February 28

Today is the last day of February and it also means that Sophie is 17 months old! Time sure does fly! We went over to my Dad's house today to pick up something that he forgot to take on his trip. I took some shots of Sophie wandering around outside since Dad and Marcia have such a beautiful yard. She enjoyed playing peek-a-boo through the rungs on the deck as well as checking out the bird feeders. It was a fun morning!

February 27

Our Sophie is a busy little girl! She hardly ever sits still and gets into everything. We are constantly reminding her what she can and cannot touch, trying to use the word "stop" more than the word "no." She doesn't quite understand right from wrong yet, so we're just doing our best to guide her in the right direction. I loved this shot of Matt tonight, "disciplining" Sophie. He really was just pulling her away from hitting the TV over and over again in a stern voice. Any tips for the new parents in this arena?

February 26

We started school with a late start today due to weather, but that didn't mean I didn't have work to do! Karen and I are conducting the professional development day tomorrow for all of the fifth grade teachers in our district! We are the math leaders and pretty much know what we're doing (well at least Karen does!), but I am a bit nervous for the event. I am spending tonight cramming (so to speak) for the presentation. I am having flashbacks from my undergraduate work at Western when I would cram for a final. I am sure all will go well, but it's always good to be prepared!

February 25

Sophie spent a lot of time playing tonight with her animals. She pulled on the cats (until she got too rowdy and we had to remove them) and she petted Nikki. Nikki tolerates Sophie, and patiently sits there until she's done. Sophie gets quite a charge out of Nikki and giggles endlessly. I'm not a huge fan of the dog, but I did enjoy watching Sophie have a great time!

February 24

After a long sleepless night, I dragged myself to school, only to drag myself back again in the evening for a 6th grade performance. My students from last year were performing songs about the Civil Rights Movement. I was nervous that Sophie would fuss or get bored, but she sat on Matt's lap, enthralled with the songs and movement. She was interested in the movements of the students and how Betsy, the music teacher, was conducting. It was a fun evening!

February 23

Today was a very busy day... one of those days that you're glad when you can lay in bed and relax! Oh wait, those are most days! Anyway, I had a full day of school, fun with Sophie, and then headed to book group. I came home to a jury summons in the mail... as if I don't have enough to do! I decided to postpone my jury time until this summer, and hopefully the courts will be okay with that!

February 22

Matt and Sophie have this cute little game they play. Matt points to her, and wherever she is in the room, she'll come over to him and touch his pointer finger with her pointer finger. They've been doing this for since Sophie was quite little and it always gets her giggling like crazy! It's so much fun for me to sit back and watch the two of them play.

February 21

We spent today at home; cleaning, organizing, and playing with Sophie. My dad brought over a table and chairs that he no longer wants to use, and we're going to give it a try in our dining room. It doesn't match perfectly, but it's better and bigger than what we had.

February 20

I caught a glimpse of spring this afternoon when Sophie and I got home from school. The last few days have been a bit warmer and beautiful with clear skies. I noticed one of my plants had started to bloom and I thought it was a good sign that spring's right around the corner!

February 19

Everyday Sophie terrorizes the cats - Max and Guster (pictured here). No matter how many times we ask Sophie to stop, she still pulls on their fur, tail, and pokes them in the face. The most frustrating part is that most of the time the cats don't run away, they ask for more! I know Sophie does this because she loves them, but we're worried she's going to end up with bites or scratches. She probably will deserve it though!

February 18

Sophie loves her bath! She enjoys splashing around and playing to her heart's content. We used to give her a bath every other day (she gets dry skin really easily) but now we are giving her one everyday. She gets so messy at daycare and at dinner so we have no other choice! Her hair is also getting long and she enjoys running her fingers through it when she has her hands full of food! Oh the joys of a toddler!

February 17

The last time Sophie was ill, the doctor heard a slight murmur in her heart. To be on the safe side, she asked us to visit the pediatric cardiologist that comes down from Children's Hospital in Seattle once a month. Today was our appointment and we took her even though Sophie is sick with another ear infection and cold. They took her vitals and then hooked her up for an EKG. I managed to get a shot while trying to keep her from squirming to much! She actually did quite well for a busy toddler, but the doctor did detect the murmur. He believes that it may be noticable because of all the colds she's had lately and the rise in her temperature. He wants her to be reevaluated when she is healthy, but he believes that it is nothing to worry about. Matt had a murmur when he was a child and grew out of it. We're hoping the same thing for Soph!

February 16

Poor Sophie is sick again! We haven't seen the doctor yet, but we believe that she has another ear infection along with the flu. This will be the third one in a month for her, so we may be visiting the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor in the near future. We got a little stir crazy in the afternoon, so we went outside to enjoy the beautiful day. Sophie loved walking around and I grabbed a few cute shots of her.

February 15

Sophie spent the night at Dad and Marcia's last night and was brought back to us this morning. She unfortunately has yet another cold (and we believe an ear infection) so we layed low today. Grandma and Grandpa Jones stopped by for a visit to see us and for Matt to set up their new laptop. We tried out their new webcam with a conversation with Nick, Jen, Holland, and baby Thomas. It was fun to see them in "real life" so to speak.

