Doing D.C.

Eric, his mom (Connie), Sophie, and I went to D.C. for the day on Monday. We met David Vaughn (Farquaad) there and did the Old Town Trolley tour of the monuments around the mall. It was a great guided tour, with on/off privileges and we never waited more than 5 minutes for the trolley. Plus, the drivers were all to happy and ready to help with strollers and bags. My favorite was the Lincoln memorial. Wow! It was truly epic. We had so much fun and Soph was a real trooper, as we hauled her in and out of the trolley. We spend the afternoon at the Smithsonian Museum of American History . I loved the Julia Child exhibit that displays her kitchen and memorabilia. Eric loved the Star Spangled Banner display, which was crazy cool and could give anyone a sense of patriotism with it's war torn ends and time tattered material. You could almost feel an aura of what it must have felt like to keep our freedom as a country that day. On the other hand, Soph was none to impressed as she reclined and fell fast asleep in her comfy stroller, lined with a soft J.J.Cole sleeping bag thing and her favorite, super soft blanky from Pottery Barn Kids. We headed back to Annapolis at about 7. It had been a full day, but with 18 more Smithsonian Museums and a slew of other museums ( The Spy Museum being at the top of our list), we may have to visit D.C. again. Good thing Eric's parents just moved to Annapolis. Even if not on another National Tour of a Broadway Show, we'll be back soon.


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Grandma, Grandpa, and Roxie the Dog

Grandpa Petersen, Grandma Petersen, Roxie, and Sophia hangin' out in Sophie's kitchen.

Sophie shared some of her dinner with Roxie. I think she really likes having a dog around. She smiles so big when she looks at Roxie. As Sophie had her dinner, Rox patiently waited for some sweet baby food to drop. After licking the jar she gratefully accepted Sophie's cracker, as Soph pointed it toward her. Sophie smiled and clapped. She's easy to please. I'm also pretty sure that she is trying to say, "Dog.". Who knew that a dog could be baby's best friend, as well as man's.

We just got "Your Baby Can Read" from a Toys R Us. You've seen the info-mercials, I'm sure. We'll we tried the cards and the video. I'm not sure if it will actually work, but new stimulation is good. She seems to really respond to the cards. So, as long as she's into it, we'll give it a shot. I worried about having her watch a video every day, but it is a very short video and we interact as we watch.
















Grandma and Grandpa went to see "Shrek:The Musical" today again. It's still great:).


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Moving Forward: Video of Sophie Crawling

Sophie has begun to grasp the concept of crawling forward!!!!!  This is so exciting and terrifying all at the same time.  I knew the time would come when baby proofing hotel rooms would be added to our check-in check list, but now the totality of that is sinking in and I'm hoping we can master this new art.  Onward to our quest of discovering every outlet and all hanging wires in a hotel room before she does.  Hopefully, now that she has the hang of crawling, she'll stop doing it in her sleep.  

Good Morning, Baltimore!

Next stop...Baltimore! Eric's parent just moved to Baltimore and we are super excited to have Grandma/Grandpa time for 2 weeks. Soph just warmed right up when we got here. You can tell she feels right at home.
She is really getting on the move here. She is able to get herself forward towards whatever toy she wants. Most of the time that is the iPhone. Expensive toy. She wants what mommy and daddy have. Go figure.
Mom and Dad P watched Soph last night so that I could see the show. It's been a while, but every time I see it I'm reminded how amazing my husband is. What a crazy amazing voice?!!!!! The rest of the cast are stellar too and it's just a really sweet show as wells being epic in the true broadway sense. Those costumes and sets are so money.
Eric asked me to come last night because there was to be a mommy blogger event with Shrek afterwards. A what?! I had no idea. There are groups of mommy bloggers all over and they use blogging to form a community and do things together and create conversations. How perfect for this type of group to see "Shrek: The Musical." What I've known all along proved true at the meet and greet with Shrek after the show...The parents were just as thrilled with the show as their kids.
Today, we went to Lululemon. This yoga-wear store is a new mom's best friend. I've been on a strict diet and exercise regimen for the past few weeks. The pants that fit me 55 pounds ago were no longer holding up my butt or my spirits. I needed a workout wardrobe overhaul. Boy, did I get my fix. The staff was super helpful and they have workout clothes that looked good on my body type. They ARE expensive, but worth every penny. I left with lifted spirits and butt cheeks.





