news around here, guys. Not only is Sody finally sleeping in a real crib but she has her very own room now! It's quite exciting. Previously, our second bedroom had been half Sody's room and half Joe's office. It contained all Sody's stuff but she still actually slept in the Pack n Play in our room. But last week Joe moved his office into our bedroom, put together the crib, and voila - instant baby room! I am so used to the three of us happily squished together in one spot that it feels pretty luxurious for her to have her own room. It's lovely and I am getting to do all the nesting stuff again - arranging and cleaning out and making it her own little space. The only thing left is getting more stuff and art on the walls, but I am being conservative in that respect after our last move. I put so much up and so many nails in the walls of our old apartment that Joe the saint spent hours spackling and repainting when we moved out. Who says I can't learn a lesson?

And yes, the first night or two of her sleeping in her own room was slightly traumatic for me ("Joe, she feels SO far away!") but she had no problems whatsoever...save for the occasional dropping of the pacifier outside the crib, or getting the leg stuck between the rails.

What Happens When Mama Accidentally Leaves a Pen on the Ground

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Many Faces of Isota

Sody's goofy, happy, punchy little personality is really coming out these days. She is a total crack up...cracks us up and cracks herself up and is just pretty damn happy in general. Like, ALL the time. Every single day I look at this sweet little lady and think "How did I get this awesome kid?!" She is so busy making new faces and rolling all over and exploring so much (most of it right into her mouth, natch) and the result is a lot of silly, happy pictures.





Saturday, August 8, 2009

First "Real" Photo Session

I took Sody to the local portrait studio the other day 'cause you know...seven months, it's time to get some real shots taken, right? Also, I had a coupon and I will do anything if I have a coupon. I am my father's daughter, what can I say? I dressed her in an outfit that used to be mine, which means it is very old and very polyester and probably not very comfortable in the middle of a Sacramento summer. But of course she was a trooper and did great and we got this amazing shot:


I know everybody thinks their own kid is the cutest, but seriously...this IS the cutest, right? RIGHT?!?

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Family Portrait

Now We Are 7 Months




Sody Lou marked her 7 month "birthday" not with cake but with a trip to the Jelly Belly Factory in beautiful Fairfield, CA. If any of you happen to be on your way between Sacramento and SF as we seem to be every other weekend, I highly recommend you stop at Jelly Belly for the tour. And the free samples. And the huge gift shop. (pencil cases with the Jelly Belly logo, anyone? slippers shaped like giant jelly beans, maybe?) We tried some new bean flavors there, too: baby wipes (ok, tastes faintly sweet, the way baby powder smells), black pepper (intense! truly pepperlike!), and moldy cheese (FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY STAY AWAY FROM THIS FLAVOR. Truly, truly vile. It was ok until I smelled the thing and then almost vomited. Which is yet another flavor of Jelly Belly, oddly and disturbingly enough).

Speaking of vomit - and i apologize for this post being so disgusting - here is a fun fact: the powers-that-be at Jelly Belly were trying to create the flavor of pepperoni pizza but it wasn't quite working so that is how they got their vomit flavor. See, the tour is EDUCATIONAL!