It's late....

But I'm still up finishing up on a digi layout for this new call.
My first time submitting to this...I hope they accept digital!

RAK Winner/Sofi Photos/Goodie in the Mail

Congrats Amanda Fuentes! You are the winner of the RAK!

Please e-mail me your mailing address. Thanks :)

And I couldn't have an entry without posting more SOFI photos:


Photo #1) Sofi takes a wagon ride around the living room with all her animals (12/28/06). Special note: Sofi has begun wearing clips in her hair! She has always pulled them out in the past, but recently she's been tolerating them, especially the claw-type clips or just a plain soft elastic. Or maybe the length of her bangs (which reaches her mouth) just started to bug her!

Photo #2) Sofi enjoys a treat while looking out the dining room window, a great spot for taking natural light photos (12/27/06).

Even though there was no USPS delivery, I did get a UPS package from Memory Makers. I received TWO copies of the special Celebrations issue, which contains one of my layouts! This is my first time to be published in a magazine other than Scrapbook Answers (which I really miss). Check out page 86 if you spot it on the newstands.

And thanks to everyone for commenting on my blog! I love hearing from you!

Credits: Photo masks by Erica Hernandez

Christmas Recap (Part 5.2)

Christmas Day (continued): When we thought the bubbler might soak the carpet, we moved it outside so Sofi could watch from the window. If you look closely at this shot you can see the bubbles outside, the Seattle skyline reflected in the window as well as Sofi enraptured with the bubbles and the Christmas lights of the tree.

Sofi loved her new Thomas the Train Lego Set! Along with the extra straight tracks, we were able to make a decent loop. And although it wasn't motorized, Jamie was able to add a motor from his Robotic lego set a few days after Christmas. I love this photo of Sofi dressed in her ultra-elegant dress getting down on the ground with her Thomas the Train! So cute.


Sofi also loved her new Paz books by Mary Murphy, including this one ("If) being read by Grandma. I've ordered a few more to add to her collection.



And here's a candid of Sofi giving some loving to Zoe (poor Zoe!),


And now for some food pics! For the first time I can recall (other than the Christmas spent in Australia) we did NOT have a roast turkey for Christmas dinner. We had a mouth-watering, juicy prime rib roast with Yorkshire pudding (popovers) and a vegetable medley. It was soooooooo good! And for the most part, the men did all the cooking! Jamie prepared the roast, Jamie's dad made the popovers and Ted made the vegetables. Too bad I didn't get a shot of a plate of everything, but this is what our table looked like and Jamie carving the meat...







And how did we end the meal?
Pumpkin cheesecake and ice-cream and bubbles.
After Sofi spilled her milk, I stripped her down to her diapers. And we took turns blowing bubbles for Sofi...

And so ends our Christmas story for 2006 (at least that's where my photos end.)

And now, as a reward for you (and getting this far), I'm going to give a small RAK to the first person who can tell me what I got Jamie for Christmas! Hint: The answer is in one of my Christmas recap entries. Just comment with your name and e-mail (and for fun, you can share what was your best present this year)!

Christmas Recap (Part 5)

Christmas Day: Sofi starts her day with a bowl of ice-cream mixed with her dose of antibiotics. After much drama and failed attempts at getting her to take the original cherry-flavored amoxicillin (8ml 2 times a day), Jamie arranged through the doctor and the pharmacy to make a new batch of a different antibiotic (onnicef?) that Sofi seems to ENJOY, that is, if it is poured over a bowl of Moose Tracks ice-cream. Other than the new flavor (bubble gum), other key differences in the medicine include: white color (easier to disguise) and of course the higher concentration (only 3 ml ONCE a day is required). Also, the coldness of the ice-cream dulls the taste, Grandpa Jim pointed out. Now, Sofi REQUESTS her ice-cream ("i-cream?") in the morning. Who wouldn't!? But after the medicine is gone, we'll have the issue of weaning her off the stuff!

For breakfast, Jamie made crepes using his handy-dandy crepe maker. We're getting a lot of used out of that gadget! And Sofi loves "cwapes" plain - after it cools down a bit with some blowing by mommy.


After breakfast, we opened all our stocking stuffers. Sofi had the most of course....a multitude of hair clips, stickers, a Sandra Boynton board book, a snowman placemat, a Slinkie Jr. and Hello Kitty bubble necklace (leftover party favors from her birthday), and on and on. Sofi even usurped some gifts not intended for her, but very Sofi-friendly: Chococat pen and pencil and keychain (meant for me from Jamie) and an oinking pig key chain (meant for Ann from Jamie).

Before beginning the opening of the gifts under the tree, I took a quick shot outside. Again, the weather surprised us. It was a beautiful, clear, SUNNY day in Seattle.


And, I changed Sofi into her Christmas dress. Oooohhhh. Ahhhh! So beautiful! Her dress was a big hit with the family :)

Sofi received so many gifts this year - the highlights included: the Duplo Lego Thomas the Train Set, a giant bubble machine, a variety of books to add to her well-stocked library, a wooden animal croquet set and the Little People Playschool Set. And we didn't even open all her gifts in one sitting. She opened her last one on New Year's Eve.


Jamie and I got some great gifts too! I guess it pays to host Christmas because SIZE is not an issue in terms of hauling back our loot back home on a plane! Some of the bigger items included a brand-new HP computer from Jamie (with all the hard-drive space I could ever need!), a toaster oven from J's parents (to replace the one we've had for 6 years and that has been broken for 5 of those years) , and a slow cooker (from J's brother and sister-in-law). And I think I nailed Jamie's gift: a collector's edition Batmobile Lego Set. He thanked me for days afterwards.

The unfortunate thing about my new computer was that we had to send it in for repairs. It was crashing left and right and after several frustrating hours with tech support (in India), HP agreed to fix it for us. I should get it back later this week.


As for gifts we got for the rest of the family, many were photo-oriented: a Sofi calendar, an ornament with Sofi's photo, a framed photo of Sofi and Grandpa because who doesn't love the gift of Sofi?! And there was even a non-Sofi-photo gift. In 2003, we had all gone to Australia for Christmas. And so I finally put together a book (via Kodak Gallery) for Ann and Ted. (Now I realize I should have ordered one for Jamie's mom and dad as well as for ourselves!)




























to be continued....(I have more photos, but I think this entry is getting too loaded...)

Credits:
Photo actions by Brenda
Photo masks by Erica Hernandez
All photos taken by me (except ones with me in it by Jamie)