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Pittsburgh

Sittin' Pretty!

Pittsburgh is a super nice city! Who knew?! Super nice to us equals feeling safe with Soph, clean streets, open businesses, working people, restaurants, parks, and arts. This is a walking and working downtown. There are all kinds of people on the street and it feels very urban and familiar...like New York...actually, more like Chicago. There is also a lot of cool architecture.
We stayed at the Doubletree Hotel downtown and it was really nice. We got a one bedroom suite, which was the perfect set-up. The doorman, Jeff, and the ladies behind the check-in counter were so sweet and totally in love with Sophia. Who wouldn't be?!
I left Soph with my Aunt in the lobby while I ran to get something. When I came back, the staff is surrounding Sophie and playing with her. The lady behind the counter is dancing as she cuts red paper for Sophie's entertainment. She brings out the best in people.
Soph and I have reinstated our daily walks with the return of nice weather.
Although Soph isn't fully crawling yet, she can do the movement to get herself forward. It's just the continued motion that we are working on. Lots of times in an effort to get her knees pumping, she will just pull her leg up under her, with her foot flat on the ground, next to her butt and push as if she is trying to stand.
Lisa's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin are in Pittsburgh for a convention this weekend and are soaking up some serious Sophie time. Jackie and Jonathan hung out Saturday and Sunday afternoon. They were teaching some awesome crawling techniques and I had so much fun watching them play with Sophie. Soph was plum worn out by the end of the day though. We still are finding her stuck on her hands and knees in the middle of the night. She's practicing! It's so sweet. She just looks a little dazed and confused when we turn her back over, but she just slides right back into sleep. We do give her a minute to see if she can help herself, but we like being mommy and daddy and lending a hand to our sleepy girl.







Lisa's Aunt Jackie Morabito Hacker and Uncle Dave Hacker with Soph.



Uncle Dave and Soph.




Cousin Jonathan and Soph.
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MapQuest

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Sophie's Schedule

I have found that people are always wondering what Sophie's schedule is like. Whether it's if they are baby-sitting for her or it's just conversation, it comes up. This week Baby Center had a bunch of examples of baby schedules and so I thought writing hers down might give our friends and fam an idea of what her day looks like. Here 'tis.

8:00. Wake up and play in crib
8:30. Sophie gets rescued from her crib and gives sleepy morning hugs.
(When we are in a 1-room hotel room, Soph and Mommy jet to the lobby or hotel resturaunt until her first nap, at 10:30.)
9:00. Breakfast. Sophie eats a baby size yogurt or 3/4 of an adult size along with about 3 to 4 ounces of water.
9:30-10:30. Get Soph dressed for the day. Soph sits on floor and plays with toys.
10:30-11:30. Soph gets 8 ounces of milk in a cup and takes a nap.
11:30-12:30. Floor time.
12:30. Lunch time. Soph eats a jar of veggies and drinks a few ounces of water.
1:00-2:30pm. Try to go for a walk or at least get out for a change of scenery.
2:30-4pm: 8 ounces of milk in a cup and down for 2nd nap.
4-5pm: Play time.
5pm: very important snack. Half of a jar of food (usually a fruit) and some baby rice crackers.
5:15-6:15pm fresh air walk or change of scenery.
6:15-7pm. Play time.
7:00-7:30pm dinner. One meat jar and some oatmeal, along with water.
7:30-8pm. books
8pm. bath
8:15pm. songs, lotion, prayers, 8 ounce cup of milk (she gets this cup in her crib). The cup is then replaced with her paci.
8:30pm. Lights Out.

P.S. Sophie is now 8 months old, as of the 15th. Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!








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Saturday at the Theatre

We walked into the theatre with Eric today. Soph and I planned to spend time at the theatre with my grandma, who was volunteering at the matinee. She is a "Redcoat.". These are volunteer ushers for the Playhouse Square theatres and she has almost 1000 hours of volunteering under her belt. We went to the President's Club with her during the show, relaxed, chatted, and snacked on nuts, chocolates, and coke. It was a real treat:)! All of my grandma's fellow ushers oohed and aahhed over Sophie. We love people who love our girl-baby.









Look closely in the back right of this center room of the Club and you can see where Soph napped from 2-4 at the theatre. It was nice to have a quiet and secluded place for her. She is such a good baby.
Here are some other pics of our time with family in Cleveland.



