Revisiting the US...in photos

We spent 2 months in the US this summer and we had a lot of fun in the sun and traveling around seeing different people and things.

Mamaw and Sona at the Udvar Hazy museum

Sona makes many beautiful faces ;)

They hate and LOVE each other

family photo in duck - one of the best impromptu shots ever!

Poor little sister

They are nice to eachother...

...sometimes...

Traveling is tiring

Trucks are cool

Riding on papa's shoulders

Determined

Fun at the pool in Leesburg

Sona was a little nervous about getting into the slightly cold water at the pool last week, but she eventually grew to enjoy it!

Here are some photos after drying off, where she is being mischievous and cute.

Sona already feels comfortable

Sona already feels at home...found some socks and stuck them in her favorite place - her mouth! :-)

She wants to be like big brother

Sona likes it

Riding on a ladybug is fun!

Happy to be playing with the toddlers at daycare

We like it here

Being silly at the beach

Pigging out on pizza in Sardinia, Italy

Waiting for my check-up

Little messy cutie

Look at this cute little mess!

Happy times in the sand

Nothing sweeter...

..than the face of a sleeping baby.

Hangin out inside at the zoo

Photo series: First time trying to eat with a spoon

Sona REALLY wanted to try to feed herself....so we let her experiment...

Saturday morning ride

Maybe on a vespa together in the future?

Opa and Sona

Opa and Oma came over this weekend to watch the little ones while we got some time away. Here is a cute photo of Sona enjoying the remainder of Ian's ice cream :)

Poor sick girly

First chicken pox and now teething the big teeth, combined with some head/throat sickness. This girl has seen some tough days recently (and so have we!!)

Chicken pox

This little girl has the chicken pox :-/ Practically the same age as when Ian had them! She seems to be more bothered by them though. They are worse on her head and lower torso...poor girl!

Sona loves sliding!

You may not see it in this video, but Sona loves going down the slide!  We did it repeatedly.  This was the first time for her, so she was a little surprised to land on the ground, but it made me laugh!

Thanks, Mamaw!

Thanks for the cushy animals for my birthday, Mamaw Brenda!!

Snapshots from Sona's 1st birthday

Yesterday was Sona's first birthday.  Ian and I had some fun in the morning with her and the balloons, while Papa was still in Helsinki for work.  She then celebrated it at daycare, where they made her a cute paper hat, and then we finally celebrated at home in the evening with tapas for dinner and a nice carrot cake!  Ian helped to pick out her presents, which were crocodile-themed ;)

Sona is a lovely little girl.  She is mischievous (a little like her brother, but also in different ways), she is clever, she is very happy, cuddly, and likes to keep busy discovering things (also like her brother) - oh, and how can I forget - she LOVES sucking on socks!!  We really enjoy watching her and holding her and really cherish it all that we can. Ian also loves her, even though he likes to beat up on her sometimes :-)  Arno and I simply cannot believe a full year has passed, since the snowy day of her birth in 2013!! Right now, she can take several steps at a time and has about 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on the bottom).  She is an enthusiastic eater, too!

Let's see what this next year holds in store for us all, eh??

Here are some snapshots from her birthday.