Long Time, No Read!

It's been a LONG time since I've written! In the past two months I have been hired to teach at the elementary school I attended, and I have been spending the past two weeks there trying to set up. Guess what??? I'm STILL not ready! It will get there soon enough. At home, Sofia and I have been playing, swimming in her pool, and enjoying storytime at the library. She loves the magnets and the Noisy Cars book.

Little Munchkin's First Trip to the Big Easy

Keith and I decided that we needed to get out of town for a while, and since Sofia loves fish, we decided to take her to New Orleans to the Aquarium of the Americas. Sofia was sooooo well-behaved! She read her books and played with her toys on the ride down, and she entertained herself with the hotel pen and notepad set when the electricity was out in the room (the weather was BAD). That night we went to Felix's and she ate her PB sandwich and smiled and waved to people walking by. We went to the aquarium on Sunday. Sofia LOVED the fish. She didn't care much for the penguins or frogs, but the fish were the winners.

1. Sofia wasn't too sure about getting in the shark's jaws. She really didn't want to touch the teeth (notice how her hands are tucked behind her back).

2. Sofia and Dad watch the big fish. This exhibit came with a bonus - a ledge for climbing, which is Sofia's favorite thing to do.

3. Hey! This suite came with a baby to play with me!!!

Some New Orleans pictures

Sofia's Second Strawberry Trip

We went with JoJo and Grandaddy (my parents) to Manchac and Ponchatoula, Louisiana, last weekend. Over the past few years it has been a tradition to go the weekend after the Strawberry Festival. We had lunch at Middendorf's (PB for Munchie), and went to the cute children's boutique in Ponchatoula where Sofia racked up on cute smocked summer wear.

In the top picture, the ironic thing is that there is a sign at the top of the strawberry display that says, "Picture Perfect Strawberries." Well, at least the strawberries were!

In the second picture, I had tried to get a cute picture of Sofia walking with her grandparents. Unfortunately, Munchie only wanted to walk in the berry wine and champagne section. At least she didn't seem too interested in the merchandise.

Louisiana trip

Sofia's First Celebrity Meeting!

We went to Lemuria Thursday afternoon for the Alton Brown book signing. Keith has been a fan of his for several years. I was a little worried about Munchie's behavior since she had skipped her second nap, it was snack time, AND we had 2 hours until signing time. However, as soon as we walked into Lemuria, she practically dragged Keith and me to the children's section where she played with the books that make sounds and "read" the Corduroy books. Then she went downstairs and watched the water in the fountain and had a snack at Broad Street. Less than 5 minutes after her snack, it was time to line up. Sofia donned her cute little Williams-Sonoma apron and kicked at Rachael Ray cookbooks as we waited in line (Is that a hint, Sofia?). Luckily, we were #16, and the line went quickly. I had flashbacks of the screaming and waterworks when Sofia met Santa and the Easter Bunny, but she just stared at Alton Brown. She was starstruck!

The Liberto Family and Alton Brown