Sophie's Blog

Ma Dahlan

2007-12-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

Sophie now calls me "Ma Dahlan" like she is speaking in some southern accent. She likes to be a doctor and give me a checkup and she also has a newfound interest in her kitchen, and cooking different foods. She always wants to make sure she washes her hands at the sink first before she begins to cook.

Lead the way

2007-11-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

Sophie is now in a phase where she has to LEAD THE WAY for anything.
If we are going upstairs, she scrambles to rush by us, knocking us out of the way so she can be first. Same thing if we are going downstairs. At the park today, Vivian and I headed over a bridge to the swings while Sophie was still at the basketball court. When she saw that we were at the swings already without her, she started screaming NOOOOOOOOO. She HAS to be first.
I sure hope it passes quickly.
She often knocks her sister down trying to be FIRST.

School and Halloween

2007-11-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sophie likes her new school, but she really wants to be alpha dog no matter where she goes. She was good for the first week, then Week 2, we got a note in the backpack. It seems she was feeling comfortable enough to start testing the waters.
She wants to take her shoes off in class and doesn't understand why the rules do not apply to her. (I know someone just LIKE that. . .)

Anyhow, she is in a class of ALL BOYS except for herself and one other little girl named Courtney!!! I think that is good for Sophie, b/c if she wants to start "clickish" drama, the boys will really not be playing into that at all!

Luckily, Sophie's teacher is AWESOME. whenever people ask who her teacher is, and I say her name, they just go ON AND ON about how GREAT she is, and she definitely has Sophie's number so she will not let her get away with anything.

Lately, since Daddy has been home, we are having food wars. He wants to MAKE her eat certain things, like green beans, meat, etc. and she really doesn't want any part in it (control issues).
The other night, she "cleaned" the hamburger off her plate by squirreling it away in her mouth and kept it there all thru her bath - GROSS. She was not going to swallow it for anything. I finally had her spit it out in the toilet, but I think everyone may be relieved when Daddy starts work on Monday!

Vivian is talking up a storm. It's not always intelligible, but she is definitely saying things that make sense to her. "What's that?" "I want it" "No!" "Mine!" "sister" etc.

Sophie Says

2007-09-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sophie is just saying the most terrific things - each day she comes up with something new. I can't remember 1/2 of all of them, but here are a few.

When she has to go potty: "Mama? May I use your bathroom?" She calls the bathroom by her room MY bathroom, and the master bath HER bathroom.

"Mama, shall we go to the store?" Yes, we shall. She kept repeating "shall we?" over and over, like she was really getting the feel for it.

At the beach last weekend, she was telling Margo, in a small, squeaky voice, "I really missed you, my lil sweetie!" and scrunching up her nose and touching her face while she told her.

Sometimes out of the blue, while we are driving, she'll say, "I REALLY miss my Grandma Cindy. I really really miss her."

"Mom, do you love your mommy? Are you SURE?" or "Do you miss your mom?"

She also likes to remind me that we should say grace when we are sitting together at the table eating.

She feels the need to tell me how/when to punish Vivian. "Mama, my sister hit me. Give her a pinch!"

I love you

2007-07-15T20:24:00.001-07:00

This is what Sophie says with a very guilty tone whenever she has done something she shouldn't have. Like if she knocks the baby down, or when she came to me with red marker all over her fingernails like she was trying to "polish" them. She had also written on the molding BEHIND two doors. I guess since she knew darn well she had no business doing it, she was trying to write in a place we wouldn't see?

So, when she comes to me, out of the blue, and says, "I love you, Mama" I know she has done something she should not have.

Nervous

2007-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's a long terrible story, but last night we slept in a hotel outside of Yosemite. We arrived very late and Sophie was overtired beyond anything I've ever seen. She was screaming and crying b/c she really did not want to sleep in the hotel. She wanted to go HOME, but it was 10 at night. . .
Anyhow, when she finally settled down and was laying in bed, she told me,
"Mommy, I feel a little bit nervous." I was floored. I did not know she knew that word. I told her I was very proud of her for telling me her feelings and using her words.

She is still obsessed with Cinderella and we read the whole Disney storybook of it for her bedtime story tonight. She was telling me that her mousey friends Jaq and Gus were coming in the van with us to "camping". She called the campfire a "fire-camp". She also hated taking a shower but loved playing tea party in both the dirt and river.

Woman

2007-06-25T13:21:00.001-07:00

Sophie watched Tarzan yesterday and after it was over, she said she wanted to watch it again. It was not TiVo'd or anything, so we don't have it to watch again.
Today she told me she was Tarzan and Vivian is Baby Tarzan and I am the Woman.
So she says to me, "Woman?"
"Yes, Tarzan?"
"I love you, Woman."
"I love you, too, Tarzan."
"I think Baby Tarzan is saying she is hungry."

Joke you up

2007-06-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sophie has just discovered the joys of "joking" and her sense of humor is really developing. She thinks it is HILARIOUS to use "silly" words like bootiela-la googa or dootie-ga-la-la, etc.
She told me today, "I am joking you up, Mommy".

Our gardener told me today that he was just amazed by her vocabulary and how polite she is. She walked around with him to the side gate so he could unlock it, and he was asking her how the key goes in, etc. After he unlocked the gate, she told him, "Good Job, Mr. Bill!" He was very taken by this comment!

I don't think so

2007-05-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Sophie says this an awful lot. I must say this often for her to pick it up so readily.
She LOVES gum and wants a stick every day. She prefers the minty kind. I have some orange Orbit kind, but she likes the blue or green pack better.
She is showing more interest in drawing and writing, but not letters yet.
She draws things, makes a bunch of marks, then examines it and announces what each shape looks like.
She is drawing on her white board right now, and she just told me to tell her, "Wow, dear, that looks great."

pretend

2007-05-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sophie is just really really into pretend right now. Currently, she is Cinderella and she has directed me to be an evil stepsister. I just ordered her to go cook me something to eat.

She loves wearing her princess dress (not any of the 3 fairy wing costumes she owns). She is also into drawing maps right now. She draws the map that tells us where the treasure is and the pirate piggies have to get the treasure.

This morning, we just colored for quite a while. She really wants me to paint and color with her. She always asks me to sit and color with her at her "painting center" which is the dining table.

Picnics and Dresses

2007-03-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

The weather has turned delightfully warm and springlike and it is really making the spring fever bug bite. I had to do some shopping for warm weather clothes for Sophie in 4T since that is her new size. Some things are even 5T. Anyhow, I ended up getting her a bunch of dresses and they are her absolute FAVORITE item of clothing now.

When she puts on a new dress, she just lights up! She wants to look in the mirror and exclaims, "I'm a princess!". One particular dress has a headband to match. I let her wear that dress today, and she said, "Mama? I want the matching headband too." She is becoming a little fashion plate, which has never been the case til now.

She also loves having a picnic outside. We bring a blanket to the park and sit on it and eat our snack, like strawberries or raisins. Now, every day, she wants a picnic, so we've been sitting in the yard in the shade and "picnicking".

We also flew a kite a couple days ago. The wind is kicking up in the afternoons. But the kite was a little too strong for her and it was flying wildly b/c I didn't have its tail to keep it flying steady.

Can you say. . .?

