Twenty-six weeks and counting!

We had an appointment yesterday with my ob and brought home some very sketchy looking photos of our soon-to-be-new-baby! While I very clearly can pick out the head, nose and spinal cord, the rest is really a great big blur! Nevertheless, I happen to have a dad who knows how to spot the littlest detail on these things, so for his viewing pleasure (and that of anyone within a few feet of him to whom he can be a know-it-all and explain all the blur) - a few shots from our ultrasound yesterday! (And apologies in advance for the discoloration. I was too lazy to scan and just photographed the images; my lighting was not the best off the shiny glaring ultrasound paper!)





And a few photos of the transformation of what used to be Sophia's room and now will be a shared room (until either they are too big to share a room or Pablo and I figure out how to fit a growing family into a static home)!





And here was a little surprise we found on top of Sophia's closet as we cleaned away! Wonder how long we've shared our home with him? He was NOT happy to be evicted!


The room is just about done as we've gotten even more completed in the last day or two (since these photos were taken) so stay tuned, and we'll post more photos soon!

Life's Quirks

Back in the day . . . (and by that I mean about two and a half years ago), grocery shopping took under an hour. And that was groceries for a week. With a few extras thrown in from the fun accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles of Walmart.

Today . . . (and by that I mean this past Sunday), grocery shopping took about two and a half hours. No special treats. Not even a gander at the accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles.

I usually am a fan of Walmart, however, they have possibly made shopping MORE difficult and time-consuming (which results in LESS purchases as I leave sans the fun stuff from the accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles) when they introduced to my world the MINI SHOPPING CART.


Aaaaah, the good ole days when the only carts were for big people.

Day of the Dead 2010

This was the first year we celebrated Day of the Dead with Sophia. In past years, she just seemed too young to really understand (and frankly, when something isn't necessary around here during high wedding season, it sometimes just doesn't get done!) This year, though, we spent so much time with her Halloween party, trick-or-treating and pumkin-carving, that Pablo and I both really wanted to make sure to dedicate some time to the November 2nd Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead.


This day, if witnessed in some of the more colonial cities in Mexico, is truly amazing! (Puerto Vallarta, being so Americanized does about 70% Halloween and 30% Day of the Dead, so in order for Soph to really learn about it, we have to make sure and honor the day at home.) On November 2nd, families build little "altars" in their homes and on the streets in dedication of their loved ones who have passed away. It isn't a cult-type altar - haha - we aren't trying to bring them back - it is just a special day to remember them and honor their lives. The altars can become really elaborate (for those who have loooots of time on their hands)! Ours was simple but Sophia was really excited about it, so I'm glad we did it with her!

On our little altar, we placed a photo of my Jung Grandparents and photos of Pablo's grandparents who have all passed away. The only picture missing was a photo of my Dad's dad who died when he was a teenager, but well, that was before digital times and no photo was easily available to email. (Will need to work ahead on that for next year!)


We hung papel picado (decoratively cut tissue paper) around the edge of the altar and decorated with bright flowers and a hanging calavera (dancing skeleton) mobile. Soph also brought home from school a calavera head "worksheet" decorated with glitter yesterday, so that also got hung proudly next to the altar. Last but not least, a Pan de Muertos, famous all over Mexico in early November. This is a sweet bread that is only made for this particular day!



(Soph was quite frankly very interested in the Pan de Muertos and thought her finger should be permanently placed in the sugar coating.)




Oh, and this morning when Soph woke up to find the Pan de Muertos missing from the altar, she assumed that the grandparents had eaten it all up! (And they hadn't even shared with her - which brought tears and a minor meltdown. Whatever will happen when Santa eats all the cookies and drinks up all the milk!?!)

Alright, that wraps it up for end-of-October-beginning-of-November celebrations! We have three weddings in the next week so we'll be absent until mid-November when I'm sure we'll be back to try to put together a quazi-Thanksgiving dinner! Aaaah, what I wouldn't do for a stuffed turkey right now.

Halloween 2010 - The Flight of a Butterfly

Sophia's third Halloween began with the Carving of the Pumpkin on Wednesday evening! This was her first Jack O' Lantern (and Pablo's too)! They both were a little grossed out by the inside, and Soph quickly switched to cleaning out the little guy with a spoon! Such a princess!









The Carving of the Pumpkin was followed by the Evening of Costumes at her school on Friday! We woke her from her nap to get all dressed up - crossing both fingers and toes that the butterfly costume would be appealing to her that particular evening. We dressed her with success (well, bribing with chocolate, really), but success nevertheless and off to the school party we went!


One parade of costumes, one dance, one ceramic painting, one pretend pond fishing, one texture experimenting (with pasta) and one prize raffle, one snack and two hours later - we were on our way home! (Oh, and yes, the wings did come off about halfway through the party!)






The Halloween party was our third group activity at school and Soph continues to be the same in large groups - fingers in the mouth, clammed up not speaking a word and clinging to our legs! She's usually so rambunctious, so babbly and so smily that it is strange to see her like that! Perhaps she'll be shy in front of large groups or maybe its something she'll grow out of - only time will tell!

On Sunday, Soph dressed in her pumpkin shirt from Grandma Crawford in preparation for the fun day ahead!


Trick or Treating for our third year was the best by far! We headed to the Marina boardwalk (not a bad place to trick or treat!), and Soph started out quiet and reserved but soon enough warmed up to the whole concept of smiling for sweets! As in past years, the other girls in our group dove right in to their candy and Soph didn't even pay any attention. At the end of the night I told her she could choose one piece. She pulled out a little bag of mini-marshmallows and chewed happily away! I saved her three pieces and gave the rest away over the past couple days. She has no idea and doesn't miss it at all! (Hoping this will be a trend for years to come although I do have my doubts!)








Aaaah! Halloween success!

The decorations came down, the pumpkin got tossed (and just in time) and Halloween was officially over as of Monday morning. But the week's celebration was just half-way through - Nov 2nd is Day of the Dead in Mexico, and lucky little Soph gets to learn about both cultures, both celebrations! So onward we went - stay tuned . . .