Oh the holidays, what a great time to be pregnant and guiltlessly indulge in all the wonderful foods and desserts of the season! After all, this stomach of mine is certainly not getting any smaller, well I guess only until February 2nd that is! We are officially counting down the days now until Sophiya's little sister arrives and I'm finding myself in the "nesting syndrome" phase of pregnancy, constantly cooking, cleaning and organizing to prepare for the little one!
We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Minnesota and were thrilled to have my sister in town from the University of Michigan where she is in nursing school (so proud of her)! It was so nice to have all the siblings together again since the summertime and we had a blast. Of course Sophiya kept everyone busy and filled my parents home with a tornado of toys and laughter. She enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast, maybe less interested in sitting and enjoying the beautifully presented food, then being on center stage for all our guests and soaking up all the extra attention!
One bittersweet aspect of this Thanksgiving is that it will officially be the last one in our home in Minnetonka. After living at Lyman Court for the past 15 years, my parents will be moving later this year to Los Angeles, where my Dad's job at Mattel Toys is relocating them! It will be quite a change of lifestyle no doubt, but very exciting for them and for us as visitors (I've never been there yet)! However, it was strange for me and tad bit sad to reflect on how much time, memories and love went into that home over the years. I will sorely miss being able to come "home", the familiar smell and comfort it provides, to walk to the bike trail by the lake to Excelsior or Cottagewood and chat with our neighbors who have become like family over the years. But so goes life, the only constant thing in life is change right?
Speaking of 15 years of history, our geographical location in Maryland has placed me closer to my best friend Anabell then we have been in a long time! Anabell and I instantly connected the first day of sixth grade and our friendship has only grown from then, and I feel so grateful to have someone like her in my life still after all these years. We spent the summer in Anchorage, Alaska together after our freshman year of college working at an environmental camp. We were also lucky to have her visit us in Cape Town during her African travels through South Africa and Ethiopia. She is now living in Philadelphia, so it's only a couple hours for us to see each other, which has been such a treat! She came down for a weekend of vegan Christmas cookie baking, as you can imagine Sophiya was thrilled at this project! Despite my very limited baking tools, we (well more she) baked probably 6 dozen gingerbread, sugar and chocolate cookies. What a wonderful weekend together, lots of laughs and far too many cookies consumed!
Cupcake hat from Auntie Anabell and a new book! Thank you!
Always a happy girl with a cookie in hand!
We were blessed to spend this Christmas with Dana's family in Seattle. His parents hosted a beautiful family Christmas dinner at their home and we were royally spoiled with a seafood extravaganza! I'm lucky to have a brother in law that is a captain for the king crab industry, so needless to say our Christmas dining was one for the record books!
This Christmas was so lovely to be with family and do all the traditional celebrations together. I felt like it was even more special now that Sophiya is at an age where she is just learning about Christmas and really interested in the whole ordeal! She was thrilled at the decorated tree and couldn't stop pointing at different ornaments and in awe of the lights. I think she made a point of finding every bit of Christmas decor in the Myers' home and commenting on it and/or moving it to another location. The stockings and presents were of course a thrill, and the absolute look of joy on her face when opening each one was so priceless. I feel like the spirit of Christmas was re-born in my life now having a child that is for the first time experiencing all the magic and excitement that comes along with it!
Another first was Sophiya meeting Santa Claus, who came to Nana and Papa's house especially for her and her new baby cousin Arabella! She was thrilled to meet him, she wasn't scared and went right into his arms, but couldn't stop saying how he was "big!". He made an appearance Christmas Eve and read her "Twas the Night Before Christmas" which she miraculously listened to the whole story and brought her a beautiful snow globe. It was such a sweet memory and one tradition that will be carried on for years to come!
Another exciting part of Christmas was Sophiya meeting her new baby cousin Arabella for the first time! Arabella was only a couple weeks old then and it was the perfect introduction for her to get used to having an infant in the house! She did quite well with her and seemed to be very interested in the whole "baby" concept in general. It certainly was a good introduction for me too, now that I'm soon to be outnumbered in a few weeks. I have no doubt Sophiya will be a nurturing, engaged big sister, but it's still a bit surreal that our life will be changing so soon and starting from the very beginning again with a newborn!
So, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, then it's Sophiya's Birthday on the 26th!! Talk about a whirlwind! Sophiya soaked up all the excitement everyday and I think she started to believe the party was never going to end! Dana and I still can't believe that she is two years old already. It's crazy how fast the first couple years fly by and how much happens in such a short amount of time. She has blossomed into the sweetest, stubbornest, sassiest, most lovable creature. She is meticulous, focused, particular about her foods, clothes and shoes! Her vocabulary is growing by the day and recently miming my phrases like "Oh Man..." and "Alright!" in the most particular contexts. She loves music, gymnastics, counting, coloring, reading and dancing!
She is also potty trained! I decided to give the whole process a try in December before our trip to Seattle to see how she did and she caught on really well right away, we were so pleased! It took a couple weeks of accidents, bribing with M&Ms and an Elmo potty book, but once she got it, she got it down pat. It will definitely make life a lot easier with the newborn and we are so proud of her to have reached this milestone!
Her favorite tutu from Nana
We had a family celebration for her second birthday, complete with a giant birthday cookie and yet again more gifts for our little princess. It was a lovely party, she had a blast!
Nana also put together a professional photo shoot that day, to document all the family together again with so many exciting happenings this year! Here is a preview of some of the photos, they turned out really cute and we can't help but chuckle at Sophiya's unique mischievous, cheesy "smile", really not sure where she's learned it but it keeps coming up when a camera is put in front of her face.
First time attempting ice skating in downtown Seattle! How fun!
That will conclude my holiday update, I think my next one will be introducing the newest addition to our family so watch this space!
Wishing you all a blessed and healthy 2012!
