Water/sand table - a huge hit

Sophia got an early birthday present last week from Nana and Poppy. She absolutely loves her sand/water table. I've decided we'll only fill it with water this year and maybe next year introduce the sand!

Here's the series of events:

Dry Sophia - exploring the table for the first time.


Wet Sophia - 5 minutes into her exploration.


Almost Naked Sophia - eating a SICLE after playing outside in the water for over an hour.


Naked Sophia on Saturday morning - showing her water table off to Dad. No point in clothes anymore...

March for Babies

First let me say that Will woke up right after I posted my previous entry and he was ready and willing to go with me! Sophia had other plans (she slept in until 8:15) so I left without them. They met up with me about 1/2 way through the walk and then we spent some time in the park and listened to music and enjoyed the crowd a bit. There were several costumed mascots walking around and Sophia loved them from afar, but didn't want to get too close. She talked about the TIGER, the EAGLE, and the WOLF all day.

I had a fantastic time walking on the boardwalk. It didn't rain at all. I saw dolphins not far off shore.

YAY!!!! It's not raining!

I'm heading out soon to the March for Babies and it looks like the rain is going to hold off for a while! That is wonderful news!!!!

We had some friends over for an early dinner last night and Will made his drinks a bit too strong and fell asleep on the couch before 10:00. Sophia stayed up an hour past her bedtime - she got to sleep around 9:30. They're not awake yet and it looks like I'll be flying solo on the walk - at least for the first part. How funny is it that Sophia has woken up at 7AM or earlier every single day for the past 3 weeks and today she's still dead to the world at 7:30! Ahhh, just my luck. Of course this couldn't happen on Monday - Friday! Oh well...

I'll post the pictures later this afternoon! Wish me luck!

CLOTHES

So, I've finally had a chance to organize all of Sophia's baby clothes and had also washed and sorted them! No small task, but it's done. YAY!

Sophia found this little skirt and bloomers combo in the laundry basket and decided to put it on her head. A much different view than the last time she wore it - at 4 months old. :-)

March for Babies

The March for Babies is happening this Sunday morning. I'm excited for the walk, but the weather report is looking pretty bleak. Rain on Saturday and Sunday, but warm. Walking up and down the boardwalk in the rain probably won't be any fun!

I'm happy to say that I made my target goal of $150.00! Special thanks to my supporters!

Ironic??

Is it ironic that I'm walking in the March for Babies this weekend?

I had my OB appointment this morning and the doctor told me that I'm measuring small. I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow and I'm measuring around 31 weeks. She scheduled an ultrasound at my next appointment to take a look to see if everything is ok.

She said I could be measuring small for a number of reasons.
(1) The baby may be tightly curled up in my uterus.
(2) She could have dropped.
(3) The placenta may not be functioning at 100% capacity.
(4) I could have low amniotic fluid {from here...the rest of this paragraph is what I learned on the internet and was not mentioned by my doctor}(- which turns out to be a fairly uncommon thing called oligohydramnios. The treatment is usually rest and can include steroid shots to increase the fluid. I would be monitored with ultrasounds every week to make sure there was an adequate supply of fluid. Most often a spike or flux in blood pressure indicates low amniotic fluid, but mine has remained steady at 100/62 roughly since I first got pregnant. So, it's all speculation. I'm sure that for the next two weeks it's going to bother me, but keep your fingers crossed!

The doctor told me not to worry. I can't help but think that it's the low amniotic fluid problem because when this baby moves I can literally feel her bones and often it's very uncomfortable. (In some of the stories I read online I learned that when the babies move it can be agonizing for the moms.)

Will reassured me that if there was a really big problem the doctor would have sent me for an ultrasound today. He's probably right.

On my way out the door the doctor told me that it's probably nothing and reminded me that if they had to induce at any point now (even today) the baby would be fine. I'll be exactly 37 weeks at my next appointment and that is considered full term. I've been saying all along that I think this baby is coming early! Maybe I should look up names that mean early and see if we like anything!

Sophia-isms

Sophia's language development has exploded again and she's now about to say lots of complete sentences. She repeats almost everything we say. In fact, she heard Will say damn and then all of a sudden it was her favorite word. Go figure.

