Thanksgiving 2008 at Nanna Coopers

It was Sophia's first time back to Wichita since she was born. It was also about 3 months since Nanna and "Hoa Ma" (Grandma in Chinese) have seen Sophia. Sophia thoroughly enjoys Nanna's nursery rhymes! She has definitely got us beat on the number of nursery rhymes she knows. Daddy better step it up a notch! Ha. Ha!! Thank you Nanna for the hard work and delicious meal. The Wasabi Mashed Potatos was a hit! It was the first time Sophia met Great Uncle Monty, Uncle Albert, and Aunt Deanna. We are thankful to have both sides of the family living in Wichita, KS. My parents live just down the street from Nanna Cooper. Here is what we've captured while at Nanna's house.

Cindy and Toan's Engagement

Congratulations to my baby sister! We are excited to formally welcome Toan into our family. Cindy and Toan had their formal Engagement Tea Ceremony while we were in Wichita for Thanksgiving. Here are a variety of images captured while my camera was pass around :) Click to enter gallery.

Angela's Baby Shower

Over our Thanksgiving trip back to Wichita, Sophia attended her very first baby shower. We are tickled pink (no pun intended!!) to know that our friends Angela and Scott are having their very own baby girl #1! I can't believe I was giving parenting advice at the shower!! Sophia was so prim and proper. She was happily sitting like the rest of us and patiently watching the guest of honor open every individual gift! Below is a shot of us with Angela, Crystal, and Jana. We have relationships with Simon's guy friends who have been friends since middle school!

New Skills! Sitting and Playing

Click on the image to view Sophia showing off her hand grasping skills. This is a mixture of images taken when she was 5.5 months old. She loves playing with the simple rings.

The infamous Yellow Dress

This cute yellow dress was purchased by Grandfather Cooper in the Middle East. It was meant to be worn by Simon (assuming a girl was coming). Nanna Cooper ended up having a cute boy :) so the dress was kept for over 20 years before it was passed down to Sophia's cousin Gala. Now that Gala has outgrown the dress, Sophia has had the pleasure of wearing the infamous yellow dress! Amazingly, it is still in great condition!

Food Diary 2008

Dec 30th-Jan 6 - Runny cereal; one time a day; a tablespoon of cereal mixed with 4-5 tablespoons breastmilk

Jan 7-Jan 11 - Thicker rice cereal; 2x a day

Monday Jan 12 - Jan 13 Oat cereal; 2x a day
Wednesday Jan 14 Pureed organic sweet potatoes; 2x a day; 1 tablespoon mixed with breastmilk
Jan 17th - Jan 20th: 2 tablespoons mixed with milk and teaspoon of cereal
Jan 21-25th: Pureed organic carrots
Jan 26-29th: Organic Peas
Jan 29-Feb 3rd: Organic squash
Feb 2- 8: Bananas
Feb 9- 13: Avocados, Sweet Pots - Didn't care much for Avocados
Feb 14- :Sweet Pots and Pears, Peas
Feb 17-27 Green Beans
Feb 28 Mangos, Carrots, Peas
Week of March 1-7th - Papaya and Broccoli
She's been eating frozen organic peaches here and there.
Wlk of March 15 th Chicken
She's been eating finger good carrots and peas

Try pasta, , asparagus spears

Tofu, Brown Rice, Apples
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Next attempts:
What to serve now: Mashed Bananas(done), pears, peaches, avocados, unsweetened applesauce, carrots(done), squash(done), sweet potatoes(done), peas(done), first stage baby food, including meat (start with veggies)

Fall Artwork

Here are more priceless paintings from Sophia. Of course it's with the help of Ms. Dez at Stonebriar Academy! They have great teachers there!!

Baby Yoga!

Here is Sophia, at 5 months and 1 week, relaxing and stretching in her crib. She is great in the mornings. When she wakes up she'll roll around, stretch, play...patiently wait until Mommy and Daddy are up! It would last up to an hour. Every morning, I look forward to seeing her good morning sunshine smile! She must know we like our sleep! :) Daddy's genes!

The Big Flip!

In mid-November, right at 5 months....and after many attempts, Sophia successfully rolled over from back to tummy! Here is one of the first attempts captured at home. At first, she would hang out on her side and get stuck...

Drum roll please.....


This was the most challenging part. It took her a while to figure out how to position her arm from underneath.

We would always want to help her at this step....

Yeah!!! Here is a true candid shot of her conquering the world!

She looked so satisfied...I was mean and made her do it again!

Here is her face telling me she got this down!!!

