Who's that girl?

Who's the girl that takes one bite out of every piece of fruit in the fruit basket, then puts them all back?

Probably the same one who routinely hides things - like hairbrushes and train tracks - at the bottom of our clothes hamper, rubs oatmeal in her hair (maybe it is her secret to lovely locks?), and tries almost every day to climb up the kitchen cupboards onto the counter. (Maybe I have two kids that think they're Spider Man?)

Just the other day she was crying and screaming with the furor of a wild banshee (whatever that is). I couldn't figure out what to do to calm her down, but finally I started singing to her. She quited after I began "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," then burst out a decisive "YES!" followed by an applause when it was over. The same thing happened after every verse of "The Wheels of The Bus," and every one of the many songs that followed. It was precious!

Here are some recent snapshots of my full-of-life little Sophie:

She's been walking in heels since she was 10 months old! So, as some of you may know, styling hair is not my forte. I was secretly relieved when I discovered that my first child would be a boy, because I wouldn't have to worry about doing anything special with his hair. Well, Sophie's hair is getting long enough that I really need to start doing something with it - though it is darling in its natural state, too. So a couple days ago I attempted something new: pigtails. We went to Trader Joe's this way and got more oohs and ahhhs than usual. I guess I did ok!

Sophie LOVES to clap

There we go with the shoes again...

She has recently taken a liking to our produce basket...

Another daily trick: climbing up on the back of Weston's chair while he's eating and attempting to steal a few bites of his food! This little lady keeps me on my toes!

Pumpkin Patch: More Fun Than We Bargained For!

Going to the pumpkin patch this year was a blast. I'm thinking it had a little something to do with the guy pictured here (Grandpa Glass):Our first destination at the Pumpkin Patch was the petting zoo (if you can even call it that... it was about the size of my kitchen! Not that the kids cared.)

Run, baby, run! Who knows what that crazy looking rooster might do! Those animals were nicely fed, to say the least. How many pellets can one billy goat eat, after all?

Sophie's goal was to grab onto the goats, and try to ride them if possible...It didn't work out too well for her. She ended up getting knocked over a couple of times - mostly because the goats tried running away from her while she was hanging on to them for dear life!

Finally it was time to leave the petting zoo and move on to some of the other fun activities...

While Weston bounced around in the bouncy house, I took Sophie down this gigantic slide. I thought she'd love it, but there was virtually no reaction at all! She gets a thrill out of jumping on the bed, but this massive slide just didn't do it for her. Go figure!

I think Weston did this obstacle course 10 times... not even joking!

Finally it was time to find the perfect pumpkins...

I'm still not sure if Sophie was trying to hug the pumpkin or pick it up...

Daddy has at least as much fun as the kiddos pumpkin searching - if not more!

Before leaving, Weston wanted to try this bouncey thing. I really don't know what it's called, but man does it fly high!!

A slightly reticent but brave Weston...

What a blast! He totally loved it.

Picking out pumpkins is always fun, but this year it was extra special because we went to such a great pumpkin patch - and most especially because Grandpa joined us.

An Unexpected Treat

Yesterday I was stricken with some kind of nasty 24-hour stomach flu. Fortunately,when I woke up this morning, I was feeling much better - though still weak. Usually our Saturdays are packed with errands and activities, which is the way I like it. But since I still felt too weak to go anywhere or accomplish much, we all just chilled at home together.
What a wonderful day it has been! It was cool enough outside to actually open some windows, and I didn't feel any pressure to get everyone fed and "ready to go" by any particular time. Today we all just enjoyed each other's company. It got me thinking about my kids, and how much joy they bring into our life. Here are some of the things I adore about them that I was so pleasantly reminded of today:

* They both love the Lawrence Welk show and dance to the songs on it.
* They are convinced that they are both ninjas! (thanks to daddy)
* Weston is fascinated with the concept of bones. We had to explain to him that not everything has bones. He asked if yellow has bones, and disappointed at the answer assured me that blue does have them!
* Sophie's favorite word is grandpa. If you ask her who her favorite person in the world is, she will say grandpa. If you ask her who is at the door, or who will buy her first car, or who is her biggest fan, or pretty much any other question at all, the answer will be the same: grandpa!
* Weston calls his football a "wupple." I love that he says so many things now. Not everything is perfect, but he is a talking machine - at last! (I knew that kid was going to be just like me)
* When you tell Sophie to fold her arms for prayer, she bows her head and coveres her eyes with the back of her hands... it is so darn cute I can hardly stand it!

Today was a happy reminder that there is no place I'd rather be than at home with my sweet little family! (Although being with them at Disneyland wouldn't be too shabby either)

August 19: all about the girl!

August 19: One of the most important dates in the whole wide world. Why? It was the day my sweet, perfect Sophie graced us all with her presence by being born. To start off the celebration of her first birthday ever, we met Julie and kids at one of our favorite parks. Sophie began her special day in style - you know, by getting downright sandy!

Fortunately, Julie brought some healthy snacks for everyone. I guess I was just really focused on Sophie, though, because it looks like I pretty much only got pictures of her!

Later on (and many errands later), we had a lovely falafel dinner with family. It was divine, but I cannot take any of the credit. Jason is a fantastic chef!I had a million different ideas for the cake, but ended up going with something simple and classy... just like Sophie!

Weston, of course, just had to help blow out the candle!Grandma cutting the cakeEveryone enjoying the cake

Sophie really didn't know what to think of the cake at first. She didn't even put any of it in her mouth until I kind of got her started.But once she got started, she really dug in!The least expensive "hit" of the night was definitely the blowey-outey-thingies. Do those things even have a real name?

Weston and Sadie had contests with their party blowers. I think Weston blew so long and hard on that thing that it actually broke!Uncle Ryan and Sadie... maybe soon to be Aunt Sadie??? (Fortunately Ryan doesn't read our blog, so he can't give me any crap about that comment!)Uncle Ryan and the birthday girl having a good time... she sure does love her uncles! I was glad at least one of them was able to come to the party.

Horsing around Loving on my birthday girl who got a boo-boo!

Opening presentsSophie desperately needed help unwrapping all those presents! Fortunately, Weston was more than willing to oblige...

How can you not love this birthday hat?

Among others in the family, neither of my parents were able to come to the party. But here is Sophie with the cute little puppy dog that Grandpa and Grandma Knapp sent her.

My mom came by bearing gifts a couple of days later (when she was back in town), so the birthday goodness was stretched out over a few days - just the way I like it! Isn't this dress adorable? Someone at church actually stopped me in the hallway to tell me that it looked like it had been made just for her! I agree. Score one for grandma! All in all, the girl made out like a bandit. Sophie is such a sweetheart that it really is hard not to spoil her. How I love my girl!!