Tis the Season

Christmas was definitely a hit around our house. In fact, the kids love the tree so much that each time I suggest it's time to take it down, I am met with two disapproving voices. This year we (the kids and me) attempted to sleep in the living room one night with the Christmas tree lights on. I say 'attempted' because things did not go according to plan. Andrew kept bugging Sophia so I had to sleep between them. I didn't have a pillow (and not much of a sleeping bag), Andrew kept rolling out of his and Sophia had trouble getting comfortable and then began grinding her teeth (and if you've ever been around Sophia when she grinds, you know how unpleasant that can be). About halfway through the night, both kids woke up. I think Andrew thought it was morning and demanded juice. Sophia suggested we might be more comfortable in our own beds. So, after a quick drink of water, both kids were tucked in upstairs and everyone was off to dreamland. Maybe we'll try again another year.

Our visit to Santa went pretty well. Andrew wouldn't sit on his lap, but he did stand next to him (especially once they presented him with a candy cane). Sophia asked for a doll (which she did get from him) and Andrew asked for a train (surprise, surprise). Sophia then proceeded to let Santa know that he already had lots of them and really didn't need any more.

The kids got lots of neat presents. Sophia actually snuck downstairs before anyone else was up. She said she wanted to make sure all the presents were there. Then she came back up to report to us and said that she was going to die if we didn't go down and open them. It brought back memories of when my sister and I would sneak downstairs early, open our stockings and then go thank our parents (who were still in bed) or just act surprised when we later opened them in front of them. Santa brought Sophia a doll and paint by numbers. Andrew got a train book and train shirt. Most of Andrew's presents on the Hansen side were tractors while the Schneider side favored trains. Currently, Andrew has a train set up in the hardwood floor room. Each day we are met with MANY requests to run the train while he sits wide-eyed, watching it pass by. He loves to ask my parents where their train is (if you ask now, he'll say it's at the doctor-being fixed). Right now, he's asleep upstairs with three trains. He also received some wall train art for his room. One day I told him he was going to his room if he didn't stop crying. It turned out he was happy to go there because he could look at his trains.

Sophia got her first Barbie doll and a camera, among other things. She loves taking pictures (and video) with her camera and recently discovered she can play games on it too. You have to watch out because you never know what she might be capturing...

My little girl turns 5 in just a one week! I keep telling her she needs to stay little and her response is, "Mommy, even if I get bigger, I will still love you." This year, she is having her first friend party. She invited a few friends from daycare and preschool and one neighborhood friend. She has started getting responses and is very excited to hear that so far, everyone can come. Her theme-the Wizard of Oz, of course!

Sophia had her very first school program a few weeks ago. She looked adorable up on stage in her Christmas dress. She had lots of smiles and sang with energy! I am going to try to attach a clip.

Another cute comment from Sophers-we need to find new daycare next year, as our provider is going to start charging over the summers. I am worried about sending Andrew somewhere new, especially if Sophia goes to full day kindergarten and isn't with him. Sophia said, "Mommy, I'll just go to half-day kindergarten so I can be with Andrew if that makes you feel better." What a girl!

***Pictures and video to follow***

Better Late than Never

I didn't realize just how long it's been since my last entry. I guess that's what happens when life gets crazy busy. Between work and family, there just isn't enough time in the day. I have decided I need to make time to report on my two little ones-who don't seem so little anymore. It may not be new news to anyone else, but since this blog was intended to replace my journal for Sophia and Andrew, I'd be remiss if I didn't start with where I last left off. (Note-this entry was actually written at the end of November)

I wasn't the only one headed back to school in September. Sophia started preschool this year. Even though she has a preschool curriculum at her daycare, she really wanted to go to school and we thought it would be good for her to be in a different social environment. She absolutely loves it! I try to call her each Thursday and Friday after my dad has picked her up. I am always met with an excited little four year old who can't wait to tell me about her day. It's so much fun to hear about the things she does and the friends she's made.

The last time I wrote, Sophia was a little obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. Three months later, that's still the case. My mom made her a Dorothy costume for Halloween and she wore that MANY times before then, complete with ruby red slippers, braids/ribbons and Toto in a basket. In celebration of The Wizard of Oz's 70th anniversary, my sisters and I took Sophia to see the movie on the big screen. She dressed in full costume for the occasion and made quite an impression. We had purchased tickets ahead of time (which was a good thing because it sold out) but ended up in the back row. This probably turned out to be a good thing because Sophia stood up and danced right along with the characters on the screen. She sang, recited lines and at one point, asked Jennifer if she had a broom in her purse. We thought it appropriate for Sophia to have a sidekick for Halloween so Andrew dressed up as a lion. We were a little surprised by how much he actually liked wearing his costume. Once he had it on, no one could get him to take it off. When they did, he was so sweaty that his head was a mass of curls.

