First Valentines! 2009

Around Valentine's Day Sophia learned the "commando crawl"! She looked like a cute little Army soldier! We hosted Valentines dinner for my siblings and the guys. Uncle Toan was nice enough to make his scrumptious ribs on the grill. For the first time, I made Seafood Diavlo. I might add, it was very tasty!! Checkout the yummy menu in the picture gallery!

Gymnastics here I come!

I don't have words to describe how amazing it is to see Sophia obtain new skills! It literally took two days for her to know how to hold her sippy cup, and one day to pick up Purely O's (aka whole grain Cheerios). In late January, she mastered sitting up. But, how she transitions from a crawling position to sitting up is too cute. Enter the gallery and watch her! Her daycare teachers told us to put her in gymnastics!

Pureed food, Purely O's, and Sippy Cup

January through February- Sophia went from sampling rice cereal, to whole grain cereal, then welcomed an assortment of home made pureed organic veggies, followed by home made fruit purees, and dabbled in a few Purely O's (organic whole grain oat cereal) PLUS the introduction of the sippy cup!! We decided to wait until she was 8 months to introduce solid food. Wholesomebabyfood.com has been a great resource for me. The current recommendations indicate that breast milk or formula should be baby’s main source of nutrition until at least 6 months of age. Check out how much she loves eating pureed peas and her finger skills! She still loves whole peas and can eat Purely O's all day! Click to enter.

Rub a Dub Dub!

I enjoy comparing Sophia's birth pictures with her more recent images. Here she is at birth vs 7.5 months. In January, we thoroughly enjoyed using the Safety First bath chair. It allows us to have both hands free and the chair swivels for maximum fun! She has quickly out grown the chair but it's still worth the purchase. She has filled out well don't you think?

First signs of sitting!

I am playing catch up on our blog! At 7 months, mid-January, we noticed Sophia mastering her sitting skills. One day I walked into daycare, I opened the door, there she was...sitting in the middle of the colorful play mat surrounded by her friends and toys! She was sitting all by herself, with no support, beaming a smile at me!! Back then we noticed she was able to sit up, but we were skeptical that she could do it without support. I couldn't resist running to her to give her a big hug! I love watching her sit because it shows her cute round belly! Click to enter gallery.

Nash Farm in Grapevine, Texas

Happy Spring Everyone!!!
Work has kept me busy, but when it's time to see my family nothing else really matters. The more I observe Sophia, the more amazed I am about child development. She is a firecracker these days. She will make sure to tell you when she wants something!! If you take a toy away you better have a diversion plan or drama queen will give you a piece of her mind. She can pull herself up quite well and will proudly say "Da'dA, DA DAA, Da da" over and over again! She can tell you a full story with those two simple words! Not a LICK of Ma ma!! :) She is a very confident 18 pounder. She's only in the 8% in height but that doesn't stop her from getting anywhere! She can crawl too well now. Here she is at 9.5 months enjoying Spring and the petting farm. Enter and enjoy.

Frisco Commons

We discovered a very cute, open, large trail and park by our neighborhood. It's called Frisco Commons. We hope to do a picnic at this park when she turns the big #1. Here is Sophia around 7 months.

I can sit and play!!!

Around the 3rd week of January we discovered Sophia can sit without much support! One day I walked into her daycare room..opened the classroom door..there she was in the center of the room! She was sitting and playing with her friends!!! Here she is proving it to us at home.

3 weeks vs 7 months

Last night, we discovered a few new skills! While she's on here belly, she can push herself up into a sitting position!!! It's funny! By the time she is upright, her short chubby legs are positioned wide open like she's doing the splits!! She can also return back to her hands and knees AND chase after the cat!! For the first time, we saw her effortlessly squirm(not 100% crawling yet) up to Carmine and tried to pet him. Uh oh!! In three attempts, she tried reaching out for his face but he ended up running away. I think it freaked him out to realize that she can move!!! And, she is now heavier than him! She's sitting at ~18 lbs. Kitty Carmine is 14 lbs. Here are a few images comparing her size at 3 weeks vs 7 months.

I am growing!!!!

Sophia is getting praises at school for being the "greeter". As her teachers walk into the classroom, she tends to "say hi" by showering them with her ear to ear smile and her high pitch squeals! Back in September, at 3 months old, she was the youngest baby in her class . Now, a set of twins and Sophia are the oldest babies in a classroom of nine chubby infants. Actually, there is a cute boy who is the oldest kiddo. But, it's obvious that Sophia, Jordan & Jayden (twins) are the reigning queens :p Poor baby Chandler. He's too nice!

