My Guardian Angel

When I am lying on my back, staring up at mommy's wonderful face, I sometimes feel a little lick on the top of my head. I smile, because that is Skye's way of telling me that she's there and is watching over me.

Skye is a very loyal and vigiliant guardian. She usually takes up position at the foot of the bed, where she can best observe the front lawn. No one can enter our property without Skye shouting a warning. When I am in the nursery, Skye's favorite spot in curled up underneath the easy chair, while mommy or daddy holds me above. I may not be able to see her, but I know I am safe, with a little white angel always ready and nearby. But a little lick on the top the head just to be sure is even better.

Daddy Finished!

On Friday night, me, mommy, and Nanny Jenny drove to Dyersville, Iowa (home of the Field of Dreams) to see daddy and spend his last night on the route with him. After biking over 400 miles, daddy had only 57 to go in his bike ride across Iowa. I had a good time sleeping in the RV with daddy, mommy, Uncle Mike, Nanny Jenny, and Soren's dad Jason (Soren is my "twin", the boy who was born two hours before me in the next room at the hospital). Daddy decorated the RV with pink Sophie balloons and a string of green lightsticks. To make it just perfect, daddy put the Sophie mix on the ipod, including my iconic "City of New Orleans." It was the best camping trip I've been on! OK, it was the only camping trip I've ever been on, but I'm ready to try it again. The next day, after daddy left on his bike to finish the trip, mommy and Jenny and I visited the actual Field of Dreams!

The tradition on RAGBRAI is to dip your back tire in the starting spot (often the Missouri River, this time the Rock River) and dip your front tire in the Mississippi. Here's daddy finishing the trip in the Great River. He says that he's never been so happy to see the Mighty Miss. It's always an impressive sight, but is a particularly inspiring, spiritual experience when your legs are burning, your back and neck are on fire from being bent at a 45 degree angle for 7 days, and your hands are numb from gripping the handlebars. After 477 miles of delicately balancing your very sore rear onto a few square inches of leather, you pass the last bend in the road to see the muddy Miss stretched out before you in all its amazing glory. A soaring run down a steep bluff into town is all that remains between a week of endurance exercise and a soothing wade in America's Great River.

Daddy promised me that he'll take me on RAGBRAI when I'm older. I can't wait!

477 Miles, 3 bikes, and 1 copy of Harry Potter

Daddy is away on RAGBRAI this week. Mommy says that he's biking across the entire state of Iowa, from Missouri River to Mississippi River. It is awfully hot and bright out there, so I hope he's wearing plenty of sunscreen. Uncle Mike is with him, helping drive the RV support vehicle, so they can drag the comforts of home with them from town to town.



Daddy called this morning with an update of his ride. Although the first two days were slowed by a bad headwind, yesterday's ride was smooth sailing and they really layed down some serious miles. He's biking along with only 15,000 of his closest friends, so I know he's not lonely on the route. Lance Armstong and his biking team is out there as well, but daddy says they're so fast that he only gets a glimpse as they shoot by.


The best thing about RAGBRAI is the amazing sense of community and neighborly friendliness that every little town along the way shares with the riders. The entire town turns out at the stops, cooking sweet corn, pulled pork, and fresh pie. They offer water, bathroom, or just a shady spot on their lawn. The towns have themes for their stops. Eagle Grove put on a circus. Laurens put on a luau. Daddy was taking a nap on someone's front lawn when the little girl (older than me!) who lived there came out and handed him a popsicle! It is so wonderful!

After the day's ride, while they are resting in camp, daddy has been making short work of the final Harry Potter book. Many folks on the ride are doing the same thing! Daddy promises me that he'll read me the whole series when I am a little older. At least I don't have to wait as long between books as those reading today did!


Daddy's halfway done, and I hope I can get to see him on the route on Friday, when the ride gets its closest to Iowa City.

Merci, Monsieur Pasteur

I had my first set of immunizations today. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it's something we babies all have to do. Daddy was actually relieved that I got the H. flu and Pnuemoccocal vaccines, becuase he has seen first hand how sick babies can get when they aren't protected from these bad bugs.

Well, it hurt. A lot. And my thighs are really sore when I got the shots. But we'll get over it. The good news is that I am still growing like a weed. I am now 13 lbs (91%) and 23.5inches (83%). If I maintain my current rate of growth, I will be over 60 feet tall by the time I am 30!

Just some photos of my goofy smile!

Meeting Elizabeth Edwards

First of all, I am very sorry I have not written in over a week. My literary output is directly linked to daddy's work schedule and he just finished a long string of shifts in the ER. We'll try to catch up quickly this week and make up for the dearth!

Today, Gran took me to meet fellow breast cancer patient Elizabeth Edwards in downtown Iowa City. The great thing about living in Iowa is everyone pays attention to us once every 4 years. This has been one of the busiest campaign years ever in Iowa, so if we don't meet all the candidates personally, we can only blame ourselves!

