Changes

Dressing up in mommy's scarf

Ooooh....TV!!!!

So even though the life of a toddler is ever changing, as we're finding out ;), that seems to be the case more than usual lately. Here are just a few things that are going on in our world!

• Sleep: Sophia is still napping, but it's always a gamble. She will only take one nap a day, no matter how long. Sometimes she sleeps an hour sometimes 2.5, ya just never know. For the most part she is between 1.5-2 hours, which is good, but it still provides for some cranky afternoon time. She is sleeping through the night with no problem and that is really all I care about...however, she is now waking up earlier. I'm kinda hoping it's just a phase, but it's been going on about a week now so I'm losing hope. She used to sleep until at least 8 and now she's waking up between 6:30-7:30....booooo!
• Eating: As I expected, she is becoming pickier. I'm not really too worried and don't try and make food an issue, but sometimes it's frustrating. She usually eats well for breakfast and lunch but rarely eats a good dinner. Her favorites still include Goldfish, berries of any sort, turkey lunch meat, and olives.
• Play: She absolutely loves to read. Seriously, it's crazy. That is what most of our "play" time is. I'm not complaining as much as pointing out that I think it's a little odd and sometimes a little boring...I mean I would like her to play with some other stuff sometimes! She does make some great connections through reading, though too, another plus! If we see a picture of a dog in a book, she'll point to the picture and then to Walter...I was impressed by that. She has started doing it with other things as well, very cool. Overall, I'm happy about it, of course, and I think it is a major factor is her progressing language development.
• Talking: Talk, talk, talk as the day is long! Just yesterday she started stringing multiple words together. So far we've heard 'let me see', 'I want...', and there was another one but I forgot it already! Her other favorite is 'here you go' but that started as more of a repeat than actually understanding how to string words. She is beginning to say please and thank-you, but not without prompting and sometimes not even then! She also now tells Walter to "Go!" when he comes too close to her high chair while dining, hilarious!
• Media: So I've been trying to play kids' music more often and she and I are both enjoying that. She now sings the ABCs, of course not exactly, but she often gets a few letters right and the tune, sort of! Charlie has started her on computer games and the two of them will sit there together playing things and singing and identifying animals, it's pretty sweet. Were still trying to keep the TV off most of the day and put her to bed before we watch our shows and that is going fine too. BUT...I put in, what I thought was a CD of animal songs and then I remembered that in fact it was a DVD with real babies and animals on it! Well, she was glued to that TV like I have never seen. She was so excited and would yell out the name of the animal and/or the sound it makes as things went across the screen. She watched for about 10 minutes and then we turned it off for dinner and boy howdy, did we hear about it! She cried and pointed at the TV saying 'more, more!'

As we're learning, life with a toddler is never dull! It's hard to think of a time when I wasn't sure how life would be as it is so exciting every day. It's a nice feeling to be blessed with a cute kid, a cute dog and wonderful husband.

Potty Talk

Okay, Sophia is really no where near being ready for potty training, but she sure does have an infatuation with it! She loves to talk about the potty. She will follow you and in and watch you and comment on potty. If you happen to mention that you have to go, she will head up the stairs and walk right in there...waiting for you, she's like a little Potty Attendant, willing to serve. She of course will expect you to read to her as well. She will bring you books and various other reading materials fully expecting you to meet her needs before your own.

Tonight she figured out how to flush the potty. She's played with the flusher before but never actually pushed it hard enough for any result. Anyway, she did it tonight and then ran out of the bathroom in fear. She seriously hid in her bedroom with her bottom lip protruding, looking quite terrified indeed. Now, of course since she is truly a fearless child, she mustered up enough courage to do it again. Although it resulted in much of the same reaction, she was not going to let this nasty old potty beat her down. Before she could make it for round three, however, I closed the bathroom door, much to her disappointment. At that point she just stood at the door, knocking on it, hoping that the potty gods would open it for her. Thankfully, they did not.

Speaking of Grandmas...

The booster seat is a must have for a busy toddler!

She wasn't too interested in her dinner, but was happy to let Grandma Sue feed her grapes, like the true Greek that she is!

And of course in the presence of a grandmother, cookies are always allowed!

I tried to get a multi-generational picture, but Sophia was awfully wiggly!

Bama helping me out too by reading and playing with Sophia

So with Charlie out of town for a week, we tried to keep ourselves busy, which is not a hard task around here! Although he's home now, I was getting a little tired towards the end of the week and there is nothing better than willing and able grandmothers to the rescue!

Thursday evening we had dinner at Grandma B's. She loves to order from "that Pizza Hut", as she says, and had pasta and bread sticks waiting for us! We ate and played for quite a while actually. Grandma Sue took Sophia (well actually it was the other way around) on a walking tour of the halls and Sophia visited with everything and everyone she could find! We came home to find mom on her way to help get Sophia ready for bed...it couldn't have been better! Thanks, Grandmas! We love you!

Catch-Up

My daddy!!!!

Oh, am I cute or what?

So, after my much needed rant I took a little hiatus from blogging, sorry about that! I do appreciate all the responses I got though, although I don't appreciate the news that things aren't going to get better! ;) Actually, part of things getting better are just acceptance of this new stage. And, as you know, it's the acceptance of the new that I'm not so good at! Since my outburst, I have felt a lot better and am happily moving into my new phase of parenthood. It just takes me back to my roots of education and I have to bust out my tried and true methods of classroom, er..household, management to get the job done. Thank God for Jim Fay and Love and Logic! My passion has always been the older child, 7-10, so it's hard for me to know exactly how to handle this age but I'm rolling with it.

Sophia's latest are really putting us to the test, however. Her first favorite is standing on furniture and then jumping up and down. We tell her to sit down and then assist her in that task. Well, now she has moved on to mocking us because she will climb up on the furniture, look at us and say "down!" and then continue standing and/or jumping. Her other favorite is trying to elicit the word "ouch". She thinks it's a game, so now she purposely pinches or steps on people to hear them complain. I'm not quite sure how to curb this but I've started by NOT saying ouch!

She continues to love being outdoors and the past two days the weather has nicely cooperated! It was about 50 this morning and amazingly we were the only people at the park, I didn't understand that! She loves to swing and slide, but mostly she enjoys walking through the park at her own speed, looking at her surroundings and just strolling. She still loves reading and I can't even count how many books we read a day! She's funny though too because if we buy a new book, she ignores it for a week or two and then slowly gets into it.

She loves her grandmothers and is lucky to get to spend time with both of them! And we're lucky they want to spend time with her! She has no problem spending the night at either of their homes and is always happy to have their love and attention, and who wouldn't be...grandmothers are one of the world's best inventions!

I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to start figuring out what this town has to offer in terms of toddler entertainment. I need to get out there and do different activities as it gets a little boring around here some days. I'd also like to look into some sort of gym class too. Overall, we're as happy as ever with our happy little family of four!

Congratulations, Mr. President

Okay, so this was my favorite picture that I found on the Internet and I couldn't' figure out how to make it bigger, but I had to use it anyway!

Festive party plates!

Well, I couldn't let Inauguration Day pass without fanfare! Although this party was not nearly as elaborate as election day, it was just as fun and possibly more exciting! Some girl friends came over and we watched or re-watched, for some of us, the activities of the day. It was a wonderful, historic, and exciting day for this country! It makes me proud and happy to know that my daughter is growing up in a country where we have taken a huge step along this road of breaking down stereo-types and encouraging acceptance. I cried as I watched the events of the day and felt relieved to have finally ended the long road of the previous year.

Above are some fancy plates that Jill supplied, which allow the hostess to place any picture of her choosing along the back and voila...a theme is born! These are a must have for any crazy theme party thrower as myself! I downloaded pictures from the day (well, except maybe the swimming one b/c he probably didn't have time for all that!) to make it even more special!

Tubular and Terrific Tupperware!

Sophia got a belated Christmas present this week from Jill and Matt...her very own Tupperware set! We had plans to get together at Christmas but with sickness and family events, time got away from us! Although, I must admit, this was perfect timing for this fabulous present! There is that lull after birthdays and holidays where the toys are just old enough that the don't hold the same luster, but still new enough for Mom and Dad to not want to spend money on any more!

Anyway, this set kept Sophia extremely entertained for over 30 minutes the night she opened them and that says a lot for a 16 month old! She is still very into stacking and nesting and these toys go right along with that. I absolutely adore the design and I think it's so novel of Tupperware to do a special kids line. We may be trying to get our hands on some more for the future! Thanks Auntie Jill and Uncle Matt!

A Teenager?!!!

The birthday girl in her lovely head scarf!

Oh no, she's graduated to the Irene system of candles...a tens column and ones column

Aunt Bess and Shelby

Birthday cake can make you tired...

but then it gives you a sugar high!

Shelby turned 13 years old last week!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I can't believe she's now a teenager. I remember that day 13 years ago living in my freshman dorm and being so sad that I wasn't able to see her. Stacy sent me a video of her and she was just so precious! She is really turning into a lovely young woman and is an absolutely great babysitter so far. We need to get her over here for some real trial-by-fire training so I can get an afternoon to myself! ;)

She now wears make-up, goes to school dances, and has her ears double pierced. Next thing you know, she'll be driving! It's hard to believe that 13 years passed so quickly, it makes me wonder about our years with Sophia, will they too pass this quickly?!

Frustration!

WARNING, WARNING: Very long parental venting in progress, read at your own risk!

So I've gotten to the point in my parenting experience when I look at my daughter and think, "whose child is this??!" I think that both Sophia and I are frustrated with each other at times. She is growing so fast and wanting to grow up so badly but lacks the words and skills to communicate effectively. I also have lacking skills in the area of mind reading and charades, as it seems.

Now I will say there was a glimmer of hope yesterday when she very assuredly marched up to the kitchen counter, pointed and said, "Nana!" Hallelujah, hallelujah...she spoke about what she wanted and I gave it to her...a breakthrough! This morning, I however tried the same technique..."Do you want a banana?" Hmmm, she seemed happy with that idea so I peeled it, she bit it and I put her in her chair. It was then I made my grave mistake. I broke off the banana so she could hold it without the peel interfering. The meltdown ensued. The tears, the no, no, no and there was no hope for that banana or any other.

A lot of our days are looking like this now, and I find myself holding up objects...is this what you want, no..this? no...this? Ahhhhhhhh...I just wish she'd move beyond words and speak in sentences and paragraphs...am I asking too much, here?! Okay, maybe I am ;) but it makes for a looooong day! I'm sure it's just a phase, but she's not eating, she's fussy, she's demanding, opinionated and she's really into testing limits. Well, let me tell you what, my limits are being tested!

I also feel conflicted because part of me thinks, okay she's just teething, or she's just this or that, and then I think, no she's being a toddler and she's looking for boundaries, so ultimately I feel like I'm stuck in limbo on whether to be empathetic due to teething (or whatever) or lay down the law. Because I can't really be sure, I'm constantly in a state of worry about being a pushover parent or a drill Sargent! Aaaaaaah!

And finally, although I really do love spending all day with her, it is becoming an interesting dynamic. Because the two of us are together almost 24 hours a day every day, she sorta thinks that I'm supposed to be at her beck-and-call and that no one else will do. Don't get me wrong, she loves her daddy, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. but if I'm there, she will always gravitate back towards me, which is sorta nice, and well, sorta not. Is that wrong?! If I'm not there, however, she really does have fun with whomever she's with and is perfectly happy, so I am relieved about that because I don't have to worry when I do leave her!

Now, I hate to end this really long post on a sour note, so I'm going to add some cute pictures and habits of Sophia that are adorable. Now this will become a ridiculously long post...:)

Funny Sophia Things:

• she tickles herself while saying tickle-tickle
• she thinks playing in the toilet water is super fun!
• she now dances every time she hears music
• she is starting to give hugs and kisses on demand and to people instead of only animals!
• she loves to color
• she blows raspberries
• she gets on the couch and reads books to herself

It's Already Begun...

A happy little shoe princess

two little mice peeking up at you!

I'm ready for my close-up Mr. DeMouse!

Dance, mice, dance!!

Spin, mice, spin!!!

So I did a little bit of shopping at the Gymboree after-Christmas sale (and before you gasp too loudly, honey I really controlled myself!) today. I wasn't planning on going in there, which is never good, but these shoes were absolutely too fabulous to pass up, how could I be asked to do it, especially at the bargain price of $8...it can't be done! Of course I left with the matching outfit too, but it was also on sale, so really. Anyway, I was putting the things away and Sophia insisted I put these shoes on her and she's been happily wearing them about house since. Has the shoe fetish begun already! Eeeeeeeeek!

Hammer Time

So it was really hard to capture the essence of this outfit on film, but it was pretty darn cute. It was a hand-me-down from Zoe (who is now 14) so I think Hammer pants were actually in style then! Since she's a baby and I think it's funny, I went ahead and stuck with the outfit! Even Sophia, however, when I dressed her looked down at the pants and pulled at the extra material with her hands while giving me a quizzical look. It's okay, Sophia, we may never understand fashion, but we love it while it lasts!

Separation Anxiety

Walter and his new 'do!

Hugs and Kisses for my long lost friend!

Yesterday Walter went to Day Care for some grooming and fun. He needed his bi-annual hair cut and also really needed to let off some steam! Anyhow, Sophia seemed okay that he was gone although she sort of looked for him and asked about him, but nothing major. When he returned home, however, it was a whole different ballgame. We have never seen her like this! She was absolutely ecstatic. She ran after him yelling "Puppy, puppy, puppy!!!" (which is extra funny in her husky little voice) and hugged him and kissed him every time she could get him to sit still. Maybe it's because he looked different, or maybe she just missed him that much, who knows, but it was absolutely priceless to witness! She even refused to eat dinner unless Walter was sitting right next to her chair and she could reach him (which is usually a dinner time no-no) to pet him. His ears are extra fluffy, which I love, and she kept touching them and saying ear, ear! The video is truly hysterical and my favorite part is when she realizes he left and runs after him to do the same thing he's doing (just like a little sister should do!), but really, it doesn't even show the best parts of our night, just a little snippet!

Wonderscope

So if I put the golf ball here...?

Well, this is fun! Round and round it goes...

Stella!!!!

Things went in her cart, other carts, she didn't care! At one point she was shopping with two carts!

She tried to take the cart for a hallway joyride but that idea got the kibosh!

All three kids really enjoyed the train set

This poem was too perfect for Sophia and I tried to get them together

In the art room she created a clean floor masterpiece

The water table was the by-far favorite of both Sophia and Luca!

Splash, splash, splash!

If this doesn't say good time, what does?!

Yesterday Sophia and I ventured out with our adventure buddies, as it seems, Luca, Massimo and Julie. They seem to be becoming regulars in our life and our blog and I couldn't be happier about it! Wonderscope is a children's museum here in town and I had yet to check it out. Perhaps I'm just biased, having worked in an incredible children's museum (the Kohl in Chicago) or maybe it's because of my background in education, but I must be honest, Wonderscope left a little something to be desired. The set-up is good; it's located in an old school and each classroom is a room with a different theme. BUT...the rooms were ill equipped and not all that great. Maybe it's because they don't have the right people running the show or maybe it's because they don't have proper funding, which is the one I'm going with, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Overall, though, Sophia had a wonderful time, and that's what matters! She loved the golf ball room that was set up with all kinds of ramps and tons of golf balls. She had a great time collecting balls and trying out the exhibit. The art room wasn't a total bust because she did get to sweep the floor and wash her hands, although no actual art was created! There was a fun play room for visitors 2 and under that she and Luca had a good time in, but the best and most fun room was the water table area. She and Luca splashed to their hearts' content. Their aprons were a joke, but you can't really be mad about a wet baby as long as they're happy! If only we would have considered that and saved it for last! Oh well! After consideration, I would probably take Sophia back and have even contemplated a membership, and maybe, just maybe I've found my calling and need to see what openings are available on their staff! ;)