January 31

Sophie loves playing the Memory game with me. She's not old enough to play the actual way, but she loves finding the matches with the cards turned up. I hope she enjoys game playing because I sure do! I also hope she doesn't get mommy's competitive gene, or we will have some trouble!

January 30

Sophie played a little princess dress up tonight equipped with a tiara, necklace, and wand. She hasn't ever played with a wand before, so I taught her to say "Bibbity bobbity boo" and she did all night! After that fun, she hopped into an empty diaper box to draw in her art notebook. This was especially cute to see since I used to do the same thing when I was a little one!

January 29

Sophie and I enjoyed a "day off" together. I didn't have to go to work and so we did some shopping, had lunch together, and played, played, played! I so enjoy watching her play with her kitchen. Today, she boiled and baked some watermelon and carrots and I ate every last bite, like a good mommy!!

January 28

One of my goals this year is to photograph Sophie's artwork from daycare. They do such a nice job with the things that Sophie makes (with the teacher's touches of course) and I want to remember them! I know as time goes by, things may fall apart or get lost, but hopefully the pictures will remain!

January 27

I finally succumbed to the texting peer pressure and upgraded. It was fun sending a text out to all of my friends tonight to let them know, and to get their cheery responses. I think that I'm going to enjoy this whole texting thing...

January 26

Fun in the bathtub! Tonight, Sophie was singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" while playing... her favorite part being the "E I E I O!" It's too cute to hear her sing with her little lisp and the messing up of words!

January 25

Comfy socks, how wonderful! I usually hate wearing socks, but during the winter my feet are freezing (along with the rest of me) so I bundle up. Since I've lost a lot of weight, I tend to get colder a lot easier, so I wear pajama pants, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and socks to bed. I also have flannel sheets, two blankets, and a comforter. I sometimes even turn on the electric blanket! Crazy, huh?

January 24

Sophie and I didn't do anything today! I slept in until nearly 8:30, which was a shock! I didn't hear a peep out of Sophie. I also stayed in my pajamas all day since I am not feeling the greatest. So far it's only a head cold, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get any worse! She also has a runny nose, but was full of energy as usual! She did take a good nap and went down early which is nice for me since I'm ready for bed too!

January 23

Today's training run took me 8 miles around the upper Capitol neighborhood. I expected to be done in 80 minutes since I typically run a 10 minute mile. Well today as my watch shows, I had some fire in my feet, and had a pace of just over 9 minutes! I felt great and accomplished. There's nothing like it!

January 22

Ah, Amy's pizza and a glass of red wine... my little piece of heaven. That glass of wine was well deserved after this long week of school with my challenging students. Here's hoping this school year doesn't make me an alcoholic!

January 21

So, here is my silly daughter - no shirt (she got it extremely dirty at dinner), pink tutu, and my running shoes. She was happy as a clam, dancing around and taking pictures with her little camera.

January 20

I've taken a break from scrapbooking, and decided to pull out my old Nintendo DS. I hadn't played with it for quite some time, and it's a wonderful time waster! I particulary like playing Mahjong... I know, I'm a nerd!

January 19

Today was a nice day out, so I took advantage and Sophie rode her bike (with a little help from me) to the park. She had fun going down the slide and has taken a liking to playing "store." She loves to take my pretend money in exchange for pretend hot dogs and ice cream usually. Let's hope for good weather so we can do this more often!

January 18

I've been doing a lot of running in the rain, so my hats have been hanging around. Sophie loves to grab them and put them on her head (backwards only). I love how cute she looks and how clear this shot turned out. Maybe I'm getting a bit better!

January 17

It seems like from the minute Sophie puts on her pajamas, she gets a second wind and wants to race and dance all over the house! Tonight, she was dancing to Jack Johnson's CD for Curious George, and she's loving it!

January 16

Just me and the dog hanging out tonight. A low key evening for a change... books, Facebook, and TV are on the agenda. Sounds good to me!

January 15

Sophie was busy, busy, busy this evening! I think she played with every toy, we read a ton of books, and she completed all 10 puzzles that she has! She gets herself focused on something (tonight it was painting) and she couldn't eat or think unless it involved painting. It's hard at those times because I have to use all of my tricks to get her to eat! Finally, she did get some food down and she got her reward!

January 14

Sophie lugs her Little People dollhouse into my bedroom and states, "I'm strong!" Then she dropped it off, and while leaving the room said, "I'm a big girl!" It's so fun to see how Sophie's language is developing. I grabbed my camera and said, "Show Mommy how strong you are," and this picture is what I got!

