Farewell Mr. T

I still can't believe we actually got rid of our dear cat Mr. T this week. That sounds so sad, doesn't it? But for all of you who knew him, you probably understand. First of all, he had a voice like no other cat I know. He was constantly talking/whining/howling so that every time someone called on the phone they thought it was our baby crying. He also had major jealousy issues with Soren. Our crib is completely scratched up from Mr. T climbing in (despite countless swats of discipline), and Soren was constantly bombarded by howls outside his bedroom door when he went down for his naps. And the final straw for us was the way Mr. T would wake us (and Soren) up every morning at 6am howling outside our balcony door. Now that we are parents we value each and every minute of sleep that we get, hence Mr. T had to go.But I really will miss him...our naps together every day when I was pregnant,
his affectionate nature and need to cuddle,
the way he shared my lap with Soren as a newborn,and the huge smile he brought to Soren's face everytime he walked into the room.Thankfully he's found a new home with another cat friend and a lady who can love him better than we could.

On the move!

I guess we better start buying outlet covers and gates for the staircase because Soren is now on the move! We are just excited that he is finding independence and will be able to entertain himself exploring the world:-)

Our little socialite

At this point in Soren's little life it has become very clear that he is a social little guy! Every time we are in public he is constantly scouting out strangers to see who will give him eye contact, a smile, or any kind of attention. Already he is teaching me to break out of my shy shell by making friends everywhere we go! So in honor of our little socialite, here are some pics of Soren having fun with the many favorite people in his life!
Every Monday and Wednesday is a playdate with Quinn!
Grandma Jojo made a special visit recently.
Trying to keep up with the big boys, Banning and Roddick.
A future athletic trainer? Maybe...but for now he's just pure entertainment for Brandon's students:-)
Ahhh...brotherly love with Mr. T. That is, until Soren starts pulling on his whiskers and driving his monster truck on him. Then the claws come out:-)

Our happy place

Yesterday I had the most amazing, precious time with Soren. And I got a glimpse into the heart of God. We went for a walk at Mission Beach and afterward sat on the beach for awhile. Normally he likes it at first but then he gets restless or starts eating the sand. But yesterday he was in heaven the whole time and actually started crying when I put him back in the stroller! He just sat in the sand squealing with delight as he dug his toes in and tossed sand around. He hummed as he looked up at the seagulls and beach flag. He scooted all over the place and laughed at his independence. I was in heaven just watching him. To see my son so full of pure joy and delight in my happy place was perfection. And then it hit me--this must be an inkling of how God feels when he watches me delight in his beach. Or when he watches me delight in any of his creation, be it nature or people. My heart could not have been more full. To think that I could fill God's heart!

The gopher phenomenon

This last weekend I met up with my mom and sister Dani in New York City for our second annual girls weekend. (Okay, not quite annual yet since our last trip to Chicago was in 2006 and with just my mom and me. But we're hoping to make it such...) Anyways, we had a BLAST. Yes, it was freezing cold. But so pretty! I landed at JFK as the sun was coming up, illuminating a splendid city of skyscrapers covered in snow. And we hit that snow-covered ground running. Two full days of walking and eating good ethnic food and walking and drinking coffee and walking and shopping, and did I mention walking? God, I love traveling. It just makes me come alive exploring a new place and getting peeks into a culture different than my own. And doing that with my beloved mother and sister makes it all the better. Which reminds me...my mother's quirky, comical view of the world was the icing on the cake this weekend. Dani and I tried to keep track of all of her hilarious comments and by far the most amusing comment was what she exclaimed every time we came out of the subway tunnel: "Don't you just feel like a gopher the way we go down underground, travel, and then pop our heads up in an entirely different place?" The gopher phenomenon--sums up our weekend quite well:-)(You can go here for more pics.)

Just some videos...

It's been awhile since we've posted any cute little videos of Soren, so here you go! The first one is of him playing with his favorite toy, monster truck. He's such a boy already!
And the second one is of him being hyper/delirious right before bedtime. He gets such a kick out of anyone coming down the stairs!

I love my little angel.

What am I supposed to do with this face?