Here's some of her other new words or phrases:

• BRAZEE - This is what she calls zebras.


• HOLD YOU - This is what she says when she wants one of us to hold her. She holds her arms up and looks at me with puppy dog eyes and says HOLD YOU. I've never been able to resist!


• GOODNESS - She says this when she sees/makes a mess.


• BEE BOP - This is what she now calls Baby Bop - instead of just BOP


• BJ - BJ is no longer called BEEJ


• STAY HERE - Now she can tell us if she doesn't want to come inside, or go upstairs or leave the playground.... She says STAY HERE!


• IRIS - Iris is the older girl (15) who lives across the street and now Sophia calls every older girl IRIS.


• SAY CHEESE - She picked up a camera in the nursery at church yesterday and said SAY CHEESE


• BARNEY MUSIC - As soon as Sophia gets strapped into her car seat she requests BARNEY MUSIC

New Favorite Foods

Strawberries - she's literally eating 1 lb a day!
Hamburgers - plain with ketchup. No bun, no mustard!
Ranch - she loves dipping cucumbers, peppers & tomatoes.
Cake - a girl after my own heart!
Sicles - better known as Popsicles (especially the blue ones)


Old Favorites that she no longer likes:

Fruit snacks - YAY!!!!
French fries - YAY!!!!
Sweet potatoes

New Feats

• She comes and goes as she pleases now. She can climb or walk up the stairs on her own and she can scoot down on her butt. She always checks in with me first to make sure I know where she's going, but then she's off on her own!


• Will went into Sophia's room this weekend to get her up from her nap and she was shirtless. She took her shirt off when she woke up.

ME EAT THEM

Late last week we realized that a Mama bird has built a nest inside the beautiful Southern Living (plug plug) door hanger on our front door. And guess what? There are 2 little eggs inside! I'm just short enough that I can't even see them unless I'm standing on my tippy toes, but I had noticed that every time I opened the front door a bird would fly away. It never occurred to me that she was living in there!

Will held Sophia up to take a look. She exclaimed ME EAT THEM! ....... And she doesn't even like eggs.

We decided to let the Mama have her babies on our front door and planned on not using that door for a while, but I'm really bummed because I think the Mama has disappeared. One of our neighbors walked right up to the door this weekend after being told about the bird to "check it out". I'm pretty sure that he scared away the Mama.

A sunny day

This morning Sophia and I were playing outside on the deck before it got too hot. She wanted to wheel her little table outside and have a tea party - so we did. We also invited Sadie out to join us and she was tied up on her 20 ft. leash basking in the sun. After our tea party Sophia decided that she needed a real drink and climbed up onto the "big" chair to rest.

It was up in the mid-80s this afternoon so we went out and got Rita's ice. She had blueberry and I had tropical island - we went straight for the ice and skipped the custard although I'm already thinking that we'll have to visit again with Dad in tow. We sat in the grass on the lakeside hill beside Rita's and Sophia watched for ducks while I obsessed over two high school-aged couples paw at each other and talk on their cell phones.

Cute Sophia movies

Sophia and Dad were playing hide and seek the other night and Sophia CHEATED and then she thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard! Just watch these videos. To be honest, it was also about 1/2 hour past her bedtime so she's just a little loopy too.

JUMPING on the COUCH

Sophia is a jumper. She jumps on our bed and watches herself in the mirror. She jumps on the trampoline at My Gym and gets upset when other kids try to join her. She jumps off the last step every time we walk downstairs together. (Although twice today she successfully walked herself down the stairs.) She runs and jumps into her beanbag. She jumps on the couch - as she is in this very blurry action shot.

Countdown to Sophia's birthday

Yesterday Sophia turned 23 months old! Amazing that in less than 1 month she'll be 2.

We've got her birthday party booked at My Gym on Sunday, May 18 - just a few days after the real day. She can invite up to 20 other kids (and we may be getting close to that since lots of her friends have siblings.

I just need to take her to Party City so she can pick out a theme. It would be appropriate to celebrate in Barney style, but you can't get Barney birthday plates anymore. So, I'll see what she likes in the store. Maybe Mickey Mouse and Minny.

I'm so glad we're not having her b'day party at our house this year. Just an FYI. Haley's mom went into labor early in the morning on Sunday (3AM) - the night of Haley's birthday party. She was scheduled for a c-section on the 22nd, but I guess the stress of the b'day party really wore her out. All are well. They named their little girl Carly.

Baby Shower

Two of my friends co-hosted a baby shower for me this afternoon. It was a really fun afternoon and this little baby girl was spoiled with lots of adorable summer outfits. She's going to look so cute. Click here and you can see some of the outfits close-up.

Everyone that brought a package of diapers was given a raffle ticket for a Southern Living gift basket. What a wonderful idea! Just look at the diapers I brought home. Sizes Newborn - Two. How nice.

Haley's Birthday Party

Sophia had a wonderful time at Haley's 2nd birthday party this morning. All the little girls looked adorable in their dresses. Haley is the girl sitting in the chair.

Sophia was scared of the clown and absolutely refused to have her face painted. She did accept a tattoo, but I had to apply it for her. At first she chose a puppy and then later decided she wanted a second tattoo and selected a colorful Big Bird & Friends one.

Sophia devoured her entire piece of cake and then had a scoop of ice cream! Just before the cake was served I saw her stick her finger into the decorative icing on the side and then smear it on the kitchen table. Haley was trying to get to the icing too!

She didn't put the hat on until we just about to leave the party, but she did wear it the entire way home in the car and couldn't wait to show Daddy when we got home. See all the pics.

Popsicle play date @ Redwing Park

Sophia and I hosted a Popsicle play date today at 1:00 for my Mocha Mommys group. Sophia and I both ate 2 Popsicles except she may have been wearing more of her second one than actually went into her mouth. It was close to 75 degrees and those puppies were melting fast.

She was extremely nice to all the kids that were there. Two were older and two were younger. She liked giving Hunter, the boy in the stroller, his sippy cup. She also liked following the 2-yr old boy around. He was playing with sticks. She loved CHASING his 4-yr old sister around, but the little girl kept running so fast that Sophia would lose sight of her and then get distracted by something else. It was hysterical to watch.

Sophia simply did not want to play with the little 18-mon old girl in this picture. Sequoia didn't know how to share yet and Sophia couldn't tolerate that. She basically ended up ignoring Sequoia the whole time. At the end Sequoia wanted to give her a hug and Sophia had a fit! There was no way she was letting anyone hug her! Hugs are reserved for Haley and Addie and other close friends. :-)

Haley's second birthday party is tomorrow morning at 10:00 and we're really looking forward to it. I'm sure we'll have lots of great pictures to post tomorrow afternoon.

Playing outside

After 5 days of April rain, it finally cleared up today and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We played outside this afternoon. Sophia wanted to wear her fireman's hat and push a stuffed monkey around in her doll stroller. We also did some sidewalk chalk drawings.

This little girl, Lianna, is our neighbor. She was a bit shy today and didn't want me to take her photo. She's going to be 4 in June. Sophia will be 2 in May. Check out how tall Sophia is compared to her.

New Sophia Movies

Sophia had a fun filled weekend and I wanted to share some of the movies with you. Take a look:

This is my favorite one. It's called ONE TWO EIGHT TEN



Old MacDonald Had a Farm



Sophia and Sadie

FAVORITE

Sophia picked up the word FAVORITE somewhere along the way and now refers to this denim blue hat as her FAVORITE!

She's been wearing it every day since Sunday. Today she wore it to TARGET and then (ME HAVE IT) when she went into her crib for a nap. It's a little big for her head and keeps falling in her face, but she doesn't seem to mind.


This past weekend was certainly a "dress up" weekend. It all started with Mommy's tan ball cap and then progressed to JEWELRY which included 2 necklaces and stretchy arm band and finally ended with a CAPE, especially hand crafted by Daddy.

Share, Daddy!

So, we were shopping this weekend and I left Sophia in the shoe section while I browsed on ahead of them. They were happily entertaining each other while bouncing a ball back and forth. When they finally caught up to me Will was grinning. He told me that part he was "hiding" the ball from Sophia by not giving it to her and she looked him right in the eye and said SHARE!

Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

As some of you may know, I'm participating this year in March of Dimes' "March for Babies" event on Sunday, April 27th on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. All dollars raised will go toward researching the causes of premature birth and birth defects.

Hopefully our baby will go full term. We only have 7 more weeks to go, but I've had 3 friends deliver 5 weeks early within the last 3 months. Please help me help other moms who have given birth prematurely.

Thanks for your support. Yes, it's a tax write-off charitable donation.

Movies...

Lately all Sophia wants to do is watch her own MOVIES on my laptop. She is currently obsessed with the Easter Egg coloring ones, but I don't think you've seen this one of her and Grancy yet. Take a look.

At the end of the video when she's gets shy about saying the Easter Bunny....picture her now answering Grancy's question. She says BUNNY every time!

Celebrate!

Sophia says her name all the time now. She knows when it's SOPHIE-AH's turn. That's how it sounds when she says it: SOPHIE-AH - with all the emphasis placed on saying Sophie and then as if an afterthought she says AH.

Every single week in My Gym the instructor takes turns asking each kid what their name is. This week Sophia actually answered for herself. She snuggled into me and became quite shy as she mustered out: SOFA. I wanted to laugh out loud, but instead hugged her and told her what a great job she did.

8 weeks to go.

Baby girl #2 is due to arrive in exactly 8 weeks. She probably weighs over 4 pounds at this point. I feel enormous and stretched, but still have lots of energy to get out with Sophia during the days for fun. However, by the time dinner is said and done I'm spent and find myself falling asleep on the couch by 10.

Will went into the attic this past weekend and we resurfaced all of Sophia's baby stuff. WOW - I never knew we had so many teethers, rattles and little stuffed animal toys. Sophia's been preoccupied all week with these new TOYS all week. She definitely doesn't seem to remember them at all, but is having an awesome time rediscovering all the buttons to press and noises they make. Of course, all the batteries are 90% dead and instead of making fun sounds some of these toys sound like they are moaning!

The Sprinklers Are On!

YAY! The Botanical Garden turned on the sprinklers in the WOW garden today. We packed a snack, a towel, a change of clothes and headed out at 9:30 this morning. We planned on being out for a long day, but the weather didn't allow for it.

Sophia loved watching the frogs squirt water out of their mouths. She remembered how fun it was to play in the water, but mean Mommy wouldn't let her. It was a little chilly this morning and the thunder clouds were rolling in, but next week I'll let her play. We made it to the car just seconds before the hard rain came down. By the time we got home, the rain was almost over and then it got really sunny and nice so we got to take Sadie for a walk. She loved it.

Playing with Daddy

Daddy and Sophia spent lots of quality time together this weekend. It was a pretty cold and dreary outside all weekend.

Today while I was grocery shopping Sophia and Will played dress up. Too cute. Here's a video that Will took.

Take a look at these other videos - they are all from Saturday when we were all playing in the afternoon after Sophia's nap.

Sophia - MAIL

Sophia - SOPHIE

Sophia - PEE PEES

Sophia - Rolling and jumping on the couch

April Showers Bring May Flowers

OK, would March please please please just end already?

March is Mommy Alexander's least favorite month! I give it the respect it deserves because Will was born on the 25th, but come on! It's still cold at the beginning of March. By the middle it's showing signs of becoming nice and maybe we've even had some short sleeved days, but there are still over 2 and 1/2 weeks to go until the end of March. And then when the fourth week of March rolls around there are still several straggler days (specifically 29-31) to muster through until SPRING !


Spring in my mind, at least. Meaning nice weather, sunny days, no more cold, no more dark, blossoms, windows open, birds chirping again, light, sun, etc...! I really shouldn't be complaining about the weather considering that it's felt like spring in Va Beach for about 3 weeks now, but there's just something about the March state-of-mind that really gets me down.

AND....it's almost over! YAY...

I just checked the weather report for the next 10 days and can happily say that it's going to be raining (t-storms or thunder showers) on 5 of the 7 days of April. Wonderful, bring on the rain. Perk up the dreary winter scene.

How appropriate that Sophia is currently obsessed with BLELLAs. And if it were true, she would be cursed with hundreds of years of bad luck by now for opening the BLELLA indoors. She also likes to play with her Little People PICNIC table and BLELLA and makes the PEEP (people) sit at the benches and chairs. On Thursday when it was nice we took at PICNIC to the playground up the street and played for a while and ate lunch. Sophia had an awesome time and loved running in the open field - her smile was so huge. I can't wait to do it again.

Play date at the Zoo

It was in the 80s this afternoon and Sophia & I spent the afternoon outside with some friends at the Zoo. It was a really great afternoon. Sophia loved the giraffes. She claims that's her very favorite animal!

Since I forgot to bring a hat and I didn't have the sun-shade for her stroller in the car, I had to buy her a hat from the gift shop. She picked it out on her own and I must proudly say wore it the entire them we were there.

Our arrival time at the Barnyard area was perfect. A Zoo staff member was passing out feed for the goats when we arrived and Sophia and I both got handfuls for her to feed the goats. When she finished our free feed, she proceeded to pick up all the left-over morsels on the ground and continued to feed the goats.

See all the pics.

Sophia's new house

This morning Sophia simply wouldn't allow me to put this big box on the curb for garbage pickup. She insisted that she get IN the box to play.

The box was a little too tall for her to sit in it and still be able to see the tv so she requested PIWWOWS, but they didn't quite offer the comfort she was seeking! Before she got too frustrated I created a SEAT for her .... and she was hooked - for about 3 minutes!

The entry is coming....but in the meantime

....view the photos from our Easter weekend trip.

We left for Uncle Dan's house on Friday morning and arrived just in time for dinner. Sophia enjoyed seeing Nana and Poppy and getting completely spoiled with attention. See all the pics.

On the way back on Sunday we stopped at Grancy and Big Daddy's house. They had an Easter Egg Hunt set up for Sophia in the front yard. See the pics.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Here's a movie Grancy took when she visited...It's Mom and Sophia coloring Easter Eggs.

Grancy's Spring Break Visit

Grancy came to visit Sophia on Monday and was here until yesterday afternoon. She was only gone for about 2 hours when I started missing her already - coincidentally that was exactly when Sophia woke up from her nap!

Sophia was so excited that Grancy was coming for a visit. For two days she was carrying around the panda bear that Grancy brought back from China. Sophia was standing at the front door waiting for her RED car to pull up to the house and it only took a few seconds before Sophia was pulling Grancy by the hand into her play room for some FUN.

I headed out for the afternoon and the two of them played all day. They took Sadie for a walk, played FOOD and EAT with Sophia's kitchen set and put puzzles together. Sophia didn't miss me one bit (what a wonderful and expected relief).

On Tuesday Grancy and Sophia went to Tunes for Tots and then out to lunch while I enjoyed another free day to run errands and get Tropical Smoothie Cafe for lunch. YAY! I could tell they had a great time because Sophia practically went straight into her crib when they got home and slept for about 3.5 hours.

Yesterday the three of us colored a few Easter Eggs (or as Sophia is calling it - EGGS GET BATH) and then we went to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny. Being the mean mom that I am I made Sophia sit on my lap while I sat beside the Bunny for a photo session. I can't wait to see the pictures that Grancy took because the "professional" one certainly wouldn't win any awards. Of course, Sophia was terribly frightened of the Bunny and really didn't want to be anywhere near him - even on my lap! However, when we went upstairs to the food court after our "crying spectacle", Sophia was delighted to watch the Bunny. I would even go as far as to say she was giddy!

Before we left the mall we stopped to ride/play in the ice cream truck, the train and the firetruck. What a great day.

Check out all of the pictures.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt with Sophia's two friends, Haley and Addy. The batteries were dead in our camera so we only managed to get one picture.

There were a variety of fun activities for the little ones to do/participate in...

Face Painting: Haley and Addy got lady bugs and Sophia refused to get one. She sat down in the chair and then changed her mind at the last minute.
Decorate a Cookie: As you can tell by the picture, Sophia participated in this activity. She chose purple icing. She ate the cookie in the car on the ride home.
Decorate a Mini Cupcake: She ate 2 cupcakes - shoved the whole thing into her mouth each time. She also enjoyed eating the jelly beans that were supposed to be decoration for the cupcakes.
Bubbles: Nothing beats a gallon of bubble soap with fun, large wands! This activity was a winner!
Color a Bookmark: We skipped this one.
The Egg Hunt: Sophia let me carry her basket as she ran around looking for eggs. We practiced at home all week and this was a blast for her!

The best part was coming home and opening all of the eggs to find the surprises inside. Sophia was totally exhausted and in desparate need of a nap, but her sugar high kept her awake long enough to take this movie...

29 weeks prego

I hit 29 weeks yesterday! Only 9 more weeks to go! I'm starting to feel a bit tired in the early evenings now. Sophia definitely wears me out during the days - she's super tall and heavy for her age. This is nothing new to any of you faithful readers, but she's wearing some 3T clothes already and yesterday someone asked me if she was 3. Inside I was terribly offended!! No, my little peanut is still only 1. In fact she has 2 months to go before she even turns 2. She's definitely as tall as some 3-year olds so I can see where people can get a little confused, but she talks and walks like a 1-year old.

I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks. Everyone I see tells me that I'm small for being 7 1/2 months pregnant, but the doctor didn't mention anything like that on Tuesday at my appointment. She said everything looks fine! I've gained 21 pounds so far - that's great compared to Sophia's pregnancy.

Baby's heart rate was in the low 140s on Tuesday. She was sleeping and not moving around at all. It seems like she sleeps for 3 hours at a stretch and then wakes up to work out those arms and legs. She's even had the hiccups a few times, something I didn't ever notice with Sophia. Can't wait to meet her!

GRACIE

Yesterday Sophia and I were in the spare bedroom packing up books so that we could remove the bookshelf and start to get that room ready for it's nursery transformation. There is a photo in the room of the whole Alexander clan that went on the cruise. Sophia looked at the picture and then pointed to Grancy and for the first time said GRACIE. What an awesome milestone that was for her. Up until now she's called every single woman older than me NANA. Will and I have always referred to Grancy as Nana Grancy to expose Sophia to her real name.

She called Big Daddy, Uncle Mike and Uncle Rob "BOY". She called Aunt Claire and Terra "GIRL". So, now we'll work on their names.

This morning I showed her a different picture of Grancy and she said NANA, but I think a little practice will seal the deal!

The time change

Sophia decided to sleep right throuh the time change adjustment. She went to sleep for a nap a 5PM yesterday (which probably felt like 4PM to her) and she didn't wake up until 7:30 AM this morning! Will and I were shocked and amazed! She also took a decent nap this afternoon. I wonder if she's going through another growth spurt?

COURSE...that's her newest word. She must hear me say "of course" alot (although I never realized I say it). She says COURSE now and grins from ear to ear like she's an adult!

Play date @ Addie's house

Addie and Haley are Sophia's first friends. You may remember them from the picture on the couch from our holiday party.... Sophia says ADDIE and HAYWEE all the time.

We went over to Addie's house on Thursday morning for a play/lunch date. Sophia didn't eat anything. She was completely preoccupied with all of Addie's toys. At one point all of the girls had on a "princess" costume. Sophia just happened to have a red long-sleeved shirt which looked perfect with the Snow White outfit she selected. Take a look.

Ultrasound Pictures

Will and I got to see baby girl Alexander for 1.5 hours today when I volunteered to be the subject for a morphology exam - which basically means "performing a full-body ultrasound on the baby".

Our precious little one was on her best behavior and allowed the student to take all of body measurements she needed. However, she absolutely refused to stop moving her head around for a picture and then when she finally did settle her face wasn't anywhere in sight. The instructor took over at the end and she was able to capture these pictures, but not without baby's hands/feet in front of her face. But, she looks really pretty already. In fact, she looks A LOT like Sophia to me. Can't wait to meet her.

Her stats: Everything looked perfect in their eyes. The heart has 4 chambers and a really great rhythm to it. She was very settled and sleeping when the heart rate was taken, but it was 130. She has girl parts. She has eyes, lips, chin, nose, bridge, etc...all the stuff she's supposed to have. They predicted she would have a lot of hair...Sophia had a ton of black hair when she was born. She's measuring only 1 day greater than her due date. They said he due date would be May 29. She weighs 2 pounds 8 ounces which seems huge to me already! Anyway - take a look. Some are much easier to see than others.

Tunes for Tots resumes...

Yesterday Sophia and I went to the Season Opener Tunes for Tots at the WOW Garden of Norfolk Botanical Gardens. It took her a while to warm up to the extra large crowd that was there, but once she felt comfortable, she really got into "dancing" with mom. We had a blast.

Afterwards she really enjoyed running through the house and even though she pinched her hand in the door, that didn't stop her. SHUT DOOR is what she calls this particular boo boo. She coined the phrase over the weekend when her hand got sucked into the automatic sliding door at a store. I had to pull it out for her. Again, quick thinking on my part. Looking back on it now I can see how that could have been quite ugly. Sophia cried and exclaimed SHUT DOOR for the next hour.

We had a wonderful day together just running around in the garden. Sophia definitely remembered the WOW Garden from this fall, but was puzzled by why the sprinklers weren't ON. I was thoroughly enjoying myself just watching (and chasing) her. It was as if she was enjoying all of it for the very first time again. She's so much more mobile and active and curious now.

On the way out we stopped to smell the flowers and chase the DUCKS/GOOSE because they produce EGGS. Enjoy the pics... You may not believe me that she was having fun because I don't think she's smiling in any of the pictures, but trust me, she was thrilled to be there.

PAYING with BLOCKS

For the past week or so Sophia has shown an interest in PAYING with her BLOCKS. She can stack the large blocks up pretty high and she's getting better at these smaller, wooden ones. She knows they're going to FALL.

I took a couple of videos and you'll see her moving from activity to activity. She seems to tire with her toys so quickly these days and she hasn't been very into Barney or the Dooblebops either (YAY). This is a kid on the move all the time - her mind and her body. Except when she's tired and then she totally zones out and falls into her trance-like state of rubbing and smelling of Lamby's ear.

Her favorite activities right now are: talking, going outside, running around, jumping around, kicking big balls, throwing little balls, climbing up on furniture, and practicing how to walk up the stairs while holding onto the railing like a big girl (no more baby crawls up the stairs). She's even walking down the stairs holding onto my hand.

Here's the first video. Make sure you have sound. It's cute.


Here's another one. She's naming all of her zoo animals.


And - just for kicks.....watch this one too. This is the very first time she says the word PAMAL (camel).

A fun weekend

We had a great weekend. The weather was warm and wonderful and nobody was sick. Today is supposed to be in the high 60's so we'll be hitting the playground with Sadie later this afternoon.

Last night we had some friends over for dinner. They have twins that are just getting ready to break into full fledged crawls. Sophia was an amazing little playmate for them even though she was mostly just running around and playing on her own. Before they arrived we picked out a few toys that she was going to share with them and I think that made her feel important. I was really proud of her.

Will is holding Jackson, who was really smitten with Will all night. Mike is holding Lola, who is quite the Mommy's girl, just like Sophia was/is. The twins were so well behaved. They really enjoyed playing with Sophia's toys that light up and play songs and make sounds.

Sophia picked out a Bunny at the store on Saturday and has been carrying it around with her like Miss Bunny is her best friend. On Saturday she HAD TO have the bunny in the crib with her during her nap. She kisses Miss Bunny each time we leave to go somewhere. I've even see her place Miss Bunny in front of the TV whenever Barney is on so they can watch together! I suspect she loves the Miss Bunny for several reasons....(1) she has a cool purse, (2) she's almost as tall as Sophia, (3) and she has bendable ears! Check out the rest of the pictures.