~ One Year and A Half ~
This past week, Sofia hit her 18 month mark! WOW!!! Where has time gone! I didn't really understand "time flies" until now. There are so many things she can do and I am amazed everyday with the new things she comes up with. Her vocabulary is growing and growing and my favorite (right now) is when she shrugs her shoulders and picks up her little hands to say "doe doe" ("don't know"). Steven and I are so blessed to have her and cannot imagine what our lives were before her.

Happy 18th Month Day!

(she is pretending to talk on the phone with the remote control).

Steven was out of town this past week and wasn't here to celebrate 18th month day, so we decided to have an impromptu celebration for Sofia this weekend. First, we went to the Aquarium, but the line was sooooo long and we couldn't imagine standing outside since we are in triple digits for temps so we drove on. As we drove around, Steven spotted Dunkin' Donuts! Perfect! Sofia had never had a doughnut before so this would be a special treat for her.
Instead of an actual doughnut, we bought her blueberry munchies (doughnut holes).

All finished!

Checking the bag - just in case one was hiding....

Happy 18th months Sofia! We love love love you!!!! xoxo....x

~ Grandpa Visit ~
Grandpa stopped by for a quick visit on his way back home. Sofia loved his company and was eager to show him all her fun "tricks".

~ Cuddly Friends ~
Sofia loves fluffy and cuddly things {blankets, pillows, animals etc}. I was able to grab a few cute snaps with two of her favs....

~ Saving Pennies ~

Last summer, Nani bought Sofia a piggy bank and she loves to "feed" the pig.

~ I LOVE KETCHUP ~

~ Zoo Day ~

Last week, Steven and I decided to take Sofia to the Fort Worth Zoo. I am not a big fan of zoos, but Fort Worth Zoo has a really nice set-up AND, it's one of the top 5 in the nation. We headed out as early as we could to beat the heat, but this is Texas, so who were we kidding. Nonetheless, we were excited about our day and off we went.

Doesn't this group look like they are ready to have some zoo fun? :o)
Much better picture ;o)... Here we go!!!!!

Here is Steven mapping out our zoo route.

Right away, Sofia wanted to get "down" from her stroller and the first thing she did was head over to this water exhibit.

While she was looking through this glass, the gorilla came over and plopped himself right in front of her. When we told her it was a "BIG monkey" - she started making monkey noises!

Sofia is pointing to the......

GIRAFFES!

While at the zoo, we met up with a really good friend of mine. Kathy was the principal at our school until she resigned to become the Director of Education at the zoo! I was really impressed with all the new zoo verbage (word?) that she was saying. It was so great to see her and I realized how much more I am going to miss her when the new school year begins in a few weeks.

Our next stop was to see one of Sofia's favorite animals - ELEPHANTS! I say it is her favorite because it was one of the first animal noises she was able to make.

Here she is making elephant noises with her "elephant trunk" - a.k.a, her arm.

The zoo had water misters set up to help keep their visitors cool.

Ahhhh - relief!

At this station, there are many parakeets inside thise cage. You are able to purchase bird food and go in to feed them. We decided to wait for another day for this exciting event since we didn't know how Sofia would handle it.

Not afraid! We sometimes sing "five little monkeys sitting in a tree" where the alligator comes and "SNAPS" the monkey out of the tree (I know - it's not very kid friendly) but, while looking at this alligator/crocodile, she started "snapping" her hands to sing the song :o)

BREAK TIME!!

"Wish" (Sofia's word for 'fish')

Here comes another!!

It was not on her agenda to stop and see the penguins.

Another look at the gorillas.

Well, after two or three hours, it was time to call it a day. We enjoyed our first visit at the zoo and look forward to returning (hopefully soon!).

Within minutes of leaving the zoo....

The result of "Zoo Day": FUN FUN FUN (and humid humid humid)! It was a great day filled with great memories and can't wait to return.

Here is our guide - the red are the places we visited and the blue is for another day and another dollar.