The most wasted of all days, is one without laughter!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Future's So Bright
Every time Ava Sophia takes a bath, she insists on putting on her sunglasses... I mean EVERY TIME! It's cute, and we just don't want to forget! Smile!
I took Sophie in for her 2 year check-up this week. I knew that she had gotten a little taller, because some of her 12 month dresses were getting shorter.But the good thing about that is little girl's dresses easily convert to longer shirts! This is her while we waited on the nurse to get us at the doctor's office. She stands and studies the fish and says over and over and over again, "Momma, it's Nemo! It's Dory, Momma!" Did I mention that she says it over and over? :)
Anyway, I was hoping that she had at least made her way onto the percentile scale that 'they' (the medical community, I'm assuming) say that children need to be at the top of. But, it wasn't meant to be! My 'itty bitty' weighed in at 21.6 lbs, keeping her under the curve again. She did make it onto the scale for heighth, though! She is in the.... wait for it... 5th percentile for heighth! She had to get a shot, but only one, so the sucker at the check out made her all better.
Where to start with our tiny dancer? Ava Sophia completed our family 2 years ago at 10:34 am. She is full of life, makes us laugh often, and while she gives us our fair share of frustration, the good far, far outweighs the bad! Here are a few things we want to remember about our Sophia Girl!
~ She gives her Daddy an equally enthusiastic welcome when he comes home from work... just as enthusiastic as her brothers ~ She calls her brothers, "my boys" ~ She has a horrendous fake laugh... well, here, check it out for yourself... I mean it's bad, but it makes us laugh just the same
~ She runs really funny... most of the time with her arms straight at her sides ~ She gets very, very serious when she is trying to tell you something and she can't get us to understand. ~ She has an EXTENSIVE vocabulary for a two-year-old ~ She gets on to Tres a lot ~ She tattles on Bryant even more ~ She is most happy when both of 'her boys' are playing with her! ~ She is very possessive of anything she likes... she will say, "Dis is me my toy!" ~ She can count to 5, and when she feels like it all the way to 11. And 11 is her favorite number to throw in randomly! :) ~ When she is done performing a trick, like counting, she will bow her head, close her eyes, and say "Tank you much!" ~ She has no fear. And this scares us. ~ If you are not paying attention to her while she is talking to you, she will physically turn your head with her little hands. ~ She is so very stingy with her kisses... but every now and then she will give you a kiss for no apparent reason, and those kisses are so very sweet! ~ She loves baby dolls and Barbies (or 'Darbies' in her world) ~ She can get entranced in Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in a split second. ~ She loves to dress up and look 'pitty' ~ She makes me paint her fingernails and toenails about once a week (between you and me... it really isn't a hardship!) ~ Her favorite 'pincess' is Ariel and she loves to play in the pool like she is Ariel or Flounder and I am Ursela ~ I like that she calls Sleeping Beauty 'seeping cootie' ~She got her ears pierced and her first pair of earrings shorly after Christmas. In Spring, she lost one, and I was able to wrestle another one in that ear... but it took nearly 3 months to get the other one out and the matching earring in!
~When I made a list of things I wanted to remember about Soph at age 1, and posted it here with pictures, she was wearing the same tutu outfit... which brings me to my next point! She is little for her age and we love it! ~ Her nicknames are 'Itty Bitty,' 'Tart 'n' Tiny' 'Sophia,' 'Sophie,' and 'Sophie Girl.' ~ She is strong willed and stubborn, and while I know those will be admirable traits as she gets older, they are tough to overcome at 2! ~ She is learning her colors now! She doesn't get them right all the time, but she tries!
Okay... that's about it for now... if you have something about her you would like to add, please feel free to do so in the comments section! There is so much and it's hard to remember it all!
Happy Birthday, Itty Bitty! I don't know what we would do without you. You bring fun, chaos, and laughter and we absolutely adore you.
PS She loves her daddy, but she's still a Momma's girl! :)
We have been talking about doing Sophie's room since Christmas. The little stinker never liked sleeping in a crib, so she was in the co-sleeper until about 2 months ago in our room. We went ahead and got her a full size mattress set and I started collecting little odds and ends that we planned to eventually use. This past weekend, we got a wild hair and actually put it all together and WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MADE!! It literally transformed her room into a little girl's dream room! And she LOVES to be in her big girl 'pin-siss' bed! We picked up the canopy and the wall flower lights at IKEA for next to nothing! We've had them since Hank and I went to IKEA during volleyball season in February. The light switch is on the green cord that runs down the wall like the stem, so Soph can turn them off and on herself, which she likes. At night, we have to be stern with her to get her to leave them alone. And she loves the cocoon effect the canopy gives. I think it makes her feel cozy. We got the comforter from Wal-Mart for about $30. There is a sheet set to match, which I believe she will get for her second birthday in two months (please God! I'm waiting on that pause button!). We decided not to do a character theme, since we felt like these things could realistically be used for 7-10 years depending on her taste. Melanie sent these letters as a gift when Soph was literally my itty bitty! And we've had them on the wall ever since, but we gave them an upgrade as well. We measured and blocked off a section of the wall, then went to Lowe's and got one of their sample cans of paint ($3) in pink. We painted it, then Hankie framed it out for me! It's on the wall you see when you walk in her room. Then on the wall opposite where he bed is, her dresser sits with her princess TV set passed down from her cousin (we love cousin hand me downs!). We picked up the shelves and brackets and got a little organized... she has aquired two Holiday Barbies (or 'darbees' as Ava Sophia calls them), and I got out two of my collectibles that went with her room for the top shelf. The lower one holds a few decorative items a Minnie Mouse princess lamp and her DVD's. You can also see the organza type lavender curtain we hung up.
