Auntie

My good friend and Ed's cousin, Jenny, was in town from Toronto for a really quick weekend visit.  I asked Sophia to say "auntie" and she did!  Sophia generally refuses to perform for the camera but Jenny was able to catch a bit on video...

Sing sing talk talk

I now have a new favourite pastime - listening to Sophia sing. She can carry a tune! She sings “ta-ta ta-ta ta-ta-ta” to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She also sings a couple of lines from Jingle Bells and the song from a YouTube video that she watches. Ed and I were amazed the first time we recognized what she was singing. I thought I imagined it so I asked Ed if he recognized the tune and he did. So cool! She sings while she bathes, eats, plays, walks around, and lays in her crib. I just love listening to her!

Sophia is also starting to say words and imitate the sounds she hears from us. She says cat, ball, cheese, shoes, and apple. She said bow wow wow after I said it to her (I was reading a book to her). I notice Sophia watching my mouth closely as I say words for her to repeat. I now have to rid myself of the swear words that sometimes just flies out of my mouth. I have a little one who is listening intently and mimicking what she hears. Shit. Good thing she can’t read yet!

Post-baby business trip

I spent three days away from home last week. I went to Houston for my first post-baby business trip and Ed had to hold the baby fort together while I was gone. I was not sure how I would be emotionally, leaving my baby for the first time. I phoned home as I was waiting for the plane to take off from Vancouver and I got teary-eyed as I left a message for Ed and Sophia. Once I arrived in Houston and got busy with work, though, time moved faster and it took my mind off how much I missed Sophia. This is also the type of work that I really enjoy - conversing with the users of our applications, finding out what they want and need, then figuring out how our software can make their jobs easier. Since designing software is something I’ve done for a number of years now, I tend to overlook how big an impact my work can have. At the end of our meetings with the client, my colleague, Nathan, reminded me that something I invented is used to streamline the work of hundreds of people in major corporations such as Chevron and BP. Software I designed is used in far away places like Nigeria and Singapore. That made me feel pretty good. Thanks, Nathan!

Ed did a great job taking care of Sophia, although, when I called home at night, he sounded more and more tired as each day passed. It is a lot of work to take care of a baby all by yourself. I appreciate having a husband who is supportive of my work and its demands for travel, and is willing to take care of things at home so I can do the work I enjoy. Thanks, Ed!

I also took advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with old friends who now reside in Houston. One night, I had dinner with Dee, a classmate from high school whom I have not see in twelve years. Oh, it was non-stop talking all throughout dinner! The next night, I had dinner with Prince and his fiancé Irene. Prince and I became friends at Andersen Consulting, at my first job after finishing university. We also had a lot of catching up to do. I had a great time getting reacquainted with them, finding out what they’ve been up to, and reminiscing about the past with them. Old friends really are such a blessing to have.

With Dee

With Prince and Irene

Mama and other tricks

Sophia said "mama" for the first time yesterday.  And when I had her show off her new skill to Ed, he said "kiss-kiss mama" and Sophia promptly leaned over to kiss me!  She even gave me a big smile after the kiss.  My heart just melted.

It's a little weird to be called mama, though, because that is what I call my mom.  So I'll still refer to myself as mommy and soon, hopefully, Sophia will learn to call me that instead.

She's getting quite good at going down the stairs sitting down.  She still wants to hold my hand as she goes down but she's getting faster.  She is walking very well and a lot faster now, she is almost running sometimes.  She knows how to knock-knock on doors (well, she knocks on books, walls, etc).  And when we ask her where her tongue is, she sticks out her tongue to show us.  She also knows where her nose and belly button are.  She knows how to turn things on and off, like the fan in her room, the light in the bathroom, and her toy that spits out balls.  I say "press the button" and she goes and presses the on/off switch.

It's so fascinating and fun to watch her respond to what we say.  She says uh-oh when I say it!  We're definitely going to have to start watching what we say around her!

At the daycare

Here are some photos I took this morning of Sophia at the daycare. She is a very social baby and is enjoying herself there. The staff are very good and pay lots of attention to the kids. So far, it's been  good and I'm really hoping that it stays that way.