These days we never have to worry about her not getting enough exercise. Her three teachers mentioned she's a quick one. After being placed on the playmat, within a blink of an eye, she's squirmed off !!! Hear comes trouble!!!

Sophia and Hunter

Here is a cute series of Sophia hanging out with her girlfriend Hunter.

Yummy to My Tummy!

After 6 months, we started Sophia out slow with cereal. I am very grateful and proud that I have been able to nurse for this long. It does make it inconvenient and restricts my schedule at times, but I know it will pay off in the long run. For the countless benefits and precious 1 on 1 time, my goal is to continue nursing as close to 1 year as possible. We are still going strong. Whew! Soon after Christmas, Sophia was very ready to sample cereal of all sorts. Recently, I have been making her organic pureed vegetables. She has thoroughly enjoyed sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas! Next week, we will sample butternut squash!! Checkout how excited she was in this gallery.

Chinese New Year 2008

Sophia is 7.5 months! She can sit, she is sampling veggies, saying "Da-da"..no signs of Ma-ma!!!! She can't fully crawl but she can squirm amazingly fast to get to where she needs to go! It's time for us to get on our hands and knees. If it looks fun to us..it will probably look interesting for her to get into. We are very relieved that our family made it home from their fun trip in Thailand and Vietnam. Sophia received several beautiful Vietnamese gowns from Aunt Le and Aunt Cindy. Earlier this month, my Uncle Mau and Aunt Terri hosted a local Dallas family gathering to celebrate Chinese New Year. Before the family gathering, we took a series of pictures. Sophia is thankful that her Great Uncle Mau hosted her very first Chinese New Year celebration. Enjoy the pictures!

Favorite Friend

Sophia got this cute outfit from Aunt Cindy. Last month, I caught her relaxing in her crib while wrestling with her favorite toy. She still loves this sheep she got from Nana Cooper.

Christmas Vacation '08 in Wichita

Simon and I always look forward to our Christmas vacation. It's our chance to have two weeks off to catch up with family, extended family, & friends. Two weeks of relaxation! The memories we cherish the most are the conversations and time spent with our loveds ones. View gallery to see what we were up to.

Christmas Morning 2008 - First Christmas!

Sophia's first Christmas was spent in Wichita. It was her second road trip and she did really well. Unfortunately, from Thanksgiving and through Christmas, our little Cooper clan was sharing a wealth of winter colds. Lovely daycare!! While we were in Wichita the temperature was in the teens and single digits at night. However, it was surprisingly warm after Christmas day. On Christmas morning, we opened presents at Nana Cooper's and enjoyed yummy prime rib. It was heaven! Many mornings, Sophia was kind enough to let us sleep in until 9 am. She knew we were on vacation! :p Sophia spent part of the vacation at Nana Coopers, hung out with Uncle Kevin and visited her great grandparents - Van's Grandparents. The Trans were missed. The older we get, the more we appreciate having family. Family will always be around. That is why we want to have kids. My sisters and Parents were traveling with Toan's family (Cindy's fiancee) to Thailand and Vietnam.

Christmas '08 Dallas Brunch

This past Christmas was Sophia's first Christmas! Simon and I feel very fortunate to have such a healthy and happy baby. We couldn't have asked for a better gift. Over Christmas, my sisters, brother-in-law Toan and his parents, including my parents took a tour to Thailand and Vietnam. The Trans sisters decided to have an early Christmas brunch and gift exchange before their big tour. We thoroughly enjoyed Lawry's Prime Rib for brunch. Afterwards, we had yummy cheesecake and coffee in the comfort of our own home. Click to enter gallery.

Cute Hat

Today, we walked around the Stonebriar Mall and couldn't resist this cute hat! It was also on sale! Can't beat that! She loves it!

Hanging out with Family

Here are memorable moments of Sophia while she was having a great time in Wichita over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were on vacation for a week. She was all smiles and thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone! Below is Aunt Le and Sophia. Sophia loves to make sounds with her lips! Click to enter gallery.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It was a very eventful Thanksgiving in 2008. We brought Sophia home for the first time. Aunt Cindy and Uncle Toan got engaged. Our friend Angela had her first baby shower. Simon's Aunt Dorothy celebrated her 90th birthday! Also, we reconnected with old college friends and Simon celebrated his 34th birthday! Edna, Nana Cooper, made yummy lamb shanks for dinner. My mom and I found a to die for ice cream cake just for Simon!