Oh, boy!

John has taught Sophia a new phrase . . . "Oh, boy!" said with much excitement, so cute coming out of that tiny little person. Second only (in my opinion) to when she says "Really?!" with her palms upward and shoulders shrugged, and "really" sounds more like "Rear-ry?!"

Anyhow, this is a post of randomness, but as random posts go of course it is pretty much a post of Sophia pictures. Enjoy! Pictures of my bedroom makeover to come next post . . .

I have no idea what Sophia is glaring at, but I do so love her peanut butter mustache.

Sophia has a thing for shoes, and right now she really loves my big fluffy slippers. I might be wearing them and she will come over and say "Pease, pease, pease, pease . . ." ad nauseum until I finally take them off and let her gimp around the house in them.

As ridiculously large as they are for her, she can keep them on for about four steps before one or the other falls off and she needs help getting them back on.

They fall off VERY often . . . she is a very high maintenance boot wearer as they have to be put back on every 30 seconds.

And of course, Sophia has recently discovered Nutella, one of the most addictive $4 a jar substances around.

Today she got to have a Nutella sandwich instead of good 'ole PB & J, and what fun she had!

This look? No, it is not a look of utter happiness while devouring Nutella. This is the look I get every time the shutter on my camera clicks. Not even the flash going off . . . no, she has started wincing (eyes close each time!) every time she hears (or anticipates hearing!) the shutter click on the camera. We shall see how many decent pictures happen between now and whenever she decides to outgrow this . . . methinks not many.

Chocolatey satisfaction!

New baby training

Sophia got a baby doll for her first birthday that has slowly evolved into being her all-time favorite toy. She asks for "Baby" at any time of the day or night, and heaven forbid we forget Baby when headed out the door! Pretty much the only place Baby doesn't go is into the crib . . . I made that mistake one naptime and heard three hours of playing and no sleeping!

With her adoption of Baby coinciding with baby #2 on the way, I have been trying to do some general work with Sophia and Baby so that maybe it will help with the transition of going from being an only to being a sibling . . . that's the idea, anyway, who knows how much practical good it will actually do.

today we dug thru the bins of Sophia's newborn clothes upstairs to find some for Baby. We ended up with a sleeper with the arms each rolled up twice, a bib, a tiny pair of socks that still come up to Baby's knees, and a swaddle blanket. The blanket didn't last long, but we also got out a bottle and filled it with water for Baby. The bottle fun is still ongoing! Well, Sophia is enjoying it, but sharing it with Baby? Not so much.

We talk about treating Baby gently, not throwing her to the floor. Sophia "reads" books to Baby, and looks at her board book photo album with her. My most basic hope is that Sophia will learn to treat Baby nicely, and that it will translate to the real baby.

I have been making a special effort because we have some remedial work to do in this area, I think. John and Sophia like to play the drums after church, and of course Baby goes with them. I came into the sanctuary one recent Sunday to find them at it again, with one crucial difference from usual . . . Sophia had both drumsticks in hand while John vigorously pounded out a rhythm . . . using Baby's head. "Well, Sophia had both the sticks, what was I supposed to use?!"

Sigh. Hopefully I won't walk downstairs some day to find baby #2 in Sophia's hands, her head being used as a drumstick with the drum Sophia got for Christmas.

Say What?

Little Miss Cling

The last couple of months have been amazing ones in which to watch Sophia's development. Despite being frequently sick, she has begun talking more, adding words to her vocabulary daily, and finally conquered walking. She has also developed some of the characteristics of Saran-Wrap, namely very securely wrapping herself around my leg at all times that I am not playing with or reading to her.

Let me tell you, that level of cling makes for a very frustrating and unproductive day. Peeling her off only leads to tears and more frustration. What to do?!

Talk to a mom with twins! Wish I had thought of it sooner . . .

My dear friend Carrie had the suggestion of the year, and I am on day #3 of putting it into play. She asked if I used playpen time with Sophia.

Ummm. No. What is playpen time?

