Summer Week 1 - Baking with my girl!

So, like so many people these days, I'm totally obsessed with Pinterest.  Unfortunately, when I'm working I don't have the time to do most of the things I see.  Since I've been out of school (about a week), I have made about 5 recipes and a few crafty things.  So fun!


One item I made this week was the Skinny Monkey Cookies everyone has been repinning.


Here is the recipe if you are interested: http://onceamonthmom.com/skinny-monkey-cookies/


In a nutshell, they only include peanut butter, bananas, apple sauce, oats, cocoa powder, and vanilla.  Super nutritious and yummy too!  The directions were very simple as well so I decided this would be a great start to what I can only assume will be years of fun times in the kitchen with Soph.

We pretended that it was SO HARD to smash the bananas.  "Grrr...ARGH!"

 I let her pour in a cup of the oats, she poured about half in the bowl and the other half on the floor.  She was so upset!  "(Gasp) Oh NO!!"

 Then she got right to work cleaning it up...

 After we put in all of our ingredients, there was a little applesauce left in the cup and peanut butter on the spoon so she made a quick snack of it.

 All done!  (Note:  This is a Mommy's blog so if you are squeemish...don't read the next lines)

While we waited for them to bake, Soph did a little "business".  I told her that we would change her poo-poos then our cookies would be done and we would get to eat one.  So she repeated over and over "Poo-poo then cookies...poo-poo then cookies!"  

This was one of the most fun things I've ever done with her.  I think every age is my favorite and this is no exception.  It was awesome that she could actually understand what we were doing, why we were doing it, and looked forward to the outcome.  I can't wait to cook some more with her this summer.


Week 2 of our break will take place in North Carolina.  Yay for time with Papa!

Oh Mel.

Wow, it's seriously been a while since I updated here.  Life has been positively insane.

Our Sophia continues to amaze us everyday.  She seriously cracks us up!

Here is what she has been up to:

• Oh Mel!  One day I noticed that Sophia was repeating something over and over and I had no idea what it was.  She would say "Oh mel."  Finally I realized that I tend to say "Oh Man!" a lot... like seriously a lot. So I asked her to say "Oh Man!" which she replied "Oh Mel!!!!"  LOL  She has since fine tuned this to be a true Oh Man.  We also found out that "Swiper" also says Oh Man.  
• Sophia hearts Chuck.  Ok, so she has ALWAYS been fond of Chuck but now she actually asks for him when we are out and really plays with him.  Her new favorite game is to steal Chuck's baby (which if you know Chuck, you KNOW is a really mean trick) and run around like a crazy person while he chases her. She acts like such a victim through the whole process.  
• Dance!  This girl loves to dance!  She has some pretty serious moves too.  Her favorite song is "Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees.  She asks for us to play it again and again...
• Sophia Habla Espanol.  She asks for "papas" when she's hungry, "mas" when she wants more,  and tells people "adios".  My after school tutoring regulars have nicknamed her "Pancha"  which is really a nickname for the name Francisca and I have zero idea why they want to call her that but I think it's funny.  
• Sharla=Wrought Iron.  After a week-long trip to Albuquerque we came home and I asked Sophia where Sharla was.  She pointed at the wrought-iron wall hanging we have in our breakfast nook.  She has done the same thing daily since then only now she also says "Shah-ra".
• For my  birthday we were trying to teach her how to correctly say "Happy Birthday Mommy!"  She thought "Happy Cupcake Mommy!" sounded better.
• She knows all of the letters in the alphabet and can more or less recite them in order.  She counts to 6, skips 7, then goes to 8, 9, and 10.  She also can identify nearly all of the letters and numbers if they are written.
• She loves to blow bubbles in the back yard.
• She is a blooming artist.  She is musical, loves to dance, and loves to paint and draw.  
• We are still working on the potty training.  I had things going pretty well during my spring break but didn't really have a lot of help when we went back to school.  We'll try again this summer.  She gets the concept but without constant reinforcement, she doesn't initiate her own bathroom trips.  
• She is so cognitive!  We love to watch her figure things out!
• She is preparing to make her 6th trek across the country to visit Papa (grandpa).  He's not doing well so even though we were just there in March, we felt it was very important to get out there again very soon.  She now recognizes his photos and his voice and asks for "Papa" on her toy cell phones.

I fully intend to continue updating this post as I remember more of the crazy things she does these days.  I'll also be adding some pictures soon.

XOXO
Jeni

Oh TWOdles! Sophia is 2!

Sophia is 2! Sophia is 2!  I have a 2 year old! Holy cow!


After Sophia's party we let the celebrating continue.  Her actual birthday was  Thursday.  She had her 2 year wellness check-up that day so I was able to take the day off with her.  


Physical Stats:
Height - 34" - Taller than average.
Weight - 26 lbs - Average
And head circumference - Still larger than average...just as it has been since she was about 4 months old.  She's got a lot of brains to hold!
Shirt Size - 24 months - 2T
Pants Size - 24 months (although somewhat short on her, but 2T is way too big around her waist)
Shorts Size - 18 - 24 months  (due to her tiny waist and short legs)
Shoes - Pretty much still a 4 but starting to fit into a 5


We can hardly believe that she is twice her birth length and almost 7 times her birth weight.  


Sophia...

• Is so smart, so funny, so kind, so caring, so generous, so perfect.  
• Clinks her sippy and says "Cheers!" to everyone at the dinner table every night (and every time she sees someone with a drink in hand)
• Follows Chuck around saying "Boy! Boy!" because she hears Ken tell him "Good boy"
• Still loves to eat fruit and vegetables more than cookies and chicken fingers.
• Becomes very upset when she hears someone crying or sees someone looking sad.  She tries to give them things to make them happy.
• Loves to read books before bedtime (Daddy climbs into bed with her, I cover them up, and read the books) and will always ask for second then rolls over and tell us "Nigh-nigh"
• Loves to dance and has some pretty serious dance moves.
• Pretends to fall asleep, snores, expects you to do the same thing, then when you fall asleep she says "Hey!" and laughs hysterically when you tell her she woke you up.
• Asks "What's this?" about everything she sees.
• Hates socks and pants.
• Still sits in her bumbo for me to brush her hair in the morning.
• Likes to watch Yo Gabba Gabba with Daddy, Mommy can't take that show...what the HECK is that guy supposed to be?!
• Likes when I smell her "stinky feet" and tell her Peeeeee-Yewwww! Then she does it too.
• Loves her friends at daycare.
• Tries to balance things on her head then shakes them off and says "Oooowwwwie" as if it REALLY hurt to shake it off.
• Climbs up onto our bed then gets herself stuck between the footboard and mattress on purpose.
• Thinks all trash belongs in Chuck's water bowl.
• Loves to color and holds her crayons like a pencil.
• Is in the middle of a year long tea party.
• Is starting to identify when she goes potty.
• Loves to wear her "boooets" aka boots.
• Says new/hilarious things every day.
• Gives AMAZING hugs and kisses.
• Knows the difference between written numbers and letters although she can't really identify them all yet.
• Occasionally climbs out of her bed and goes back to sleep on the floor in front of her door.
• Wants to "Dip" everything she eats in "Dip-it" (Ketchup, salad dressing, guacamole, etc.)
• Says "Thank you, you too." when the Border Patrol man tells me "Have a good day" every morning when I go to work.
• Loves her "Kicket"  aka blanket.
• Uses any object she has in hand as a microphone to sing into "Laaaaaaah laaaaaah laaaaah...."
• Has flown across the country to see her grandpa 4 times and will do it again in March.
• Has had her fair share of temper tantrums.  She throws herself to the floor and keeps one eye slightly open to see if we are watching :)

I'm sure I have forgotten things but these are some of our favorite highlights.


We have attempted the potty training thing a time or two but I could just tell she wasn't ready.  Now that she's starting to tell us when she goes (albeit after the fact) we feel that the time is here. We will get serious about it when I'm on Spring Break.  She has been so amazing with all of her other transitions:  Cold turkey binky and bottle at 16 months, moved into her big girl bed at 20 months and hasn't given us a hard time at all, etc.


I made a post to Facebook on her birthday this year that was the exact same post I made last year.  I think it sums it all up for us.


February 2, 2010 my life changed in the most beautiful and profound way.  I looked into her eyes, wide open just moments after being born, and already knew her.  Happy Birthday Sweet Sophia!  You continue to bring so much joy to all those who love you.  You are the greatest of God's many blessings in my life.  And yes... she saw her shadow:)