Add all of that to her little pink chair she got last year for her birthday and her dollhouse shelf and her room is complete!
Now we just want to add crown... well we want to do that to all the bedrooms, but those are projects for another weekend! :)
When I took Ava Sophia in for her one year check up in the summer, her pediatrician determined that she was off the chart (and not in a good way) for her age. He wanted to test her to make sure there was so reason for her not gaining weight. So he took a urine sample, drew some blood and did a sweat test on her. I still don't know what all they were looking for, but I did ask what the sweat test was for. The doctor told me that he wanted to make sure that she didn't have cerebral palsy. I was calm when I told him I was sure that she did not. And I was confident. I mean, have you people met my in-laws?? Petite seems like a giant word when I think about them! :) So, I knew it would come back that she didn't have cerebral palsy. My God is bigger than that!!
Ava Sophia is the boss around here. So when she insists that she wear her shoes ALL THE TIME, we must comply! :)
Seriously, she has to have them on all the time... over her sleeper and everything. I have to wait till she falls asleep and take them off then at night.
So, last year doesn't count since Ava Sophia was only 3 or 4 months old! So this year was the true test with Old St. Nick. She liked him from a distance, and even waved at him and said "Hi!" But the closer we got, the tighter she held on to me!
And when we got up to the next few in line, she was getting a little stressed. And by the time we got up to meet the Big Guy, she was in full meltdown mode!She refused (and by that I mean arched her back and kicked) to sit in Santa's lap. And wasn't too much happier with brother's. The good news is that Bryant seems to have gotten over his Santa Claus fear this year! Then after all of that, they accidentally deleted the first picture, so we had to torture her again... cause we aren't going to stand in line for over an hour and not get all three of our kids in the picture!
Oh, the cuteness of it all! I just had to try a ponytail for Sophie this morning. She sat very still while I did it and has left it in all day. I mean, she's so cute with her little curly pony that I teared up! She wore it like this to her brother's Thanksgiving Musical program. All those women went crazy over her!
In the last week or so, we have noticed that our little princess has developed quite the dramatic flare! Whenever we tell her 'no,' she... well take a look and tell me what you think...
She's definitely not a wall flower! She sat like that until we quit telling her 'no.' Of course, we told her 'no' several times just to get her to do it for your viewing pleasure! Notice she's wearing a shirt that says 'Playpen Prima Donna.'
We have been encouraging Ava Sophia to walk a lot lately, but she would just take 1, 2, or 3 steps then drop and crawl. I have noticed yesterday and today that she has been trying it on her own! So when I saw my little naked lady walking out of the corner of my eye while I was clipping coupons, I grabbed my handy-dandy camera and captured the milestone! I'm sad that this is the last time I'll see one of my babies take their first steps, but I'm excited that she is so pleased with herself!
She also points to her nose, eyes, and mouth (as well as anyone elses), and nods her head (also known as 'Bobblehead Sophie' at out house).
Our children are no strangers to cameras! All we have to do is hold the camera and we start getting poses! We went with my in-laws to the Cracker Barrel today, and I had the camera out snapping a few pics (yeah, what else is new, huh?) and Soph started cheesin' for us.
So, I have a confession to make. And for some reason, I have a feeling that I might get a few comments on this. When Tres and Bry were little, I was very strict about my kids sleeping in their own rooms. And after a few weeks of a little crying and whining at bed time, they went right on to sleep.
With Princess Sophia, this is not the case. She was doing well in her crib until she went through cutting four teeth at once. We had about a weeks worth of long, long, long nights and I finally just gave in and let her stay in our bed. That was about a month ago. And she hasn't made it back to her bed yet. It's not that we don't try. We've tried letting her cry it out... and she cries herself into a tizzy. We've tried letting her fall asleep in our bed and transferring her. On a good night we can get her into the bed, and within 30 minutes she wakes up mad as fire! But on any other night, she wakes up (no lie) as soon as we cross the threshold into her room. It's like she senses the atmosphere change or something.
