These pictures with the pink pig just get harder and harder.  I had to bribe her with my cell phone to get her to sit still and taking it away when I had snapped enough pictures resulted in a total meltdown.  It gave me a little glimpse of what the "terrible twos" might be like...

 

Suzy stayed with our neighbor, Peter, who has been good enough to keep her several times before, but never for 9 days.  I guess he got a little bored (or drank a little too much of the wine we bought him), but this is what was emailed to us on Christmas morning:

 

He swears that Suzy was more patient than his own dog (Arlo) in tolerating this little photo shoot, but I think he must have drugged her.  :)

Still recovering... The trip home was fairly easy and uneventful, but we're still recovering from the trip itself.  Not that the family visiting wasn't relaxing, but Sophia slept like a monster the entire time so we were all fairly sleep deprived while in ND.  I posted a ton of pictures in an album (to the right)... sorry for not sorting through them better, but I just don't have the energy so you get to see nearly every photo taken on our camera!  There are also a few cute videos to share (note: the embed videos option doesn't appear to be working properly, so I just provide you with the links below).

 

1.  Experiencing a cold ND night:  Esen really wanted to feel some true ND cold, so we waiting until an evening when the temperature was supposed to hit zero.  It never quite got there, but it was still pretty chilly at 6 degrees.  (permanent link:  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1368908643288967316&hl=en)

       

We shot a few videos while we were walking, but they're nearly completely black since there aren't a lot of street lights.  It was a really nice walk... "refreshing"!  There was a full moon and almost no wind.  We lasted a few blocks and then my face started to feel numb.  I think Esen was disappointed that it wasn't colder.

 

2.  Haydi Daisy:  This book has emerged as Sophia's clear favorite.  She especially likes it to be read in Turkish by her Baba (although the English is also on each page).  My family also enjoyed his rendition (particularly my grandma who got the giggles every time Esen read it).  (permanent link:  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=407566847563901009&hl=en)

I can't get that silly Christmas song out of my head!  (Listen to part of it at http://www.amazon.com/Have-Holly-Jolly-Christmas-Burl/dp/B000002QVS if you want a taste of the soundtrack running through my brain.)

 

OK folks, we're heading to chilly North Dakota in the morning.  I *think* it is supposed to be above freezing during the day on Thursday, but that might be the best we'll get.  I hope to see a little snow, but not so much that we're unable to travel easily between various towns to see everyone.  Now we'll see what Esen's made of... will he take the cold weather like a man?  Hmmm... only time will tell!

 

I've always enjoyed Christmas, but I'm really looking forward to this year.  I think it's a combination of things.  Last year I was "benched" thanks to being pregnant and, while it was kind of refreshing to take a year off from all hectic holidays, it was hard not to be around family and some festivities.  As a result, I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my family.  Also, I suspect that Sophia will enjoy some aspects of her first Christmas.  First, who wouldn't enjoy all the attention that the first grandchild gets?  Second, there are all sorts of things with lights and bells and wrapping paper begging to be ripped.  Finally, I'm hoping that she gets a chance to play in the snow a little bit.

 

We'll be back late on the 28th, so I'll try to post an update and pictures that weekend.  For those celebrating, have a Merry Christmas! 

Heading to North Dakota for Christmas requires various kinds of preparations.  There's the really un-fun stuff (like preparing the kitties by cleaning out litter boxes and cleaning up the total mess that they make in the garage), the necessary stuff (like packing), and then there are a few things that are actually fun (like a family walk in the brisk evening air to look at the Christmas lights).  Today, we did all of these things (in addition to usual naps, and food, and chasing, and bathing, and nursing, and so on).  It's been a full day.  Here are a few of the highlights.  You can thank me later for excluding pictures of the litter boxes.

 

After packing some of Sophia's clothes, she decided to help me examine my new suitcase:

I think that I'll maintain exclusive control over the packing effort.  Sophia appears to take after her Baba... she just started throwing things in the suitcase (including herself).

 

Next we took a little break to scour the TV channels for some good wholesome family programming.  Instead, Esen found "Flash Gordon" and we found ourselves all mesmerized by Ming the Merciless.  Once Sophia got these zombie eyes, we knew it was time to move on to the next activity...

 

 

So, we decided to head out (with our puppy in tow) to walk through the neighborhood and check out the holiday lights.  Sophia busted out her baby bunting even though it was about 40 degrees... she's training for the lower temperatures that are in her near future!

We saw big fancy houses that were tastefully done:

There were nice houses that went a little Christmas Crazy, but that you still can't help but appreciate the underlying effort:

And then there was this house with a decoration theme that sort of screamed "Satanic Christmas" if that's possible:

I'm sure that red lights seem perfectly reasonable when you're considering them in the store, but YIKES!  How do you not mix in some white lights once you see this result?!

 

Back at the house, Sophia finally let me capture a picture of her doing some "free standing", her latest trick.  She usually holds on to furniture or us when she's standing, but in the last day or so, she's been letting go and just standing there for 5-10 seconds before falling on her butt.

 

And then our angel decided to be kind to us... read some books and went to bed without a fuss!

Fingers crossed that she continues to sleep like an angel!!