In early October, we went to Duluth with friends. It wasn't the ideal weekend-rainy and cool-but one can never predict the weather in Minnesota. Sophia had a blast with her friend Eli. Andrew got to go on his very first train ride (aside from the lightrail). He was so excited as we waited in line to board. However, as the train pulled up, it blew it's whistle and sent poor Andrew into tears. All was better once we boarded. I came across a book at the library once we got back-Whoo Whoo Goes the Train-and it's perfect for Andrew, as it tells the story of a boy going on his first train ride. We replace the character's name with Andrew and he can't get enough of it. Usually, before you can even start reading each page, he's busy telling you what the pictures are-train, nunnel (tunnel), boat, lighthouse... It was an easy choice as a Christmas present. Back to Duluth-we were also able to watch a big ship pull in. Both kids thought it was pretty neat until it blew it's horn. Sophia proceeded to plug her ears and Andrew again began sobbing.

Sophia is taking dance this year and loves it. Each Wednesday, she dons a black leotard, tights, tap and ballet shoes and dances her little heart out for 45 minutes. Watching her, you can tell how much fun she's having. I cannot wait (nor can she) for her recital in June. She will be doing a tap number and we saw her costume a few weeks ago.

Andrew is now a huge fan of all things with wheels-tractors, buses, trains.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Summer's End

Surprise-finally a new entry! I can't believe that summer is almost over! This will be my last week home with the kids and we plan to make the most of every moment. I have neglected to update this site since the end of June-I think it's time to remedy that. Here's the latest on my two little angels.



Sophia-
Loves, loves, loves the Wizard of Oz! I took her to see the play at the beginning of July. She didn't even know the storyline until then. After that, she watched the movie and she was hooked. We found the chapter book at a garage sale and read it within just a few days (they are some interesting parts in the original story that they omitted in the movie). She now has parts of the movie memorized and at one point directed a screening of it with family members. She's also memorized 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and sings it often. At least we already know what her Halloween costume will be this year-Grandma Charlie made her a Dorothy costume. She also has ruby red slippers and Toto in a basket. She wore it out one day and I think she'd wear it just about every day if we let her. Funny moment-last night she asked me if there are wishing stars. I said 'yes' and asked her what she wished for. She replied that she wished she could go to Kansas and then asked if it would come true. I said it would (mistake) and she instantly started sobbing and said she didn't want it to because she didn't want to leave me. She sometimes gets quite emotional when she's tired and it was pretty late.

For the past month, Sophia has taken dance, which actually finishes up this week. She is doing tap, ballet and tumbling. I signed her up so she could see if it's something she'd like to do for the upcoming year. She has decided she would like to and will get to be in a recital at the end of the year. She looks adorable in her little leotard and has done a great job in class. She can even tell/show me many of the terms they use.

Andrew-
At last report, I said potty training was off to a good start-not so much anymore. I guess we'll just keeping trying. He has found a new love for tractors. He is always looking for them when we are in the car and lucky for him, they are doing construction on the road we take to grandma and grandpa's. Since we spend quite a bit of time there, he gets to see lots of them and points them all out to us. Erik gave Andrew a dinosaur for his birthday. He (Erik) was a little disappointed that Andrew didn't play with it a lot, but it has found a purpose. When Andrew goes to sleep at night, the dinosaur likes to give everyone a kiss. He often has it growl (or whatever sound a dinosaur makes) on its way and then ends it with a smooch on your cheek. It's quite cute. I checked on him after my run tonight and got a kiss from the dino.

Andrew loves to be doing anything outside. He figured out his scooter (birthday present) all on his own and enjoys riding it. He took it with him on a walk the other night and was determined to ride it the whole way with minimal help. Needless to say it was a slow walk and we didn't venture too far. I'm quite impressed with his skill on it though. He also likes pushing his lawnmower, scooting around on his riding toys and playing in the water. Recently, he likes to sit on the trike, but he can't quite reach the pedals yet.

Other summer activities-Sophia did Vacation Bible School again this year and had a great time. We went up north several times and also went to visit my grandma. We went camping, to the beach and out on the boat. Sophia had lots of fun tubing and swimming in the lake. Andrew loved the boat as well and even enjoyed swimming in the lake, much to my surprise.

