Sunday, March 23, 2008

Many moods..........


The girl of many moods.........





















































Father and Daughter







Father and Son

"Momma, please get the camera out of my face."
Good buddies.

Mutual admiration......





Eskimo kisses

Sweet, sweet, Sophia




Sophia's new camera close-ups.......






Super Serious

The kids missed their naps today, it is the only explanation I can offer up for these expressions.









Sweet boy.....

We finally sprung for a SRL camera and what a difference it makes. We are able to capture so much more in a fraction of the time.








Saturday, March 22, 2008

Amusing onself

The kids are stir crazy and perhaps because of that, they have come up with some creative ways to entertain themselves. Many of these activities revolve around Momma's shoes.





Pretty in Pink

Sophia in her new PJs. Well, to tell the truth, is 3:30 p.m., and Sophia, Keenan, and I are still in our pajamas. Yup, we threw on winter clothes over them and shoveled snow this morning and then went sledding. The three of us had agreed, it was a good day to stay in comfortable clothing.





Friday, March 21, 2008

Just when we thought it was safe to go outside!

We thought the worst weather might be behind us. The three feet of accumulated snow had almost finally melted. When I discovered the bike paths were clear and I no longer had to run on the road, I took our new jogging stroller for a spin last week and the kids were thrilled to be taking in the scenery.

This is what greeted us today. It is difficult to make out in these photos, but it has been nearly blizzard conditions for almost the entire day. Four to five inches accumulated so far and another four to six predicted for tonight. Sigh......what else can you do? That is, when you can't catch the next flight to Hawaii.





















So this is what the kids are feeling like, not to mention me.








So in a vain attempt to feel like warmer weather is near, I got Sophia a new swim suit and she was happy to try it on! I keep telling myself, soon, there must be warmth, green grass and flowers some time soon, right?????????????










Well, I guess it all depends on how you define soon.......

I'm a Boy!

Yesterday, while eating breakfast in his high chair, Keenan announced to us, "I'm a Boy!" It wasn't the sentiment that was so startling but rather the clarity with which he said it and the fact that he had strung a few words together in a sentence, unprompted.

Perhaps a little background is in order. A few months ago, we became concerned because Keenan wasn't saying much and what he did say, we usually couldn't understand. His Early On case worker tested him and said his speech was three months delayed. We were not unduly alarmed, but jumped at the chance to have him evaluated by a speech therapist. They couldn't fit him in until the middle of March. By then, the little fellow had caught right up. The therapist was actually quite impressed by his pronunciation of "blueberry" and I think a bit stunned when she heard him say (unprompted) "please" and "thank you" at the appropriate times.

Sophia has an amazing vocabulary, comprehension and sentence structure but she often speaks very softly and mumbles which can make her very difficult to understand. I'm sure she didn't pick it up around our household :) OK, I might be a little guilty of talking softly and not enunciating every word, but I'm working on it now that I have little ones emulating me! The speech therapist's recommendation was to let Sophia know that we needed her help to teach Keenan to speak properly. That she needed to speak loudly and clearly so he could understand what she was saying. Incredibly, it has worked like a charm and she is SO much easier to understand. Keenan loves learning words from her. He eagerly repeats what she says and his vocabulary is rapidly growing.

Oh, by the way, he is certainly a boy, and he is ALL BOY! Rough and tumble, loud, and fearless. Not that girls can't be those things too :)



Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Longing for a Day on the Beach

For my birthday, my Mom painted this wonderful painting of us on the beach. We hung it in Sophia's room but Keenan keeps pointing to it so even though he hasn't been able to say it verbally, we believe we he is laying claim to it.

We are looking forward to being able to reproduce this scene soon, but until warmer weather arrives, this painting will have to suffice.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Yup, imitation is the highest form of flattery..........









Sophia and her big girl bed.......

Sophia officially graduated to her big girl bed yesterday. We had a chart with ladybug stickers for every night she slept in her bed. Yesterday she completely filled her chart and earned a much deserved trip to McDonald's (only her second visit, so for her it was a big deal). When we returned home, we moved the crib out of her room. I think that Colin and I were the only ones sad to see it go.

It difficult to comprehend that Sophia entered our life nearly two years ago. While we were waiting for our referral, I would go into her designated room (in our house in California) where a lonely crib waited for a little girl we did not yet know. The longer our wait became, the sight of the crib would often make me sad. In a sense, the crib became a symbol of our longing to meet our daughter and seeing it go is bittersweet.

I am in no hurry for Sophia to grow up fast but I am proud of her and love to see her eagerly climb her stool and jump into the very bed (not the mattress mind you) that I grew up in.



Thursday, March 06, 2008

Who is Horton?

Colin found these Horton ears in a magazine and Keenan thought they were just great. We agree, they are great on Keenan!