January 13

Tonight we had book club at my house and enjoyed an Asian themed feast! Everyone brought delicious things in honor of Amy Tan's, The Bonesetter's Daughter. There even were fortune cookies for dessert. I thought my fortune was quite serendipitous to some recent events in my life. It's posted on my refrigerator as a reminder.

January 12

I wish I had her energy! Sophie loves to "hide" from me, and tonight was no different when she slipped inbetween the two sofas. She was pretending that she was opening a present by putting her pens in a gift bag that mom got from yesterday. She would say, "What's in there?" and I would respond with "I don't know, show me!" She would be excited to give me the pens and then start the game over again. Fun times!

January 11

Happy birthday Mom!! Sophie and I celebrated with Grandma Sue tonight. After a yummy dinner at Casa Mia, and a sinful chocolate cake, Mom graciously allowed Sophie to help open her gifts. Sophie is all about birthdays right now after celebrating with her friends, Will and Hannah recently. She sang and said "Happy birthday" about a hundred times to Grandma tonight! I think she made it a special birthday for Mom!!

January 10

So, Sophie was still thinking about the fact that she didn't get to blow bubbles at Hannah's party that she made up for it tonight! I had a little bit of bubbles left over and Sophie spent a good 1/2 hour blowing bubbles in the kitchen while I made dinner. She kept shouting, "look mom" and "lots of bubbles" and "wow, they're big" and "bubbles!!" She was happy as a clam that she finally got to blow her bubbles.

January 9

Sophie, Will, and I went to Hannah's 3rd birthday party this morning. Karen had an early class, so she met up with us later on. Hannah's party had a princess theme, and the amazing Becky hand made tutus for the girls and capes for the boys. They had wands, necklaces, and crowns to wear as well. Sophie had a great time, but was fussy. It was during her nap time, so she was a bit out of sorts. She really wanted to eat cake (before it was served) and then she really wanted to blow bubbles (and that was Becky's job), but she certainly enjoyed herself!

January 8

One of Sophie's chores is to get a dog bone for Nikki each night before bed. She loves this chore since she can get the bone herself and deliver it to a happy Nikki. She has a few other chores around the house, as I'm trying to help her learn how to help. She puts her clothes in the hamper, her diapers in the garbage, and gives Nikki her breakfast and dinner. She also does a great job with putting things away (most of the time) and helping when she can. Maybe I should start giving her an allowance... hmmm?

January 7

Sophie wanted to draw with her chalk tonight, but it was raining. So, I figured that she could draw on the front steps since they are covered. She enjoyed making her circles and lines, and I drew a few things for her too. It was fun, but it will remain there forever unless I wash it down with the hose since it's covered! Oh well!

January 6

Sophie's favorite thing to play with right now is either her Play Doh or her pens. She loves to draw and to be creative with the Play Doh, I guess she's bringing out her creative side. I kept saying "Psst" to her while she was playing, and she'd turn around and say "What Mommy?" I snapped this shot just as she turned around and love the look on her face.

January 5

I still love to look at Sophie while she's sleeping, even though she's not a baby anymore. Sometimes I check on her several times before I finally hit the hay just because she looks so peaceful.

January 4

Back to work, but I get to come home to a smiling, fun, energetic little girl! She had fun posing for a few pictures tonight before bedtime. I can't get over how sweet she looks in this shot!

January 3

Sophie helped me make turkey veggie chili this afternoon. I was hoping that if she was invested in making it, that she might eat it! Well, I was right! She loved to take the veggies that I chopped and to dump them into the pot. She helped me with stirring too and was thrilled. I was amazed at how well she listened to directions and was super careful. She kept telling me to be careful with the knife, which is good advice for me since I tend to be clumsy! She ate a good amount of her chili at dinner and was so proud since she made it!

January 2

This afternoon, Sophie and I went to Will Daily's 3rd birthday bash. Sophie was so excited for cupcakes and being able to sing "Happy Birthday," but she actually did neither at the party! She loved playing with Will's easel, doing the sticker craft activity, and watching Will open presents. She did very well with the present opening, and I was a bit worried, being so close to Christmas. She wanted to play with what he had, but didn't try to open presents, so phew! When we left, I asked her if she had a good time and she said "YES!" The party was a success! Now on to Hannah's party next weekend!

January 1

The Christmas decorations came down today and the snowmen went up! I enjoy my wintery friends this time of year, and Sophie likes looking at them too!

December 31

Sophie enjoyed feeding Monkey George her goldfish this afternoon during snack. She has gotten a lot better at sharing her things, especially when it's with a stuffed animal or toy!