December Fun

Sophia...
Sophia and I made our first gingerbread house together. Sophia began the project by biting the top off one of the trees. She also made sure to sample all the candies. She was pretty proud of the finished project. Unfortunately, Mac was equally pleased with it and helped himself to the gingerbread man and tree later on.




I finally caved in and let Erik buy an XBox 360. We had fun trying our luck at Guitar Hero, where Erik proclaimed to be Erik Qock (Rock) God. Sophia had a lot of fun jamming out on the guitar.









I found a tiara for Sophia to wear and wear it she did. We went Christmas shopping with Auntie Amanda and she insisted on wearing it all around the mall. Isn't she cute?









Andrew...
Andrew now has his two bottom teeth and loves playing with his feet. He's rolled over three times (back to tummy and tummy to back) but I was the only witness all three times. He's been waking up several times at night to eat so we are thinking about starting rice cereal.









The two of them together...
Priceless!

Shoveling is Hard Work

While dad continued to plow the driveway, Sophia took a short break in her beach chair to watch for Auntie Jen. She is quite excited to go sledding with her aunties this afternoon-her first time down a big hill. Yesterday it snowed all day and when all was said and done, there was close to 6 inches on the ground. Sophia was really excited for the official start of winter. She played outside for at least an hour yesterday. She woke up from her nap crying, "It's dark out!"-very disappointed that she'd have to wait until morning to go out in the snow again. One of her first comments this morning was, "The snow's back." Yes, I think the snow is here to stay for awhile, but when you live with a toddler and see things through their eyes, you're reminded that it's not all that bad.

New Tooth for One, New Shoes for the Other

Andrew (who turns 5 months on Wednesday) is getting his first tooth! So far, it doesn't seem to be bothering him too much.

Sophia, who LOVES Puma, got her first pair of Puma tennis shoes today.

Andrew's Baptism

Andrew was baptized today. He looked adorable in a baptismal outfit sewn by his Grandma Cathy. He did very good and only cried a little bit when it was time for the sprinkling of the holy water. Being he loves light, he was quite content staring at his candle. After the baptism, we all headed back to our place for lunch and cake.

Salamanders and Turtles and Snakes-Oh My!

Today we went to Richardson Nature Center. Sophia got up close and personal with a salamander, three different types of turtles (including a snapping one) and a snake. Sophia touched all three critters, although not for any length of time. She even got to help feed them (thankfully she didn't choose the mice). Auntie Jen, Auntie Amanda and Grandpa were lucky enough to be invited by Sophia to come along. The big snowflakes falling outside the nature center made for a beautiful backdrop and Sophia was anxious to go back outside to enjoy the weather afterward.

Swinging Like a Monkey

Sophia has completed three weeks of gymnastics and is loving it! This past week, Grandma Charlie (and Andrew) came along to watch. Sophia always knows when the camera is on her and that day was no exception. Grandma was taking pictures and as Sophia walked by to do the next activity, she make sure to take time to say "Cheeeeeeese" for the camera. If you ask her what her favorite thing to do is, she'll say that it's hanging upside down and she's a pro at hanging from the bar and knocking things down. They do everything from balance beams, somersaults, beginning cartwheels, headstands, handstands and trampoline. She is showing a lot of confidence and tries everything. Oh yeah, and she looks adorable in her little pink leotard!

Andrew continues to be absolutely fascinated by light!

Sophia Sleeps Over

Sophia had her first non-Grandpa/Grandma sleepover Friday night and Uncle Matt and Auntie Jen were the lucky hosts. It should have been an omen when five seconds after leaving Mommy and Daddy in the parking lot at the Mall of America, Sophia whined, "Jeeeennnnn, I neeeeed my Mommy and Daddy NOW."

Actually, she was surprisingly good and kept us cracking up all night long with her off-the-wall remarks. And when I say all night, I mean ALL NIGHT, as Sophia far outlasted both her auntie and her uncle in the energy department. As we were drifting off to sleep on the living room floor, Sophia was curled up with her doggies, straightening out her penguin blankie, asking, "What's dat man's name, Auntie Jen? Did he die? Where is Ratatouille going now?"

A few of my favorite moments of the evening:

When Sophia poured all her mandarin orange juice down my arm during dinner, I asked, "Why did you do that, Sophia?" Her response: "'Cuz I DID!"

Sometime close to midnight Sophia fell asleep curled up in Matthew's arms, where he had passed out much earlier. It was precious and I wanted so badly to take a picture, but I didn't dare risk waking her up.

Lots more to come when I'm not so tired... (Auntie Jen is still trying to catch up on sleep!)

It's Snowing!

This morning, Sophia looked out the window and discovered that it was snowing! Unlike her mom, she is ready for the snow and was very anxious to go out and play in it. She went out and tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue. Unfortunately, the snow didn't last long and soon the happy two-year old was replaced with a crying one, distraught that the snow was gone!

Fun at the Mall

This is my attempt at an online journal so that you can enjoy the day to day antics of Sophia and Andrew. Enjoy!

Today we went to the Mall of America for Toddler Tuesday. Sophia and Andrew had their pictures taken with Olivia the Pig. Sophia also went on several rides-planes, trains and automobiles (trucks) and horses. She needed prompting to go on some of them, but she will tell you that she wasn't scared of any of them and was very brave!

Andrew got a jumperoo today-I think he will enjoy a different view of the world other than lying flat on his back. He seems pretty happy in it, don't you think?