Week 138 and Week 51.5 - Sophia is walking!

Ok, perhaps a bit of an overstatement.  Sophia took two steps on Monday (Dec 3), maybe a dozen steps yesterday, some more today.... Last week she was holding onto a finger and walking, so really walking but with a bit of a crutch.  She will be walking by her first birthday!  Yay (and we consider walking unassisted steps).  I tried to take a video and was not so successful...

I am working on my holiday cards at the moment - trying to figure out Photoshop is fun!  I am totally a closeted graphic designer (except for the drawing bit which I don't know how to do).  I totally riff my designs from Etsy.  I see what I like and try to duplicate it myself.  Though given how cheap things are on Etsy I could certainly have saved a lot of time but would have had a lot less satisfaction.

Things are a bit less crazy - it is still raining a lot and we are fending ourselves against the mosquitoes daily (or maybe hourly).  Our park days are so limited - so I really have no good park photos of Sophia this week!

Sophia is getting more playful.  She will face plant into the bed and then laugh.  She is loving Bucky these days - she is often petting him... how lucky we are he is such a gentle soul.

We had a parent teacher conference with Charlotte's teachers... she is very good (and exceptionally mature apparently).  She is a teacher's pet, very conscientious (even getting the water bottle for the teacher and talking to the kid relegated to 'Mr. Naughty Chair' in the corner, telling him/her what he/she did was wrong).  The teacher noted that Char is not so good about communicating when bad things happen to her (e.g. telling V to stop biting her, etc.) and she needs help tricycling, which just made me laugh!  I asked Matt if that was a 2 year old prerequisite and apparently it is (I never rode a bike by myself without training wheels).  I lay claim to this deficiency.  Needless to say Matt is in charge of the motor skills of our kids.

Thanks Ron for the pictures from our party!

Sophia can't wait to choose her destiny!

Sophia will be the next Michelle Wie!

Cristobal does not want to choose his destiny:

Ella wants to be a photographer - so fitting as she is so photogenic!

Odilon wants to be a musician:

Four way happy birthday!

Sophia's first cupcake - definitely not her last!

Ella enjoys hers:

And other activities:

Char gets her advent calendar chocolate of the day:

Silly Char:

Kristin and Miles:

Lovely Anastasia:

Lucas pays a visit!

Silly Char:

Cutie Marie:

Sophia is on a mission to walk:

Eye of the tiger:

And videos:

Sophia pets Bucky:

The girls play together:

Sophia takes a step (while Char melts in the background):

Our crazy kid party - so many kids!  Also the ddol (destiny choice) here: