Next Comes 5!

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie First Birthday tickers

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

February!



A few weeks ago we went over to the twins' place for a playdate!



We went outside for a little sledding, but it was hard to do without snowshoes!

A couple weeks ago we started to get a little warmer, so we tackled the park by our house. Sophia was undaunted by all the snow!





Our snowman, circa 2/12/11 (someone finally ate his nose! I blame Bubba the squirrel!)

Sophia is very into art lately. This is a milestone picture because she announced she was going to paint spirals and then she did! Her first intentional artwork!


I got my first birthday present a little early: a cherry red helmet to match my hot little motorcycle!


Sophia loves stingrays. It's because of the teacher in Disney's "Finding Nemo;" Mr. Ray. She has never seen the movie, but has had lots of other Nemo exposure :) Chris and Sammy got Sophia a stuffed stingray on their last cruise... perfect timing!


More toddler fashion! Dino sweatshirt and jewelry


Her penchant for sorting and organizing makes my heart sing! :)





We've been dog-sitting Joey this month. They all get very cozy, but I think Joey and Charlie are in love!






Travis and I took Sophia ice-skating for the first time this month! She LOVES it!

Our snowman again. I took a couple "snowy pics" around the middle of the month at the start of our big thaw... I'm hoping the snow in these pics marks our high point!




I "roof-raked" the snow off our roof this month. I wore snowshoes to get around our front yard. I know that sounds dramatic, but I literally had to wear snowshoes... the snow is up to my waist in some places!

Another playdate with the twins! We had a beautiful Sunday before my birthday so we took the 3 kids skating and sledding. Fun!


"Stomach-sledding" :) I think she might have liked this as well as the actual sled!


Building a snowman...


Eating the snowman...




He never had a chance! :)




3 against 1!


After the twins took off we stuck around for a little more sledding and playing in the trees... We were at the sledding hill for about 2 hours and Sophia was in her underwear! YES, she is now "day-time potty-trained" (only wears a diaper for nap and bedtime). We've taken her to the mall, playgrounds, library... she's used big potties and little potties... it's so awesome!


Our snowman after the "big thaw" :) We're down to a foot or two of snow! Actually, we're getting more snow again now, but we don't talk about that!


Enjoying the thaw! There were a couple days that almost made it to 50 degrees!


Sophia helping to make loaves of whole wheat bread. In an effort to slash our grocery bill we're making almost everything from scratch! It's kind of nice! You just have to plan ahead. I'm eating our "loaded oatmeal cookies" (oatmeal, raisins, chocolate, coconut, and pecans) as we speak... yum! Way better than anything from a box!

Sigh...fresh snow... and back to well below freezing...

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Mushing through January...

So January is always one of the hardest months... the holidays are over... there's still 8 weeks of hard winter left (I even have a countdown to March 1st going!)...winter seems endless! We've made it through several weeks of bitter weather to finally arrive at some decent temps--around 30 yesterday and today! However, it's difficult to enjoy nice weather with 2/3rds of the family fighting the flu. :( Sophia and I did manage to get in some good outdoor playtime yesterday, before the bug struck Sophia in the wee hours of the morning (Travis has been fighting it since Monday). I'm onto my 2nd toddler movie in a row at the moment, and decided to take a break and update the blog a bit! Send us healthy thoughts!
Toddler fashion... naked butt, pink socks, princess shirt over sweatshirt, cowgirl hat, and baby bib!
We've been doing a lot of baking during the super cold and sunny weeks... good bread-baking weather! Here's my first attempt at a traditional Swedish bread (Go Swedes!): a braided Cardamom loaf! Yum!

Sophia has been drinking lots of herbal tea and, her fave, hot chocolate!
Cocoa goatee!

Friday, January 21, 2011

A few words...

Here is a (very incomplete!) list of a few of the things that Sophia has said lately that gave me pause:

"Mommy, please may I go to the zoo?"

"I need coffee! Just like mommy and daddy!"

"Sophia feels frustrated."

"Soy Dora!" (Translation: "I'm Dora!")

"Don't call me Sophia! I'm Garlic!"

"Is there a whale under my bubbles?"

"He's a tramp, but I love him."

And a recent conversation:
Sophia: "Mommy, take it off?"
Me: "Take what off?"
Sophia: "My body? I don't want it."
Me: "But where will your heart live?"
Sophia: "On the beach."

That might have been one of the most thought-provoking conversations I've had in a long time! I'm still thinking it over!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Catching up!

Last week Sophia had her first bubble bath! Followed by her 2nd, 3rd, 4th... :)

Sophia consistently shares her meals with friends

Lots of cat-cuddling and loud proclamations of love for Suki and Dali lately!

Sophia finally has her very own slippers! She LOVES them!

Last weekend we zipped up to Grand Forks on Sunday to help celebrate Magdalene's birthday! (Magdalene on the far left). She turned 6!

Who's the biggest kid? :)


Mike had some leftover goodies from the New Year celebration at his bar, so the kids put them to good use! Gunner enjoyed the noisemakers!

Sophia and Gunner, making some noise!



If you're too young to read, it doesn't really matter what the tiara says :)
Gunner really enjoyed his cake!

Gunner and Sophia always end up playing with the trucks together...
And can share nicely MOST of the time!

Last week Sophia also got her first tattoo! It's a dinosaur, from a coloring book that Uncle Sky gave her for Christmas (thanks!). She LOVES her tattoo, especially because it's "just like mommy's and daddy's." And, yes, she picked out her clothes the day I took this picture. Even her socks were stripey!


One of Sophia's favorite things to do is to wrap a blanket/towel/rag/diaper cloth/whatever around herself and call it a "princess dress."

Our princess. :)