25-27 months

In my last posting I had said with summer starting I could post more…I lied! Summer was busier than ever and we had a blast! Sophia and I are finally getting back into the swing of things with me back to work and Sophia back to school full time.

Like I said this summer has been wonderful. Mike worked a lot as any new business owner does but he was able to take some time off to enjoy the summer with “his girls.” Since I worked the summer program in July Sophia continued on her regular school schedule for July. I think she welcomed the social interaction of her friends because June was so wet and soggy we spent much of our time indoors. We were able to sneak a few outdoor fun days in before more rain came. We had a few play dates and we went strawberry picking. Sophia had a blast! Mainly because she could wear her boots and splash in the mud puddles. Since Sophia still can’t eat strawberries we picked them for Nana Deb to eat. July, even though it was busy with work and school, was still a great month!

The best part of the month was that Sophia became a big cousin!

Benjamin Keefe Anzelmo

born on July 8, 2009

9 pounds.

It was the most amazing moment to watch my sister and my brother-in-law become parents. They have been such a big part of Sophia’s life that Mike and I can only hope to be as amazing to their son as they are to our daughter. I am sure you are all wondering how Sophia has taken to a new baby in the family…SHE LOVES HIM! She tells everyone, “That’s my cousin. Ben-a-min (as Sophia says it).” Whenever he is around she is right there helping people take care of him. She feeds him, holds him, changes his diapers, burps him, checks on him when he is sleeping….she is a little mother hen! She is not one bit jealous. Instead she makes him center of attention whenever she can.

In between making trips to see Ben we also had tons of playdates, outing and trips to the beach.

We went on a blueberry picking adventure with our friends Camden and Ellison and their mommy Jodi.

Fourth of July we stuck with tradition and went to East Boston to see the Constitution sail and to fireworks that night.

We did manage to fit a horseback ride in there too.

Mike and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the July 23rd. Three years, Wow! My mom took Sophia overnight as a kind gesture to Mike and me. Kind it was! Sophia got sick in the middle of the night and we didn’t have to clean it up…Happy Anniversary to us!

Sophia and I spent a night away from Daddy when we went up to Nana Deb and Don’s camp. Daddy had a lot of work to do one weekend and we wanted to get away… so off we went. Sophia and I had a great time with Auntie A, Ben, Nana, and Don on that trip.

Daddy had some time off in August so we fit in as much “Ferrara Family Time” as we could. We went to York Animal Kingdom , Southwick Zoo, and many, many parks. My favorite memory of this summer was going to Hampton beach during Hurricane Bill. Mike and Sophia flew her kite and I took in the beauty of it all.
As for Sophia’s health she is doing AWESOME! At the beginning of the summer we re-tested Sophia’s soy and milk allergies. Both came back negative. So we started her on soy. No reaction…Yah! We were supposed to wait 6 months before starting milk buy after 3 months and no problems we got the OK to start milk. We are slowly working up the amount day-by-day and so far she is doing great. She is up to two ounces a day. She has had very small amounts of cheese and a single lick of ice cream. Hated the cheese LOVED the ice cream. As for her constipation, she has not needed Myrelax for the last 3 months. She has been very healthy up until this weekend when she got an ear infection. It was pretty painful because the tube was clogged and the pressure of the fluid cleaned it out. Ouch!

Developmentally, she continues to do great. Her language is amazing. She cracks us up all the time with the things that come out of her mouth. One day I asked her to come into her room so I could change her pampers and she responded, “That’s OK, I all set.” Other common phrases are “Listen,” “No, Mommy/Daddy do it,” “Go away,” “I do it myself,” “Frosting please,” “Time out, Daddy” (when he does something that she doesn’t like), “I love you, babe,” “Group hug,” “Frozen french fries, please” and “No nap…no bed!” These are the saying but there are many, many more. She has a great personality. She is a perfect mix of Mike and me. She has Mike’s mechanical abilities, his love for being outside, bikes and trains. Her mind when figuring out a problem works just like Mikes. She has my perseverance, stubbornness, and silliness.

Like me, she loves to be around people and always knows what’s going in everywhere. She had a lot of accomplishments this summer but her biggest one this summer was learning to peddle her bike. Now Mike and Sophia can go on bike rides around the neighborhood.Well, that was our summer. We have so much to look forward to this fall. Sophia is taking dance lessons and will be starting them this Saturday. I will post some pictures as soon as they are taken. We will have tons to share over the next few months with all the fall activities, Halloween and Thanksgiving around the corner.

I hope everyone had a great summer like we did and I look forward to sharing more of our memories with you as we make them.