2007-03-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Of course, Sophie loves to role play and pretend that we are all different characters. Now, Daddy is Mufasa, Viv is Zazu, and of course, Sophie is Simba. At dinner tonite, she was talking to Mufasa, and she now "directs" us what to say. She asked Mufasa a question, and he said yes.
She said, "Can you say, 'Yes, Simba, Honey?"
So he said, "Yes Simba".
So she said, "No, can you say 'Yes, Simba, honey?"
So then he repeated it correctly and she was satisfied.

Also, at the park today, a little girl was playing in the sandbox with Sophie. She and her parents spoke Spanish, so Sophie said, "They are speaking Spanish!" The little girl was poking her stick on Sophie's sand pile, and her mom was telling her not to do that, and telling her "Cuidado" which means "watch out". (I think)

The little girl came over to Sophie's sand pile again with the stick, and Sophie turned to me and said, "Mommy? She's not cuidado!" The spanish mom cracked up.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

2007-02-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

Sophie is a walking catalog of songs and rhymes. Her latest trick involves substituting her own words in songs.
She has been singing Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? I see a leopard looking at me, etc.
Last night, she was on our bed, chanting her own rendition of this and we heard, "Mommy's Bed, Mommy's Bed, what do you see? I see some drawers looking at me. Drawers, drawers what do you see? I see the wah-alls lookin at me" etc, etc.

Quincy

2007-02-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

Sophie looked out the window today, and saw Daddy's car parked on the street. She said, "That is Quincy's car." If you watched Little Einsteins, you would know who Quincy is.

When I talk to the baby, I do "ventriloquism" to pretend like Vivian is talking back to me. Sophie loves it and likes to do it too. So when I ask something like, "Are you hungry, baby?" Sophie will say, "Yes, Mommy!" in a high-pitched "baby" voice. Then she says, "The baby is talking!"

She loves to play dolls with her Dora dolls and dollhouse. I have to be Chef Dora and she is Christmas Dora. It usually goes something like this:
Chef D: Hi Dora! Are you hungry?
Xmas D: Yes, I am.
Chef D: Would you like me to cook you something?
Xmas D: Yes, I would.
Chef D: Well, come with me to my kitchen.
Xmas D: OK.
(dolls hop along to the kitchen of the dollhouse)

Dance Class

2007-02-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sophie is loving her dance class. This is only her 3rd session, but it is amazing how far the girls have come in only 3 lessons. They follow along very nicely and really enjoy it. She is in dance with 2 of her little friends, Ellie and Winnie. The recital is on June 9.

We've also been taking "walks" in the afternoon, which are 2 miles. Sophie can jog a mile of it at least. She hops on/off the stroller when she wants to take a snack or water break, but besides that, she can jog mostly the whole way. We end up at the park near our house, from which she runs home afterward. She says she wants to do a race, so perhaps we'll sign up for the April 1 Wildflower Race.

Molars or manipulative?

2007-01-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

Today I was madder at Sophie than I ever have been.

I wanted to go to an 11:00 yoga class. Everyone was fed, had naps, etc. so I figured it would be no problem. As we drove up to the gym, Sophie started complaining that she didn't want to go to the new gym. I said it was too bad. When we got in there, she was very very mad she had to go (even though the place is playtime heaven, brand new, outdoor play structure, videos, music, etc.) and she started a shrill screaming. She was crying but I figured once she got in there and started playing, she'd be fine.

In 10 minutes they came to get me. I figured it was for Vivian, but it was Sophie who had been screaming and crying. As soon as I took her out, she stopped her crying and was fine. That tells me it was on purpose. I was so angry that I couldn't have 50 minutes to do yoga I took her straight home and put her in her room with her gate closed. She promptly cried herself to sleep.
Her bottom molars continue to come in.

2 yr molar

2007-01-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sophie's behavior yesterday was just awful. When dropping her off in the gym daycare, she laid on the floor, grasping my ankle and whining that she didn't want to go. At her first dance lesson, it was much of the same on the way in the door. I finally told her she didn't have to dance, but we would just watch. We watched half the class with her curled up on my lap, then left because she just would not participate.

I have never seen her act like this before.

Today, I looked in her mouth, and lo and behold, one tip of her bottom left 2 yr molar is poking through the gum. I guess it's more like a 3 yr molar. None of the others are there yet.

Christmas Eve

2006-12-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

Here is Sophie at the table eating pancakes the morning of Christmas Eve.

We Want the Funk!

2006-12-29T14:53:00.000-08:00

Sophie loves the new Odyssey commercial and proclaims "That's our new car!" whenever she sees it. Here is her rendition of Parliament.

I Don't Care

2006-12-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

Sophie gets pretty darn mad when Daddy makes her go to bed. I usually lay down with her for 15 minutes and we snuggle and read stories. Many times, she falls asleep and I leave. But if I leave before she falls asleep, she doesn't like it.

Tonight, after we had read stories, and it was way past her bedtime, Daddy told her to go to bed and had her go to her room by herself. She really did not like it. He told her the choices: lay down and go to bed or if she gets up, her gate gets closed. From her bedroom, we heard her tell Daddy what Daddy has told her many times: "Daddy, I don't care. I don't care, Daddy." It did not go over well.

It is interesting to hear her parrot back things she hears. She doesn't always understand the ramifications of her newest sayings.

Halloween Madness

2006-10-31T22:30:00.000-08:00

10-31-06 skeleton
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

The days of Sophie not really knowing what's going on with regard to holidays, birthdays, etc. are over, officially. She was about to explode today over Halloween. First of all, she couldn't wait to put on her "scary skeleton" costume. She woke up at 6:30am, running into my room to ask me if we could Trick or Treat.

Then, she got to wear her skeleton costume to school for the Halloween party and parade. She couldn't wait to put on her Hello Kitty backpack, which contained the "Dem Bones" treat bags we signed up to bring for the party. She helped me count out 8 bags for 8 students. At the school parade, they marched twice around the sidewalk on the play yard.

After the parade, which we have on video, we attended the Las Madres Halloween playgroup where all her friends were dressed in costume and it was another fest of candy, cupcakes and general junk food, all of which she wanted to eat, non stop all day.

After her nap, I painted her face white with black eyes and nose so she could Trick or Treat. At first, she didn't like the way she looked in the mirror, but she quickly grew to appreciate the makeup! She dashed from house to house, chirping "Trick or Treat!" After she got her candy, she remained standing at the doorways while the homeowners put candies in other children's bags. She then ran away from the house, shouting "Happy Halloween!" and "Good Luck!" Then she would announce, "Let's go to another house guys." She trick or treated with her friends Ashleigh and Drew. 5 year old Ashleigh repeatedly cried, "Hey Sophie! Wait for me!"

Another side note, Sophie's new favorite song is "Witch Doctor" - Oooh, eeee, ooh, ah ah. . . .

Potty Training DONE!!!

2006-10-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

I guess Sophie needed to wait for the week she turned 2 1/2 EXACTLY. All week, when she gets dressed in the morning, I've been asking her whether she wants to wear underwear or a pull up.
She opted for the underwear. She kept her pants dry Mon and Tues mornings, but in the afternoon on our walk, she peed in her pants and said, "Uh oh, Mommy, I pee pee in my pants." Then she walked around stiff legged as the pee dripped down her leg. I believe this helped her to figure out quickly the consequences of going in her underwear.

On Mon morning, we were out shopping, and I smelled poop. I asked her if she went, and she said Yes. I went to change her, and there was nothing in her pants. When I asked her where the poo was, she said, "It disappeared!". We promptly went to the potty at Costco and she poo'd and pee'd on the potty. We even called Daddy from the bathroom to share the good news!

Tues, I tentatively sent her to preschool with underwear on and explained to the teachers the situation. She kept her pants dry. However, that afternoon on our walk, after her nap, she peed in her pants. So, after only 2 accidents, we are now done.

It is just like everyone explains - all of a sudden, when they decide to use the potty, they are done. Last night, Sat night, she kept her diaper dry and has been taking her pj's and diaper off in the mornings to pee all by herself.

We need to take a trip to the store to stock up on big girl underwear now :D

Nap Fairy

2006-10-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sophie has now gone 2 days without taking naps and is still not really going to bed much earlier than her usual 8:30 - 9pm time.

The Nap Fairy has been visiting our house. If she takes a nap, and leaves her Crocs by the front door, when she wakes up, she may find a treat in her shoes, left for her by the nap fairy. The first time the nap fairy left 2 treats - one in each shoe. She picked them up and exclaimed, "Look! The nap fairy brought treats for EVERYONE!" and promptly handed me one of the treats.

Last Friday, we took a walk around the neighborhood, where Sophie loves to admire the Halloween decor in people's lawns. We had left the garage door open, and we found a Marie Callender's pie sitting on the trunk of the car. I had no idea who left it. I said, "Look Sophie, a pie! I wonder who left us a pie?"
Sophie responded, "Maybe the nap fairy left it, Mama!"

(it turns out, the pie had been left by a friend in return for us watching her daughter that afternoon)

OK Daisy

2006-10-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sophie now addresses me regularly as "Daisy". She points to herself and says, "Hi, I am Dora and this is my cousin Daisy, and this is Boots." I am Daisy and Vivian is Boots. Sometimes we are the Doodlebops, where I am DeeDee, she is Rooney and Daddy is Moe. Sometimes she is Diego and I am her big sister Alicia - Vivian is Baby Jaguar. Sometimes we are the Wonder Pets, but I don't know their names, except for Ming Ming and I think the turtle is Tuck. It's not quite clear who is who, except Vivian is the guinea pig.

When I put Sophie to bed, she says, "Goodnight, Daisy. I love you, Daisy."

Oh, that reminds me, sometimes she is Mickey Mouse and I am Daisy Duck - Vivian is Minnie Mouse. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a big favorite show right now, along with the Care Bears movie.

We had to discontinue going to Clay Class b/c 45 min playing with non colored clay is just too much for 2 yr old at 11am. She kept melting down and with Vivian screaming in the background, it was too much for me to handle. We signed up for Kindermusik again and she is much happier there. I guess she's not into Arts and Crafts as much as music.

Sophie's naps have gone down to 40 min sometime after 3pm.

She adores school, and loves her teachers, Miss Cathy and Miss Lisa. She loves to name off all her little friends as well.

Singing and sandwiches

2006-09-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sophie now talk-sings, or sings her answers to me. For instance, if I ask her if she's hungry, she may say, "No-no-no-no NO NO NO, NO NO NO, NO NO NO" to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or various other tunes.

Also, she asked for a PB&J sandwich for the first time ever the other day, and I was surprised, b/c peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren't really on the menu in our house. But hey, she ate it, so that was great.

Today she ate half a ham sandwich (only after I removed the cheese for her). So it looks like sandwiches are a new item on her menu.

Singing

2006-09-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

1266

2006-09-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

This is Sophie's second week of school, and she has been coming home saying new things. The other day, she said, "I'm Sophie Jane Wheatfall"

I was impressed because I don't ever tell her her full name or anything, so I figured they had learned it at school. It came to me in a flash that perhaps I should work with her to learn her full name and phone number in case of emergency. So, I said to her, "Say this - my phone number is 460" and I waited for her to repeat it. Instead of repeating it, she said, "1-2-6-6".

I was in shock. I figured they had learned it at school.

Later that afternoon, we ran into her teacher at the grocery store, who informed me they had definitely not been working on learning phone numbers. So I asked Daddy, who also said no, he hadn't done anything like that with her.

?

Daisy's party

2006-09-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

We take walks in the afternoons. Each walk is a Dora adventure. Lately, Sophie says, "I want to go to Daisy's party! Really, really fast!" There is an episode of Dora where she has to get to Daisy's 15th birthday and take Daisy her shoes and a crown. Sophie has to wear her "backpack" on these walks, just like Dora. And she jumps over obstacles, such as weed clumps, rocks and holes, all the while saying, "Salta! Salta!" and "I need YOUR help!"

Best Mommy

2006-09-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to Target and saw they had a little display of ballerina/gymnastics leotards. Sophie definitely can use a new one, so I held up two leotards, one pink and one purple and asked her to choose which one she wanted. (these leotards actually have biker shorts bottoms, as opposed to a bathing suit cut)

She said, "ooooh! Leotard! Ummm. the pink one, mama."

I put the purple one back, and placed the pink one in the basket with her. She said, "Oh! Thank you Mama! You're the best mommy in the whole WIDE WORLD!"

Dentist visit

2006-09-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sophie had her first dentist visit today. She was a little trepidacious at first, but warmed up nicely. She was surprisingly tolerant of holding her mouth open for Dr. Chu. They had a little video screen where you could see your own teeth via a small camera held in the mouth, and she really liked that. She got pictures taken of her teeth, her teeth checked for cavities (none, thank goodness), her teeth polished, and then swiped with a bonded fluoride paste that stick to the teeth to help protect them.

We told her the polish stuff was a treat, as well as the fluoride paint. It worked to help her keep her mouth open, but she kept wanting to close her mouth and swallow the stuff down! She said, "mmm, good!"

After it was all over, she got to choose a toy from the Treasure Chest, just like in the good old days.

Moon Epiphany

2006-09-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

Sophie goes CRAZY over getting to go running with me. My friend Melissa and I go running 3 nights a week, at 8pm, when daddies are home to deal with children. But Sophie gets very upset every night because she has to stay home with Daddy.

Since Daddy is in China, I took Vivian and her with me in the jog stroller. You would have thought it was a trip to Disneyland! The moon happened to be out, and almost full, shining very brightly. Sophie said, "Look Mama! It's the MOON! It looks like a planet!"

060905 playdo2

2006-09-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

060905 playdo2
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Since Sophie went to summer camp here, she was already familiar with the place. There were no tears, no cries of anguish. Just Bye Bye Mommy! Having playdoh set out really helps.

060905 school

2006-09-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

060905 school
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

This is what it looks like when Mommy tells Sophie to smile for the camera. This is her tote bag that she gets to put in her cubby - she has cubby #6. The tote bag contains 2 extra sets of clothes as well as pull-ups. We hope she won't be needing them much longer. She was very excited to wear her Boots underwear today, and didn't even want to wear a pull up over them. I told her that if she could use the potty and keep Boots dry, she wouldn't have to wear a pull up tomorrow.

060905 bkfast

2006-09-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

060905 bkfast
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie's first day of school was this morning. It was very exciting. Here she is eating her oatmeal to get ready.