Eu-re-ka: used as an exclamation of triumph at a discovery.  It is also a city in California, as well as the state motto, but that's beside the point.

 

Some of you may know that Sophia has been sleeping like TOTAL CRAP for several months now.  Definition of TOTAL CRAP?  Um, waking up at least 3 times per night and not going back to sleep on her own.  We've tried so many things and had recently reached a point where we just declared her the winner of this sick little parent/baby competition of insanity.  Last night, at 3am and after getting up with her twice already, I decided to try something new.  Trying something "new" is not a "new" idea... we've attempted a lot of new things.  My next "new" idea involved buying ear plugs.  Anywho, so when she snuggles and/or nurses in the chair in her room, she's almost always got a blanket (actually, a knitted/crocheted afgan made by Ione's mom).  This afgan has a pretty open pattern that allows Sophia to wiggle her fingers in and out of the yarn.  It's pretty big... too big to put into the crib with her... but it occurred to me that, when Sophia wakes up during the night, she might be dealing with a little separation anxiety and lonliness, so that maybe something snuggly could help her feel more secure.  So, I put a miniature version of that afgan blanket (** see additional explanation below) in the crib with her.  And the rest is history.  She slept until 8am and when I went in to wake her up, she was snuggled up with that little mini-blanket like it was the love of her life!  I haven't had 5 consecutive hours of sleep in months, so I am extremely hopeful that this is my Eureka moment!  Note: doctors advise against putting anything in the crib because of the risk of suffocation, which is why we have been so incredibly hesitant to try it.  This mini-blanket is very small and she could breathe easily even if it was wrapped around her head.

 

** So, the additional explanation is actually a somewhat amusing story.  The miniature version of the afgan is about the size of a dishrag.  In fact, it was supposed to be a dishrag about 10 years ago when little pre-teen Sally Sautner knitted it for me.  Yes, that's right... I kept that ugle purple/green/white concoction of yours, Sally... after all these years (and all these moves!), it finally paid off.  It is the perfect miniature size and has the same open pattern that Sophia likes.  I'm not surprised by this since I'm pretty sure it was your grandma who taught you how to do it!  Think you can whip out another couple of those for her?  Perhaps in a more pleasing color?  I sure wish I knew how to do this sort of thing myself.  Also, don't tell Jenny.  She'll be heartbroken that Sophia hasn't really taken to the Lovie that her fairy Godmother bought for her.

Well, after several baths in the big tub with her momma, Sophia decided to fly solo.  How was the transition?  I think it was smooth sailing, but see for yourself:

       

 

There's still no real sign of chicken pox.  She has one "dot" inside her ear that is oddly round and a little bit purple-red.

It looks pretty innocent in the picture, but it definitely caught my eye.  I feel like I've been combing over her little body like a momma monkey.  Again, chicken pox can take up to three weeks after exposure to actually appear, so I'm still only cautiously optimistic.  She seems perfectly healthy, so keep your fingers crossed!

 

Other stuff?  Well, she is infatuated with anything that we don't want her to touch (surprise... what kid *isn't*?).  She has a particular love for the TV remote.  We've tried giving her the remote for the DVD because there's less for her to mess up, but she still wants the "big boy" desperately and is giddy with excitement when she gets it.

The only thing more exciting is her Baba coming through the front door.  Here's the look on her face when Esen comes home:

Such love, huh?  :)

 

Finally, we enjoyed a little play time today with an empty diaper box.  I was kind of hoping that she'd want to play inside of it.  When that didn't happen, I decided to just plop her into it.  Esen took pictures to document the activities for Child Protective Services.  :)

 

 

Believe me when I tell you that this link is worth clicking on!

1.  Introduced yogurt this morning... her first dairy (cow's milk) product.  Its consistency seemed to please Sophia just fine and she didn't immediately vomit or break out in hives, so that's a good sign that she isn't likely to have a milk allergy.  Not that we had any reason to believe she would have a milk allergy, but it is so common that you never know.  Esen claims that she's Turkish, so *of course* she likes yogurt.  That struck me as funny coming from a Turk who doesn't eat eggplant.

 

2.  We're finally transitioning Sophia into the "grown up" bathtub.  Because it is (potentially) big and scary relative to the little baby bath that she's used to, I wanted to make sure that she had a couple of good first experiences.  My solution?  To crawl right in there with her!  It was fun!!  We splashed and screamed (the porcelain echos soooooo wonderfully) and enjoyed it immensely.

 

3.  I started my Christmas shopping (all online) today in between chasing Sophia and Suzy around.  At this rate, I will be approximately half-done with my shopping by Christmas.  Oh well.  For those of you whose names are on my shopping list, lower your expectations.

 

4.  Oh!  Dinner... just Esen and I... Friday night!  I almost forgot because it already feels like it happened ages ago!  Our daycare provider, Melanie, stayed open until 9pm on Friday as a holiday present to everyone.  Esen and I opted to have a leisurely dinner at Mulvaney's Building and Loan (where we ate after we got married a year ago).  Cocktails, appetizers, awesome entrees and wine... it was nothing short of amazing.  There was even conversation.

 

I think that's all I've got.  Just a few more weeks of classes around here.  It gets a little hectic at the end of the semester, but I'll try to keep posting!