We've gotten her music, night lights, comfy crib bedding, fuzzy blankets... anything we could think of, and nothing seems to make it more appealing or even as appealing as sleeping between mom and dad.
Hank says he doesn't mind, and most nights I don't either, but I would like a little down time at night without a little warm body pressed up against me or on top of me or sticking her hand down my shirt!
*When you smile, and I mean, really smile... your eyes disappear and your nose crinkles! *You are still just a little bit of a baby, and I love that. *No matter how much we encourage you, you WILL NOT say 'Momma!' *You say what sounds like a version of brother, dada, ball, bye-bye, look, what's that, and (mom's personal favorite) cool. *You also do a fake laugh when you want our attention and you growl on cue. Just yesterday you were crawling around and the boys were pretending you were a doggie and feeding you animal crackers and telling you to growl. You did it happily. *You take a pacifier when you are tired and ready for sleep. *Bathtimes are so much fun to you! You love to scoot yourself around backwards in the water. You usually fuss at me when I let the water out. *You will put anything into your mouth... bubbles, LEGOS, bugs (let's not talk about that... it makes Mom shiver), leftover food from your brothers. *You love to eat!! Right now, you love eggs, noodles, chicken, peas, bread... well, just about anything we are eating. *You still have two birthmarks. One on your chest and one under your arm. We also found one on the back of your neck! It's light, but there. *You only nurse at night, and only for a little while. *You have six teeth and you are working on more right now, little miss grouchy pants! *When you don't want your brothers to play with you, you hollar at them and wave your hands in front of you. *When you do want your brothers to play with you, you follow them around and mess with whatever they are trying to do. *You stand up by your self... you don't even need anything to pull up on. But you haven't taken a step yet. Most times, you just drop down and do what I call the SuperBaby crawl... you know, in one place one second and across the room the next! *When you feel like it... and only then... you give the best love! I mean, open mouth with tongue kind of love! *You like to play 'Where's Sophie?' with anyone that will do it.
*You like to wave bye-bye, except when it's Momma leaving... then it's time to cry! *You are fast becoming a Daddy's girl, I think. At least that's what this Momma has noticed. There is nothing sweeter than seeing you get excited when Daddy comes home. You demand his attention and are only happy when he picks you up. *I think you like to play with Bryant the best. That's probably because he will play the stuff you enjoy, like Little People, dolls, and trains. *Most of the time, I make your bows. And you pretty much leave them alone unless you are just tired and ornery! *When you get tired, you need that pacie, then you stick your hand down the shirt of whoever has you, lay your head down and settle in. *You took really naturally to a baby doll. You hugged it, put a blanket over it, gave it a bottle, then threw it down on the ground! *You like to tuck yourself away on shelves, in the corner, or in any tight place. Most of the time, we have to rescue you though. I laughed out loud when I was clipping coupons in the kitchen the other day, and I looked down to see you nestled into a corner playing with the sunlight on the wall... you were wearing your little onsie that says, "Nobody puts baby in the corner." *We still call you Sophie, Soph, Sophie Girl, Ava Sophia (mostly when you are in trouble), Sister, A-boo, and Soapie... most of these have stuck around since you were itty bitty. *You loves Sesame Street! Especially Elmo and Abby-Cadabe (sp?). You also love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. *Your eyes are brown, but they have just a hint of green to them. Your hair curls up in the back, and you get ringlets when your hot. *You will sleep in your bed, but you prefer to be between mom and dad! *When I'm singing in the car or the kitchen or wherever, you like to sing with me... and it's one of the sweetest sounds ever. I think you are gonna live up to your name: Ava = Filled with Praise
*You are most definitely strong willed. If you want something, want to do something, or don't like what's being done... you let us know. *When you laugh, Sophie Girl, everyone who hears it smiles. *You let me paint your toenails for the first time the other day. I had to do it while you ate and really quickly, but it made me happy. You just can't get away with painting a little boys toes!
Last night, Hank and I had to split up to cover both tee-ball and soccer. Bryant had his last scheduled game last night, and Tres had evaluations for soccer last night. Bryant's game got cancelled due to weather, and there will be no make-up game for this one... but we have one other game to make-up on Monday and his season will be complete! So we headed over to Chik-fil-A and let them run off a bit of energy there. Sophie was lovin' some ice cream...She was actually getting quite the attitude wanting to hold it herself (Thanks for that Aunt Tonnie!).
Tres was so excited about soccer! We let the boys choose one sport to play every year. And since Tres decided not to play tee ball, he decided on soccer. I think he has his heart set on goalie, but at this age there is no goalie. He was excited that his friend Caleb was there too!
It is so strange watching your children play something. You already know how to play it, and I feel myself wanting to silently transmit all my knowledge of the game to them, to make them the best they can be! We have big talks now about doing the best you can no matter what... even if someone else is better than you. You just keep practicing and working at it until you are.
