Pumpkin Carving

From
Fri 27 Oct 06:

Today, Leigh, Angela, Sophia, and I got into the Halloween Spirit and carved some white pumpkins.

Sophia may have been around last Halloween, but she was fairly new to the world then and not very mobile. This year, however, she puts those motor skills to good use, diving right in to help Mom get the pumpkin brains into the bowl. After carving, we enjoyed some hot apple cider. Also, Leigh made some delicious toasted pumpkin seeds, carrying on a tradition from her mom (and Sophia's grandma).

Here is Leigh's ol' college friend, Angela, who visited the Hafner Three for five days. She currently lives in Tuscon. Her trip to Seattle is her first time seeing Sophia. As well, Angela has carved pumpkins only one other time in her life! Both Sophia and I really enjoyed meeting Angela and hope she moves back to Seattle someday.

An interesting point to note about Sophia's development is her recognition of facial features. Carving pumkins is a great way for her to identify a nose, the eyes, and a mouth. She can also point to her hair, head, and ears.

Thanks to Leigh, Angela, and Sophia for providing me with one of my favorite Halloween activities. I don't think I would have had time to carve pumpkins otherwise. Next year, we'll have to get Chris involved since he was at work during the festivities.

Make sure to check out Eric's post ...

I just realized that with all of my photo posting, I've pushed down Eric's great post about taking Sophia to the Arburetum. Do not miss that post! Not only does it have some great photos of the young one, but Eric has a way with his descriptions that sum up Sophia's personality better than I ever could.

Make sure to either scroll down the page or click here to see it.

Rainier Picnic

Rainier BW
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

Last weekend, Sophia and I got together my my folks, Steve & Erin and Steve's folks, and Kevin, his cousin, and Doug for a big picnic up at Rainier. Despite prognostications of cloudy, rainy weather, the day was stunningly beautiful.

It was also terrific to see Steve & Erin for the first time in years, and Steve's parents in a lot longer time than that. It was a great day.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

Sophia's Colorful Toys

Lego Jumble 2
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

Inspired by Sophia's eye-poppingly bright toys, I resolved to try to capture some of those colors and turn a select few into really creepy black-and-white images.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

Lyle's Birthday Visit

Blue Eyes mostly BW
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

Lyle stopped by to celebrate his birthday last weekend, and a good time was had by all.

Baby and Grandpa Lyle photos can be found at these links:

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

(and yes - the top photo is *not entirely* black and white)

Seattle Shooting

Crazy Night Sky Vert
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

Hello, everybody! A few weeks ago I went out for some photography with my friend Ron. The goal? Capture both the historic PacMed Amazon building and the Seattle skyline at dusk.

Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely atrocious, so only a handful of the nearly 200 photos I took were even reasonably okay. So, if you're interested in some reasonably okay Seattle photography (and who could resist that description?), you've come to the right place.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

Washington Park Arboretum

Friday 6 October 2006: Sophia turns 14 months old today.

She can't quite say my name yet, so she just calls me Ick.

We head for the Washington Park Arboretum in her parent's car. It's the first time I've driven with a baby. I am admittedly a little nervous, but Sophia remains calm on our maiden voyage together. She points every so often while saying "car." At the Arboretum, we park at the vistor's center and stroll towards the maples. I'm hoping to see some beautiful fall colors in the leaves. Sure enough, we find a spot with some lush greens and vibrants reds and oranges. I take Sophia out of the stroller and plop her down to see what she will do. She just loves running around. It's a rainy, overcast day which makes for messy fun when she picks up leaves and sticks. She's sporting her new Frakenstien shoes; they're a bit big for her still but she manages.

Sophia seems to love nature, taking some extra time to admire this fern. She's such a great companion on our jouney out and very curious about the world around her.

Visiting Grandpa Lyle

Grandpa Lyle
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

Leigh, Sophia, and I headed over to Grandpa Lyle's house on the peninsula a few weeks ago and had a great time. The excitement included watching the Seahawks win, trying to get Sophia to nap in a strange house, me getting a haircut, shopping at Fred Meyer, and a spectacularly beautiful ferry ride home.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

North East Public Library!

Wed 27 Sep 06
Today we head to the library just a few blocks from the house. We both have a blast. I find the articles needed for class and she finds "Bathtime." Her excitement reaches its peak in the children's section chirpping happy noises (kind of like words) and pointing at everything. Sophia loves books so she goes on sensory overload. Lots of running around and smiling and laughing and interacting with the other children . . . lots of saying "What's that?"





