Happy Leap Day!

As I write this, both kids are sleeping soundly, although that could change at any moment. Sophia has not wanted to take her naps lately, even though she still needs them. Today, however, she went down relatively quickly after we read a new Angelina Ballerina book (one of her favorites right now). She's now camped out in her sleeping bag (a favorite Christmas present from grandma and grandpa) on her bedroom floor. This week Sophia finished up her second session of gymnastics and has now graduated to the three-year old class. This means that I don't get to accompany her anymore, which makes me a little sad as I really enjoy that time with her. However, she is pretty excited about it just being her, the others kids and the teacher. She told me not to worry though because she promises that she'll run out and give me a big hug and kiss afterward! Sophia is learning her letters. She can identify A. B, C, H, I, K, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X and knows the sounds of some of them. She also does a great rendition of the ABCs, leaving out just J and some of the ending letters.

Yesterday, Andrew turned 8 months old! His top teeth have pushed through now and have led to quite a bit of fussiness. I guess I can't blame him when I see how swollen his gums are-poor guy. No crawling yet...just scoots and rolls.

Last night Sophia read to Andrew. She really is a very good big sister. I can also see how the two of them might be partners in crime someday too, though. Sophia was doing a VERY high-pitched squeal over and over again. I kept asking her to stop and in the meantime, Andrew decided it was kind of funny and started laughing at her. Then I was torn between having her stop and listening to him giggle and watching the interaction between them.

When Sophia says goodbye (or goodnight) to me, she always gives me a hug and kiss and tells me she loves me. Then she asks me to make sure she hasn't forgotten anything and frequently says "Goodbye-I love you!" several times to make sure I've heard her. Last night, I was gone at my students' music program and Sophia was in tears because she didn't think she had given me a hug and kiss. Later on, she told Erik, "I'm not crying anymore but I'm still sad and I want you to know I'm not happy about this."

Right now Sophia is fascinated with road signs. When we are in the car, she asks me what every sign means. She also is quick to point out the ones she knows (deer, pedestrians, curves).

I think Andrew is getting his bottom teeth in as well. He is getting closer to crawling, although I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. A few times now, I've layed him down in his crib and when I've gone back to check on him a little while later, he's turned himself so his head is at the other end. Today he turned himself around in a complete circle!

It's No Fun Being Sick!

Andrew and Sophia are both a little under the weather (and their mom and dad are feeling a little sleep deprived as a result). We took Andrew in on Monday, only to find out that he has a double ear infection! Hopefully he doesn't take after his sister, who seemed to get one ear infection after another. Sophia is also fighting a cold and was up quite a bit last night too. In other news, Andrew's top teeth are getting ready to come through any day now. Poor kid-two ear infections and two teeth coming in-that can't feel very good!

Two Peas in a Pod

It's been awhile since I've posted something. Hopefully these pictures are worth the wait. There are always so many to choose from. Onto what's new in Sophia and Andrew's world.
Andrew-He still just has the two teeth, although we are waiting for his top ones to come through at any time now. He is very happy to be dining on fruits, veggies and oatmeal/rice cereal now-a nice change from the all milk diet. At 7 months, he can now sit up on his own. Sophia was close to crawling when she was this age but Andrew is taking the more laid back
approach, which is fine with us. He's growing up too fast the way it is! He
is becoming more interested in toys, loves music and dancing and can't get enough of his big sister. In fact, the other night we were driving home and Sophia was being goofy and talking rather loudly. I was trying to get her to calm down, but Andrew reacted to her with one giggle after another. How could I ask her to stop after that? That's one thing I never tire of-Sophia and Andrew's laughs.

Sophia-At 3, she is as energetic as ever. We signed her up for swimming lessons. Week 1 went just fine, week 2 she cried the whole time and week 3 she wouldn't even get in the water. Needless to say, there wasn't a week 4. She is still doing gymnastics though and really seems to like that. She is into princesses now and loves to dress up and run around in her fancy shoes, holding her wand. She also loves to play school with her Little People. She teaches them numbers (she uses the Sudoku book) and once even told me to go away and not bother her because she was teaching and it wasn't a school for adults.