Trip to Seahorse?

Sophie thinks Sea World is "Seahorse", so today we were happy to say we planned a family trip to Seahorse! I'm thrilled that we have season passes as it's the perfect amount of activity for her for a day. Leave Austin by 9am and be back by 5pm!

We loved going to the amusement park with Daddy this time and I must say, Sophie was a lot more "into" the sea creatures as it probably took her the prior visit to digest everything she had seen. Sophie experienced some trepidation at first when we got up to feed the dolphins, but she really start enjoying herself and was leaning towards the water at the end. Our little one experienced through "observation" as she wanted Daddy to feed the dolphins, not her. She's still talking about the experience... "Daddy feed dolphin"! Next, we were lucky to be there to see a four day old baby beluga at Beluga Stadium. So neat! No Viva show for a while so mommy and baby whale can bond! We loved the pengiuns, sharks, fish, birds, flamingos, and of course, Shamu! It's amazing to see experiences through your own child's eyes. I love watching Sophie watch everything.

Up close and personal is the theme of this trip!

Sophie was so close to the dolphin:

Sophie enjoyed the sharks aquarium, but it was nothing compared to her putting her face on the glass with the fish. She was happy to see Dory, but was asking for Nemo.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but this goose was no more than 12 inches aways from us. And Sophie wasn't scared at all... she was intrigued:

This picture has nothing to do with the attractions at Sea World, but she's so darn cute, I had to post it! Showing a little 'tude with her glasses in one had and her sippy cup under the crook of her other arm:

And, of course, we backed out of our parking spot, went down the aisle, and before we even turned towards the exit, she was asleep! I can't resist my sleeping daughter:

All That Jazz

I have been looking forward to the day when I would have the time and flexibility to have playdates with moms in my neighborhood. With a full-time job, I've never been able to do anything fun with Sophie during the week. Sophie and I happily drove to Radijazz Playnasium this morning and got a couple hours of non-stop fun in. It was so cute to see Sophie check out all the neat toys, balls, playscapes and volcano pit. Her hair was crazy and she was getting into everything, but little kids know when they are done. After 90 minutes, Sophie said "Mommy, I go home". Made me laugh as I was tired, too! We met some really nice mommies and look forward to having another playdate soon.

I tried so very hard to snap some "action" photos of Sophie. Unfortunately, I was always one second too late and she was off to another toy. I'm happy to have one picture where she's halfway facing the camera.

Sophie stopped to snack -- she needed some fuel for round #2. The three of us joke about our "chubby cheeks" when we've stuffed our mouths with food:

A Little Texas BBQ

Nothing better than a breezy Sunday afternoon at Rudy's BBQ. After an afternoon of swimming at Lost Creek, we decided that we needed to have Sophie & Cal run around the huge field while we grab some good ole barbeque. David and I just love that place! The BBQ tastes delicious and it's so kid friendly with the picnic benches and football sized field in the back. In fact, I got plenty of exercise as well, racing all the kids from one side of the field to the other.

David is so proud -- Sophie found a soccer ball:














Sophie and Cal stop playing for a hug:

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Today, we celebrated our friend, Jeff Sauer's, 35th birthday with a surprise party at Lake LBJ! Even though it was raining in Austin, the weather was sunny there. We couldn't have asked for more than that! Sophie was able to swing, swim, and slip & slide! I must say, Sophie liked the swing the best as she kept running over to it.

We had a good time hanging out, eating & drinking, and watching the kids play. Perfect plans for a Saturday during the summer.

Swinging.... swimming.... sliding....

My Bicycle!

Sophie just loves her little tricycle! What a fantastic smooth ride and it's so easy to operate with the long funny-looking handle bar especially for us! Everytime we go into the garage to get into our car, she insists that it's time for her to ride her "bicycle". It's a constant test of wills to see who makes out in the end.

It cracks me up because her idea of "riding the bicycle" is having us push her. She hasn't mastered the pedaling part yet as she holds onto the handlebars and just rests her feet. She's a smart one -- why do any of the work when daddy or mommy can do it for me?

Father's Day

David had a wonderful Father's Day! Sophie and I woke up early on Sunday and let him sleep in, while we made a huge breakfast and put out all of our presents. When he woke up, David was very surprised, which I find hard to do. Sophie was so excited and kept saying "It's Father's Day" for most of the morning and afternoon. She's a funny one! After the busy morning and a trip to the pool, David said his perfect day was to lay on the couch and watch the US Open, which he did!

A Little Culture and a Ton of Fun

Yesterday, Sophie had a play date with her friends Carter and Caroline Sauer. We were excited to go to the Austin Children's Museum as Sophie had never been. There was so much to do in there -- learning experiences on animals/bugs, arts and crafts, and pretend play. We look forward to going back and also having more play dates with "Carterline" as Sophie called them!

Sophie found the slide and kept going down it over and over again. She loves playgrounds!

She did spend some time with Caroline organizing the pieces on the magnet board:

After a fun-filled morning and then lunch, Sophie was asleep in the car before we pulled out of the parking lot! She refused to take off the hat she made at the museum!

Little Swimmer?

There's nothing better than a dip in the pool on a hot summer day! One of our goals for the summer is to spend a lot of time at our country club pool. We've also started swimming classes with Sophie. Hopefully, between the lessons and practice with Mommy and Daddy, Sophie will be a little fish by the end of the summer.

