Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Sweet Sorrow












While we were visiting with Colin's sister and her family, Sophia had a melt down about something. I can't really remember what she was upset about, but while the tears flowed, a friend of the family snapped these photos with a camera with a fast shutter speed. I could not believe that pictures of Sophia shedding tears could be quite so beautiful.



Sunday, July 22, 2007

While Sophia Was Napping............
















When Sophia is awake, little Keenan has to fight for his play time with me. Since they rarely nap at the same time, I try to take full advantage of Sophia's nap time for some one on one time with Keenan. He is still not convinced about the merits of grass and rarely ventures off the blanket, at least, not yet............


Lately, Sophia seems to have taken full note of her numerical age and is prone to having the mercurial temperament associated with the 'terrible twos.' It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have the tendency to take it out on her little brother. He (and we) are having to become quite adept at dodging flying toys these days. Today, while they were playing together, Sophia started to push him (unfortunately, a common occurrence as of late). Keenan responded by putting his hand on her shoulder and leaning into her, promptly knocking her down. As they landed with a thump, Sophia was laughing, but Keenan apparently wanted to make his point and he proceeded to try to sit on her. All the while, I was doing my best to smother any hint of laughter. I'm not sure I fully succeeded. I keep trying to remind Sophia that some day her little brother will likely be bigger in size, and she had better keep that in mind as she doles out more toy cars in the face.






Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Keenan's smiles and deep thoughts.........





























There is little doubt that Keenan has a tremendous variety of facial expressions he likes to try on. Today, he alternated between huge smiles and pensive repose, that's our Keenan, complex and bundle of joy, all rolled into one lovable little boy.






Sophia Taking It Easy







I found this little beach chair at Walmart. I wasn't sure how well it would work, so I only bought one. Now, I wish I had bought two because Keenan needs one of these lounge chairs.



Sophia's First Haircut


Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The new stats are here...........

Yesterday, Sophia had her two year old check up and Keenan had his 9 month old check.

Here are the stats:
Sophia
33 inches
22 pounds, 8 ounces

Keenan
27 inches
16 pounds, 10 ounces

With the exception of Sophia's height (25 percentile), the kids are pretty much still off the charts, but they maintained their own curve profile which is what is important according to the doctor. He thought both kids were doing great but was especially pleased with Keenan's progress and said he was ahead in his gross motor skills. That is such a long way from where he started and it is so fun to see him walk around the furniture, only holding on with one hand. He is still pretty unsteady without support, so I don't necessarily think he will be walking on his own in the next month, but I am certain he will when he is good and ready.

They both had to get vaccinated, that was not fun, for them, or for me. Barring any unexpected health issues, Sophia won't have to be seen for another year. Keenan's next visit will be his 12 month visit. Yikes, what happened to the time? It has almost been six months since we returned from Vietnam. They are growing up so fast.

Birthday Bash-Part 2






Under ordinary circumstances, Sophia gets very few sweets. This past week was an exception. She enjoyed lemon cake on Wednesday and chocolate cake on Friday. I think the sugar buzz is still wearing off. Fortunately, she won't be having any more cake until Keenan's Birthday, two months from now.


















































She absolutely loved all her presents. When we visited her Mei Mei, Tuesday, last month, Sophia played with Tuesday's kitchen and she was hooked. So now she is busy making eggs and pancakes for the entire household. She has also coveted (and walked away with on more than one occasion) our neighbor's doll stroller. So Nana made Sophia's day with her little red stroller. Sophia isn't much for dolls, but she loves stuffed animals, so Go Dog made a nice substitution. Now she is busy wheeling it all over the house and panicking any time Keenan comes even five feet from her precious stroller. She squeals "Keenan no, Keenan no" and dashes in the opposite direction. Poor Keenan, he just wants to help.






















































































































Friday, July 06, 2007

Happy 2nd Birthday Sophia!

We keep up our blog, in part, because we want our friends and family who live far away, to be able to see photos of the kids. The second, and primary purpose of the blog is to keep a journal for Sophia and Keenan.

So on Sophia's second birthday, we are writing this entry directly to Sophia. Friends and family are still welcome to read it :)

Dear Sophia, our sweet, feisty, stubborn, smart, beautiful, funny little girl, we can't believe you are turning two years old. Time truly flies so incredibly fast. We wanted to capture a written snapshot of your life right now and hope that someday you are able to look back and have a sense of what your life was like at two years old.

Some foods you like:
-Nearly everything, the only food you have ever flat out rejected was olives.
-You are a big fan of pizza, oatmeal, Special K, tomatos, cucumbers, avacado, cottage cheese, pancakes, hot wings and popsicles.
-Milk is your security blanket. Whenever you are nervous, tired, or upset, we hear a plaintive 'milk, milk, milk' that gets repeated with increasing volume until the milk appears.

