Sunday, September 18, 2011

Getting Closer to Two!

I'm going for a record 3 posts in a month, but this one will actually have some content as opposed to the normal ones! :)

It's been great being home in Boston the past few weekends. We've really taken advantage of a lot the city has to offer - the Stone Zoo, The Boston Garden, The Swan Boats and The Fells. And Sophia is getting to the point where she is really starting to verbalize what she is seeing. And in terms of exploring, she'll happily walk (on her terms) to explore places. Though I often still get "Up! Up!" if she feels like she can get me to carry her. We're working on this - I actually think she's inclined to walk and run the tougher the terrain. Boring old sidewalk - forget it. Trails at the Fells - bring it on! She can also jump and get both feet off the ground.
Here are some shots from the Boston Garden today. We made it on the Swan boats for the last ride of the season! (And Sophia's first ever.) But first we had to feed the ducks.





Sophia is getting so many new words each week, it's quite hard to keep track. In addition to stringing two and three words together, some of her new ones are:
- Apple
- Fork
- Cook
- Pillow
- Duckie (which is an upgrade from "Ca Ca" which is what she was previously, and often still does, call a duck.)
- Puppy
- Kitty Cat
- Bless You
- Aaa-choo (from the book "The Mitten" when the big bear sneezes.

Our nanny, Lidiana, has also been teaching her lots of Portuguese words. Some of the ones I've caught/understand are:
- Boca (mouth)
- Beju (kiss - not sure about the spelling)
- and whatever the word/phrase is for "eat all your lunch" :)

I can't believe she'll be two in 6 weeks. The time has flown and she is growing and learning so much every day.

Labor Day Visit in Newport

We spent our last weekend in Newport on Labor Day weekend. Unexpectedly (but happily) the house got rented out for the next three month.
Grandpa Ahouse & Aunt Hayley (Dave's dad & little sister) came up for a visit and helped us out around the house. Hayley is awesome is Sophia - ah, to be 16 and have a ton of energy again :)
And Grandpa shot some wonderful pictures of Sophia. Here are some of our favorites.








Thursday, September 1, 2011

Sophia and the Hurricane!

Sophia got to experience her first hurricane this past weekend. We headed down to Newport to batten down the hatches late Friday afternoon, in preparation for Hurricane Irene.

Because our house is located closer to the Harbor (vs. the Ocean) we weren't as concerned about wind damage, but rather flooding. We're in a low lying area and evacuations were already being recommended on Friday evening when we arrived. Our basement is about 5ft above sea level, so if something was going to get wet - it was there.
Ready for the storm!

After lots of prep work Saturday and not much storm to show for it (luckily!) we decided to head out and explore the storm.

On the Cliff Walk aiming towards First Beach (the photo doesn't do it justice).
Ready to explore:

Family Shot on the Cliff Walk (about 35ft above sea level):
A video shot with some good wind in the background.