Actually, we're taking to the skies again... this time to Seattle.  We're going for work (an Econ conference), but it will also involve a lot of play.  Sophia will get to meet Uncle Ilke and my cousin Laurie and several other good econ friends from UVa and other places.  Should be fun and we promise to bring back some pictures.  :)

 

To tide you over until then, I've included a few cute nudie pictures of our girl after her bath.  Note: she's laying on a beach towel.  Boy is she big!  :)

I figure it's been a while since the first Jumparoo videos (the very end of April according to the blog, so it has been two months).  Remember how she just sort of sat there like a little lump?  Well, things have changed quite a bit since then and I think I'm ready to officially declare some of this movement "jumping".  What do you guys think?  Take a look at the evidence.

 

 

It must be hard enough work for her... check out the pictures below, which were taken literally three minutes after the video.  I must confess.  When I researched the Jumparoo, one of the things that appealed to me most was all the people who shared photos on Amazon of their exhausted, Jumparoo'd-out kids sleeping peacefully while still in the Jumparoo.  The promise of an exhausted kid and the ensuing nap was just too tempting.  I'm feeling pretty good about my purchase right about now... she's napping sweetly in her crib.  :) 

Pictures below are of a resident BLACK WIDOW SPIDER.  She's living in/on our garage.  Esen discovered her and finally took some pictures to try to identify.  I was really, really hoping it wasn't going to be something deadly.  Too bad.  Too bad for the kitties especially now that they're living in the garage.  A black widow can kill a curious cat.

Back to the doctor this morning for Sophia's second round of immunization shots.  The visit started off just fine...

-- measure the baby's length:  26.5 inches (100th percentile)

-- measure the baby's head:    16.5 inches (75th percentile)

-- measure the baby's weight:  15 pounds, 8 ounces... wait!  KABLAM!!!  Change that to 15 pounds, 7 ounces after projectile pooping all over the counter next to the scale.  (still 90th percentile despite 1 ounce loss in poop)

 

So, she appears to continue growing splendidly.

 

Despite this nice start, the visit ends with three sizable shots to her tender little thighs.  Esen again held the legs and I held her upper body.  It was harder for me than the two-month shots.  When she got her two-month shots, her little cries sounded kind of like a goat... something you can sort of ignore.  This time around, her cries were more animated and heart-breaking... like a little girl who is hurt.  I assume this only gets harder as time goes on.

 

Anyway, we've got her back home now and immediately filled her with infant tylenol.  She's sleeping in her crib and hopefully will wake up feeling less like the Incredible Hulk than she did last time we got shots.  She's napping regularly in her crib these days, so I snapped a couple of cute pictures of the positions she gets herself into.  Napping with daddy on the big bed is still pretty nice, too, though... see below.

Well, today is Sophia Lale's 4-month birthday.  I finally got us to the photographer to take some real, live, professional pics.  Some of you will be getting copies of these in the mail, but for those who still want to see, I figured I'd take some pictures of the pictures and post.  This is probably illegal and I don't want the "Picture People" to come after me (or refuse to take her pictures in the future), so shhhhh... this is our little secret.  The quality isn't great (especially on the black and white), but it'll have to do until you get the real ones.

 

PS - If you don't get one of these in the mail and you wish that you had, just let me know and I'll factor you into the next set (which I hope to do in August).  If you *do* get one of these in the mail, but you want a different/additional pose or a different size, also let me know... they keep these on file for a year and I can always order more of your favorites!

 

PSS - Yes, those are tulips on her little outfit.  It's hard not to buy tulip-themed things with a name like Lale!  Also, this *little* outfit is a 6 month and will be retired after it is washed... it is too tight already.  Current weight is 15 pounds, 6 ounces... BIG GIRL!!!

 

PSSS - I also took her picture with the pink pig so that you can see for yourselves just how big she's getting!  I especially like the ones where she's getting the pig into a headlock.  I put the "pink pig pics" into an album (look to the right) so that it's really obvious how she's grown.

Tomorrow morning babaanne heads home to Turkey.  Sophia has certainly enjoyed her visit, rewarding her with lots of laughing and not too much crying.  We took her to the mall today and had some professional pictures of Sophia taken while grandma kept her smiling.  Check your mailboxes soon for these cutie-patootie pictures.  They also had some fun at bath time and walking... see pictures below. 

... and it is *HOT*!!  Like over 100 degrees hot.  Boy-oh-boy was San Francisco nice with its 65-degree days.  Those folks might have to pay $1 million for a 800-square-foot house, but they sure have nice weather in the summer!

