Gotcha Gotcha Gotcha Forever

Sofia, 17 months

Sofia, 29 months

This is how to properly sit on your chair.

Kids do not try to wedge yourself inside a chairor, a drum.Mike's ConfirmationEaster 2009 Sia is flipping!!

Hola querida familia y amigos,

The first half of April has been one new celebration after another. In a beautiful mass offered by Bishop Melczek, Michael received the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are so proud of the fine young man he has become. I (Peggi) turned twenty-nine yet again ;) and we celebrated Michael's fourteenth birthday just two days later. We ate breakfast with the Easter Bunny, got our face painted, searched for eggs, and celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Let's see...was there anything else? OH YEAH, TODAY IS THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF OUR GOTCHA DAY!!!!

It is hard to believe that just one year ago today, April 14, 2008, we caught our first glimpse of our darling Sofia. While at the Bienestar, we peeked around the corner to see an adorable little girl dressed in a white fur coat, baggy tights, and shiney new shoes. She strolled down that outdoor pathway with a bounce in each step, arms swinging back and forth. I chuckled because this tiny girl with all these curls, was walking ahead of her ICBF caseworker. They must have had to scoop her up because they were carrying her when she came into the room. She confidently held a bottle in one hand and a baby doll in the other. No tears. Well, not on her end anyway.

Whenever another family shares photographs of their beautiful children walking down that familiar pathway, or when Sofe runs ahead of me, my mind goes right back to Bogota, Colombia and that brave little girl forging straight ahead. That image makes me smile because I am certain this is how Sofia will approach new experiences and challenges throughout her lifetime. What a blessed addition she has been to our family. We broke out some of those early pictures and couldn't believe how much she has grown. Our time with Sofia has flown by and we truly can not imagine our lives without her.

Sofia is speaking in short sentences and parrots everything you say to her. For some reason she began speaking in the third person. For example she will say things like, "Mommy, Sia was crying," "Watch me, Sia is running" or my favorite, "Mommy, Sia's shoes are too tight." She tries so hard to make us laugh. If she does something naughty and fears punishment is looming, she makes a silly face and says, "Sia is funny yah?" I will have to post a video clip of her speaking. At times her accents sound like she could be from Boston. Other times, she sounds Swedish. Too cute.

We are excited that spring has finally arrived. After so many months of being cooped up in the house, we were anxious to get back to the park. Sofe is quite the climber and never seems to burn off all her energy. She examines everything and insists on trying to stand or sit inside almost every toy and piece of furniture we own. See photographs above. I truly thought we would have to saw the leg from the chair to free her. Manufacturer's need to meet Sofia before creating warning labels for their merchandise. We thought enrolling her in a gymnastics program maybe a good way to work off that energy. She has perfected her somersaults and is learning how to do a cartwheel. They are also teaching her how to do forward and reverse flips on the parallel bars. Without a doubt, her favorite equipment is the trampoline. It is difficult to keep her focused on anything else. Every morning she asks me, "Sia go jumping?"

Well that is the wrap up for now. The month of May holds more reasons to celebrate. Ed and Joe have birthdays, we have tickets for Elmo Live, and my niece is making her First Communion. We have so much to look forward to and be grateful for.

Ciao for now.