Walking in Memphis!!

Sofia has been talking steps here and there for the past few weeks but the day before she turned 14 months old she she started actually walking! She does pretty well but sometimes gets tripped by Frodo and is still learning how to go down steps or inclines. Here is a video of her walking tonight.

Sofia also loves to read. Every day when we get home the first thing she wants to do is look through her books. Sometimes she likes to be read to but many times she just flips through the books and babbles. I'm amazed at how much all of the reading Tim and I did with her from the time she was in my tummy has paid off.  My students at school always ask me what Sofia's favorite tv show is and it always catches me by surprise because Sofia doesn't watch tv. I feel pretty strongly about her not being exposed to a lot of tv before the age of 2. Every now and then we have a sports game on and Sofia checks it out but she is much more interested in exploring, reading, and playing. Here is a video of Sofia reading with Tim.

This weekend we welcomed my sister Lindsey and her boyfriend Carlos to Memphis for a visit. They were touring some wineries in Southern Illinois and came to see us for the weekend. We spent some time letting Sofia swim on Friday afternoon, it was too cold for the adults. Then we had some nice appetizers and drinks (everyone but me :)) and headed downtown. We wanted to show Lindsey and Carlos around and also enjoy the South Main Trolley night. Sofia's bedtime is normally 7pm but we thought we would take her and just see how things went. We got on the trolley around 7pm and it was packed! Sofia loved being on the trolley and watching all of the people and buildings. Friday night was a big night for Memphis, the Redbirds had a game, the Grizzlies had a game, Beale St Music Festival and South Main Trolley Night. The newspaper estimated that around 100,000 people were downtown Friday night. It was a perfect night, not too hot, not too cool. We rode the trolley all the way down to South Main and enjoyed some cheesecake and art galleries. Then we walked by the FedEx Forum to check on the basketball game, we thought about going to the game earlier in the week but we knew there was no way Sofia would be able to stay up that late. We got home just in time to watch the rest of the game on television and still put Sofia to bed by 9:30. She is such an awesome little girl, she is so flexible and easy going.

Saturday was great. We went to the Farmer's Market, made a big breakfast/lunch, and took Sofia to the awesome new park in Shelby Farms. She was exhausted and the playground was packed so we spent most of our time flying kites. We finished the night with dinner at the BBQ Shop, another Memphis BBQ place and dessert at YoLo. It was so nice to have family in town for the past few weeks. It's hard to believe Tim and I only have about a month left until we leave Memphis. We intend to do everything we can to savor our final weeks. It will be great to be back in Wisconsin but we will certainly miss Memphis.

Sofia loves swimming and water! This summer will be so much fun.

Carlos, Sofia & Lindsey

Sofia on the trolley checking out the scenery.

Lindsey, Sofia & Tim on the trolley.

I love her SO much!

My belly prevents me from wearing the Ergo carrier on the front so I started wearing Sofia on my back, she loves it and I can get so much done so much faster this way.