No, our house hasn’t been taken over by a Silent Hill like dark dimension, Sophia just likes to walk around with things over her eyes. It just so happens that a swim diaper is both hilarious and creepy.
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Phoebe cut tooth number 2! Her other bottom tooth. She looks so cute with them too. She is starting to look more and more like a toddler and not a baby……which makes me sad.
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Phoebe had her 12 month well check. She only weighed 17.11 pounds!!! I at least thought she would be 20 pounds. I know my sister, Jennifer, is reading this right now thinking “My baby weighed that at 3 months!” Cousin Casper will have his 12 month well check in a couple weeks and I just know he is going to weigh as much as Sophia does, which is about 26 pounds. Am I right, or am I right Jenn?!
When trying to praise the girls for something good I will typically clap my hands and say “Good job.” Mostly when we are playing, otherwise it is simply “good job.” Phoebe has caught on and whenever I say “good job” she will clap her hands. Even if she is holding something else like her cup or a toy she has to stop everything to clap. What a silly sweetheart. I think I am still trying to get used to the idea that she might even understand what I am saying!
Sophia did a naughty, dangerous thing at bath time one night this week. Phoebe thought it was hilarious and I was just thankful she didn’t kill herself. She would take her waterproof Pablo plush doll and throw him out the bath (therefore getting lots of water all over the floor and bathmats) then climb out, throw Pablo back in, stand completely up on the edge of the bath, and then jump back into the bath. She did this a few times before I was able to get back into the bathroom. We are lucky she didn’t bang her chin or head or something wide open!
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Sophia has really started to love Church and Nursery on Sundays and so every Sunday morning I psych her up to go. We were all dressed and trying to get all our stuff together. BJ was still getting ready and Sophia was getting impatient…..”Go church. Nursery School?” ME “No not yet, we have to wait for Daddy.” HER “What?!” ME ” We have to wait for Daddy to finish getting dressed.” HER “Why?” ME “Because he is the one driving today. Mommy can’t drive Daddy’s car.” HER Frustrated silence.
Phoebe learned to say “Uh oh.” She sounds just like her big sister did when she learned to say it too.
Lots of birthdays are coming up so I spent Saturday afternoon at the mall. BJ enjoys an afternoon with the girls over at his parents house. While away I treated myself to seeing a movie. Mama Mia to be more specific. I enjoyed the movie, thought it was funny and cute, and was thankful that the teenage lesbians I ended up sitting next to left half way through the film.
While at the mall I scored a free t-shirt at this Wonka candy stand they had for some other competition thing they had going on. I was raving about how my husband loves the new giant chewy nerds so they asked what his size was. Once I got away a little and saw what was on the shirt I had really wished I asked for one in my size instead. BJ would never wear it in public whereas I would have. It is a pastel orange shirt with the words “Live, Love, Laugh Laffy Taffy” on the front in a mix of pink, purple ,and white letters. He put it on and I couldn’t help but immediately blurt out “You look gay.” We will eventually have to post a picture of him in it. (BJ: no… we won’t)
Phoebe has grown a strong desire for climbing, more particularly, on the couches. Sophia, however, loves her couch time with her blankies and juice and will even kick BJ and I off the smaller couch so she can have it to herself. I have quashed many a fight this week over being on the couch. I think Sophia is getting used to it, just as long as Phoebe steers clear of the blankies and cup. I enjoy hiding behind the couch and jumping up and scaring them. They love it and laugh and squeal and jump away and then come back for more.
BJ hasn’t been playing many videogames, if any really, as of late and so he decided to play Soul Caliber 4 for a bit one afternoon. Sophia was very intrigued. When BJ stopped she wanted to play and even brought the controller to him. He let her play. (Grumble, grumble) She thoroughly seemed to enjoy herself and actually pushed the correct combination of buttons to make her character get some hits in.
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I saw the dumbest thing I have seen in awhile on the way to work for my mom one morning. It was a guy on a motorcycle wearing shorts, a tank top, had a shaved head (and I was obviously able to know that since he had no helmet), but it was his right leg that stood out more than anything. He had one of those big, black, leg and foot brace things that some people wear instead of casts. My first thought was wondering whether or not he hurt his leg in a previous motorcycle accident, and second, this guy is totally gonna kill himself, a complete fatality waiting to happen.
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The big announcement for the week goes to Sophia. We went to the pool on Saturday, BJ included this time, and Sophia swam all by herself!!!! She had her floaty suite on of course, but she was willing to let go of us and swim several feet back to us or to Phoebe’s floaty. She was kicking her legs so hard and looked like she was riding a unicycle underwater. She didn’t do much with her arms though. I can’t wait to go back and see if that confidence is still there.
