Favorite Time Of The Day...

I love bedtime. Not just for the obvious reason:) I love it because I feel so connected to Sof. Maybe I'm feeling sentimental about it tonight because last night Lexi put her to bed(we were out!). Anyway, after she gets her pajamas on we usually have some playtime. When I open her closet to throw her dirty clothes in, she always sees her shoes! This leads to trying on shoes(usually ones that I wanted her to wear earlier and she wouldn't, just one last cruel joke before bed:). She puts them on and takes them off, then puts some more on.

Then we have to put her babies to bed. Tuck them in, kiss them, and say "night night"! Then I say, "Let's get Sofie's blankets!" This always gets a happy response!

Then we sit in the rocking chair and read 2 or 3 books. She has a basket of about 10 that are her favorites. Each one has a predictable routine. In "Hush Little Baby" she mimics all the character's actions, and says "No No" on the page where the baby throws the mirror. In "Of Colors and Things" I ask her to find things and she points to them. The same objects everytime. After we read I turn the light out and we have a repetoir of songs we sing. Twinkle Twinkle, You Are My Sunshine, Skinamarinkee Dink Edink, It's a Small World, Mr. Sun, and Jesus loves Me. Lately she looks right in my face, so intensly, and tries to sing along. She watches my mouth and tries to do the same thing. When we're done singing we just rock and look at each other. I love the eye contact. She will often start pointing to my eyes, mouth, ears, etc. and naming them. Then finally, she puts her thumb in her mouth and is ready for dreamland. Here's the great thing about this kid...if I need to, I can read and sing really fast, and put her in her bed awake. But nights like tonight, I can rock her till her eyes close and her thumb falls to side of her mouth. This is my favorite part of the day. A close second is first thing in the morning. I love the baby smell when I walk in her room, and I love that first smile that says, "What are we doing today Mommy?". Everything else in between is pretty high maintenance...

Summer Days

We woke up at home yesterday with the whole day ahead of us and nothing to do. Well, if you don't count laundry, cleaning bathrooms, or making beds. I got out of bed and went for a run. It was not too hot, which allowed me to get lost in my head. I love a morning when I have a good run like this. I think of all the things I WANT to do with my kids, but didn't really plan or prepare for. In my thoughts everyone is happy and cooperative and so thankful for the experiences,time, and effort I'm giving them! So, when I got home I thought why not do a park, picnic, and ice cream day? That takes little supplies or preperation. I pitched it to Lexi who was totally geeked! Adrienne..not so much. She's 12 and her friend down the street was luring her with talk of movies and gossip and snacks...my park with a toddler was no match. So after a quick shower, lunch packed in a basket, and round one of the Sofie fights for the day(this one was about getting dressed) we were off! Oh, not before round 2 of the Sofie fights to get her in the carseat. We arrived at the park and there was a half hour of fun to be had. Lexi helped Sof with all the equipment, and Sof quickly decided she didn't need help. A woman with her 3 boys infultrated our previously personal park. She was sweet but chatty, and proceeded to tell me all her boy's diagnoses. Didn't really need the briefing, could have diagnosed them myself. I'm a kindergarten teacher, I can see that stuff a mile away. The lure of the picnic lunch was too much for Lexi, so after enough begging and whining I gave in and let her eat before 11:00. I made the mistake of not bringing the same thing for everybody. I'm a kindergarten teacher, I never do this. I anticipate what the problem will be and I avoid it by only having one choice. Not this day. On this day I brought a banana for Sof and a nectarine for Lex. Of course Lexi wanted the banana. She took one bite of the nectarine and gave it to Sof. Sof was happy, she dug into the juicy nectarine with her little hands holding on. Perfect I think...and I give Lexi a chunk of Sof's banana. So begins battle #3 with Sof. By now the woman and 3 boys have left, but perfect mom, dad, baby, and 2 siblings cute as can be are there. I'm now sitting at the picnic table with a 2 year old screaming, crying, hitting, throwing food, etc...you get the picture. I resist the urge to explain that I am not a bad parent, but I just haven't had enough time with this child to make her deathly afraid of ever doing this in public again. Not to mention I should have known better then to mess with her food. Play resumes for awhile and I'm ready to go top this fun off with some ice cream. Battle #4, Sof of course doesn't want to leave because she does not know ice cream is way better than the park. Have you seen the baby scoops of ice cream these days? Plenty for a grown man. Sof eats painfully slow these days, and FREAKS OUT if you take her food away. Luckily Lexi was my partner in crime and would lure Sof into getting a drink at the drinking fountain while I quickly took huge spoonfuls and threw them away or shoved them in my mouth. We could have still been there right now if not for this technique! We made it home in time for nap, and in our memories it was a great day.

More Cottage Firsts

We had another beautiful weekend at the cottage! Besides Sof tubing we had a couple of other firsts! My sister had baby Natalie out at the cottage this weekend(she usually stays at Grandma's). So, Natalie got her first boat ride!

Look Natalie, I've been around a lot longer so let me give you some advice...You gotta get some of these glasses!

This picture is somewhat disturbing. Yes, that is a six year old driving the boat. I guess someone should tell her she needs to look up!

Kaitlyn desperately wants to kneeboard like the big girls. She has tried several times, but it always ends with her changing her mind(and some tears). She decided she wanted to try it again so Adrienne got her all ready. It ended like this...

Saturday night was Sof's first trip to the ice cream shop by our cottage. The kids always love to get ice cream, but they love playing in the field behind it just as much! Mark's friend Rick and his 2 kids were out for the day. His wife was out of town so we missed her, but the more the merrier!

Sof on the Tube

Sof went tubing! Well, it's not as if she had a choice in it. We put her on the tube in her sister's arms. She cried at first, but once we got the boat going she settled right in. She took a nice ride and seemed to enjoy it. We'll see if she gets back on now that she knows what it is!

Friday Night Highlights

After the girls show we headed up to the the cottage. It was a little chilly and overcast, but that didn't stop the outside fun. The girls found a bunch of little tiny frogs and started collecting them in a bucket. Sof was so interested in the them! She certainly didn't want to hold them, but loved watching them. I don't blame her! I love that my kids can be on stage singing and dancing one minute and catching frogs the next. They really are diverse in their activities.

That evening we made a campfire and did smores. The babies were in bed so it was just Mark and I, Steve and Em, and the big girls. We played one word story. That's where you go around the circle and when it's your turn you add one word onto the story. We laughed so hard...the story was hilarious! Adrienne was writing it down, and when we reread it the next morning it was still funny! Great to see how the kids got it and tried to come up with funny words. Even Olivia(6) would really think about her word! Good (mostly clean) family fun!

But alas, late nights combined with all that fun usually ends like this...

Musical Theater Camp

Last week the big girls had Musical Theater Camp. Alexa attended and Adrienne was an apprentice. My girls love this camp! They start on Monday and by Friday they put together a whole show for the parents. Lexi had several lines and a singing solo. She did great and it was super cute! Adrienne was a good helper, so cute to hear the little ones say, "Miss Adrienne"!

12 Weeks Home...Then and Now

Today is 12 weeks since we got on a plane and made our little Sof an American citizen. My how things have changed...

Then...

Now...

Then...

Now...

Then...

Now...

Retirement Party

Last night we had a big retirement party for my Dad. My parents live in a small town and my dad is a fixture there. Everyone knows him, and everyone loves him! Just as we expected he had a huge turnout of friends, family and colleagues. I only have few pictures because I was busy chatting! Congratulations Dad!

Luckily there was a real photographer there to take some decent pictures. I had someone at the table shoot this just so I'd have it today!