Sophie - 1/29/2016

Sophie ate oatmeal and canned prunes for breakfast.  Mommy picked her up before lunch today.

I think it's funny how Sophie does so much "pointing."  Hey, she gets lots of her needs met that way and also frequently gets her point across.  "So why should I use words?!?"  After reading some Special Books this morning she starts pointing to the book shelf on the wall and saying, "uh uh uh." Translation..."pick the books up and put them back up there!!"  :)  Yes Dear.  I'm on it!  By the way, she sat for all of Story Time this morning and I only had to tell her one time to "Quit bugging Reid or you'll have to get off the couch."

This picture doesn't really capture what they were doing, but Sophie was "chasing" Cooper.  He was sprinting from one side of the room to the other and she was chugging along as well.  I kept saying, "Get him Sophie, get him."  She was grinning and chuckling.  Half the time he was right behind her, but she kept on running.  Cooper said, "I'm right behind you Sophie" and she ran faster like he was now chasing her.  (Look how long her hair is getting!!)

Before Story Time I asked, "Who wants to read books?!?"  She pointed to herself and said, "MEEE!" She picked up my pillow and brought it to me and started pointing at the couch, "Uhuhuh..."  Translation..."sit down!"  :)

Sophie - 1/28/2016

Sophie was at Kinder-Music this morning and arrived right before lunch.  She ate bites of turkey slice, bite of dinner roll, bite or two of green beans, and ate mangoes.

I'm posting a couple of pictures from yesterday.  Sophie was trying to put one of these bandanas on Cooper's head this morning after she arrived and he wanted none of that!  "Help me Gary!"

Sophie - 1/27/2016

Sophie ate two servings of whole wheat toast and three servings of mixed berries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham slice, crackers, bean & bacon soup, and two servings of strawberries.

Lauralea was putting bandanas on Sophie's head and around her waist and several other kinds of arrangements!  After just about every arrangement Sophie would head for the mirror to have a look!  Earlier she'd been scowling and saying "NOOO" to one of the boys this morning and Lauralea said, "Wow! That just reminded me of Nora!"  Ha!  Sophie's shirt today reminded me of Nora.  I think I remember Nora wearing that one!!

Reid said he was thirsty!  Sophie heard him say that and she raced to the "drinking spot!"  :)  She took off for the step even before I told them to sit and get their water bottles.  Then when everyone was done (she was the last one to release her bottle of course) she was pointing back out to the kitchen where the water bottles go.  Thank you Sophie.  :)

She sat on the couch between Reid and I for Story Time and sat there the entire time.  Whenever she'd recognize words or directions in the books she'd make it obvious that she was understanding it all.  Later, I asked her where Bubba's toys were at and she immediately pointed right at them.  She's already becoming a great helper!!  :)

Sophie - 1/26/2016

Sophie ate blueberry bagel and three servings of apricots for breakfast.  For lunch she ate everything as well.  I mixed it together and fed her the chicken, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce.  Before I put on her bib I said, "Pull up your sleeves" (our routine) and she immediately tried.  And the same thing after I washed her I said, "Pull down your sleeves" and again she tried and was actually quite successful!

Cooper was examining Sophie's mouth this morning and determined that "her lost some teeth!"  Ha!

Lauralea was sitting in her chair (near where Sophie's takes a nap) and I took Sophie out to see her and to get Soph a ponytail by the expert!  After Lauralea was finished she asked Sophie to point out where she, Cooper, and Reid all take naps and Sophie successfully pointed to each spot where the nap mats go.

Later, Lauralea came out to the Daycare Room and Sophie pointed at the couch where she wanted Lauralea to sit and then she wanted on Lauralea's lap to play some "Walk walk, trot trot, gallopy gallopy." Then Lauralea sings this other song to her ("Pony Girl") and bounces her some more.  I took this picture of Sophie and Cooper waving bye to Lauralea at the window this morning.