One thing I failed to mention in last weeks post was that when we left town we accidentally left our older cat, Dawn, locked in the office. We had left all other doors open in case they had been in those areas, but we never thought about the office since she rarely ever goes in there. She was in there from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday night. We are so lucky we didn’t come home to a dead cat. She could barely meow and felt so light. She ate and drank right away and promptly barfed it all back up in our closet. After a couple more days she was back to herself and was putting her weight back on. We felt so terrible and vow to double check the house before we leave.
Continuing to work on the potty training this week with no luck. Not once has she gone while sitting on the potty. I feel as if she is teasing us now about it. One night she says, very sincerely “Sophia poopoo potty.” My reply, “Sophia are you REALLY going to go on the potty?” “No, don’t think so.” I should have known….
I have this little sing song saying when playing with Sophia to get her to dance a little for me. I simply say “Jam out tttttttt, jam out! Jam out! She never once has repeated it but this week I caught her saying something that I couldn’t figure out. I am usually the one interpreting for BJ, but he nailed this one. She was saying “Jam out tttttttt” while bopping her head. I hadn’t said it in weeks so I don’t know what made her think of it but she sure enjoyed it.
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Just in time for her birthday, Phoebe cuts tooth number one–bottom right. The exact same one Sophia had cut first. Phoebe has been flicking her tongue quite a bit over this new thing in her mouth.
Phoebe has also abandoned crawling. She started the week with what I call “momentum walking”. She would throw up her arms and take a couple normal steps, then she would see the thing she wanted or the place she wanted to go and she would start walking really fast with such a momentum behind her. Then the speed would catch up with her and she would fall forward or on her butt. By the end of the week she had learned some patience and paces herself better and walks everywhere. Sophia is helping too. She caught Phoebe crawling one day and said to her, in a firm voice, “No Phoebe, walk! Walking!”
A little scary thing happened for me. I had my teenage sister-in-law babysitting for me this week while I worked for my mom. I had the girls happily playing and watching a cartoon while I could take a shower. Just as I had gotten my bathrobe on I heard voices coming through the front door. I know I had both locks done up and I promptly found out what happened. When Mike and Catey knocked on the door (they said she started to yell mama right away) she went to the door and they were able to talk her through unlocking the door. When they heard the clicks they were able to get right in. I often bathe while the girls are awake with this same set up (otherwise I would never get a shower!) and so it makes me worried to do so now. What if a solicitor comes to the door? Or UPS delivering a box? I have thought about a doorknob cover but there is an open hole over the lock that would still allow her to get her little fingers in it to unlock the bottom one as well. As Pooh Bear would say….”think, think, think.”
Sophia got a new night light this week. We were so impressed with the pink flower from Ikea that cousin Gwennie had in her room we got one for Sophia. As soon as she saw it she said “Gwennie light!” We like it because it puts out about the same amount of light as having the scarf over her bedside lamp. But now she can’t turn this off or on or possibly knock over her lamp by pulling off the scarf anymore! Plus, she just simply loves it!
BJ was in Fort Worth for 3 days staying at the Fort Worth Stockyards Hotel. I called it “his vacation” since he really didn’t DO work, had a bunch of meetings, and ate steak and other great food while having no toddlers to bother him or drain him. Although, he was so ready to come home the 3rd day and he missed all his girls.
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We bought a sit and stand stroller, finally! I thought I would try and put it together while BJ was gone. I had done well until the very end. I won’t necessarily explain the logistics of it but I smashed 3 fingers on my right hand very badly. My whole arm was shaking from the pain and still today my middle finger has pain and even some strange numbness to it. The pointer finger isn’t 100% either. I hope it is all better by next week. The girls were very impressed with it and Sophia wouldn’t stop sitting in it until she went to bed.
Sophia discovered broccoli this week and loves it. However, she held it up and proudly announced “a tree!” I explained to her what it was and then later she exclaimed “grass!” Oh well, like it really matters, right?
Sophia has also really taken to singing songs. I have sung to her all sorts of songs and she loves singing along now. Even her nursery leaders have commented on how she is the loudest and best during singing time.
Sophia has to be the one to say prayers every night now. She repeats as much as she can and does pretty well. A close friend of mine recently got diagnosed with diabetes. The first night we prayed for her Sophia was repeating me and actually managed to say diabetes perfectly, but then said “I don’t know” right after. BJ was busting up, very obviously I am sure, since she has never said that word before and doesn’t know what it is or means. We quickly ended the prayer for daddy’s sake and tucked our smart kid into bed.