Playpen time is time in a playpen (or pack'n'play in our case) with toys to learn to play INDEPENDENTLY. What a great word, independent!!!

We started the next day, this past Monday. Sophia went in her pack'n'play with some toys and books for half an hour after breakfast. I was able to eat!, and wash dishes, and then sit down by myself for about 5 minutes and plan the day before play time was over. There wasn't even any crying, which I will tell you surprised me.

Yesterday we did the same deal, and I got to take a shower! I usually shower before the Snuggler gets up, but hadn't had a chance to as I went for my run later than usual. No fear, playtime is here!

And today?

When I sat down to write this post, there were 18 minutes left on the timer . . . there are now 9, time to finish up and go eat breakfast! I can hear Sophia talking to her little farm animals/people, and she seems to be having a grand old time. This afternoon we will start the second half hour of the day, for a total of an hour a day. The goal is to shift from pack'n'play to being able to tell Sophia that it is time for playtime in _______ room, and she will go play by herself.

Lesson learned . . . when frustrated by lack of time and clingy child, talk to the mom of twins!

Floater alert!

There will be no pictures in this post. And if anyone has an issue with reading the word "poop" in a blog post, shut it down now.

Bathtime is pretty much Sophia's favorite time of the day. She has two favorite games . . . "Where's Sophia" and the newer "Splash-time." "Where's Sophia" has the Snuggler ducking down toward the water to hide while mom or dad sits on the floor and says "Where's Sophia?" in a sing-song voice until she pops up grinning. "Splash-time" is Sophia lying on her back lifting her legs up and splashing downs as hard as she can, and alternately just kicking her legs in the water like crazy. Extra points if you splash a parent!

I was just thinking the other day about a post my friend Beth had written (here), and how grateful I was that my child had NEVER pooped in the tub in her life, and probably never would because she is just such a delicate little wonderful flower . . . when "Where's Sophia" took a turn for the worse.

When I called "Where's Sophia?" a number of times, nothing happened. No grinning toddler face popped up, cute little eyes poking over the tub edge . . . hmmm.

Call a few more times.

Nothin'.

So I get up myself to take a peek.

EEK!

"John, help!!! I need you right now!"

Yes, it's true. The delicate little flower had loosed her bowels in the tub.

So now there was a floater. Getting the kid out is easy (John grabbed her pretty quickly!), but what about the ick???

You know, when you are a parent you sometimes have to do things that you never in a million years thought you would have to do. Like fish a little floater poop out of the tub as it tries to disintegrate into a million pieces. And then wash that hand in very hot water for a long time with lots of soap. Somehow it is grosser in the tub than dealing with a whole diaper.

So that was my New Years night. Think it's gonna be a good year, because you can only go up from poop in the tub.

We have a walker!

And no, the title of this post is not referring to a 4-legged metal device that enables old people to get around, but instead to a stubborn 17-month old who has finally decided that yes, she would like to walk!

For a few months now John and I have attempted to help Sophia get walking, and those attempts have been largely unsuccessful. Sophia does not want to practice walking unless it is her idea, and so our attempts were met with spaghetti legs. "Stand up, Sophia!" and "Let's walk! It's fun!" were met with knees that buckled and a toddler that straight up REFUSED to walk. Hmmm.

John and I decided that we were resigned to letting her walk when she wanted to (since we had no choice!), and have pretty much let her alone about it.

Christmas Day came, and lo and behold, Sophia decided that she wanted to impress everyone and toddle around Grammy and Grampy's living room! Lots of cheers, oooing and aahhing, she loved it. Of course, she stopped anytime the video camera came out.

Next few days afterward?

Spaghetti legs.

Fast-forward to tired Mama getting home from work New Year's Day morning, having worked an extra 2 hours, making it a 14.5 hour night shift, and Sophia wants to walk. Go figure.

For half an hour she walked back and forth between John and me, the furniture, into the dining room and back; she was unstoppable! Not only that, she let me catch it on video! So here you go, some of the Snuggler's first real steps . . .