060903 fro

2006-09-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

060903 fro
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

We have a newly created hair system for Sophie - thank God for her daddy!
After her bath, we use a gloss pomade to grease her hair, and we section it into little ponytails. She sleeps on it that way and it keeps it soft and comb-able.
The second day, I pick it out - see photo - and then put it into two afro-puffs on either side of her head, or I use mousse or spray conditioner to put the curls back in.
This is what it looks like after it is combed out - "Hey, Crab Man!"

Daddy loves this afro!

060825 model

2006-09-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

060825 model
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie had her first trip down the runway with Daddy here. She modeled a dress for a friend of ours who runs a Children's/Maternity Consignment Boutique - www.9mosandbeyond.com
Annie ended up giving her the backpack - what a deal!

Crabby

2006-08-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

IMG_2883
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Uncle Cubby visited this weekend, and with him, he brought the quintessential t-shirt all little children who live in Maryland own at one time in their little lives. . . The famous, "Don't Bother Me, I'm Crabby" t-shirt! I had been thinking about how Sophie needed one of these, and here it was, hand delivered to us!

Although it's a little big, she loves it, and demanded to wear it today.
Thanks Uncle Cubby!

060814 greeneggs

2006-08-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

060814 greeneggs
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

When I asked Sophie what she wanted to eat for lunch, she replied, "Green Eggs and Ham". Well, we didn't have the ham, but I had some eggs and green food coloring. She ate it without batting an eye.

Esta Bien!

2006-08-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

I guess Sophie is turning bi-lingual. This weekend when we were in the car, coming home from the Thomas the Train excursion, Vivian was crying, and we heard Sophie saying, "Esta bien, baby, esta bien. . ." Usually she says, "It's OK , baby, it's OK. . "

Also, whenever I present her with a meal, by placing the dish in front of her in her high chair, she says, "Oh Thank you, Mommy! Gracias!"

Today ws the first time she was actually excited about going to "school" which is her preschool's summer camp.

She said, "I'm going to see Miss Cathy". That's her teacher.
I asked her, "Are you going to see your friends?"
She said yes.
I asked, "What are their names?"
She thought for a second, then replied, "Kids!"

Sir Topham Hatt

2006-08-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a day out with Thomas the Train at the Roaring Camp Railroad. We took a train ride, met Sir Topham Hatt and Sophie got a Thomas tattoo. It was a 45 min drive almost to Santa Cruz. Sophie was just exhausted by the end of the morning and fell asleep in the car. This of course ruined any chance of a real nap, and she was grouchy the rest of the afternoon.
She fell asleep briefly on the couch this evening, and we put her to bed early.

Giving her a bath tonight, I noticed she has some sort of peeling skin under the toes of her right foot. She has been wanting to run around barefoot at the neighborhood park, and even took her shoes off at Summer Camp! Perhaps she has picked up something. I called the dr. on call this evening, and she suggested I bring her in tomorrow so Dr. Min can have a look at it. She's got a rattley cough as well.

060731 pirate

2006-08-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

060731 pirate
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie is taken with pirates these days. I made her an eyepatch and she likes to say Argggh Matey! when she wears it.

Also, for the last 2 days, we have gone on morning walks where she actually gets to walk. I am trying to get her a little worn out and ready for naptime.

Yesterday, at playgroup, another mom was swinging her daughter alongside Sophie and me. She addressed me as "Hey Robin" to ask me a question. Sophie caught onto this, and looked at me and said, "Hey Wobbin". When I got a startled look on my face, she started giggling. It was HILARIOUS. She now knows that Mommy has a name.

TV and singing

2006-08-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

At playgroup yesterday, one of the moms of a baby born in Sept was amazed to hear Sophie sing Twinkle, Twinkle loud and clear. Her child, who is still not even 2, isn't stringing words together, so she was taken aback that Sophie can sing songs.

Sophie loves to sing the theme songs to her favorite cartoons - Little Einsteins is a FAVORITE. She and Nathan love to sing the duet to the Wonder Pets song:

Sophie: "What's gonna work?"
Nate: "TEAM-work!"

have a surprise for you!

2006-07-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, I told Sophie I would have a surprise for her when she finished her swim lesson. This was a bribe to get her to stop fussing and go to the teacher.

Today, she came up to me holding out a toy, covered with a bandana, and said, "Mama, I have a surprise for you. . ."

Summer Camp

2006-07-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today, Sophie attended her first day of summer camp. The preschool where she will go in the fall has a summer camp from 9-12 during the week. She's going so that she can get acclimated to the school for fall. She was fine, no crying, etc. I went home to get her a swimsuit b/c they were going to run thru the sprinklers, and the teacher said she asked where I was, but that was it.

When we got home, she wanted her tea in a bottle, and she wandered off. I found her curled up, on the floor, behind her bedroom door, drinking her bottle. Maybe this is the first time she will put herself down for nap!

Soccer practice

2006-07-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

This video was taken on 6/24/06 at Sophie's first soccer practice.

Love you mommy

2006-07-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Sophie has started to spontaneously tell me she loves me. I guess this is what all the hard work was for. She says "I love you Mommy - I love you too much." She started saying it back to me a couple months ago, but this week was the first time she said it first.

Also, her favorite pj's are her "cherry" pajamas, as seen in her shutterfly album.

Kindermusik

2006-07-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was the last day of Kindermusik for the session. We were singing the hello song:

Clap hello to everyone, clap, clap, clap
Clap hello to Sophie, clap, clap, clap

We repeat this song until we greet every child in the circle. Sophie never sits on my lap in the circle, she prefers to stand in the middle and be the center of attention. At the end of the song, she sang, "Tap hello to Mommy, tap, tap, tap!" in tune! We never greet "mommy" in the songs and everyone just busted out laughing!

Then, after we sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider, she proceeded to clap and say "Yay!" which got everyone else clapping and shouting "Yay"!

B-yoo-tul

2006-07-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is how Sophie says "beautiful". One day, not long ago, I was walking around in my bra, and Sophie came up to me. Her face is about at my hip level. She started stroking my belly, complete with flab and stretch marks, and said, Ooohh Mommy, what a b-yoo-tul tummy!

This morning, we were on the way to Nate's house, and from the backseat, she proclaimed, "I'm coming, Nate! Here I come, Nay-Nay! I coming!!!"

Singing a book

2006-07-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sophie spent the morning at Nate's house and then went to swim lesson with him as well. Apparently, she was jumping in and swimming like a fish with Marlene before her lesson and got pretty tired out. I tried to put her down a little earlier for her nap since she was acting tired.

After 20 min, I checked on her but she wasn't asleep. I heard singing coming from her room, and when I looked in, she was standing at the side of her bed with her Baby Animal Songs book, "singing" the book to herself! It was priceless. She knows which songs are on which pages. She was singing "The Farmer in the Dell" and knew all the verses, even "the cheese stands alone".

Regression

2006-07-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Sophie is really regressing with regard to the potty training. She likes to wear diapers all the time now, and if she is naked, will even pee right on the floor - gross. Very frustrating to say the least. Especially when there is a small baby screaming her head off while you are trying to clean up pee off the new floors.

When I told her "You are not a big girl yet - you are going to have to wear a diaper, " instead of being disappointed, she replied, "Like Baby Vivian?" You can see she wants mommy to change her diapers still.

She's going to bed very well though - she's down by 8:30pm and doesn't cry anymore. She falls asleep quietly on her own after we read stories.

We went to Bonfante Gardens for the 2nd time today - it really tires her out.

She is also not listening worth a crap. I routinely have to ask her 5-50 times to do something, like put a toy back in her room, or put a shirt in the hamper. She gets sidetracked and distracted by ANYTHING - like another toy, the baby, the TV, etc. We were invited to a friend's house to play today, but could not go b/c she would not clean up her mess first, although I asked her in different ways for 30 minutes.

Time Out

2006-07-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Since Vivian has arrived, we have started time out. Sophie seems more obstinate when she isn't getting all the attention she wants, and obviously, she can't be the star of the show anymore when Mommy or Daddy is attending to Vivian.

Things she gets in time out for:
High pitched screaming
Throwing her toys
Disobeying a request

She gets a choice - she can either stop the bad behavior, obey the request or go into time out. So far, she HATES it. She has to sit on a bench by the front door and she just cries and cries.

We also had to get tough on bedtime - she kept Daddy up til 10pm one night last week. Now, at 8:30pm, we read stories in her big girl room, and at 9pm, it is lights out. We've done it for the past 3 nights, and each night gets a little better. She still cries, but not as desperately. She is also locked in there via a safety gate. At 1pm, we do the same thing with naptime, and many times, she ends up falling asleep on the floor in child's pose by the gate. But she gets her nap at least.

sick :(

2006-05-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

At Nate's bday party on Sat, at the end around 6:15, Sophie vomited. This is the first time in her life she has been sick enough to throw up her food. She threw up twice more once we got home, and seemed mostly confused about it - not really whining or anything.

Luckily, she slept thru the night peacefully, without any vomit in her crib. The next day, she begged for food, but we gave her only jello, popsicles, pretzels and Gatorade. She didn't throw up any more, but got diarrhea on Monday. She did not have a fever for any of this. We don't know if it was something she ate or a little bug going around. None of the other kids at the party seemed affected, thank goodness. It was sad to see her so lethargic and hungry. She took a super early nap on Sunday - we started to take her to ER when her nose started bleeding spontaneously during a crying spell. But alas, when we called the advice nurse, she said they were getting 30 calls/day with the same symptoms - vomiting and no fever, so she didn't think the nosebleed was related and we didn't need to go in.

We were relieved to find that out.

out of crib

2006-05-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last night, we got home late from a card making workshop. I put Sophie in her crib and expected her to fall asleep immediately b/c it was 9:30.

I was on the phone with Daddy, and I heard little footfalls on the floor, which I thought were from the heavy cat. . only, he was at the sliding door looking at Zoe out the window. Sure enough, it was Sophie. There was no crash, loud bang or anything. She must have deftly gotten up and over her crib rail, lowered herself down and came out to me. This means the end of the crib as cage. We'll have to start working on how to stay in the big girl bed for the night.

Today at Nathan's birthday party, she threw up at the end of it. She had eaten pulled pork. Hopefully she's not coming down with something, although she was acting a bit clingy this afternoon. She played at Nathan's house today while I went to my hair appt, and she even napped over there for the 2nd time!

Dressing on our own

2006-05-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sophie grabbed her pj pants we had taken off in the morning, and began putting them on by herself. She then wanted to take them off and do it over and over. She also wanted to put her pj top on by herself as well.

Tonight, she showed Daddy how she can dress herself, and her little face just lit up when she did it by herself and we clapped.

Sentences and I WANT it!

2006-05-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sophie is now speaking in longer and longer chains of words that are really resembling complete sentences. She talked to Daddy on the phone this evening, and he must have asked her what she was doing, b/c she said "I takee batty" which means I'm taking a bath.

Her imagination is growing as well. The latest Dora episode features a baby bird who has to go through a path in a corn field. If he goes down the wrong path, there are mean red ants waiting for him. Sophie scares herself about these ants, and sometimes does not want me to put her down b/c she thinks the mean red ants are going to get her.

She loves watching the beginning of Gumby (I found it online) and loves the Gumby song. She also likes to listen to songs over and over again until she can learn them. We have a new CD for Kindermusik, and after hearing some songs only 1 time, she is asking for them by name, and when the song ends, she requests, "Again? Again?" so she can hear it over and over. It reminds me of when we used to tape songs on the tape recorder and listen to them until we learned them.

She also says "I want it!" when she sees something she wants. Today in Target, I let her try on some shoes, and she saw the Dora ones, and said "Dora shoes, I WANT it!". We were able to escape without buying them though. She saw strawberries in the market, and said "I want it!".

I want candy!

2006-04-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

Sophie can now say "I want ______!" She has been filling in the blank with words like "candy" and "chocolate cookie". Of course, I do not feed her sweets for meals, but when she asks for the first time using a sentence, and adds a "pleeeeee" on the end for please, it's so hard to say no!

As long as we keep the candy out of her sight, she doesn't ask for it, but if she sees the Easter baskets still out, or chocolate cookies coming out of the oven, she will ask for it. This is a sign of her being hungry, and I can offer her other things and she will usually accept them after a few minutes of the candy/cookies being out of her sight.

She's into saying everyone's name right now, and she enthusiastically greets all she sees. She loves to say "HI Marlene! Hi Nay-Nay! Hi Dena! Hi Annie! Hi Thomas!" etc. We've been going to the trail in the morning, and she sees many of her friends and their moms there. She knows the moms' names and likes to greet them, and also waves bye and from her carseat, calls out "Bye Dena" or whoever. I am usually the only one who gets to hear the bye since the car windows are not down.

She also points out groups of people, walking on the trail, through parking lots, etc. as "people". She will point to them and say "people!".

Sku Me

2006-04-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

060419 headblk
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie now says "Excuse me" regularly when she coughs or burps. It sounds like "sku me".

She also spontaneously starts singing songs that are in her head. The strange thing is that many times it will be a song that we have not even listened to at all in the last week. Today she started singing "Rock a Bye Baby" and I haven't sung that in a while. It is so cool that I can figure out what she is singing.

Birthday Dinos

2006-04-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

Uncle Cub sent Sophie a bucket of plastic dinosaurs for her birthday, which she absolutely LOVES. She plays with them first thing in the morning and she calls the biggest one, the brontosaurus, the daddy. The little ones are babies and she carries them around and hugs them.

She also loves her Big Sister Dora doll where Dora has a special baby carrier her little brother and sister ride in. Dora gets to feed them, and put them to sleep, and she sings a song about being a big sister which Sophie loves to sing along with.

2 yr pics

2006-04-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh. Her 2 year old pictures came out so beautifully I just couldn't decide which ones to get. When I showed the pictures to Marlene, Marlene said, "Oh my GOSH!". Then Sophie and Nathan came over to take a look, and Sophie mimicked, "Oh my GOSH!" and now she says it each time she looks at the pictures. It's hilarious.

Margo and Simona met us there and the pictures with the two of them came out adorably as well.


http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=0370026458ZW512H2
Sophie's Sitting

http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=0370026469X9PHDXB

Sophie & Margo

060415 camera

2006-04-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

060415 camera
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie knows what a birthday is, and what a party is. We kept telling her it was her birthday, and she was going to have a party, so she kept talking about birthday cake, candles and birthday party. She also likes to sing "birthday TO YOU, birthday TO YOU".

