ONE

Dear Sofia, my angel, my sunshine, my sweet doodle bug,

A little less than a year ago, I wrote you a letter telling you about how you were born. Alas, that letter went to the great laptop graveyard in the sky, so I'm writing to you here in the hopes that it won't get lost this time. Also because I don't have a printer.

Last night you kept waking up, which is unusual for you. You didn't seem to want anything except to be held. So we went downstairs and lay down on the couch, you snuggling up on my chest. Your breathing became peaceful and pretty soon there we were, belly to belly, you sound asleep. It's been months since you fell asleep like that. I glanced over at the clock to see that it was -- almost to the minute -- exactly a year since we laid like that, meeting skin to skin for the very first time. I cried then and I cried last night.

You see, Sofia, when you were born and the midwife put you on my chest, I couldn't believe the miracle of you. There you were, this extension of me, this new soul, my heart beating outside my body. I couldn't find words to describe it when I wrote that first letter, and one year later, I still can't find the words.

This last year you've been my little partner in crime, my traveling ray of sunshine. You've trekked to New York, Las Vegas, San Diego and Colorado. You've danced with me and all your bellydance sisters in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Seward. After dumping cell phones in the fireplace, unraveling the TP and eating dog kibble, you've learned the meaning of NO. You can take your shirt off, dance to any rhythm, climb the stairs and make farting noises with your mouth on the sliding glass door.

Through all the tears (yours and mine) and frustration (yours and mine), you've brightened every second of every day for the last year. And even more than that, I watch how every day you can light up the day of a complete stranger with just one smile. I hope you never lose that ability. I hope you never stop dancing. I hope you always love dogs. I hope you remain curious about the world around you. I hope you laugh. I hope your faith never wavers. I hope you always know how loved you are.

Happy first birthday.
Love, Mom

Look, Ma, no shirt!

The other morning, I heard the most self-delighted baby giggles coming from the living room. Camera in hand, I found the spectacle of Sof learning how to undress herself.

Sleeve one:



Head:



Finally free:



Celebrate!



Oh, yeah, and this morning she discovered the toilet paper roll:

Who needs vitamin D supplements?

Not us! We just spent a glorious ten days in Vegas and San Diego, soaking up the rays. And -- drum roll please -- not one of us got sick! This is a major accomplishment, given that at least I have been sick on our last three visits.

So not being sick let us cram in tons of activities. We mostly spent our time with the family at Lisa's or Mom's, and Sofia absolutely ate up all the attention. She followed G all over and got endless laughs out of big cousins Frankie and Anthony.

I loved being able to take my daughter outside without having to think about ten thousand layers of clothing. So strange to think that she's almost a year old and this trip was her first experience sitting in grass! We did a little hiking in the Red Rocks, a truly beautiful place. Of course the only camera we had was John's Blackberry, so this is the best we could do:



We spent a couple evenings at the ballpark for Anthony's tournament:




Hung with the Armijos:



Then we road tripped out to San Diego. The five-hour drive there and back was worth EVERY SECOND of our single day there. We hit Old San Diego for dinner the first night and consumed -- what else? -- copious amounts of Mexican food and margaritas:



Sof got her hands in the sand for the first time. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but she liked the wandering duck:




We spent most of our whole day in CA at Sea World, doing all your typical Sea World things. Dolphin show, Shamu show, feeding seals, traipsing through the shark tank. I was amazed at how much Sofia seemed to perceive. Her favorite was walking under the shark tank -- she was mesmerized.













That evening John, Sof and I walked along the beach at sunset -- one of my favorite things in the world to do. We met the rest of the fam for dinner at this fantastic beach-front restaurant. As was to be expected, Sof got a little antsy, so I had to get up and distract her for a bit. We stepped outside the restaurant to discover a live fire show on the beach right outside! A poi spinner and fire juggler were all Sof needed to settle down.

Back inside, Sof entertained herself by feeding Aunt Lisa:





Once back in Vegas, it was time for a big boy and girl night out. Johnny and I left Sof with Lisa and Jenna and hit the Strip to go see the Phantom of the Opera. Don't let the fact that Johnny dozed off four times fool you -- the show was outstanding. Although I suppose it doesn't matter what show you put on a $40 million stage, it will be entertaining one way or the other. Again, all we had was the Blackberry for photos:



This brings us to Easter Sunday, our last day. We just happened to catch some old friends of John's for an Indian lunch of dosas, Heny Melwani and his dad:



Then the Easter feast with the whole family, including the most fabulous stuffed clams I've ever had.



Crammed somewhere between all the eating and ping pong, we had a little early first birthday party for Sof:



















And now that this post has reached epic proportions, I'm going to call it good.