Toilet Triumph

I got the potty chair out several weeks ago. I know Andrew isn't ready yet for potty training, but I thought he could at least practice sitting on it. Tonight we had a major triumph-he went potty in it! My mom had suggested putting him on when we change his diaper, which is what I did tonight when getting ready for bed. After having Sophia demonstrate what to do, reading books and trying to bribe him with a cookie, we'd had no success. However, knowing the alternative was going to bed, his "all done" soon turned into insistence on staying on the potty chair. Finally, Sophia and I left the room and I told him to let me know when he was done. Less than 30 seconds later, he got up, we went in and he had gone! Sophia and I made a huge deal of it and yes, he did get his cookie!

In other news:
Sophia got a booster seat today. She was so excited about it. It's quite girly-check out those flowers (picture to come)!

Andrew had his 2-year check-up yesterday. He weights 26 1/2 pounds, which puts him at the 25 percentile. He is 33 3/4 inches tall, also at the 25 percentile. No shots-that made us both happy.

It's a Hot One!

What do you do on a 90 degree day? Grandma's answer to the predicted hot week was a lemonade stand and day at the beach. Monday was the perfect day for Sophia's first ever lemonade stand. With her grandma's help, she made the lemonade and sign and set up her post. Business was booming! She had a lot of fun, made funny comments like, "Oh man! I guess we better get this guy some lemonade." and made quite a profit in the short time she was out there-$9.53. She even received several tips for her hard work.


Tuesday we all headed to the beach for a morning of fun. We were there by 10:00 but it was already pretty warm. Andrew and Sophia had fun splashing around in the water and playing in the sand. Andrew insisted on carrying his own chair all the way down to the water and back up again. He was determined to do it on his own and each time we asked him if he wanted help, we were met with a resounding NO.

Water Fun

What better way to spend a hot Friday than at the water park? There's a great park in the Twin Cities that has a free water splash area (lots of sprinkler-type things and little fountains). Sophia loves going there and today was the perfect day to go for the first time this year. Andrew loves the water, but I wasn't sure how he'd react to the water spraying down. He had a great time. For the first part, they were both busy filling their cups with water and dumping them out. Andrew explored several different areas and, after awhile, braved one of the sprinklers and ran right under it. As you can see by the pictures, they both had a good time!

Sophia has her last soccer game tomorrow. She also started ice skating lessons again this week. It was a little strange putting her in winter gear, especially since it's been in the 80s this week, but she loves it. As many of you know, Sophia has some great quotes. Here are two of her latest:
1. Me-"Sophia, you are acting like a brat."
Sophia-"I'm not a brat. Brats are things you eat."
2. While making scones-I ate a chocolate chip and she wanted one.
Sophia-"Why do you get one?"
Me-"Because I'm the mommy. When you are a mommy, you can have one too."
Sophia-"I'm not going to be a mommy. I'm going to be a doctor."

Below is a video clip of Andrew's new favorite word. Enjoy!

Oh No!

I am writing this on a beautiful, sunny June afternoon. We took advantage of the weather, packed a picnic lunch and headed to Excelsior for Art on the Lake. Sophia was a little disappointed-she thought that she was the one that would get to do the art, not walking around and look at other people's art. Luckily, there was a kids' booth (free) where she got to paint a picture on an easel. She choose to paint the two of us, along her her signature rainbow and flowers. Afterward, we had a picnic lunch on the lakefront of Lake Minnetonka. Both kids (and dad) are now napping upstairs.

In other news, Andrew has a new favorite word-NO-and he sure is putting it to good use. Just about everything we ask him is met with "no."

My mom found a water table at a garage sale this week so the kids have also had fun playing in the water. In fact, they were out there right away this morning, in their pjs.

Sophia has a make-up game next weekend, but since this was the last week of regular play, she got her medal yesterday.

Let the Summer Begin!

School is out and summer can officially begin...if only the weather would cooperate. After several days of rain (which we did need) and cooler temps., it is finally starting to clear up. Sophia's soccer game was rained out this past weekend. This was after she included the following in her prayers the night before. "Dear God, please God bless my mom and dad...and please let it rain tomorrow so I don't have to play soccer." Last night she prayed that her cousin would like his veggies (which he tried for the first time today) and he did. Maybe she's onto something here!

Andrew is upstairs right now taking his nap in a big boy bed! Usually he goes right to sleep, but today he was quite fussy. I put him into the double bed in the guest room and spied on him for awhile to see what he would do. For the longest time, he just lay there looking around. Finally, he dropped off to sleep. What a little angel!