Armed with this knowledge, she was too excited to take a proper nap today, even though she was worn out from gymnastics class in the morning, which normally ensures an early nap. She slept for only 20 minutes or so. She still enjoyed her party greatly and was very excited about the birthday cake. She also thoroughly enjoyed opening her presents, since she understands what they are now.

Although it is 3:43am right now on Easter Sunday, she is still asleep in her big girl bed for the first time since the new room was installed. Usually, she's been coming into our room anywhere from 1am-3am.

Two nights ago, while Daddy was giving her a bath, he yelled from the bathroom to me "Did you go to the trail today?" I said, "Yes, we did, actually. Why?" He had asked her (as he normally does) "What did you do today?" and she had answered "Went to trail!" It was the first time she had answered this question of his.

What's going on

2006-04-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

IMG_2285
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Yesterday, Sophie had a little easter party/egg hunt with our mom's group. Here is she and Nathan in their easter finery.

Today, she came into the kitchen where Daddy and I were and asked, "What's going on?!" It was HILARIOUS. Of course, we cracked up, so she kept saying it. She would pop into different rooms we were in and ask it over the course of the day.

Also, on the potty training front - as long as she has no pants on, she goes in the potty. Today, she went bare bottomed almost all day, and went in the potty all day. I don't think we changed a diaper once.

Stomping the puddles

2006-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

It's been raining for like 30 days straight, so we are pretty bored inside by now. I let Sophie put on her ladybug raincoat and ladybug boots and go outside and stomp the puddles. She loves it. She says "Stompinapuddows".

She also likes to claim that things are "cute" but she says it like kyoot. If she sees a baby animal, bug, human baby, even a picture of herself as a baby, she scrunches up her nose, smiles and says, "that's kyoot". It's pretty ridiculous.

Today my friends had a mini bday party for me, and she got the concept of birthday. She put on a birthday hat, was able to blow into the party favor things and wanted to sing along the Happy Birthday song. She especially liked the part about blowing out the candles and after I blew them out, said "Again? Again?"

She's really into asking to see and do things over and over. She loves the Barney song right now "I love you, You love me. . . "

HELP!

2006-03-27T13:49:00.000-08:00

This is a new one. .

Last night, when I was washing Sophie's hair (she hates it when I have to put the pick thru her hair) she started yelling "Help! Help!"

When I took her out of the tub, dried her off, and began putting her lotion on, she started again, "Help! Help!" God help us when she starts to yell this in public when I'm doing something she doesn't like.

There is a little "dance video" on an episode of Calliou about Springtime that shows little kids dressed up as bumble bees and flowers. They are dancing around to a little song and Sophie LOVES it. It's only 2 min long, but she begs me to play it over and over and over, and she twirls around and hops, trying to emulate the dance steps.

Trick or treat!

2006-03-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Somehow, although Halloween was 5 mos ago, Sophie is now saying Trick or Treat.
She says it when she is giving me something, like the raisins she's picked up off the floor that need to be thrown away. Or when she's putting her crayons back in the bag.
We were in WalMart the other day, and she was playing with the easter baskets, and was saying Trick or Treat!

She is obsessed with going to the "playpark" which is the park down the street from our house. It doesn't help that her newest fave episode of Dora features Boots the Monkey, losing his stuffed dinosaur at Playpark.

At bedtime and naptime, she always wants me to lay down with her, and says "Lay Down, Mommy?" She will also demand the rocking chair by saying "Rocky Chair? Rocky Chair?" She likes to be rocked to sleep. She's woken up at 1am each night this week calling out Mommy? Mommy? So I bring her in our bed in hopes she'll go back to sleep. Sometimes it takes up to an hour for her to go back to sleep. I wonder if it's molars.

Sure, Mommy

2006-03-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I ask Sophie a question, like if she wants to do something, she will answer,
"Sure, Mommy!" It is so cute and sweet.

She has learned to scream in a high pitch, and likes to try it out just to hear herself. Hopefully it will pass. We are trying to teach her when it is appropriate to scream or not (is it ever really appropriate?)

I got some training pants and vinyl covers today to take the potty training to the next level. Whenever she is at home and running around with no pants on, she goes to the potty fine. But if she has a diaper or even underwear on, she thinks she can pee in her pants, so we need to put something on her where she will feel the wetness.

Tonight she was naked and watching TV. The potty is in the family room. She came running into the office and I picked her up. I could smell poop when I walked out to the family room, and in her potty was all kinds of toilet paper she had ripped off and put in the potty, along with her #2. I guess she knows about wiping!

23 mo speech

2006-03-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

Sophie can't say f's or s's, so she calls herself "doe-chee".
French fries are "shrench-chri".
She calls Nathan "Nay-Nay" and Jared "Jay-Jay".
Every day, she surprises us with a new word, and the singing of songs is growing every day. I can not believe the words and songs she sings! She's beginning to sing on key as well (of course, not a whole song, but certain parts where she keys in on the words)

Today, we went to our ob/gyn appt, and I told her we were going to the doctor. She kept saying "doctor? doctor? doctor?" It's almost as if she delights in learning a new term for something.

060313 robot

2006-03-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

060313 robot
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

There is an episode of Dora where she and Boots find a robot and have to help it get home to its Grandpa. This is where Sophie learned what a robot is.

We have some cardboard circle cutouts from cake boards. She put them over her head yesterday, and said "Robot!" and started walking around with her arms out. It was HILARIOUS.

Videos. . . .

2006-03-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos from a birthday party for our friend Kavi in February. It was held at Gymboree.

Sliding

Sophie's first gymnastics lesson - 22 mos old.

Sophie and Baby Alexandra

Sophie & Margo

Sentences, sentences

2006-03-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sophie talks more and more all the time, and it's particularly exciting b/c almost everything she says is the first time I've heard her say it.

Tonight we were putting on her pj's, and she wanted to drink water. I handed her the water bottle, and she sucked on it, then proclaimed, "It's not working." I hadn't opened the valve on it! This was the first time we heard her say this word - working.

Then she drank some, and a couple drops spilled on her neck. She said, "I spilled it."

Today, we took a walk down the street, and she insisted on putting her baby doll in her grocery cart and pushing it down the street. She's really funny with the baby these days. Today, for the first time, she took the baby into her bedroom, and wanted to put it on her changing table so she could put a diaper on it.

She also went into her drawers and pulled out her big girl underwear, and told Daddy she wanted to wear them. In fact, she started putting them on! (she later peed in them)

tickle back

2006-03-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Sophie now requests "Tickle back?" She wants me to tickle her back and she just CRACKS up. There is no better sound than her laughter.

She has gotten up in the middle of the night a few times to visit the potty. I was at my wit's end last night. She wakes up, and is wide awake for about one hour. After bringing her to our room, and still not going to sleep, I finally put her in the crib to cry it out. She only lasted about 3 minutes.

She loves to sing the song to "Reading Rainbow" and is singing more and more songs every day. Twinkle, Twinkle is a favorite, Old MacDonald (the ee-i-ee-i-oh part) and a song about losing the car keys.

She is still cuckoo over her sibling. When she has a mango pacifier in her mouth (this is a dried piece of mango that she insists on sucking on for a hour) she loves to rub my belly. She lays her head on my belly and kisses it. She says, "Baby-doll. . . . .baby coming. . . ..hi baby" etc. She can not wait for the baby.

