That bright thing in the sky

We'd heard rumors of it. It's said to be a powerful thing. Legend has it that it can cause things to grow, make things warm...yet also be destructive in it's heat.

And then...yesterday...we saw it! It emerged from its seemingly permanent hiding place behind the clouds. Behold -- the SUN!

Yes, we finally had a sunny day, and Sofia and I took full advantage of it. After a morning full of running around and visiting various people, we packed up Lucy and Bella, and went for a hike with Shawna, Kyler and Fauna.

Sofia usually digs her front pack, typically falling asleep in it within minutes of beginning walking. But she's growing up, as I've heard kids have a tendency to do these days. She really wants to see everything that's going on around her, and between being stuck in the pack and having a big sun hat on, she couldn't keep track of all the things happening around her. She turned into a little wiggle worm, and let out these periodic squawks. They weren't angry or painful, just little annoyed announcements that she couldn't see what she wanted to see. I have to say, it was pretty darn cute. Then again, I think even her boogers are cute, so you're getting this from a pretty biased source.

These squawks and squeals are a regular part of every day now. I just wish I knew what goes through that little baby head to instigate all these sounds and giggles...

"Doop, doop, doop, sittin' in my bouncy chair. Mmm-hmm. Whoop, hey there's a light. Pretty light. Fascinating light. Ahhhh, lightbulb, you're a RIOT! So round and, well, light. C'mon lightbulb, keep the entertainment coming. Ahhh lightbulb, don't you ever change!"

Or maybe not.

S.O.S? M.O.M.

Though we're still currently losing the bottle battle, General Grandma recently came to the rescue with some new tactics.

The back story is that for the first time since Sofia was born, I REALLY needed someone to help me out with her for a few hours this afternoon. My girls and I were hired to dance for three hours, and being an actual professional gig, it's not such a great idea to bring baby.

What to do? All it took was the remark from Mom that when we were babies, we'd go four hours between feedings. So I decided to see if Sofia would go four hours, and what do you know? No problem. No fuss. Nada. Just one happy baby who didn't need to eat for FOUR HOURS! Yeah!!

So this now means that it's totally feasible for me to leave Sofia with Grandma for three hours while I go do my job (quick aside -- I love that "my job" is dancing. Does it really get any better??). Grandma to the rescue again.

Now my only question is -- why the bloody heck didn't I start doing this earlier?! Guess we never stop needing our moms.

Conquering the world, half an ounce at a time

After being out of the house for about an hour and a half Thursday evening, I came home to a quiet house. Music to my ears! I tentatively crept downstairs and poked my head around the corner...and saw...(drumroll please)...Sofia quietly in her father's arms with the BOTTLE IN HER MOUTH.

Let me be clear. She wasn't necessarily drinking, but the bottle was in her mouth and she wasn't screaming. Anyway, she ended up drinking about half an ounce from the bottle, which was thrilling. My, how the thrills of life have changed with parenthood.

I don't know if it's visible in the pictures, but you might notice a bump on the bridge of Sofia's nose. That? Is her first mosquitoe bite. Bastard. I will hunt it down and kill it. And its family, too...

One final note -- my computer is behaving suspiciously again. Cross your fingers for me that it doesn't crash on me again!

Bottle battles and other news from the front lines

Our baby will not drink from a bottle. She just won't. I started this week with the goal of spending about two hours each morning working with her on the bottle, and we haven't gotten anywhere. When I was out of the house last night, John didn't get anywhere either. It is an EPIC battle of wills we have going here. Child is STUBBORN. And since this is my blog and I can say whatever I want, I will say that she inherited all of that from Papa.

Some may say that I'm pretty young, without a whole lot of life experience. But really? I've got almost a three-decade advantage over Sofia on building up willpower. I'm going to keep on hoping that advantage pays off eventually...So the moral of this story is that I'm going shopping for new bottles today. Lots of them. Will try ANYTHING.

The post title says "other news." Other news includes Sofia getting her first shots last week. She was pretty much like, "Whatever, bring the pain. I can take it." She's a tough little booger. She also weighed in at nearly 13 pounds, and ranks in the 90th percentile for both length and weight. Her head is lagging a bit in the 50th percentile, but I'll say it again -- Mama is still thankful for that one.

Biggest announcement yet? She ALMOST rolled over yesterday. We are so having a party when she really does roll over.

And the little changes continue -- she's focusing like crazy on faces, and responding to singing and smiles with big smiles of her own. She's discovered how cool it is to look in mirrors (hey, that baby always does the same things I'm doing!). She loves hanging out under her nifty Baby Einstein tent from Aunt Lisa. The fist sucking continues, and loudly. The squeals and coos are increasing while the fussiness is decreasing. She's still sleeping at least 8 hours a night, and seems to be increasing that -- we even got a 10-hour sleep from her the other night.

Lucy's interest in Sofia also continues. When Sofia's on the ground under her little entertainment center, Lucy loves to get right down there with her. And when she realizes that Sofia isn't going to play with her, she'll just snuggle in as close as I will let her get. Bella...well, Bella's interest still seems to be poop.

And now for your gratuitous silly shot of Lucy:

I liver you

You learn something new every day, right? Well, last weekend I learned that Northern African Berber tribes consider the seat of love to be not the heart, as we Westerners say, but the liver. Apparently the heart is too fickle. I'm just full of useful information, eh?

You, too, could have learned such tidbits had you been in Fairbanks for a weekend long dance workshop with the incomparable Mira Betz, hosted by the fabulous Mary Haley (Mary, I liver you!).

Sofia and I drove up to Fairbanks with the lovely Lori, one of Sofia's many beloved honorary aunties. Not only did we dance our pants off all weekend long, but we learned that an 8-hour road trip is perfect for solving the world's problems. Ask us about anything -- religion, politics, social ills, the economy....we have a solution hammered out. I say when our illustrious and esteemed politicians have a disagreement, pile them into a car with a 10-week-old baby and tell them to drive to Fairbanks. They'll get it figured out. Quickly.

Other discoveries of the weekend in Fairbanks: Sofia loves Moroccan drums. That child absolutely lit up to all the music we were dancing to. I guess nine months of bouncing around in mom's belly to such tunes will do that to a baby.

Anyway, Mira was totally fabulous. Not only did she knock my socks of with her technique, presence and extensive knowledge, but she offered to hold Sofia while I participated in the yoga warm-up. How many other star dancers do you know who would do that? And THEN, she told me that I inspired her by coming to the workshop with a baby. I liver Mira.

And now for a series of shots of various women posing with Sofia

Mira:Lori (modeling the frame for a Guedra headdress):

Mary:Fauna: