Girls on Tour

Sofia and I recently made a trip to California. I am careful to describe this as a trip - NOT a vacation. I'm feeling that I am not going to have one of those in a very, very long time. Sofia really was a well behaved little traveler but she didn't carry anything, make any meals, pay for anything, or even change her own diaper. Therefore, she was more of a fashion accessory than a contributing member of our travelling team. I'll forgive her - this time. We did, however, have a wonderful time seeing our friends in Northern California. This photo was taken at a Flash Back Play Date, featuring Vicky/Emmy and Jodi/Rio. Both great friends from high school and with babies near Sofia's age.

We also stayed with one of my nearest and dearest friends from back home, Trisha, and her family. She also was kind enough to have a baby around Sofia's age so she had a live-in playmate. Here are Cooper and Sofia playing in his crib. She, of course, is thinking about how she is going to get her hands on him. And he is thinking about how he is going to get away from her.

And as expected, Trisha and family exposed Sofia to all sorts to delights, including BBQ ribs. She worked on this thing for (seemingly) hours. She really enjoyed it, to the point of being sick. But good things don't come cheap, right?

Our friend, Rob (aka Uncle Bobo), tagged along with us from part of the trip. It was great having him aboard the 'Girls on Tour' tour bus. But really, can you trust a man that sleeps in a princess bed with a pink magician's hat?

The last of the trip was rounded out by flying to San Diego and visiting Auntie Megan and Uncle Chris. They did what they know best: treat us to an awesome time, encourage drinking and hanging out at the beach. Here we are taking Sofia to the beach for the first time. She LOVED the sand, by the way, and promptly tried to display her affection by putting her mouth on it (seaweed included). Gritty diapers are not pretty (not that Megan would know).

We arrived back home more tired than I thought humanly possible. But I felt like Super Mom. Rob agrees - I AM Super Mom. But I am not going to try out my powers again for a very long time.

Sofia on the Move

Here is Sofia doing two of her new tricks: crawling and saying "dada." Other unfilmed tricks include waving, clapping and refusing fruit outright.

More please!

This is what my sister just texted me. The blog isn't cutting it, she said. Well, nothing helps me pull my finger out like an insult to my blog. So this is more. So do you wonder how a near 9 month old spends her day? Other than sleeping, eating and pooping (while making some excellent faces and grunts) she is generally trying to get up and go. Just recently she figured out how to roll over. That one has been a tough one for her. She is, however, an fantastic butt scooter. She is constantly rocking back and forth moving herself around millimeter by millimeter. This new found movement has caused some distress, for all of us, as MANY times in the night we are awoken to her screeches. When we rush in to see what has devastated our little princess, we see that she has rolled over and is on all fours - and can't figure out how to lay back down. We will all be thrilled when she finally aces that test.

She is also working on some other baby tricks, namely saying 'mama' and ignoring 'dada' completely. She is also starting to wave bye-bye and give kisses (though the kisses seem to be solely reserved for her daddy and her baby lover-lover Max).

And lastly,we are all gearing up for the World Cup. Uncle Bobo has even sent over an England strip so that she can be supporting the winning side (or in any case, the side who cares the most).

Here is the 'more' that Megan was after. Please excuse Antony's hairy chest and boxer shorts in the video. I wanted to include it as THAT is exactly how she spends her days.

Our Resident Camera Hog

She is the focal point of any picture. She has her own personal paparazzi. She smiles the majority of the day so most every shot is a winner. But can you blame us? We are transfixed by her gummy grin (still no teeth), cornflower blue eyes and peek-a-boo ears.

The last few weeks have been busy with work commitments and settling into our new apartment. With the grandparents extraordinaire here until early this week, we had a live-in nanny and a handyman. We used their talents well and literally worked them until the final hours before their departure! They now are enjoying a well deserved break from their two month vacation.

So now it's just the three of us - but only for a few weeks and then Gigi the Great comes for a couple of weeks to look after the baby while Rachelle does two weeks of FULL TIME WORK. Ouch, this is going to hurt.

In other news, Sofia now likes to eat lamb tagine, chicken stir fry and cauliflower with granddad's beef bourguignon sauce. But try to give her a banana, mango or strawberry and she will curl her lips into a pout and refuse to open up. Go figure.

Home Sweet Home

It has been a while since I have made any postings - I apologise to the two of you that regularly tune in! Things have been crazy here - with friendly and familiar visits and, of course, the big move. Luckily, we have had Ann & Bernard, grandparents extraordinaire, here to help us and take care of baby. You might be thinking that our move must not have been that big of a deal, besides out 600 sq ft apartment was about the size of a modest suburban bathroom. But our stuff, and Sofia's giant collection of clothes and toys, needed to be lugged down 4 flights of stairs. Even with burly Ukrainians heaving it up and down the stairs, it was a big job. But now the dust has settled in our new place and now we have places to sit and sleep. What's left is just a million jobs necessary to make this apartment our home.

You may be wondering what we think of our new place. Well, we are enjoying this moment where we don't have much furniture and there seems to be vast open spaces - giving us the impression that we live in a 1,000 ft Taj Mahal. This is a picture of Sofia kicking back, enjoying the space. I must admit that we do sort of miss the clouds of pot smoke lingering in the hallway, but we are dealing with it.

Babysitting and moving related chores can start to become overwhelming, so we decided to take a well deserved break at the Cloisters. For those of you New Yorkers (and tourists) who have never been, it is a must see on a nice Spring weekday.

Next stop... Oprah

So our friend, Matt, convinced me to take a video of Sofia playing with our newly purchased iPad. He predicted that it would become wildly popular on YouTube and before we knew it Oprah would be knocking on our door wanting to film Sofia playing with an array of ridiculously cool electronics.

Well, it has been about a week and we do have over 2,500 viewings. Not quite Oprah level but thought I'd direct our nearest and dearest to it so that they could have a look too.

Easter and New Beginnings

We had a fantastic first Easter as a new mini-family. Firstly, the weather turned divine again. That does wonders for the spirits. Secondly, Sofia was able to wear her first sundress which showed off every deliciously fatty roll - ripe for the occasional nibble. Thirdly, we spent the day walking around Midtown watching locals and tourists alike dress up in their Easter Sunday 'best.' All, of course, who stopped and gawked at our cheerful smiler.

And the new beginning part of this blog relates to our soon-to-be exodus from the 5 floor walk to a new building (also in Hells Kitchen) with an elevator, laundry room, children's playroom, deck area and a not-so-cheery doorman. Our new 12 floor, south-facing apartment has three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a dishwasher and full ceiling height in every room! (Note: for those of you who can't believe that isn't a given haven't seen our bat cave.) We are so excited! So the Pereiras are literally "movin' on up!" we just hope we can afford the rent! May 1st is the moving date - watch this space!