Copycat

Summer break is just one week away! I'm excited to spend the summer with Sophia and Andrew, although I think they will easily run me ragged after about a week. I am amazed by the energy the two of them have. Here's what's new:

Last week, Jason and Erin came for a visit. Both kids were excited to have their uncle home. In honor of Jason's birthday, Sophia even did a special dance for him, complete with a pink boa.

Sophia got her first bike a few days ago. Quite appropriately, it's a princess one. We put training wheels on it tonight and she absolutely loves it! She's already shared her plan with me-when we are on the driveway, she'll ride her trike and when we go for walks, she'll use the bike.

Soccer is going better after the first week tantrums. Now she's into giving other kids a look when she's not happy with them. She had us laughing a few weeks ago when they were practicing before the game. She was supposed to keep it away from her partner and each time he got close, she stopped with the ball between her legs, put her hands on her hips, and just looked at him as if to say, "go ahead-I dare you." During the last game, she had a stare down with another player (again, a boy) as they raced down the field. She is definitely entertaining!

Sophia now enjoys hearing chapter books at bedtime. We have read The Tale of Despereaux, The Mouse and the Motorcycle and are now reading Charlotte's Web.

Andrew has decided, for better or worse, that his sister is worthy of copying. When she puts on her bike helmet, he immediately goes to get his. Never mind that he is just pushing his lawn mower-he insists it be put on, even if it's just for a minute. When she asks for a second helping food, he has to have more, even if his plate is full. When Sophia put on her swimsuit cover up after running through the sprinkler, he wanted to go in and get his jacket. Sophia and I had on aprons one day to bake. Andrew came in and handed me one to put on him (and then proceeded to vacuum). As soon as he saw that mine was off, he couldn't take his off quickly enough. Last night she took her lap desk outside to draw. I couldn't figure out why Andrew wanted to bring a clear container of play necklaces out and then I realized he was copying her once again-she had a clear container so he needed one too.

Andrew is quickly approaching his second birthday (sigh). He loves pushing his lawnmower. He pushes it up the block on our walks and now points out all the houses that have lawnmowers. He also enjoys pushing around his little Dyson vacuum. His new nightly ritual, which I find very endearing, is to wait until both he and Sophia are tucked in and then get out and go back in her room to give her one more hug. How cute is that?!

Spring Has Arrived!

We are so excited that Spring has at long last made its appearance! Andrew and Sophia absolutely love being outside. Most days, we never make it into the house when we get home from daycare because they want stay outside and play. Sophia is quite proud of how well she can ride her trike this year and will pedal all the way up the block and back down again. She also enjoys drawing masterpieces on the step with her sidewalk chalk. My personal favorites are flowers and the word 'mom.' Andrew loves playing on his riding toys, carrying the chalk box around, going down the slide and being in the sandbox (where more sand ends up outside the box and in his hair than anywhere else). One of the pictures is of the two of them with their balls they got from the Easter Bunny. There is a reason they each got one and it was a good decision.

In other news...Sophia is playing soccer again. Their coach was a no-show this past week so Erik stepped up to the plate. Unfortunately, Sophia didn't have quite as stellar a performance as last year. Anytime someone took the ball from her or didn't let her kick it, she threw a tantrum. We are trying to explain to her that she doesn't need to have the ball at all times and that's ok. We'll see how week 2 goes. She is signed up for preschool next year which she is very excited about. She loves reading and drawing and of course bugging her brother. Tonight she had to share a cookie with him and claimed that she didn't want any more baby brothers or sisters-only baby cousins.

Andrew is still a little charmer. He is great at entertaining himself. As I said earlier, he loves to be outside. He often insists on having his jacket on, hoping that he'll get to go outside then. We think he is getting over his trauma of baths (fingers crossed). His word list now includes basketball (see video below), nanna (banana), bread, bye bye, hi, car, bus, drink, spoon, baba (grandpa), doggie, balloon, ball, spaghetti, momma, dadda, didi (baby-not sure why, with all the 'b' words he knows, he pronounces 'baby' with a 'd'), shoes, jacket, book and woof. w). Andrew loves to say/wave good-bye to everyone and he's quite independent. He insists on carrying his bag into the house every day when we get to daycare, even if it means dragging it on the ground. The other day, it was full of diapers and he could barely make it up the step but he wasn't about to let me help him.

Andrew's First Haircut

The curls are gone. After much debate (I do love those curls), we took Andrew to get his first haircut today. Needless to say, he was quite traumatized by the whole experience. He sat on my lap after it became clear that he wasn't going to sit on his own. He pretty much cried the entire time and kept repeating "all done." He did calm down when they blew bubbles for him, but once they started using the electric trimmer near the end, the smiles were gone. He does look like quite the little boy now-all grown up!

