Happy 9th Birthday

I can't believe how old you're getting. It's taken almost a decade, but it finally happened, I've gotten a bit burned out on planning birthday parties.  This year we did a simple family dinner instead of a party. You were very mature and understanding about it. I let you request your favorite dish, which you told me was tilapia.  The Abuelos, your cousin Autumn, and Andrea came to celebrate.

Among the gifts, you got a camera from Abuelo, a Nerf bow, new sneakers, a sports shirt, socks, books, slippers (by request), and a renewal on your Ask magazine subscription from Andrea.

Masquerade Party

For Sofia's seventh birthday, she got to invite some friends from school to her party. There was much hubbub about the party at school. She told kids they could bring their little brothers and sisters. She invited more kids that hadn't really been invited. When I went to volunteer, I was very popular and constantly solicited for invitations. In the end just the right amount showed up. I loosely themed it a masquerade party. Sofia dressed up sort of gypsy-ish / princess-y with black wings. I opted to have the cake made this year to lessen the load on my sanity but I was not all too happy with the colors and details. I wish I had had more time/energy to do it myself. I departed from my regular invitation style and tried something new. I also had to make a new birthday bunting banner as the old one is partly lost. We made some cool butterfly decorations for the living room and our big thing - the party craft project which was to make a feathered mask with crepe paper.  Sofia and all the kids really enjoyed it

Welcome to 1st Grade

We had a small celebration to welcome Sofia to the 1st grade. Not that she needed it. She has been telling anyone that will listen (and also those that won't) that she's in the first grade since the beginning of the year.

We had planned for her to recite two or three poems she had learned but somehow completely forgot. I think it was the schultütes. They were well received. I had to make one for Marcelo too after he asked me where his was when he saw me making Sofia's. (And although they are a German, first day of school tradition, I was surprised that Ray had no idea what they were. Also, he keeps calling our school name Me-mee instead of Meme like "gene". What has happened to culture? The irony is killing me.) Aside for the cone treasures, she also received a gift certificate to Build-A-Bear to get clothes for bunny and a new hat.

And the pulled pork sandwiches were quite good, I must say. Mmm, I could eat one of those right now.

6th Birthday

For Sofia's 6th birthday, I decided to go completely against my nature and good sense and give her a bounty of candy. We loosely themed it around the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale with a gingerbread house cake surrounded by candy.

It was a cold, dark, rainy day so we stayed in and young guests were welcomed to come in fairy tale costume. We had pulled pork sandwiches.

After dressing Sofia in her costume, I called her down and this was her reaction.

I think she was almost afraid of the candy. Not the candy really, just of her ability to restrain herself from swimming in it. After perusing it for a few minutes, she stated to me in a very reserved tone, "But we can't eat it yet, right?" I tried to look serious as I paused for a moment and then told her that actually she COULD EAT IT! My plan to cope with the sugar rush and following melt downs was to drink some wine and go to sleep. Luckily, there were no melt downs.

Sofia really enjoyed playing with all her cousins and friends and discovering all her gifts and of course then trying to play with all of them all night long.

Hmm, what are these things? They are book labels.

This year, I decided on the Erector Construction Set with 6V Motor as her main "toy" gift seeing how the Pottery Barn doll bombed on her 4th birthday and all. I also gave her some Dr Seuss books she liked and Hansel and Gretel, of course, by Paul Zelinsky. This was one of the first books that really intrigued her. The particular moment of intrigue occurred when Gretel pushed the witch in the oven. She also received some very nice brown leather boots which I hope she will be able to wear until she's fourteen.

As everyone got ready to sing happy birthday and began the countdown, Sofia started protesting. We were in a bit of a hurry to cut the cake as some guests had to leave so no one was really paying attention to the protesting. But as the song began, she became much more adamant about the protesting. So we stopped to see what the issue was. We hadn't turned off the lights. We turned off the lights so that the cake could be properly illuminated by candle light and began a proper birthday song again. Luckily, the gingerbread house didn't burn down.

Easter 2010

Is there a word for ecstatic + delighted? That would be the one to describe her with her mouth full of candy

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as nice as last year so we allowed the Easter Bunny permission to hide the eggs in the house on the main floor ; ) (Later in the day, I was accosted to answer specifics about the Easter Bunny and all of his goings on. She had me sweating bullets trying to come up with answers). After a small coloring project in the basement, we had Sofia, Autumn, and Marcelo hunting on the main floor. Sofia was running around collecting eggs so fast, she's a blur in most of the pictures. When her basket was overflowing with bounty, she helped the younger ones collect eggs too.