In other family news, I think the new routine is starting to work. For the past 2 mornings, the boys have gotten up on their own before my alarm has gone off. Now, it's time to move bedtime back a half hour and wake them up a half hour earlier. I can't believe that next week I will have a kindergartener. I'm trying not to get emotional, but that's a little bit more difficult than I thought it would be.
Tonight, the boys' cousin Luke is coming over for a Back To School sleepover extravaganza. I think I'm gonna pick Luke up in the afternoon so we can still do fun stuff and get in bed early enough to not mess up all the hard work with the nighttime routine!
I've been stressing over getting some cute party invitations for Sophie's birthday! I want something cute, and unique, and child-lie, and fun! I found a couple of things I like, so far. What do you guys think about this one?I like it, but I feel like there are others out there... or that maybe Hank could design one for me that is similar or something I like better that is a bit more Olympic in theme. All the patriotic invites I found have to do with the Fourth. I'm thinking that we will schedule the party to end close to dusk so that we can end with sparklers! I just love sparklers!
So, I've spent the afternoon doing a little online research on Sophie's birthday party. I bought some party favors and decorations at the oriental trading company, and I found the cake I'm gonna try. I plan on doing a variation on these Marshmellow puffs skewers to make them red, white and blue and I'm gonna do them at different levels so they look sort of like fireworks around the cake. I even found a craft for the kids to do... I feel so 'Mel' like! Ha! I'm not sure if we'll have time for the craft with all the "Sophie Olympic" Events we have planned... diaper dash and such.
I had originally planned to do a beach theme for her party, but who could pass up the chance to have an Olympic party! Her birthday... 8-8-08... is the day the Olympics start! Cool, huh?
A couple of nights ago, I headed up the stairs to get the boys bathed and left Sophie downstairs with Hankie. I must have forgotten to put the gate up, cause a few minutes later, as I headed down the hall to grab some towels, I hear the unmistakable slap of baby palms on hardwood. I glanced down the stairs and a happy babbling Sophie was sitting on the landing holding her arms up to me. My heart dropped, but I was also strangely proud that she had accomplished something on her own... you know, without cracking her head open!! So we spent a little time applauding her accomplishment then promptly put the gate at the bottom of the stairs permanently. So if you come to our house and have to hop the gate... Sorry about that! I just care more about Ava Sophia's safety than your convenience! The boys are her biggest cheerleaders! They just love seeing her do new things and are constantly listening for new words. And she seems lost if her cheering section isn't in place! :) Also, yesterday, I was paying bills at the computer and I hear her howling. She had crawled to the gate and was trying to climb it! I mean her little toes were stuck in the grid of the gate, but she couldn't get any higher. We are going to be in serious trouble in a few more months!!
That's Crystal Dawn, in case you didn't know! Since Hankie is out of town, and Bry had a sleepover last night, Sophie and I called and asked Crystal to come hang out with us! I wanted to do some girlie things like paint my toes and maybe even Sophie's but we just ended up talking, talking, talking, and then watching a movie, and talking! I love that about Crystal... we can talk about ANYTHING! We watched the movie "Juno" which wasn't really what I expected it to be, but it was good just the same. I laughed a lot, and I needed to laugh!
Soph has decided that Crystal is her buddy! She kept crawling all over her and smiling at her and talking to her. It made me happy, cause she really doesn't do that to too many people! She instantly decided that she liked Crystal though! And at the end of the night, she had even found a new pillow!I appreciate you Crystal Dawn. Thank you for listening and talking with me. And thank you for loving my children so unreservedly. They love you right back... how can they help it? You have such a mother's heart.
I'm just blown away that Sophie is coming up on her one year old birthday already! I mean, Lord, it seriously feels like I just had her! But here she is, cute as can be, and about to turn one.
With both boys, I planned an elaborate birthday party, sent out invitations, the whole nine yards. But with Sophie's party, I'm thinking of going lower key with just family. I already have plans to do a beach themed party cause I found such a cute cake design to try that is a sand castle!
Crystal actually gave me a great idea too! I'm all about doing stuff to pass on to my kids so they can pass it down to their kids. And she suggested getting her a charm bracelet, and every year, getting her a charm for it.
I wouldn't have begun to know where to look, so thank God for the internet! I found a site that offers kids jewelry, fashion jewelry, gold & silver jewelry and evvery thing in between! They even offer medical id jewelry... watches, bracelets, money clips... you name it. I found this cute charm to remember her first birthday.
But the good thing about that is little girl's dresses easily convert to longer shirts! This is her while we waited on the nurse to get us at the doctor's office. She stands and studies the fish and says over and over and over again, "Momma, it's Nemo! It's Dory, Momma!" Did I mention that she says it over and over? :)