 

The trip was exhausting to be sure.  Traveling with a baby is hard, hard work.  We survived about 8 restaurant meals, 2 taxi rides, one very crowded street market (with the stroller), and a lot of walking around in general.  Napa was a little harder... the wineries aren't too concerned with being baby-friendly as you might imagine that's not really their biggest clientele.  I was pretty exhausted myself by then since Sophia reverted to getting up twice each night on thr trip.  Still, we sure learned a lot about how to travel with the kid and hope that it will get easier in the future.  For those who have kids, you're probably laughing at that last sentence, huh? 

 

Sophia has continued to work on her giggling and laughing, although she only seems to "perform" for those who are Turkish (see video below with her babaanne) or maybe she just refuses to giggle for me.

 

I didn't take too many pictures on this trip because I had my hands full, but there are a few posted below.  Most notably, Sophia met her Uncle Kaan, giggled through her first phone call with Dede Orhan, and explored the hilly streets of San Francisco (thankfully pushed by her daddy!).

 

 

OK folks.  We're heading to San Francisco and Napa to spend some quality time with part of the Onur clan.  I'll post again after the weekend with lots of fun pictures of Sophia the wine taster.  :)

My dear cousin Jenny swears that Sophia was giggling in ND.  I haven't seen it myself (or I just haven't seen something that I would call a true giggle/laugh) and I'm with her pretty much non-stop.  I also do a lot of things that make her smile, but haven't gotten a real giggle out of her.  Today, her daddy worked his Turkish magic and received giggle after giggle.  Fortunately, it went on long enough that I was able to record it.  I've watched it 5 times myself already... it is totally infectious.  Sure wish I could get her to do this...

 

 

We hosted our first poker night last night.  I suspect there will be more to follow... it was a lot of fun (and that's coming from me... the first out of chips in both games).  Sophia sat on laps during the first game and slept during the second.  She didn't bring me any luck, but Mr. Chip Leader appears to have benefitted from her poker face.  The picture of her on her tummy is just a cute smiley shot of a happy, well-rested baby this morning.

-verb; to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a ball or a wheel.

 

One second she was playing and enjoying some tummy time, the next second she was in motion and rolling onto her back.  It happened quickly without any hint that she was going to take that kind of action.  I'm not even convinced that she meant to do it or could do it again.  We immediately put her back on her stomach and got the camera out, but she wouldn't give us the documentary evidence we were seeking (see the video below).  She did, however, fart on film.  Nice.

 

And the winner is... Esen Onur and Baby Lale!!!!  See picture below of my victorious Turk and his daughter with a belly full of milk FROM A BOTTLE!!!  :)  The winning combination turned out to be an old-school latex nipple (the softer kind found on Playtex bottles) and feeding her in the bouncy seat (rather than him holding her in his arms).  I am just so thrilled that they finally worked it all out!  Now I don't have to worry about her starving to death.  :)

We figured that it might be time for another bath video.  Sophia was happy to be back in her baby bathtub.  We had to improvise a little while in ND, but she did pretty well even in a full size bath tub. 

 

... but in the opposing corner, we have her arch nemesis... THE BOTTLE!!  That's right folks, our sweet, innocent, little angel refuses to take a bottle.  And by "a bottle", I mean that she rejects any notion of a bottle... the avent, the dr. brown's, the naturalflow, the comfi nipple, the latex, the silicone, the long nipples as well as the short ones.  OK, OK, truthfully we've only tried a couple of those, but I bought them all today because I suspect we'll go through them all trying to find one that suits the Princess.  Poor Esen.  He spent hours today working with her, from the time she was just moderately hungry to when she was starving... no luck.  I know I should count my blessings that she's rejecting a bottle instead of rejecting the breast, but I'm seriously ready to occasionally be away from her for more than 3 hours, so it would be great if she would do this.  At about 6-8 weeks old, she would at least drink some so I figured she wouldn't starve to death... now I'm not so sure.  We've read thousands of suggestions online and tried all of them that seem reasonable.  We even tried distracting her with the TV (which she LOVES... wonder where she get's that from?).

 

I've included pictures of the two opponents below.  I think it's pretty clear who won this round.  :)

Our little baby is getting bigger.  I gotta be honest, it is starting to scare me a little bit.  I look at her hands and feet now and they just aren't tiny infant hands and feet... they're baby-going-on-toddler hands and feet.  Take a look at the progression evident in the pictures below to see what I mean.