Spring Break Fun at the Children's Museum

Over spring break, Sophie and I met up with Aiden and Janae at the Children's Museum here in Mesa.  There were so many things that Sophie enjoyed doing while we were there.  She had fun playing in the kitchen and pushing all of the buttons, walking up and down the stairs in the theater room, stamping in the arts and craft area, playing the piano, and much more!  Sophie didn't do much playing with others but found a lot of things to do by herself.  

Funny Story:    They have a little eating room in the museum where we ate lunch.  After Aiden and Sophie finished eating they went to play in the eating room along with two other little girls.  While Aiden and one of the little girls were playing with the foam cubes and tunnels, Sophie was feeding another girl her bottle.  Janae and I just laughed as Soph grabbed this little girls bottle and held it up to her mouth.  Sophie was as so content sitting with the little girl and watching Aiden and the other little girl play.  

PARK DAY!

In the beginning of March we got together with the Pinch's.  We absolutely love hanging out with them and letting Aiden and Sophie play together.  We first met up at this delicious little restaurant for breakfast and then headed over to the TRAIN PARK!  I had been dying to take Sophie there and it was definately a great first visit.  The parking lot was completely full when we pulled in and much to our surprise it was some kind of fun kids day at the park.  They had jump houses, games, face painting, characters and much more.  Sophie wasn't a fan of the jump houses, the Elmo that walked around, or even the Merry-Go-Round.  She did like the train ride and running around with her cousin!

After we went home, took a nap and packed a little picnic for our next park play date.  Our best friends were getting ready to move to Oregon and we were squeezing as much time in with them as possible. The kids had so much fun running all over the place and playing football!  Sophie sure will miss her Jeromiee.   

22 and 23 months

Sophie's latest and greatests:

Sophie: I eat O's, it fall down, annnnnnd then... LUCY EAT IT!

 Sophie: Momma, I wanna read a book
 Me: What book do you want to read?
Sophie: Left foot, left foot. Feet, feet, feet. How many, many feet you meet?
(Talking about The Foot Book by Dr. Suess)

 Sophie: Good Morning Daddy!
 Josh: Good morning, Sophie!
Sophie: I awake! (looks, shakes her finger, and whispers to me, "NO PIGTAILS!")

 Sophie: (looking at my tummy) Hi Brother! Hi Brother! (then kisses my belly)

 Sophie: I go pee!
Josh or I: Ok, let's go potty.
Sophie: (after going potty) I go pee! I get gummy bear!
 Josh or I: What color do you want?
 Sophie: I want two.
Josh or I: Ok but what colors do you want?
Sophie: PINK and Orangie

 (while Josh and I are going potty)
Sophie: I hold you. or Push it out. or You need paper? I get it. or I proud of you! or Don't fall in!

 On our way to Costco
Josh: Sophie, what do you want for dinner?
Sophie: Pizza. And a drink! I hold it!
Josh: Is daddy going to eat pizza?
Sophie: Noooooo, daddy eat hot dog.

 Sophie is talking so much these days. It truly is amazing what she comes up with and how much she comprehends.
 * Sophie sleeps all night in her big girl bed. She loves turning on her machine and lamp all by herself before we read stories before bed. Her favorite thing to read before bed is her Bible.
 * She is not a fan of brushing her teeth or PIGTAILS!
 * Sophie went through a picky stage and didn't eat much but now her appetite has returned and she gobbles up whatever we put in front of her.
 * Sophie loves O's and they are pretty much the first thing she asks for when she gets up in the morning. She occasionally requests them for dinner or a bedtime snack. She will eat them with a spoon, share them with Lucy, and drink the milk from the bowl.
 * Sophie is quite the singer. She loves Little Bunny Foo Foo, Wheels on the Bus, Up on the House Top, and MOVES LIKE JAGGAR!!!
* Sophie loves the outdoors and could spend her days going for walks, kicking her ball (aka playing soccer), and playing with her friends next door. (Our next door neighbors are great with Sophie and she loves hanging out with them)
* Sophie is doing really great about going potty. We have a few accidents every now and then but we can't complain. This has been such an easy process for us/her and we are soooo proud of her!
* Sophie loves spelling her name. It usually goes like this, P-H-I-E.... YEAH!!! SOPHIE!!!!

 In about one month this little lady of ours will be turning two! I can't even believe that TWO whole years have flown by and that shortly after that she will be a BIG sister. She is getting cuter by the day and making us laugh all the time. Life with Miss. Sophie is just the greatest and we are soooo proud to be her parents!!

Name Hunt

Josh and I were able to pick a name for Sophie very easily and it fits her perfectly. This time around has been a little bit more difficult. We can't figure out which name we like best. We thought we settled on a name a couple weeks ago but as of last weekend that name is officially off the "list." This little guy's name has to fit like a glove and be perfect for him, just like Sophie's. So, for now we are taking our time picking his name and waiting for that moment where one just feels right. Even though we haven't settled on a name we have both been on the same page for the most part about what we like and dislike. I am thankful that Josh and I have very similar tastes and opinions about certain things because this would be far more complicated if we weren't.

Accident Free...

Knock on wood! I know that she will have them but Sophie has been doing so well lately with her big girl underwear. She has been accident free these past two days and we couldn't be more proud of her. I get so nervous about going out and about without putting her in a diaper but she has been a champ! Today we went out to breakfast and to two different parks and Soph stayed dry the whole day! When we have to use a public bathroom she will look at me and say, "no flush it," because it makes a really loud noise AND she knows that it is nasty to touch... she is catching on quickly!

21 Months

Sophie has grown up so much just in this past month it is absolutely incredible. Here is what are little lady is up to these days...
* Miss Independent: Sophie's phrase of choice is, " I do it! I do it!" She wants to climb into the car, then into her carseat all by herself. Once she finally gets in she has to "buckle, buckle" all by herself too! She likes putting on her own shoes and socks and has even attempted putting on her own diaper/underwear. She loves being a big girl and figuring out how to do things on her own and it sure is a blast watching her. She is so driven and persistent but every now and then likes a little bit of help.
* Sophie loves eating O's and milk! She would eat it for every meal if she could. Her new thing is being able to hold up the bowl to her mouth and drink her milk.
* Elmo's #1 Fan: Sophie loves Elmo. She loves watching, Elmo Goes to the Doctor, on the computer the best. But she also loves reading books or watching TV if he is on.
* Sophie's favorite place to play is outside. She begs to put on Lucy's leash and take her out on walks or to push her baby in her stroller. Usually, we keep our shoes on after we get home from school and head straight outside for a little walk.
* Our bedtime routine has changed quite a bit since I last posted about it. We are over Kipper and onto much better things. Josh has been reading a Bible story to Soph every night, then a couple Sandra Boyton books, lastly we say our good night prayers. Sophie loves praying for her friends and family! She gives 10 second hugs to Daddy and then rocky rockies with mom until she falls asleep. I treasure our time together and love snuggling with my little girl!
* Sophie is still our dancing queen! She loves listening to music and dancing whenever she hears a catchy beat. Car rides are especially where she likes to get her groove on. If you ever see us driving in the car it probably looks like a party inside because Sophie always asks for the music to be turned on and then demands us to dance (even if we are trying to have a conversation).
* Due to antibiotics Sophie's tummy hasn't been right. She has such hard time properly digesting her food and has had an upset stomach quite a few times this month. We are hopeful that we have finally found a solution and that our babies tummy can finally be back to normal.
* Sophie is doing amazing with her potty training. I can't take credit for most of her progress... Josh and Sophie's daycare provider have been great with working with Sophie on this. We bought Sophie big girl underwear about 3 weeks ago and she loves wearing them. We started off just putting them on her when we got home from school and on the weekend. Recently, we started sending her to daycare in them because she was basically only going through one diaper during the day. Sophie rarely has accidents and we couldn't be more proud of her. (Sidenote: Josh is a world class dad! He has stayed so patient and positive throughout this whole process. When I am ready to throw in the towel and put her in diapers, he has faith! I have learned a lot from him just by watching him work his daddy magic!)
* Besides playing outside, Sophie loves playing with playdough, coloring (she says she is doing her homework), putting puzzles together, and playing with her baby! For Valentine's day Josh bought Sophie a new baby. This baby came with her own carrier, bag, wipe case, and A BOTTLE! Her first baby now has a permanent place in the play crib and has been replaced by, Rina. Sophie even named this baby after one of the little girls at her daycare.
* Sometimes Josh likes to razz Soph. For instance, we were driving home one night after running some errands and we were talking to Sophie. Josh pretended to get upset about something she said and obnoixiously started pretend crying. Sophie had no sympathy for her daddy and began to yell over him. She said, "QUITE DADDY! DRINK YOUR MILK!" Immediately we bursted out into laughter because we have no idea where she got that from.
* Sophie can now count to ten (without skipping 7 and 8)!
* SOPHIE CAN SPELL HER NAME! She has been able to spell it for almost a month now and she is so good at it! Sometimes when she spells her name she gets distracted and it ends up going like this... S. O. P. H. 9. 10. Yeah!!!! or S. O. P. H. t,u,v,w,x,y,z....
* Everything is the color red or pink according to Sophie. She knows the name of other colors but can't really make that association yet.
* Sophie loves going shopping... at Fry's. We don't go often but when we do she loves to get her free cookie from the bakery!

Sophie is too cute for words and we just love watching her grow!

Sushi

This past weekend we got Sophie a fish named, Sushi! She loves staring at him and watching him swim around. Feeding him has become part of Sophie's bedtime routine and she loves to help take care of him.

A week later, I was cleaning out his bowl and put him in the container he came home in. During the night while I was letting the water become room temperature he jumped out of his container. We now have Sushi 2. This little guy is way more active than the other and loves to be fed.