060217 CHEESE!

2006-02-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

060217 ladybug
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie knows how to say "cheese" at the camera and crinkles up her nose when she gets her picture taken now. She loves wearing her ladybug coat in the rain (which we've had our fair share of).

I called her from the other room where she was with her Daddy, and she said "I'm coming Mommy" as I heard the little footsteps running. It cracked us both up. The sentences are just exploding now and there is some new breakthru on a daily basis.

blood?

2006-02-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

Sophie did #2 on the potty today, and after each stool, stood up to clap. After one of the last stools, I noticed a pure drop of blood in the bottom of the potty!
Luckily, the nurse and the internet say it is most likely caused by a large stool.
She wasn't in any distress or anything, so it's most likely just a fissure.

She's had a cold for a week now - coughing, runny nose and mild fever last weekend. Her sleep is screwed up as well. She wakes up for an hour each night, and seems pretty wide awake. Last night, she drank milk and ate apples. She also pretended to have to use the potty (she tries this tactic anytime she wants to avoid going into her crib).

Her best friend Nathan is sick as well, but his fevers have been higher, and have lasted 3 days.

Making me color

2006-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

Sophie is now getting a charge out of watching other people do things, and directing them/us to do them. For instance, yesterday, she held out a crayon and motioned for ME to color in her coloring book. Then she said "Thank you Mommy" - (Chaychoo mommy) and gave me a kiss!

Today, Sarah watched her for me, and Sophie wanted her to draw with the sidewalk chalk, so apparently this is a new behavior.

potty breakthru 2?

2006-02-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

This morning when she woke up, the first thing she said was "potty". We put her on, and she produced!

This afternoon, she said "Potty" - I put her on, and she produced again! Twice in one day - pretty great.

Although, this morning she had two #2's, both in the diaper, neither of which we got any warning for.

Hopping & Big Girl Underwear

2006-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

I meant to put this down a month or two ago, but Sophie can now get air when she hops on her feet. It's a developmental thing.

Also, since we are potty training, I decided to break out some Training Pants I had bought a while ago. She thinks they are a BIG deal - we call them Big Girl Panties.

Today, we attended a birthday party at Gymboree. Sophie was all dressed up in tights and a dress. But she saw the "Big Girl Panties" after we had dressed, and really wanted to wear them, so. . .
on they went, OVER TOP of her tights. I am sure parents at the party were wondering why we had the diaper layering wrong!

Yesterday, we bought her some real underwear that we'll hopefully get to use soon.

I Made It!

2006-01-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

When Sophie climbs the ladders to the top of the play structures at the park, she exclaims "I Made it!"

She can mimic the animal sounds on Diego surprisingly well.

As for naps, she is not going down til 1-2pm, and today, it wasn't until 2:30 - YIKES!

oboyoboyoboyoboyo

2006-01-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where she picked this up, but when she is excited about something, like when I am rolling the play doh into a snake so we can break it apart, or when I am fixing her something good to eat, she shakes her head back and forth and says, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

Yesterday, we watched an episode of Calliou where he was learning to ice skate. He kept falling down and getting back up, so suddenly, she began hopping around and stamping her feet, then saying "Uh - oh! Fall down!" and plopping down on her bottom.

Video - Counting to 20

2006-01-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

Elephants and Play doh

2006-01-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sophie is LOVING putting her arm up and making a screeching elephant sound these days.

She is also able to play with Play Doh for 45 min on end. I roll it out like a snake, and she says "Limey!" for Slimey the Worm on Sesame Street.
Then I begin breaking it up into little bits and laying out the bits on the mat - we count "One, two, three. . " all the way to 20! I was shocked - I had no idea she knew how to count to 20.

Then she begins putting each piece on top of the next, one by one, to make a giant mound of play doh. She will do this over and over again for 20-40 minutes. She calls Play Doh "pay-pay".

She is still going potty at least 1-2x per day, but not self initiated yet. She has made the connection that she gets a treat for going potty. The other morning she woke up talking about "treat? please? potty?"

She is also a climbing fiend at the park. She can go up the ladders to the big kids playsets almost without any help, and loves to jump off the top into my waiting arms (which is a little scary).

Potty training

2006-01-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

It's going well - she goes whenever I put her on. Sometimes it takes a while, like 1 or 2 episodes of Diego or Dora, but tonight, she went immediately as soon as I put her on after her bath. I'm trying to have at least 1 success per day and am hoping it will catch on before Baby 2 arrives.

She's had a success a day for a week now. Then she gets a treat - either 1/4 of a truffle or fruit jelly candy. She still doesn't notify me when she has to go.

videos

2006-01-10T22:03:00.001-08:00

Here are her and Nathan kissing - too bad we can't say its the first time. . . :o

Counting to 10 with Mommy.

First Answer!

2006-01-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while driving, I heard grunting coming from the back seat. I said, "What are you doing back there?"
Sophie replied, "I'm reaching!"
And she continued stretching her little arms up into the air and grunting!

An episode of Diego and/or Dora has them singing "Reach! Reach! Reach!" so she was practicing.

She is able to count to 10 as well, but not without help from Mommy or Daddy. Daddy was first to notice this.

She is also singing lots of songs, surprisingly recognizably. She loves Ring around the Rosie and was even singing some Loverboy in the car - "Turn Me Loose! Turn Me Loose!"

Today we had another first. She would not go into the daycare at the gym. There is a new woman there, with a son named Donny. Sophie was in there yesterday with them, and she didn't really like it. Donny may be a bully. Today she took one look at them, and wouldn't go past the doorway without being in my arms. We ended up abandoning the gym after I overheard the woman saying some particularly damning things. . . . not a good sign.

Hole in the boot

2006-01-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

There is an episode of Dora in which Boots discovers a hole in his boot. He and Dora go on an adventure to find the Fix It Machine which can repair anything, and along the way, they find many friends who also have items with holes that need repair.

Every day, Sophie points to her feet, socks and shoes, several times a day, and proclaims, "Boot! Hole!"

Singing like a lark

2006-01-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Sophie is now singing songs, officially. Of course, she can't enunciate all the words properly, but she definitely sings the notes closely, the beat is correct, and knows how long to hold notes, etc. I was singing her some lullabies to sleep the other night, and she was singing along! I guess it makes sense, since she's been listening to this music for 20 months now.

She also sings the songs to her TV shows - she holds the note on DragonTales, she says "Aw Man!" at the end of the Dora music, and she sings all the song sequences to Diego. . ."Clap, Clap, Clap" and other little songs in the show. She also loves Twinkle, Twinkle and the ABC song (one in the same).

We start back to swim lessons this week, and music class next week.

We put Boston on through the stereo speakers last night, and she was dancing up a storm! She knows classic rock when she hears it.

Christmas in TX

2005-12-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

IMG_2141
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

It was so fun to see everyone in Texas and it was great fun visiting with Grandma, Grandpa, Nola, Raulston, Toika, Allegra, Austin, Daniel, Demetrius, Tanika, Debra and Aunt Lillian. Sophie just loves her Embrack cousins! She also met her cousins Peyton and Lauren, Tanika and Quentin's daughters.

On the plane ride home, she started practicing her first soliloquies. From memory, she kept reciting these words, in order:

"Oh no!"
"Trouble"
"Baby Jaguar!"
"Meow! Meow!"