Aunt Catherine and Sophia



Cousin Rob and Sophia



Great-Grandma Morabito and Sophia



Rob helps Eric pack the car on Monday morning for our trip to Pittsburg. We were grateful for the extra set of hands. With no luggage carts at this place, it could have taken a really long time.

Christmas Story

A Christmas Story House and Museum
3159 West 11th Street, Cleveland , OH 44109

So, the night of March 10th, down came 7 inches of powdery perfect snow. It looked like a fairy tale winter outside. What a perfect day to visit the house where the famous movie "A Christmas Story" was filmed. Eric and I have always loved the classic which plays on a loop on TNT for 24 hours on Christmas. Eric, actually, was a dead ringer for Peter Billingsley (Ralphy) when he was a elementary-age. My Aunt Cheryl babysat Soph and Aunt Catherine drove us there. It was so awesome! With the freshly fallen snow, it looked just as it did in the film.


Ian Petrella, Randy, was even in the house and because of facebook, knew we were coming. One of the tour member's partner is working on the musical of "A Christmas Story" with Ian and gave him the heads up that we would be there, because Eric had posted it earlier that day. Welcome to the world according to Facebook.





We had a giggle-filled blast and walked away with a mini-leg-lamp and a cookie cutter of the image. Trust me, there were crazier things to buy.

















Aunt Cathy dropped us out and picked up Cheryl after the tour. Eric and I crashed for an afternoon nap with Soph. There is nothing like a family nap!


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Human Again

We made it to Cleveland, where we are staying at The Reserve Square. They randomly have awesome tap water. That is not always the case in hotels.
My Grandma Morabito, Aunt Catherine, Aunt Cheryl, Cousins Rob, DJ, and Jonathan are all from Cleveland or the surrounding areas. Eric was sick most of the first week, so we didn't see any family, but when he finally went in on Sunday, Grandma and DJ and Jonathan where there to see the show. They came back to our apartment and we ordered pizzas and played with Sophie. They all seemed to really enjoy her. Monday, grandma had organized a tour of the Playhouse Square complex for us. She knows the theatres in and out, as she is a "Redcoat." Cheryl organized a crab leg dinner that rocked. We rested in the evening and all day Tuesday. Eric is finally back! Yay! Went to a place called Melt with Aunt Cathy and it was just as amazing as all the reviews said it would be. Wow! Grilled Cheese paradise.






Grandma and Soph making music together.





Jonathan and Soph.






DJ and Soph.






Aunt Cheryl and Soph






Eric, Grandma, Aunt Cheryl, and Don (guide, usher, and super sweet man) on stage at The State Theatre, on the tour.





Grandma, Eric, Cathy (tour guide, also super sweet), and Don (tour guide) on stage at The State Theatre with the house behind them.

It is truly great to have everyone be well. I'm almost afraid to be happy about it because I'm afraid , as soon as I say it, someone will fall ill again. Rest, rest, rest. We almost feel human again.

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Leaving On A Jet Plane

Sophie conquered her 14th flight with flying colors yesterday. She's such a pro. We got on the plane, she took her bottle, and fell asleep for an hour and a half of the two and a half hour flight. The rest of the time she spent making friends with the people around us. It's a good thing Bob and Kate were baby friendly because we were sandwiched in seat B, right between them. She was very content to sit on my lap, but did enjoy holding onto Bob's shirt and holding hands with Kate. As usual, when we de-planed, all the passengers who had looked at us with dread as we boarded now showered Sophie with praise for being such a great baby. That being said, I'm going to attempt not to worry when she inevitably let's out a screechy scream because it's just the nature of the world. Babies have to go places too.
The only real downer to this trip was that the TSA man-handled my stroller, shoving it into a scanner and then shaking and kicking it as they attempted to figure out how to pop it back open. Meanwhile, I'm trying to tell them A) It doesn't fit!! And B) Don't break it. Let me tell or show you. Well, ya win some, ya lose some.
Cleveland is going to be a family filled wk. With 2 aunts and Grandma Morabito living there, we are looking forward to some good times. Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Rob picked us up at the airport and brought us to the apartment here, where met up with Grandma and....Daddy! Sophie was so excited to see her daddy. And he was excited to see her. However, Eric is, if you can believe it, still sick. His cough is still hanging on, especially at night. He is feeling much better though, which is encouraging.













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