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day! We started off our day with Sophie opening a few presents. She enjoyed her Little People, Elmo DVD, and a bath toy. To my surprise, Matt got me a great pair of earrings that I had eyed at Archibald Sisters the weekend before. We dropped Sophie off at my dad and Marcia's house, and had an evening out! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Waterstreet Cafe, coffee at Starbucks, and a movie. Paul Blart: Mall Cop was a cute movie, but definitely not Oscar worthy!

February 13

Sophie had a Valentine's Day party at daycare today and scored more loot than I did! She enjoyed taking out and inspecting each little Valentine or treat in her bag. Her favorite by far was the Elmo Valentine. Surprise, surprise!

February 12

Sophie is definitely a toddler! As we were playing this afternoon, she flipped over the laundry basket, climbed up on top, and then started blowing kisses at me! Eventually she stood up on the basket (but the cute shot I took had a weird shadow in it) until she took a tumble. After a quick brush off, she was back up on the basket again, happy as a clam!

February 11

Sophie had a pelvic ultrasound today to rule out any internal problems in that region. I took this shot of the instruments that are used during ultrasounds and I didn't realize that one of them looks like... you know! Oh well, Sophie did great during the ultrasound and she got a clean bill of health!

February 10

Today brought more snow; however, Sophie and I didn't get to enjoy it until the afternoon. Now that's she's walking, I thought she might play a little more in the snow, but she still wasn't a fan. She walked a few steps, then would lose her balance, and her bare hands would get wet (she refused to wear her mittens!). She didn't like the cold, so several of the pictures I took have a frowny face. This one turned out pretty cute!

February 9

Just me and my computer tonight (and boy it needs a good cleaning!). Sophie's asleep and Matt is at a mountain biking team meeting in Seattle. I am enjoying some uninterrupted Facebook and scrapbooking time!

February 8

This morning we decided to go out for breakfast and then take a walk on the pier in downtown Olympia. It was a foggy, gray day, but oh so quiet out which was nice and peaceful. Sophie enjoyed checking out the birds and really tested her walking skills on the uneven pier.

February 7

A busy day for us! Sophie had her first hair cut (if you can call it that) at Jack and Jill's this morning. She sat in a little red and silver airplane and had her bangs and the back of her hair trimmed. It took only a few minutes and she did great! She was a bit nervous about the hair dryer, but all in all it went well. I didn't even shed a tear, which I thought I would!

We also went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner to celebrate Grandpa's 64th birthday. Sophie enjoyed getting into everything, which included pulling the tablecloth off the table and breaking a glass! Sophie also loved all of the hugs and attention from Grandma and Grandpa of course!

February 6

My mom brought Sophie to school this afternoon so my students could meet her. She was pretty apprehensive to this crowd of 5th graders coming all around her, but she definitely wanted to check each of them out. I intended to take some pictures of her with the kids, but my mom beat me to it. I figured out later that I couldn't use the pictures because my mom took them... not ME! So, we arrived home to a package from Amazon. Sophie's new shoes! I ordered her some black Mary Jane style See Kai Run shoes. She has been wearing Pediped shoes with soft soles, but now that she's almost a confident walker, she needs harder soles. I love this shot of them, it almost looks like she's posing for me, but I got her midstride.

February 5

The mess of a toddler, the bane of my existence! Sophie loves her Little People, and of course just can't play with a few of them... she has to play with them all! Usually by the time it is bedtime, she is taking her bath, getting into PJ's and reading books, so we forget about picking up the toys. So, Matt or I get the job of putting everything away (otherwise we'll trip or step on them and get mad!). Hopefully one of these days Sophie will learn to pick up after herself, but I won't hold my breath!

February 4

I know, odd choice of picture, but I couldn't resist! I really wanted to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sunset tonight, but I didn't bring my camera to school. Darn it! Anyway, Sophie loves her bananas and will chant nana, nana when she sees me get one down for her. It's crazy because her dinner erupted out of her right after she had her banana tonight, but she still wanted more! Crazy kid! So, she carried her banana and one of her winter hats around the house with a huge grin on her face. Eventually she ate it (the banana, not the hat!) and hopefully we won't see that one come up!

February 3

There is nothing sweeter than a baby sleeping... Especially when that baby has a terrible cold and a double ear infection. Sophie and I stayed home today so she could visit the doctor and get some much needed rest. She had enough energy to play a bit, but we mostly snuggled and read books. A sick day for her, but an enjoyable day for me!

February 2

The day of the eyes! I woke up with a odd looking eye due to a burst blood vessel. I had to tell my students ahead of time what was going on so I wouldn't get asked a billion times! Then later on, I received a call from daycare that Sophie had a gunky eye. She tends to get these when she has a bad cold. Darn it all! She had just gotten over terrible sinus and ear infections and 10 days of antibiotics! I guess we'll be staying home tomorrow and visiting the doctor. So is the life with a toddler!

February 1

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals against the Pittsburg Steelers. We invited the Dailys and Trina and Nelson to join us for the festivities. It was a lot of fun watching the kids play around and to spend time with friends. It is also enjoyable to see how the men can get so into the game! I especially love it when Matt shouts out calls, as if the refs can hear him! I had to add this cute picture I got of Sophie today too. She spent most of the day soaking in Will... just watching his every move, and I believe learning from him. It was a fun day, oh and Pittsburg won.