She was sooo happy to find this gift basket hidden in her room behind her door. It took her all of 1.2 seconds to sprint upstairs and find it

Sometimes Sofia is a little too helpful --she found Autumn's and Marcelo's gift baskets too

Since we have cut back down on the TV watching, Sofia has really been into coloring, drawing, and writing lately so her Easter gift basket was all about new washable markers, self-sharpening coloring pencils, drawing pads, etc. I would have been in seventh heaven had I had all these things when I was five. Did I tell you I used to play with a button on string ...

Halloween '09 -barely

It was close, but Sofia managed to be twenty-four hours fever-free and cough-free, all around well for her school Halloween Party on Friday. I knew she didn't want to miss it and even though I still have the advantage that she doesn't know what day of the week it is, I couldn't let her miss it only to realize it later on.

I gathered up the kids and headed off to the school. I was a few minutes late and I didn't have time to put on the final part of their costumes, the paper vests and chaps, but they looked so cowboy-y anyway, they weren't missed. This was the first time Sofia had been back to school that week and although she started off a little reserved, by the end, she didn't want to leave.

During the assembly, they sat for an exciting pirate presentation where a magical drink was made from sea water and sand concoction. They also got up in front and sang a song. Then we went back to the classroom where they were tortured by one of her teacher's uncreative and unenthusiastic attempts to keep them busy singing more Halloween songs while the apple and caramel snacks where prepared by the other teacher. Really people, don't go into a preschool teacher career if you're not good at it.

Sofia stands near Johny, her little class boyfriend who appears to be dressed up as a Mardi Gras poker card dealer?

As I sat in the class watching the kids, I noticed a girl turn to Sofia and ask her in a very interested and serious tone of voice, "Are you a real cowboy?"  I had no idea the cardboard belt would be so convincing.
Another girl, later commented to her -"your belt buckle is AWESOME"

Later they played games, ran around outside, and made tissue ghosts.

Sofia is quite pleased with herself, having secured a chair and not ending up in the witches soup.  Wasn't as gracious when she got booted out fourth to the winner.

Reptile Party

Sofia was very excited when she found out she had been invited to a birthday party recently, a reptile party.  It was a neighbor boy's eighth birthday. The fact that he is much older than her and a boy is certainly not a thing that would matter to her.  And, there were a lot of kids there.  She wasn't too excited about the reptile presentation as there was mostly a lot of talking and required sitting still and being quite.  She preferred sitting with Daddy or with me most of the time or running off to climb on the playset.  She said she was a little scared of the reptiles which must be a new thing she's developing now as she gets older.

I always find it interesting how Sofia gravitates towards the boys.

It started to get breezy and cold, quite cold which wasn't helping either. Half way through, I encouraged her to go sit with the birthday boy's brother who she enjoys playing with and is her age.

I asked her if she wanted to go help hold up the python but she wasn't interested.  She did oblige by standing next to the line so she could be in the picture.

She wasn't too afraid of petting the snake once she saw all the kids doing it and then seemed rather pleased with herself after having done it.

I sort of convinced her to hold one of the snakes.  I didn't really have to convince her much, she just decided to go ahead and do it after declaring that she was scared. But I was too slow to take the picture.  (I was standing too close to her and the mob of kids where all behind me.  I couldn't scoot back and my camera wouldn't focus.  When I finally got far enough to take it, she told me it was getting too heavy and plopped it on the grass).

I think her favorite part was adopting somebody's Bambi and cuddling with it while she watched the presentation.  Since it wasn't hers, I tried to get her not to throw it up in the air which she very much enjoys doing.

4th Birthday

Finally ... Sofia gets to have her birthday party.

This year Sofia was very excited to invite her two neighbor friends and kept asking me everyday if they were going to come. The cake was inspired by the Meomi September desktop calendar (more at makemestudio.blogspot.com) from which I also made the invitations.

For our fun activity, we did face painting. With Sofia's current obsession on Master Tigress from Kung Fu Panda, every one wanted to be a tiger too. I managed to get one cute butterfly in though.

Attempt at a family picture --Sofia tries to eat the whole cake in one bite.