Right now, Sophie seems to be enjoying the fashion side of things:

See Sea World San Antonio

I was so excited for our planned trip to take Sophie to Sea World in San Antonio today. We were lucky to go with my very good friend, Shannon, and her precious baby boy, Cal, as well as her niece, nephew and mom. We had a wonderful time though I don't think it could have been any hotter or more humid! Regardless, the kids were all troopers and enjoyed the shows and exhibits. Sophie was enthralled by Shamu and got really excited by the dolphins up close as well as in the Viva show. You know Sophie had fun when she only slept 30 minutes in her stroller and still didn't go to bed until 10:30pm tonight! After seeing Sophie interact today, I'm really looking forward to planning a day in the near term to go to Sea World with Daddy. He'll enjoy Sophie's excitement around the seeing the animals and sea creatures!

Shamu - up close and personal:

Sophie & Mommy as sticky and hot as can be:

Shannon & Daisy with the 4 kids -- Kendall, Zack, Sophie and Baby Cal:

Wheelbarrow fun

After a fun evening with Kristin at the water park, Sophie and Ethan enjoyed time digging in the dirt at Gigi's house the next day. Uncle Jeff gave them a special treat by taking both of them on a ride in the wheelbarrow. They were laughing so hard. Uncle Jeff is really cool!

Brushy Creek Water Park

On June 2nd, Kristin so kindly agreed to watch Sophie while David and I went out to celebrate our sixth anniversary! Where does the time go? Kris had a neat idea of having both Ethan and Sophie play at the Brushy Creek Water Park before dinner. The Water Park is comprised of a concrete area with geysers and fountains. Kids are running around like crazy through the water shooting out of the ground. Once Sophie got over her initial shock on what this was, she loved it! She looks forward to Ethan inviting her up again to his house so they can go play in the water.

Kiveli, Fivos and Amalia come over!

We were so excited to see Sophie's godmother "Nouna" Kiveli as well as Fivos and Amalia! It had been a year since Mary's graduation from UT's Pharmacy School and we were all together. Sophie did really well with everyone after she warmed up. She was blowing kisses before the night ended.

Sophie is being held by her nouna. As always, she's not smiling at the camera, but at least she's looking at it!

Milkyway Playcastle

On Memorial Day, my Mom was so excited to take Sophie to Memorial City Mall to visit the playscape. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was the coolest playcastle I have EVER seen. Much better than Radijazz and it was free! Sophie went nuts in it! She ran around for an hour without stopping once to catch her breath. By the time we left, Sophie was exhausted and climbed into her stroller to collapse. We are grateful for the fantastic idea my mom had and can't wait to go visit again!

Chuck E. Cheese in Houston

After our whirlwind trip to Waco on Saturday, Sophie, Breezy and I packed up the car to drive to Houston on May 27th to visit Yiayia, Papou and Mary! We've missed seeing them! Sophie's godmother, Kiveli, was coming all the way from Singapore to visit everyone in Houston. So, of course, we couldn't miss a visit like this. Yiayia took Sophie to Chuck E. Cheese as soon as we got to Houston. Sweet Sophie couldn't get enough of the merry-go-round. It was her first time on one! She was holding on for dear life with a vise-grip and looked completely scared, but kept asking for more and more and refused to get off!

Moo Cows

Memorial Day weekend - David, Sophie and I drove to Waco on Saturday for Trent Morman's big graduation luncheon at The Elite Cafe. After we returned to Austin, Gigi and Grandpa had dinner with us at The Cheesecake Factory. Sophie kept asking to visit the moooo-cows behind Amy's Ice Cream. She loved looking at them but wasn't so sure about hopping on top of one of the life-size marble cows in the mini-park. It's much more fun to be held by mommy, daddy and the grandparents!

Sophie's Big Personality

Sophie never ceases to amaze us! Every day she seems to be adding a dozen words and phrases and sentences to her vocabulary. A few cute things she has said just this week:

* Sophie loves veggies. Among carrots, broccoli, corn and peas, she loves her "bean geens". David has repeatedly tried to teach her to say "green beans", which comes out perfect when said separately, but every time she combines the two words together, it comes out as bean geens. Too cute!

* I typically don't drive holding the wheel with both hands. Every day for the past week that I've been driving, Sophie has piped up with "Both hands on wheel, Mommy". I had no idea where she would have learned such a comment! I certainly don't criticize David's driving like that! When I mentioned this new phrase to David, he easily responded that when he takes her out on her cool tricycle she received from yiayia and papou for her birthday, he tells her to put both hands on the the handle bars. She's a smart one! I guess I've learned a lesson from her, too!

* I never imagined that my daughter at barely the age of two would be telling us "Sophie do it" for most things! We have gotten the "No, Mommy" and "No, Daddy" more than once when we've reached in to help. It's quite comical, but I"m not sure why I would expect any less from a child of David and mine!

Turning over a new leaf!

Today is June 4, 2007... As I just started working part time to spend more time with Sophie and David, I'm excited to begin this new project of our Cramer Family blog! With so many family and friends who live far away, we hope that this is fun for everyone to read and see. I'm also so excited as Sophie just amazes us more and more each day. I need a place to write down her funny comments and share her cute stories before I forget!!!