She kept saying it about 20 times. She was also saying "Click. . .taka pic" for the camera part. After a couple times, we figured out this was an episode of Diego.

She got a giant tiger from her cousins, and she LOVES it!

sick

2005-12-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

Sophie had a 101 fever 2 nights ago, and her little voice sounds like a frog. It's sad but very cute at the same time. Her fever is gone, but she has thick snot, so we're not going to play with other kids. It's a struggle to keep busy!

She said "monkey" VERY clearly for the first time this week. She is also stringing her words together quite effectively. "Where Mommy go?" "Here go, Mommy" when she hands me something. She also says "Hok" when she wants a hug. She can point out practically every animal in her DK animal book, from zebras to buffalo.

She loves boxed raisins now.

No cry naps at 20 months

2005-12-16T13:14:00.000-08:00

For the past 2 days, I have put Sophie in her crib at noon for naptime, and she lets me walk away, without being asleep, with NO crying!
It also worked last night at bedtime. We are used to some tears at bedtime for about 5 min until she falls asleep, but there weren't any.
How nice.

For 2 weeks in a row last month, she pooped in her swim diaper at swim lessons. I'll spare you the gorey details, but let's just say, not fun.

Her latest trick is pulling pillows from the chair or bed onto the floor, then jumping and rolling around on them and cracking herself up.

Each morning, she asks for "nana" (translation - banana) for breakfast. But she is not eating the whole thing right away.

She's also becoming more interested in potty activities. . .

Santa

2005-12-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Santa
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie's first encounter with Santa was not successful. Like Mother, like daughter. This Santa was at the Las Madres holiday party, Dec 4. She lasted about 2 seconds on his lap.

Olives

2005-12-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

Olives
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

We walked down to get the mail this afternoon, which is right under an olive tree. We got back in the house, and she played while I went thru the mail. In the 5 min it took me to sort the mail, I went out to discover her hands covered in something. . . it was on her mouth and down her shirt. I started freaking out, yelling at her to tell me what she ate! I licked her hands to see if it tasted toxic.

After a frantic search on my hands and knees, I found a small, chewed on, olive. A prompt bath followed.

Hoppalow

2005-12-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

Sophie's words are just exploding. She is even saying sentences, but it takes me a while to even realize it, b/c I am not expecting it.

At the gym yesterday, she said "I play too" when we got the play doh out.

She loves to repeat words I say - she loved saying "Cubby" when we visited Cub. And when I say "buffalo" she says "hoppalow".

Her nap has now officially gone to noon, and I am loving it. I can get a lot accomplished during that naptime.

We went to playgroup today, and when she got frustrated and tired, she started throwing toys around. That was my signal it was time to go!

She had her first real "conversation" on the phone with Daddy this week too. Instead of just listening to the earpiece, and looking at me and exclaiming "Daddy!", she actually started babbling to him.

videos

2005-11-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

She stuffed her toys down her shirt.

Not happy about her Halloween costume!

Boots

2005-11-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Kavi came over - he is 2 mos older than Sophie and they LOVED chasing each other around the couch, and hiding behind the couch cover playing peek a boo.

Sophie went poo in her potty 2 nights ago. Today she didn't go down for nap until 1pm. She is going to bed later as well - after 8pm.

She got new cowboy boots and just loves them. She tries to put them on in the morning before her other clothes go on! She even wore them out of the store when we first bought them.

Sophie Wordsworth

2005-11-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

She is talking up a STORM. Today in the grocery store, she saw carrots and said "Caya", she saw apples and said "ap-pul". When she sees the cow in the dairy section she says "cow".

She now tells me "yeah"and nods her head when I ask her if she wants something. She likes to say yes a lot.

Whenever she falls down, she says, "Uh-oh. . . . k?" She is repeating me asking her if she is OK when she falls!

Whenever she walks by or into our bathroom, she says "Tee, tee. . .plee?" It took me a while but she is asking to brush her teeth. She loves eating the toothpaste off the brush.

When she looks at a picture of Grandma, she says, "Gwa-ba". She loves to look through photo albums and books and have me ask her where things are, then she points at them and claps for herself when she gets it right!

When I put her down for a nap, but she's not quite ready to sleep, she jabbers away in her crib, saying things like "Oh! No!" or "Wow!"

Still has not had a tantrum . . . .YET.

lollipops

2005-11-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

She has discovered lollipops today. Had her first one as we left the gym daycare. I heard a small crash while I was in the office, and went out to the living room. She was on her knees under the table where she had climbed up, gotten a dum dum pop from her Halloween bag, and I guess fell down? She was sucking on it, though the wrapper wasn't all the way off!

She said Elmo the other day. She recognizes just about all the animals in all her books. I can ask her "Where is the walrus?"or anything else and she can point to it on the page.

051028 crayonmouth

2005-11-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

051028 crayonmouth
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

The love affair every girl has with crayons and drawing is now at full bloom with Sophie. She is loving drawing, and wants to color all the time. Unfortunately, once she tires of drawing, she begins chomping on the crayons. . . at which point I take them away and she cries.

Luckily, so far, she doesn't care if the paper she draws on is clean or not.

She visited Stanford today to take part in a research project for the Center for Infant Studies in the Linguistics department. She looked at pictures that flashed on a screen, and listened to descriptions of them. They videotaped her to see if she looked at the pictures the voice was describing.

She had her best nap today that she's had in a LONG time. I left her in the car seat in the garage for it, and she was nice and warm in there. I think this house is way too cold, and it causes her to wake up way before she is done with her nap.

hmmmm. . . .

2005-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie now puts her finger to her mouth, purses her lips, and utters, hmmmmmm. . . when she is deciding what toy to play with or which book to pull out, OR even when she is looking in the fridge for something to eat!
Oh, the drama.

She is obsessed with shoes at this point, picking up any shoe she sees and saying "sue". She even likes to stomp around in mommy's tennis shoes.

She can concentrate for long periods on coloring.

18 mo appt

2005-10-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

We took Sophie to see the dr. for her 18 mo checkup - she is getting wise to what happens at the dr. now, and she did not like it! She got very anxious when the nurse or dr. came near her! She was crying and scared when the nurse put a measuring tape around her head, or even put her on the scale to weigh her!

She also didn't like the dr. looking in her ears. It was the first time she has shown anxiety at the dr. The flu shot really hurt her little leg, and she cried for a LONG time afterward. Even looking at her bandaid afterward would begin a new flood of self-pitying tears.

She didn't eat much the day after the shot.

baby doll

2005-10-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 days, Sophie has been doing everything with only one hand. This is because she is carrying her baby doll around in the other.

She takes her on the trail for the morning jog, to the gym, to the store, etc. She pretends to be feeding her as well.

Yesterday, she saw a bag of shredded mozzarella in the fridge and said "Cheese!" and wanted to eat some right out of the bag.

When her shoe fell off in the grocery store parking lot, she said "Uh oh, bye bye, shoe" to let me know.

051010 bowlhat

2005-10-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

051010 bowlhat
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie has been cracking herself up by putting objects on her head, then saying "Hattie, hattie". She puts bananas and shoes on her head, like a hat. When I say "noooooo, that's not a hat!" she just laughs and says "noohhh, nooooooh"

That is the story of how the paper bowl became a hat, and a very sassy one at that! Need I say more?