Some of your favoirte toys:
-A calculator, yup, a calculator
-A toy phone
-Your music table
-Books, especially Curious George Books, Richard Scarry's 'A Day at the Airport' is your all time favorite book (at least at two years old it is)
-Baby Tad
-Bubbles

Some of your favorite things to do:
-go on the slide
-go on the swing
-beach outings
-running through the sprinklers
-dancing with Daddy
-building sandcastles with Mommy
-bath time
-playing piano with Opa and Nana
-playing with Opa and Nana, period............

Some things you do that make us shake our heads in amazement:
-Picture this, Dad is on the deck with you. You point to the thermometer and say 'clock,' Daddy corrects you, telling you it is a thermometer which tells us the temperature outside, whether it is hot or cold. You sagely nod, smile and say 'like ears'......this isn't a question, you have stated that you realize that the temperature gauge is like the thermometer we use in your ears to take your temperature. I think I only explained to you once (two months ago) what your ear thermometer does, how did you make that leap?
-I'm on the phone with Daddy, and call waiting clicks in. Our caller ID tells me that it is Grandma calling. I tell Daddy that his Mom is calling and I will call her back when we hang up. We talk several more minutes and I finally hang up the phone, you look up at me and tell me 'call Grandma' and resume inspecting your book.
-You pick out letters in signs in the grocery store and repeat them. An example of a recent trip down the grocery aisle "A", "C", "M".....your mind is so quick it is frightening.
-When we were visiting with your cousins, someone mentioned that they were going to the pool. You ran to your suitcase, pulled out your 'little swimmer' diapers and handed it to Rachel. After that, you ran back to your suitcase and dug up your swim suit.

Some things you do that crack us up:
-At the dinner table, you love to mimic us. If I'm resting my hand on my chin, you study me intently then copy the pose. If one of us puts our hands on our hips, so do you, and you are able to precisely duplicate our position. When we open the front door to call Marz, you stand right next to us, and call out in the same tone 'Marzy, Maryzzzzzzy', when he comes flying by you, you say 'goot boe' (good boy). Your imitation of Mommy running or driving is hysterical. Your imitation of Brett playing video games was priceless.
-We love the crazy way you dance. I don't think you are likely destined to be a professional dancer because your sense of rhythm is questionable at this point, but you do like to spin, jump, move your hips, and bop your head when we put on music you like. You have made us laugh so hard that we end up rolling on the ground.
- When you see Keenan head for the Marz's water bowl or the stereo, you yell out 'no Keenan, no', then you run and tackle the poor boy.
-The minute someone walks into our house, friend or stranger, you pounce on their feet, start to untie their shoe laces and try to pull their shoes off much to the consternation of the uninitiated.


Some things you do that makes us love you more every single day:
-You look up at us with those bright brown eyes of yours and say "love you Mommy" or "love you Daddy."
-When you curl up with me in the morning and give one of your great Sophia hugs and a kiss on the lips.
-It is true that you have been known to torment Keenan, but you are also the most incredible sister to him. You are generous with your hugs and kisses and have become extremely protective of him, following him around like a mother hen.
-All we have to do is watch you sleep..................it reminds us how lucky we are to have you in our lives.
-Watching your eyes light up when you see something you like or want to try for the first time. You get scared sometimes, but you seemed to trust us enough to give it a try.

Some things that test our patience:
-Your temper can be fierce. You don't like being told no, won't allow yourself to be redirected to something else, you see right through us when we try. You don't like having to get off the swing or leave the beach and you make sure that everyone in a three block radius hears your displeasure. Sometimes you take it out on your little brother. You used to try and take it out on Marz, then Keenan came along.
-You are a tad impatient.
-You have been known to pinch, bite or hit when things don't go your way.
-You have become the squirmiest child ever when we try to change your diapers.

Some things that make us proud:
-You are so helpful. You feed Marz on your own every day now. When the dishwasher needs emptying, you are right there. Unloading groceries are a favorite past time, and you sure are strong!
-I have never met such a big heart and spirit in such a small body.
-You love to read and are always eager to pull out a book.
-You say please and thank you, often without prompting.
-You are our daughter, nothing more is really needed.

Some things we hope for you:
-We hope you are healthy, physically and emotionally.
-We of course wish you happiness, but it such an elusive goal and hard to define, so instead, let us hope you are content with your life.
-We hope you find a career you love. When something is your passion, it really isn't work.
-We hope you know how very much we love you.

Happy Birthday little one...............

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Later that day.........

Sophia loved her lemon cake, oh boy, did she ever! A little word on the tiara. My brother knows that we have a 'no princess policy' in our household. He thought it would be funny to violate said policy with this little gift.......Needless to say, the tiara will be retired, at least until Halloween.












































Fourth of July and Sophia's Early Birthday Party

This year it looks like Sophia gets two birthday parties. We weren't sure if Colin was going to be home on her birthday, so we celebrated with Kat's side of the family on the Fourth of July. Here are some photos early on in the day.