Last week Sophie, Nini and I visited both of Sophie’s great grandmas.
Here’s Sophie with my grandma Mangan.
And a very happy Sophie with Nini.
She got to do her favorite thing …
… look up at trees.
And visit with her great grandma Gebhart, too.
“If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.” —Italian Proverb
Sunday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.
We saw bears smashing pumpkins.
We didn’t realize it was HallZOOween so Sophie wasn’t in a costume like the other kids. However she was wearing a beautiful dress her Great Aunt Susan made for her (if you look closely you can see her initials—SOU—embroidered in the dress).
Sophie thought the flamingos and the rhino were funny.
In fact, she noticed and watched all the animals much more so than we thought she would.
Except when she was sleeping.
Unfortunately the dress had to come off after a spit up incident but that was OK as Sophie got to wear her “Fun at the Zoo” onesie she received as a shower present before she was born.
This one’s for you, Dad. 🙂
“I love acting, but it’s much more fun taking the kids to the zoo.” —Nicole Kidman
I love watching Dad stack up my blocks and then knocking them over.
Look how well I’m sitting up! (Thanks to Brittany for suggesting to Mom that she put the Boppy behind me for support.)
But sometimes I fall down—just like the blocks!
“One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.” —Jack Penn
At one of Sophie’s baby showers my mom gave me two pairs of shoes—one blue and one pink—both of which she bought in Italy. I mean, every baby’s first pair of shoes should be Italian, don’t you think?
“The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents.” —John J. Plomp
Last week Sophie and I visited Erin and Ben. We took a walk around their neighborhood and Erin told me all about Practice the Flow and her new role as a meditation instructor. Then Sophie and I had lunch with Nini. It was a good day.
“Meditation is acceptance. It is the acceptance of life within us, without us and all around us. Acceptance of life is the beginning of human satisfaction. Transformation of life is the culmination of divine satisfaction.” —Sri Chinmoy
Last week Mom took me to my first political rally. She said we were going to see a great man, Barack Obama, speak! But first we had to wait in a really, really long line at Lunken Airport for a bus to take us to Ault Park.
While in line Mom bought me a button for my front pack!
After almost three hours of waiting, we finally got on a school bus and I took my first bus ride. It was pretty bumpy.
By the time we got to Ault Park, Barack Obama was already speaking. We could hear him, but we couldn’t see him. There were so many people! So Mom found a shady spot, got out her nursing cover and nursed me while Obama talked. (By this time I was really hungry.) At first she was a little nervous about this but then remembered where she was—and noticed several other women proudly nursing their babies, sans cover.
I wore my “peace” onesie.
After Barack Obama finished talking we got back in line to wait for the buses again. Mom was really worried about the sun. She made me wear my bonnet and she kept putting sunscreen on me.
We had to wait for the buses for a long, long time again, and eventually I fell asleep. But despite the sun and the noise and the hours of waiting, Mom said I did really well. Still, I think she was happy to finally get home.
“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.” —Barack Obama
Thursday Mom took me to my first yoga class at yogahOMe in Oakley. I laughed when she did downward-facing dog over me and I was so happy she didn’t drop me during tree pose. I can’t wait to go back this week!
“For me, yoga is not just a workout—it’s about working on yourself.” —Mary Glover
So apparently I can’t count and Tagging requires some editing.
10 years ago I was:
1. idealistic
2. a freshman sophomore at Ohio University
3. pursuing an environmental pre-law degree a magazine journalism degree
4. thinking that environmental pre-law requires way too many math courses how nice it is to worry about words, not numbers
5. deciding to cut off all my enjoying short hair
“My life needs editing.” —Mort Sahl
Last Sunday we met my parents at the Hyde Park Square Art Show. It’s similar to Summerfair but smaller—and free admission!
Sophie started out in the front pack.
But after a leaky diaper incident, ended up being carried.
We ate lunch outside at Indigo.
I ate a hamburger. Sophie ate her foot.
We didn’t take home any art purchases this time—just a sleepy baby.
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” —Pablo Picasso
Tagging
Josephine and Brooke tagged me!
Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.
10 years ago I was:
1. idealistic
2. a freshman at Ohio University
3. pursing an environmental pre-law degree
4. thinking that environmental pre-law requires way too many math courses
5. deciding to cut off all my hair
5 things on today’s to do list:
1. work on two articles for Writer’s Digest magazine
2. check in on my Writers Online Workshops courses
3. laundry (always)
4. attend Maria’s farewell happy hour at Cactus Pear
5. play with Sophie!
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. popcorn
2. raisins
3. ice cream
4. Kettle Salt and Pepper potato chips
5. Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax granola bars
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. buy a home in Mariemont
2. enjoy the fact that both Andy and I could work from home
3. treat family and friends
4. donate more
5. finally buy the ring from Fig Leaf I’ve had my eye on for several years
5 places I have lived:
1. Fort Thomas, Ky.
2. Mariemont, Ohio
3. Alexandria, Va.
4. Athens, Ohio
5. Liberty Twp., Ohio
5 jobs I have had:
1. assistant/associate/managing editor at various magazines
2. waitress at Skyline Chili
3. caller (aka money solicitor) at Ohio University National Phonathon
4. glow-in-the-dark necklace seller at Kings Island
5. second shift makeup stocker at Meijer
The rules say I have to tag 5 people: Wendy, Emilie, Elizabeth, Jessie and Angela … you’re it!
