Waiting for Sofie

Tomorrow afternoon, Sofie, star of Letters to Sofie, arrives in Krakow, with her parents in tow.

Sofie, at the ripe old age of 20 months, has the distinguished honour of being my youngest overnight guest to date. As a result, special preparations are in order.

I've borrowed a pack and play (a portable playpen for those of you not in the know), a car seat, and a giant cardboard box (more on this later) just for Sofie.

I also made a special trip to the grocery store to stock the fridge for her dietary needs. Apparently Sofie, unlike almost every other toddler I know, does not eat yogurt, bread (!), or cheese. But she does like fruit, crackers and cookies. And she likes her milk as high in fat as possible (I was only able to find 3.2 percent, which seems luxurious compared to my skim milk).

I also purchased some apple juice, because every other kid I know drinks it. I'll keep you posted on whether that's on her yes list.

Back to that cardboard box. I may not have explained that my apartment (oddly enough, just like my home in Toronto, where Sofie lived for several months last year), is a death trap for small children. Although beautiful to behold, the open wood and glass staircase doesn't meet any safety code I know of, particularly not one to protect toddlers.

So my friends lent me a large cardboard box that I plan to use (in it's flattened state) to block the upstairs entrance to the stairs. The box is so big that a friend and I spent a good ten minutes getting it into my car. I spent even longer trying to get it out by myself this morning.

I haven't quite figured out the logistics of keeping Sofie safe, while allowing Flannery and Small free run of both floors. I forsee there may be a few long nights of meowing ahead.

But Sofie (and her parents) are more than worth it.

Check back in a few days here or at Sofie's own site for an update on what Sofie thinks of Krakow.