Birdies, Beds and Balloons

Those words sum up Andrew's latest adventures. He just started saying the word 'birdie.' His spot at the kitchen table gives him a perfect view of the birds as they eat from the feeders. He also has a little bird hanging in the kitchen, courtesy of daycare (he loved it when it was displayed there for a beach party so he got to take it home). I guess after pointing and hearing us say it so much, he decided he'd give it a try. I've included video-listen carefully as it comes right at the beginning. Beds-Andrew has figured out that he can get out of his crib. He has gotten out of his pack-n-play the last few days at daycare, but we were keeping our fingers crossed that he wouldn't try it in his crib (Sophia never did). We were wrong. Andrew was having a tough morning today so we put him back up in his crib to calm down. Much to our surprise, he walked into the living room a few minutes later! We haven't figured out how to tackle this latest problem. He continues his fascination with balloons (or balls, as he calls them). The other night he ate his dinner with one hand while holding onto his balloon with the other.

Sophia is loving her ice skating lessons (round 2) and is doing a GREAT job! We are so proud of her. She is learning how to glide, push off on one skate, skate backward and bend down to her knees while skating. Sophia likes drawing, coloring and writing. She is quite the perfectionist (I'm afraid she gets this from me) and her letters have to be just right or she becomes quite upset. I love listening to her read-after hearing the story just a few times, she can read it to us and remember some of it word for word from the book. Much to my chagrin, she's memorized some other words as well-the lyrics to a Godzilla cartoon. One guess as to who taught her those...Erik.

Head of the Class

Andrew is still the sweetest boy around. He loves the camera and says "cheese." His favorite thing, though, is to take off running toward the camera as he is in this picture. We think he might become an engineer of sorts-he loves to disassemble things and is very curious about things in general. He entertains himself well and keeps us busy cleaning up after him. Andrew also loves to climb-so far the injuries have been minor, yet he gets right back up and does it again. He loves to take his socks off too. Just today I looked back at him on our car ride home and both socks were off. He is also has them off after just about every nap. Lately, he has become my morning alarm clock, waking me up around 6:00 each day with a chorus of "mama." He is quite persistent too and doesn't quit until I come in his room-and of course he's all smiles then.

After a disastrous second week of ice skating lessons (due to a late nap), Sophia has become a superstar out on the rink. Check out the video clip to see for yourself-she's the one in all pink. She and I are reading "The Tale of Despereaux" together-it's our nightly read aloud. She's really enjoying it and we've already planned a campout in the living room once the movie comes out on DVD. Sophia is still enjoying her rock collection-she even brought granite and a geode as her "G" item for share day today. We went and toured a preschool this week-it seems like a good fit and she sure is excited to start school! Now we just have to figure out the logistics of getting her there.

Talk

Andrew has been fascinated this weekend by a green balloon that made its way into our backyard. He looks out the window, points to it and says 'ball.' He has found this very interesting and when I brought him to the window tonight to demonstrate his fascination with it, he got a huge smile on his face.

I've often thought Andrew is only concerned with where his daddy is because all I hear is "where's dadda?" Erik (and now many other people) assure me that when I'm not around, all they hear is, "mamma" (over and over again).

Sophia has a few new favorite phrases-'what a flop' and 'what a shame.' She is two weeks into her ice skating lessons. This past week didn't go as well. She didn't nap that afternoon and of course fell asleep in the car on the way home from grandma and grandpa's house. I woke her up to eat before we left for lessons and she never quite recovered. She was easy to spot on the ice rink-she was the one lying on her back, crying for the majority of the lesson. Today we took her to a local rink (now that we are finally above 0 again) to practice. She did a good job once she slowed down. She has my perfectionism though-we tried to march all the way across the rink and if she fell at all, she made us start back at the beginning again.

Happy New Year

Our 2009 is off to a good start. Andrew continues to increase his vocabulary, although the word he loves to say most is 'drink.' He had a mishap a week ago when his curiosity got the best of him. While I was in the other room, he pulled on one of the Christmas stockings hard enough to bring it down, along with the heavy reindeer stocking holder, right on his face. Luckily, it didn't knock him out and missed his eye, but left a cut above and below it. Sophia insisted he wear her new Scooby Doo band-aids.

Sophia is now officially four years old. We celebrated with family the night before her birthday. Of course her birthday wouldn't have been complete without a Backyardigans' cake! On her actual birthday, she requested mac-n-cheese so we went to Noodles and then came back home for presents and cake. One of her presents from us was new ice skates and skating lessons. She was a real trooper out there for her first lesson. She fell down a lot, but got right back up each time.