Mrs. Edwards was speaking at the Hotel Vetro, so Gran took me and the Sophiemobile to see if might catch a glimpse. As we were waiting by the door, Mrs Edwards showed up and greeted me personally! She played with me for a almost a minute, so Gran and I stuck around and listened to the political forum for over 90 minutes. It was great! I am very impressed with that lady and I'll think I may join mommy and caucus for Edwards in January. We won't be able to swing daddy away from Obama!

I Feel So Pretty

"City of New Orleans" is still my favorite song by a long way and always helps me settle down. But Gran has been singing "I Feel Pretty" to me lately and it's starting to get stuck in my head. I'll have to ask daddy to let me watch West Side Story so I can understand the context. We went on line to find a video of the song and found this version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWrI1FneSM

So then we searched again for Maria singing "I Feel Pretty" and got this version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8FAwMpR6D4 I like it becuase I feel it really understands the essence of being Sophie. It emphasizes the feminist power of the song: a beautiful woman who is celebrated for her appearance but is also a powerful and successful person in her own right. The fact that this version promotes mommy and daddy's dreams of having a scholarship athlete doesn't hurt either.

Another Sunday Morning

I love Sunday mornings!

Today, while daddy played with his new iphone (very cool) and mommy read four imagined endings to Harry Potter in the New York Times, I practiced tummy time on the boppy pillow. I also was trying my best to make a recognizable sound. Language is a very interesting task and is also very difficult to master. I will keep trying- Gran says I am way ahead of time anyway and it should take up to another year of practice. I can't wait that long! I want to talk now!

By the way, we learned that the six letter word for "British Mail" is armour! Those sneaky devils! If I ever get Will Shortz alone in a dark alley one night . . . What's a seven letter word for pummeling starting with B?

Granny Nanny

Gran is here for three weeks to help mommy and daddy transition to going back to work. It so wonderful to have a companion all day while my parents are out earning money to buy me pretty things. Gran takes me for walks, lets me look out the window, puts me in my bouncy chair while she reads and does the laundry. And best of all, we get to watch a lot of "Law and Order".

One of my favorite moments is when I am a little tired after a big bottle of mommy's milk and Gran puts me in the "Sophie couch", a boppy nursing pillow that cradles me just right. Mommy and daddy wont let me sleep on the Sophie couch at night unsupervised, but it's perfect for a pleasant rest on a warm summer afternoon.

Kevin and Kendall

On Wednesday night, Kevin and Kendall arrived from California. They both work as drug dealers . . . er. . . uh. . . I mean "Pharmaceutical Representatives". They were both so nice to me. We went out to downtown Iowa City for dinner on the last night of their visit.

Mommy had an important dinner engagement for work, so daddy loaded up the Sophiemobile and the rest of us cruised around downtown. We got a beautiful sidewalk table at 126, one of the super-fancy restaurants downtown. Daddy ordered crabcakes and a steak while I got to suck on some wonderful mommy's milk. After corn and creative writing, Iowa's two best products are beef and pork. The pampered, corn-fed cows filling the grasslands of the state turn out so juicy and flavorful when they end up on the plate. It doesn't hurt that Iowans tend to serve their steaks drowned in Maytag bleu cheese (from Newton, IA).

Of course, I don't know how good the steaks are. I only get to taste whatever goes in mommy's mouth and she doesn't eat beef or pork. But daddy says the beef is amazing and Kevin and Kendall seemed to agree. I look forward to that next year!

Independence Day

We celebrated my first Indedendence Day yesterday. I got to wear a special star-studded onezie as we went to Granmimi's farm for a wonderful barbeque and party. Daddy flipped his special onion-mix burgers over a super-hot grill. Granmimi put all the baby goats in the outdoor pen so the children visiting the farm could feed and pet them. Daddy's residents and students came and brought their children. I got to see my "twin", Soren. He was born just 3 hours before me in the next room at the maternity ward! Cool, huh?

Afterwards, we went home to meet Uncle Kevin as he arrived from Los Angeles. Daddy and Kevin and Kendall walked to park to watch the firworks. Mommy says I can go next year. I hope so!

Sunday Morning

We had another wonderful Sunday morning today. Every sunday, mommy or daddy runs down to the bagel shop to get bagel and egg sandwiches that we eat while reading the sunday New York Times and listen to NPR's Weekend Edition. My sisters lounge at our feet and snooze gently in the warm morning sunshine.

We listen to Will Shortz quiz the NPR listeners as well struggle with the New York Times crossword puzzle. Mommy and daddy are novices at crossword puzzles, so they don't feel any remorse with using a computer and looking up many of the answers. Daddy says he learns a lot from doing it that way. For example, we learned today that "operaseria" is a style of opera that was popular 1720- 1770. We can only get so far before our brains get worn out and we're ready to finally face the day. This usually happens about the time "Prairie Home Companion" comes on the radio, when we are soothed back into a mid-day nap by the dulcet tones of Garrison Keillor and his philisophical poetry of midwestern life.

The NY Sunday Crossword sits unfinished. Any suggestions for a 6 letter way of describing the "British Mail"? (HM Post?)