Favorite Blanket

My manager and his wife gave Sophia a really soft set of personalized blankets with her initials embroidered. When we venture out, we use the large one to keep her warm. But her favorite is the little one which tends to be used for her afternoon naps. Before she goes down, she always gives me a big smile as she happily takes the blanket and slips into tranquility.

Sophia's First Housewarming

In November, Sophia was cordially invited to Tuan and Sally's housewarming. Here is my older sister - Aunt Le and Uncle Mark - posing with Sophia as she gives her funny half smile for the camera! Sally is quite a cook! We had great food, great company, enjoyed the grand tour, and some enjoyed the hired bartender!!! Aunt Le looks a bit rosey in this image :p Thanks to her nice long nap before the event, she was quite a social bug through the night.

Happily Nursing! Happy 5 Months!

100% Boob Baby! Our friends Niki and Daniel had baby Hunter 5 months prior to Sophia's arrival. We are very grateful to be able to learn and witness their parenting journey. When we see Hunter, it makes us look forward or mentally prepare ourselves :) for the next milestone. It's been fun to share and swap stories. Not all of our experiences have been a walk in the park, but witnessing a smile from Sophia is priceless. Seeing how Daddy plays and cares for our minicoop is even more priceless. Seeing how Sophia reacts to simple things in life makes us appreciate ours even more. I'm thankful for all of the advice which we have received from family and friends. We are also very thankful to have had great support through Centennial Medical Center. The support has enabled me to continue nursing. Sophia "Tu-Phi" is still a very happy boob baby!!

We love walking!

We love the Baby Bjorn carrier. It was a gift from Aunt Melissa. It has enabled me to get a great workout in while taking her grocery shopping, to the park, the mall, or short walks around the neighborhood. When we walk around the neighborhood she tends to fall asleep after 30 minutes. This past weekend, she helped us pick out Christmas presents!

Enjoying our new patio - 5 months

Sophia is now a few days older than 5 months and weighs 15.6 pounds! She now weighs more than kitten Carmine (14.5 pounds). We are impressed with how she quickly develops. She can sit up quite well. She is really good at grabbing toys and rolling over. Here is a recent video of her enjoying the weather in her new chair. Click on arrow to play.

Good Night Sophia

We are very lucky that Sophia is such a happy baby. As soon as the sun rises she is wide awake and is a burst of sunshine!! She always gives us her big gummy good morning smile. Ever since she was 3 months, she has been sleeping 7-8 hours straight. She tends to fall asleep around 8 pm, but we have had several occasions when she is still wanting to talk and play. When we take her out, she happily stays up late to socialize. Here is a video in low light as Daddy is getting Sophia ready for bed! I think she thinks it's morning!!!! Watch her copy Simon. Click on arrow to play.

Cross-eyed over "cookie"!!

She is grabbing and eating EVERYTHING these days! Daddy captured this with the iphone!

Lunch with The Lieus

Last Sunday 11/9, we enjoyed a late lunch with The Lieus. We dined at La Duni on Mckinney street. It's a fabulous Latin cafe. They have desserts to die for. Since the weather was perfect for patio dining, we moved lunch outside and savoured their huge epresso bar, a serving of the Mantecada Sponge Cake Topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, covered with Caramelized Swiss
Meringue, on a 3 Leches Sauce Mirror, Flamed at the table with Kahlua....and of serving of the Venezuelan Rum, Pastry Cream & Chocolate Truffle Cake. We were bad! However, Sophia was perfect in public while keeping Aunt Oanh and Uncle Richman company.

First Boo Boo

On Veteran's Day 11/11, Sophia was at daycare while we went to watch a matinee! It's been around 6 months since we've been to the movie theaters. We also went to Best Fabrics to pick up materials to make more curtains in our house. I love going to Best Fabrics. When I see the array of materials I get the arts and crafts itch!! When we picked her up, we saw her first boo boo. To help her congestion, Ms. Dez tried to use the aspirator on her. But Sophia does not like the aspirator and accidentally scratched her face.

Uncle Toan Babysitting

On November 12th Uncle Toan will be babysitting so Simon and I can go to the Sarah Brightman concert. At 5 months, it's a perfect age for Uncle Toan to see Sophia's skills in her new saucer toy.

Wish List - Neat Things

This is a run on wish list of neat things for Sophia.

-Gifts for her 529 college piggy bank.
-Toys from http://www.ebeanstalk.com
-Onestepahead.com
-Personalized Storybooks
-100% cotton clothing (she has mild excema)
-Educational Toys

-We just bought this really neat book for Sophia. We look forward to buying more of the same type in the future. "A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement."