Let it Snow!

It finally snowed! We have had an unusually dry winter until last week. Sophie has been thrilled with the snow in our backyard. Every night when Carl gets home, Sophie runs to him and asks if she can put on her snow clothes. (For some reason, in Sophie's mind playing in the snow is strictly a daddy-daughter activity. I'm fine with this.) Carl is usually happy to oblige, and out they go. Sophie never cares about being cold or what the temperature is outside. She will happily play outside as long as you let her- even if it's only 5 degrees. Brrr!
Daddy has a lot of games that he plays with Sophie. In this game they make snowballs on top of the hot tub and then throw them at the fence. Or Sophie throws them at Carl. Also fun.

Carl has a course set up that he pulls her through. There is even a small hill, which she always screams with delight everytime she goes over it. I have a cute video of it, but for some reason it plays sideways. I am still trying to fix it.

After being outside, Sophie runs to her chair to get "comfy, cozy." We're not exactly sure why she calls it this, but it requires getting wrapped up in 2 blankets. We're hoping that it will stay snowy for a while, because it is such a great activity for her- and she loves it!

Big Sister!

Sophie is very excited to announce that she is going to be a big sister! We are expecting a baby boy on June 8, 2012. Right now, Sophie is excited for the new baby to arrive. She really has no idea that her whole little life is about to change. Since we talk about babies a lot, Sophie has just started playing with baby dolls, and acting like a little mommy. When I see her play so nicely with her baby I feel hopeful that this will all go smoothly. However, when I see her chuck her baby on the floor in favor of a different toy, I get a little nervous.

So far the pregnancy has gone really well, actually it has been pretty easy. I did not have any morning sickness this time and made it through the 1st trimester pretty much just feeling sleepy. If I had not been pregnant before, I would wonder what all the fuss is about. However, I do know better, I also know that the easiest half is behind me- and I still have the much, much tougher part ahead. Since I have a strong nesting instinct when I am not pregnant, I am officially driving Carl carzy with all of my to-do lists. I want to get things done and get things ready NOW. He of course, is much more laid back and does not see what all the hussle is about.

Here are some of the things on my to-do list:

*Potty train Sophie

*Move Sophie into a big girl bed

*Finish Sophie's scrapbook

*Buy baby boy clothes

*Pick out a baby boy name

*Get baby room entirely ready-months ahead this time

*Clean entire house and take lots of items to Good Will

*Clean spare room- also known as dumping ground

*Paint deck

*Eat large amounts of cake- because really, after doing all those things you would need cake. We'll see how much stuff gets done.

Merry Second Christmas!

We had another wonderful Christmas in Portland! Sophie, of course, got way too much and completely spoiled- but seemed to enjoy every minute. It was a very relaxing trip, filled with many meals out and visiting family. It was great to see everyone, and leaving always makes me wish that we lived closer to family. But we are extremely lucky that we get to fly so often! We are looking forward to Nana coming and visiting us soon! Here are some of our favorite pics from the trip:
Nana and Sophie made a gingerbread house. I was completely prepared for Sophie to cover herself with frosting and gorge on candy, but this was not the case. Sophie took the task of making a gingerbread house VERY seriously. She added each and every gum drop with precision and did not attempt to eat a single candy. Sophie and Daddy on Christmas morning.

Sophie is just starting to become interested in potty training, so we bought her a Dora seat. She was thrilled and carried it with her everywhere. She did not use it as intended, but decided to sit down on it whenever she needed to sit. Of course, sometimes she wore it as a hat, so we’re not there yet.

Even Dora got in on the act.
Sophie and Rosie delivered presents to the neighbors. Sophie was thrilled that Rosie was a Reindeer.

Merry First Christmas!

We had our first Christmas yesterday, and had a wonderful time. We came out to the cabin bright and early in our pajamas and found Sophie’s cousins excited and waiting for her. We had a quick breakfast and then prepared for the whirlwind that is opening presents with kids. Sophie needed no encouragement or help opening presents this year. She charged in and had to be reminded to slow down, and wait her turn. She received many, many gifts that left us wondering how they might all fit in our little house. Sophie loved every second of it, and will be thrilled to learn she gets to do it all again next weekend.

Uncle Ry looks on as Sophie and Kyle build blocks.

Santa brought Sophie a Dora backpack and map. Sophie was thrilled and has been carrying it around ever since. Santa also brought Dora underwear, we get the hint Santa- it's time.

Grandma and Grampa got Sophie and Elly Princess Chairs. They both loved them!

After all the presents were opened, we bundled the kids up and headed outside into the snow. All the kids were thrilled to play in the snow, and played outside at least 3 hours. It was a wonderful day!

Carl and Sophie out on the frozen lake.

Sophie and Elly in their Snow Chairs that Val built for them.

Kyle escorted Sophie and Daddy around in the golf cart.

Grandpa braved the cold and built a snowman with the kids. Sophie is adding a finishing touch. By the way, the clump of snow on top of his head is a hat.

All the kids posing by the finished product! They worked great together!

Christmas Cookies

It's probably some rare form of child abuse that we have never let Sophie have her own cookie before. Certainly not one with frosting. But, we decided that since she has reached the age of 2 1/2, it's probably time. So while Sophie had "quiet time" in her room, I baked the cookies and let her frost one after dinner. She was, of course, thrilled- and kept saying that the cookies were "yummy", and "tasty". We then gave her a nice long bath and put her to bed, where she literally bounced off the walls for about 45 min. Perhaps she will have her next cookie when she is 5.

As you can see, Sophie's frosting skills mirror my own, the more the better!

Yummy, Yummy cookie!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Sophie was Thrilled to help us decorate for Christmas. Thrilled. She especially loved helping us put our tree up. She could hardly stand all the excitement and had to be part of every step.

Coming to investigate what exactly this giant box was in our living room.

Carl and I had never set the tree up this fast before- Sophie kept bringing us more and more branches and did not seem to care that they were supposed to go in a certain order.

Christmas lights are very exciting.

Daddy was moving a little too slowly while putting the lights on the tree- Sophie had to come help.

We decorated the tree later, it's a good thing we have lots of non-breakable ornaments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We just returned from Portland, and had a wonderful time! Sophie absolutely loves being with her Nana, and I greatly appreciated all the extra help (since Sophie is in a Sassy stage). It was a lot of fun to be able to shop, run errands, go see movies, take naps and relax while Sophie was being well taken care of. In fact, usually when I returned, Sophie would cry because her special time with Nana was over. The only downside to being in Portland? Sophie demands to do the same thing, in the same order that we did the last time we visited. Mom and I had to rack our brains to remember exactly which games we played, where we played them, and even where we were sitting. I can’t believe that Sophie remembers all the details about everything we did on our last visit, but she does. It was hard to take pictures of her doing different actives.

Wearing Jewelry is still very exciting. What’s better than wearing 1 necklace? Wearing 20.

Reading books with Nana- a favorite activity still.

Having a tea party with the kitty. Sophie was quite pleased, the kitty- not so much.


Nana gave Sophie an early Christmas gift of a table and chairs, which she loved! Here she is with cousin Claire having a tea party.

Sophie introduced Claire to Dora. Apparently, it was a very interesting episode.

We are looking forward to going back at Christmas!