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Phoebe turned one year!!! We had a family BBQ on Saturday and enjoyed yummy ribs and good company. Phoebe (and Sophia) got some great gifts. One of them being a porcelain tea party set. Sophia adores it and it will be even better once Phoebe is old enough to play with it the ‘right way’ an not knock everything over sending her older sister into a tailspin. She also got a little cooking set with pots and pans and spoons. She already had plastic fruit and veggies so she and I have been enjoying ourselves “cooking”. She is so willing to do so and is very interested. Phoebe is having fun with the 2 push toys she received and the stability it gives her while she is still learning to walk is great. There is also this automated pat-a-cake bear that the girls both adore. The first encounter was one of just shock and awe. This is what I imagined they were thinking “This stuffed animal is MOVING!! They aren’t supposed to move! What is going on?” Sophia was so excited about the whole party idea all day long and since she got gifts too, how could this have not been all about her? When we did the birthday cupcakes and sang to Phoebe she was so hurt. She hung her head down and the saddest face I have seen. I think her heart was broken. We sang to her and re-lit the candle so she could blow it out too. When we started singing her face was one of unsure intrigue, then when we got to the part where we say her name she broke out into a HUGE smile and very proudly blew out the flame. This whole day only made us excited for Christmas for the girls!
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I can hardly believe Phoebe is one year already. Didn’t I just have her?! I love her so much and enjoy every week that she is a part of my life. She is so sweet and quirky and fun. She is a great playmate for Sophia and I know things will only get better for the two of them.
Just FYI. Heather is pretty busy and has a lot to write for the weekly family update. She’s pretty enough that I’ll forgive her.
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It’s been a while since I’ve been in a position to post anything of note. I spent most of last week at a work conference. The fun part is that it was held at the Ft Worth stockyards, so I got some fun pictures.
Some of the following pictures are HDR pics, but I’ve tried to be a little more subtle about them than others you might find on the web.
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Also, the hotel was supposed to be haunted, so I took some long exposures to see if I could catch anything. You’ll have to look close and probably turn up your brightness a bit, but I think I see something by the window…
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Granny and Grandad are painting their house and therefore cleaning out the house. They found boxes of some of my old toys they kept: Barbies and their furniture, She-Ra and her battle cat, etc. Sophia was so intrigued and impressed with the dolls and played with them for the rest of the day. I boxed them up again that night after she went to bed because I need to clean them and all the clothes. She didn’t even seem to remember them the next day but I know she will be delighted all over again when I get them out. I just know we will have lots of fun dressing them up and making houses.
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Phoebe is fighting back and holding her own against Sophia. He big sister has a habit of smacking her on the head when she is doing something she doesn’t like. She is getting better about not doing it but Phoebe is retaliating and one day I caught them both smacking at each other at the same time with both their hands. It was the typical sissy, girl “cat” fight. I couldn’t help but laugh before breaking them up.
Phoebe has also taken to trying to bite Sophia when she is mad at her. I have caught her with her mouth wide open on Sophia’s hand or arm or face. I know EXACTLY what she is trying to do and Sophia (because it is more slobbering and tongue than anything) thinks she is playing with her and giggles. Alas, Phoebe still has no teeth. She has made progress, though, because you can actually see where the teeth are about to come in. Just a little more and both bottom teeth will break through.
We spent the 4th of July with Jennifer and her family. Grandad let us borrow their new Honda Odyssey and it made our trip so wonderful. We spent our time going to the pool, playing with the slip and slide, wonderful fireworks show, going to see the movie “Hancock” and lots of playing around with the cousins. Sophia is so attached to Gwennie. Whenever she couldn’t find her she would wander around the house calling out “Gwennie! Gwennie! Where are you?!” We can’t wait to go back.
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Sophia has developed saying “I don’t think so.” to all sorts of questions. It has made me reflect on what I have been saying to her and wondering if she got it from me, or if it’s another random thing she has learned.
Phoebe is back to saying “mamamama” and I am loving it!!!!
She has also gained more confidence in walking and is choosing to walk more and more around the house. Sophia tries to be so helpful and do as I do by holding her hand to walk her. Their relationship is blossoming so nicely and they truly are playing better together. They are entertaining each other so well and I find them laughing at one another several times a day.
Sophia was getting a little stir crazy by the end of this last week since she had not left the house since we got back in town. Friday night I had an errand to run to Hobby Lobby and then we went out for ice cream at Marble Slab. While at the craft store Sophia enjoyed herself by walking around with a pirate hat she found. We were impressed when she was able to put it back without any fuss before we checked out.
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Saturday night we ate dinner at our friend’s house, the Brady’s. They prepared a lovely dinner for us and then the Brady’s and BJ proceeded to have quite the fun time playing Rock Band. Sophia was a big help in playing the drums for them. I finally joined the fun when they brought out Sing Star. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, sounded absolutely terrible, and can’t wait to do it again!
I thought this would be so much longer considering I am covering 2 weeks worth, but that is really all I can report at this time. BJ is very busy with work because his big project FINALLY rolled out this past week for company use. I have been working for my mom and just trying to get by day by day with the girls and having lots of church meetings. Until next week!
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Date: 07/04/2008
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Date: 09/27/2008
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