She keeps pulling individual books off the shelf, handing them to me only to run right back to the shelf for another. This goes on for about ten books or so. Sophia discovers the library's childsize tables, chairs, and beanbags. She touches and tries each one out like she's buying furniture at Nordstrum. As well, we pick up an information pamphlet to know when the library hosts a toddler reading time where someone will read a story to the children. Wow.



In the morning, Leigh tells me that Sophia picked out her own sweater. She knows stripes are still all the rage in young toddlers' fashion. As well, she sports a bruiser in the center of her forehead from an unfortunate crunch on the concrete in the park just a few days ago. At the library, Sophia meets a young girl, Pia, who keeps asking us if we want to see her "owey." Pia points to her scabby owey on her knee, and in turn, Sophia pats the center of her forehead. Is she really connecting the two? I have to think so, but it seems so amazing to me. I just love hanging out with this kid!

Eric's Babysitting Gig Begins

Tue 19 Sep 06
I prefer to think that Sophia and I are simply spending time together instead of mere babysitting. Her development amazes me since my last post in early August. I notice today that she understands simple commands like “put on your hat.” She also communicates hunger by tapping her fingertips together in a clapping motion. She says “two” when “one” is said to her first, and she seems to blurt out “yo” for yogurt. As well, when her attention turns to the swings at the park, she points and says “weeeeeeee.” Here’s a self portrait with Sophia as we sit together on the swing.

Before the park and afternoon nap, there is lunch. Again, she has changed since August. I am surprised when she grabs the spoon confidently from my hand and proceeds to feed herself! The spoon and food move from hand to hand, upside down to right side up, and from the top of her face to the bottom. She is unforgiving for the mess and very proud of this recent skill as you can see.

Also at the park today, she is all about pinecones, red galoshes, and dandelions. Sophia finds a small pinecone and holds tight to it our entire time in the park. She is also very curious about another young girl in the park of about 7 or 8 years old, but then I realize that maybe Sophia simply likes the girl’s red galoshes. They are very stylish after all. At one point, the older girl takes off one of her galoshes and leaves it in the grass as she runs off to play. Seeing opportunity, Sophia is a beeline to the red boot. I try to persuade her away with the park’s red rocking horse, but Sophia is unconvinced that this is the better option. For the walk home, however, she picks a dandelion, sniffing it occasionally, and turns it into a limp, lifeless flower before we make it to the front door.


Thanks to Leigh and Chris for giving me a wonderful opportunity to spend so much time with Sophia. She just brightens my day! See you on Thursday, Sophia. A parting shot from the merry-go-round.

Enter Benjamin

Playing Together
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

This weekend our friends Katie and Jeff came over with their son Benjamin, who is roughly two weeks younger than Sophia.

Sophia and Benjamin are old friends and always enjoy playing together, although Stackson's looming presence cast a shadow upon the proceedings for Benjamin. Cursed feline!



Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

A Day at the Concours d'Elegance

Phia wants a 360 Modena
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

To continue the theme of indoctrinating Sophia in all things automotive, this week I took her to the Italian Concours d'Elegance at Magnussen Park a mile away from our house.

It was a slightly different atmosphere from the blue-collar domestic ambiance at last week's Le May show. There were a smattering of various Italian exotics - Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Lancias, Maseratis, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, and even Ducatis. Sophia seemed about as impressed as she was last week.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

Dinnertime!

Smiling Through The Tongue
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

To get out of having to actually do any work around the house and feed Sophia, I whipped out the camera during a recent dinnertime to capture the joy of Sophia at dinnertime.

Feeding can sometimes be frustrating - the girl craves distraction and all too often likes to spit food out or play with the food in her mouth out of sheer boredom - but it can also be a lot of fun when she's hamming it up. When the camera comes out, show-off Sophia is on full display.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online - you can check out all of the albums we've currently plowed through here.

Fun at the Fair

Sad Sophia
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

This past weekend, Leigh, Sophia, Bryanne, Kim, Chavi, and I all went to the Washington State Fair in Monroe for an afternoon packed with heat, sweat, pig races, needlepoint, tractors, and swine.

Despite the photographic evidence here, everybody had a great time, including Sophia. All I can say is that the applause preceding the pig races was a bit loud for her.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online, but you can look at all of our albums here.

Bryan and Sophia Say Goodbye

Bryan and Sophia
Originally uploaded by Chris Hafner.

While we held his going-away party the weekend previous, before Leigh drove him to the airport, Bryan and Sophia played and had a good time before they said goodbye.

Very, very cute.

Check out the slideshow here.

Browse the photos here.

We're working on getting all of our digital photos online, but you can look at all of our albums here.