To be honest, I haven't even thought about letting Sophie feed herself with a spoon. She is such a great eater and she feeds herself finger foods so well. She hasn't ever tried to take the spoon or acted like she didn't want help. Tonight, the two of us were home alone and I had already eaten take out. It was Chipotle (it's Wednesday), so it wasn't anything she could eat anyway. I opted for easy and toasted her a waffle and fixed a bowl of yogurt. The waffle was a little hot and I was buying time so I handed her the spoon. Ummm, she loved it. And consequently, refused to give it back! ...
sophie
Summertime is Here
Can I tell you how thrilled I am that summer is here? It's a little bittersweet, since it marks one year since I've been back at work. It is hard to believe that this time last year we were sleeping in and snuggling our newborn baby girl and spending every waking moment soaking up the sun. It was such a blessing to get to spend maternity leave at the pool with my girls and I'm going to have to sneak in lots of sunny weekends if this summer plans to compete. I love having a three-day weekend and we took full advantage of our time together. We spent all day Saturday, Sunday and today at my parents' pool. We grilled out, packed picnic lunches, bought floats, applied sunscreen, watched puppy dogs make laps and remembered how to swim. It took Ella all three days to gain a little confidence ...
Peep Eye
So, I'm guessing that most of you call it "peek-a-boo", but at our house that game is called "peep eye", otherwise known as "where is Sophie?". I never knew that was such a controversial name, but every time I say it someone asks me what it means. Peep eye is one of Sophie's favorite games and we play it often. Where is Sophie? Peep eye! Where did Sophie go? There she is! ...
Sidewalk Talk
My favorite part of celebrating Easter this year came very late in the day. SD decided to play basketball with the boys, so I packed the girls up and brought them home for some rest. Ella couldn’t wait to dig into her Easter basket goodies, so we decided to take the sidewalk chalk and head outdoors. It was so late in the evening, we were fighting against darkness, but they had the best time playing together. I think Sophie was surprised we were letting her do something so messy and she had such a great time. It is so much fun to see what things they instinctively know to do or learn from their siblings in 30 seconds flat. Before we knew it, she had chalk in her hand and was scribbling on the drive. Ella practiced her name {I love the way she draws the “a”} and I helped her ...
Easter
Although Easter was really late in the season this year, it seemed to sneak up on me. I had been thinking about the girls' baskets for weeks and all of a sudden I had a mere days to finish them up! Luckily, I had been taking good notes and Ella had been making many requests over the previous weeks. I am not a huge fan of candy for the kiddos, although they do get sweet treats. Instead of loading up on sugar, I usually shop for things that I would be buying them anyway. This year, Ella got a beach towel and bathing suit, silver sandals for spring/summer, a cute quilted purse that she spotted several weeks ago at a local shop {thanks, Sue}, some alphabet flashcards and the movie Tangled. There was also some candy, bubbles, kaleidoscope and hopping chick. Sophie got a beach towel, bathing ...
Dye Time
What's Easter without eggs? At first I felt a little guilty when my mom volunteered to help the girls with their eggs on Good Friday while I was working. Then I reminded myself how much I hate dying eggs and forgave myself for missing out on Sophie's first experience. I'll do it next year when she can follow directions! I remember dressing the girls really cute that day, knowing there would be pictures. When I got home and saw that Garan made Ella wear a t-shirt as a smock I cracked up. Oh well. Apparently, I bought the cheapest dye known to man because there were only three heinous colors and even uglier stickers. They are lucky I didn't see this before the dye process. I might have bought something else and postponed this little shindig! Then I reminded myself that this was ...
Eighteen
The day before Easter, Gran I took the girls to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at a local church. The number of eggs {and children!} was astounding. Since this was Sophie's first Easter, I didn't register her to hunt eggs, but that doesn't mean she didn't have a wonderful time. First up was the Easter Bunny and Ella really surprised me by walking right up to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled so big for the camera. This is a HUGE accomplishment for her... she is a scaredy-cat. Sophie, on the other hand, was a little timid and refused to be held by him. We let her stand next to him like a big girl and eventually got a smile {although I didn't manage to capture that}. Next there was face painting, which was actually just blush & eyeliner. SUCH a great idea. Ella ...
Swing of Things
I think I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. The events of the last two weeks still weighs heavy on our hearts, but we're starting to volunteer and see the people of our beautiful state work together to put things back where they belong. I have endless pages of pictures to share from the weeks before the storm and I thought I'd start with these. After Sophie ate her smash cake and the gifts were all unwrapped, she and her friends hit the swing set. It was a little breezy, but it was nothing a few sweaters and some giggles couldn't fix. Daddy & Sophie Alston & Ave Reese Bella, Ella & Sophie This little bit loves to swing so much more than her sister did at this age. We would try and try again, but Ella screamed every single time. Sophie, however, stands at ...