Spring?

This Spring has been a tease. A couple of weeks ago, I took Sofia to a pediatrician's appointment on the Upper West Side. The temperature was a glorious 70 degrees (F) so I decided push the freshly pricked princess the 2 miles back home. So with the baby passed out in the stroller and her chubby legs hanging out the sides, we began our journey back to Hell's Kitchen.

When the weather is suddenly, and abnormally, warm everyone seems to have a smile on their face. That day was no different. In a city when eye contact is a naughty word and you feel like you've hit the jackpot when someone holds the door open for you, people can still surprise you. The sun was a real attitude changer. Strangers stopped to coo over the sleeping baby, pedestrians moved to make space for us to pass and doors began opening all over the city.

Nannies pushed children enjoying melting ice creams while they sipped their Italian ices. Posh mommies also were seen pushing their newborns on the streets, sporting their newly acquired fit figures, while eating Pink Berry or Tasty-Delight (if they were feeling dangerous). Diving between them, bicyclists sang along to the music blaring from the boom boxes roped to their backs.

The flowers bloomed, the sun shone, New Yorkers were practically dancing in the streets. I think you get the idea.

But now it's raining - and it has for days. Will Spring ever arrive and decide to stay? Will I ever see happy New Yorkers again?

Happy Half Birthday!

Well, Miss Sofia, you are halfway there - to your first birthday. And what a little person you are turning into! The most noteworthy thing to mention about you at 6 months is how happy you are. You smile 300 times a day and not just to us but to the people in the laundromat, dry cleaners, gym, grocery store, subway, etc. If they smile at you, you smile right back. It's pretty easy to make friends with you.

Your easy-going, friendly attitude rubs off on other parts of your life. For example you seem to be up for anything. You like small things; you find a walk around the block is wildly entertaining and a feather will keep you happy for 30 mins. But also you are up for bigger adventures, like the swing set and the swimming pool (despite the temperature being a far cry from bath water). You are just so curious!


But this curiosity has not extended to the physical. You don't roll - not even close. You don't crawl or scoot or even reach that much. If a toy is out of reach, you just happily wait for another to be dropped in your lap. Forever the optimist. But you can sit like a champ. Nowadays, you rarely tip yourself backwards and seem pretty confident with your solid foundation.

Speaking of your foundation, that is another thing you excel in: growing. I suspect that you are now around 20 lbs and in the last month you have grown 2.5 inches (imagine, that is a lot when you are only 2 foot tall!). This ability to grow is no surprise, given your parents.

Over the past two weeks, you have been enjoying 'solid' food (i.e. baby rice that tastes like pureed cardboard). But today, you tasted real food. Pear puree. I can safely say that it was a big hit. Next apples, then carrots, and then perhaps bananas - and the world is your oyster. But you can't eat those for another 6 months, at least.

You like the funniest things: eating bubbles in the bath, 'Caps for Sale' when the peddler yells at the monkeys for stealing his caps, any and all animal noises, the sound of your own high-pitched squeal. One day you might think that snapping our fingers is the craziest thing and you howl with laughter and the next day you will look at us like we're nuts when we keep snapping our fingers with sappy smiles waiting for the smiles to explode. Only they don't - she is SO over it now.

So baby girl, it has been quite an adventure. I keep trying to come up with clever ideas to stunt your growth and keep you just as you are right now. But as time moves on we are continually in awe as we learn more about you. We partly feel like we can't wait to see what you do next, but the other part is firmly enjoying today. Keep smiling! Love, Mommy & Daddy

Hair!

Hair is all the talk around our place at the moment.

• Firstly, Sofia is growing more of it. We can almost create a comb-over on the bald spot found on the back of her head (made from tossing and turning while trying to fall asleep).

• Secondly, I am losing tons of it. This is a seriously delayed post-partum reaction. But this hair loss has resulted in finding my hair on everything Sofia - her bath water, her clothes, her toys, between her toes, in her diaper! Poor thing - my hair is slowly taking her over, alien style.

• And lastly, I went dark! As you can see in the photo, I have embraced the dark side and trying life out as a brunette. Jury's out at the moment. Antony is a fan (he feel like he is living some alternative life with another woman). Comments welcomed!

Sofia's First Bite

By looking at her, you'd think that Sofia could put away a cheeseburger, no problem. But this first taste of baby rice didn't go down so well. And the hours following this video included LOTS of baby vom. We'll try again tomorrow!

Sofia's Party

In sweet celebration of hip and leg freedom, our friends from around NY joined us (and my mom) for a boozy brunch (aka Free Sofia Party). Dressed in a beautiful dress bought for her by her English Grandma, she dazzled her guests with sticking out her tongue and raising her dress over her head so that she could stuff the delicate silk into her mouth.

Despite being out of the brace and now enjoying the ability to kick her legs as much as she pleases, she still continues to grow at an alarming rate. Now at 5 months she is a whooping 18 lbs! Size 6-9 month clothes will soon be a thing of the past. What a high achiever, eh?

Love Day

Valentine's Day takes on a whole new meaning when you wake up to two cards: one from your husband and one who's sharp pen jabs could only be from your daughter. Don't worry readers, Antony also got a card from Sofia (and me!). And instead of a romantic dinner for two, we are going over to little Max's apartment for a family brunch. Yes, Sofia also has a card for Max - what a tart!

And in addition to it being our first Valentine's with our chubby cherub, it has also been exactly 5 months since she entered the world and our lives. People ALWAYS tell you that time flies by and that you should treasure every moment. But these 5 months seem both fast and slow. Has it really only been 5 months since this gorgeous creature was living in our spare room? It sort of seems like a lifetime. On the other hand, it is crazy to think about how much she has changed in such a short amount of time. I am regularly saying to Antony, "Now this is the best age yet, how can we stunt her growth so that she stays like this forever?" But she always gets bigger and I am just as excited with the new and improved Peanut.

And for those of you who are far away? Let me fill you in on her current favorite things (they change weekly): Mommy or Daddy chewing her thighs, hitting or kicking anything that dangles from her activity play gym accompanied by loud squeals of delight, her Sampson dog who will most certainly be bald before she reaches her first birthday, standing on her wide-spread legs and walking around the neighborhood strapped to Mommy facing in but craning her neck in every direction to look at the buildings and people walking by.

Free Sofia!

On Thursday, Sofia received excellent news - she no longer has to wear that nasty ol' pee-poo-spit-blood stained brace and her legs are free to kick as much as they please. We, of course, were thrilled. Sofia didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the moment and proceded, as usual, wanting to be fed, changed, burped, etc.

We do have to go back in three months for a final check up - just to make sure that those pesky hips have behaved - but the doctor assured us that we were safe to throw away the brace and make it a distant memory (see photo for proof).

As promised, we are throwing a bash - Free Sofia Party - on Feb 21. Essentially this will be a boozy brunch for us adults but it will all be in the name of Sofia's freedom.

Thanks to all for your well wishes and comforting words throughout!