I asked Sophie if she wanted to do some "dot painting" and she got all excited and said, "Uh huh!"  She sat down at the table beside Reid and I gave them all a paint shirt.  Reid picked one up, handed it to her and said, "Here Hofie, Put it on!"  Ha!  The cute part: she actually tried and had it sitting on top of her head!  :)

Sophie - 1/25/2016

Sophie ate bran cereal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate all of homemade (whole grain pizza crust bought at store) canadian bacon and cheese pizza.  She also ate bites of corn and ate tropical fruit.  She is working so hard at using her spoon and doing quite well!

During Story Time we were reading and looking at a book with Farm Animals.  As soon as she saw the piglets with the bigger pigs she was pointing and saying "baby, baby..."  That's pretty cool that she recognized the smaller ones as the babies.

We've always called the ponytails "whale spouts" when they are situated on the middle top of the girl's heads.  So I told Reid that Sophie had "whale spout" this morning.  Pretty soon he was giggling  and said it was a "volcano."  :)

We did a toy, book, puzzle, AND poster exchange this weekend.  Sophie spotted the different posters the moment she came through the door!  And she went around and examined them all.  And she checked out all the new toys as well.

Here's Sophie with some dress-up clothes on; bumble bee jacket and some cowgirl boots.  It was cute as could be to watch her walk with these boots.  She actually got one on by herself and then came for help with the second boot.

Sophie 1/21/2016

Sophie arrived from Kinder-Music just before lunch so this will be short.  For lunch she ate everything: chicken, crackers, sweet potatoes, and two servings of canned cherries.  She must have been hungry because she didn't waste any time eating!

After Lunch I was feeding Hudson his bottle and Sophie had taken off her sock.  I asked Reid if he'd put it on the changing table for me.  When Sophie heard me say that she promptly sat down and yanked off her other sock and handed it to him as well.  Ha!  Silly Sophie the language guru!  

Sophie - 1/20/2016

Sophie ate half of biscuit serving and ate two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she had a large serving of baked beans.  (That reminded me of Nora who love the baked beans when she was very young.)  She also ate most of dinner roll serving, couple bites of peas, and a large serving of pineapple.

I took this first picture while Sophie was showing off her puzzle skills to Lauralea this morning.  :)  Hudson came while she was doing the puzzles and I said, "Here comes Bubba."  Boy she threw down the puzzle piece and headed for the gate!  He also gets excited when he sees her after a nap.  I was holding him this morning and when we went to the Daycare room he started getting excited and waving his arms.

I took this next picture when Sophie was scooting blocks around to stand on this morning.  She also scooted one of the yellow benches next to the changing table to check out what was one top of there.  I call that "problem solving skills!"  Or being skilled at creating problems!!  :)  I guess it just depends on the situation.

She was doing more of the same things I've been Blogging about.  Such as picking up the baby toys, putting them into the basket, and pointing to the spot on the shelf where I put them.  Then when Lauralea was leaving she said, "bye" and then LOUDLY said, "byyyyyeeee!!"  She likes to tease Daddy and she won't say bye to him.  The little turkey - she knows he wants her to!!

Sophie - 1/19/2016

Sophie ate waffle and two servings of hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of chicken &     cheese quesadilla, couple bites of carrots, and ate mandarin oranges.

While I'm writing this Blog Sophie is laying on her nap mat beside me coughing and coughing.  She was only asleep about 20 - 30 minutes when she started to cough and she immediately tried to sit up. I laid her back down and she went back to sleep.  (I don't think she was really awake.)  So far she seems to be sleeping through the coughing so that's good.

Molly, this is an FYI for you - Pat was gracious and didn't taunt me about the Steelers losing on Sunday.  However, he did have this HUGE stinking cheesy grin on his face the entire time he was here!!  He walked in grinning and he was still grinning when he went out the door!!  Ha!  At least the Steelers played well and made him nervous!!  (I was concerned they might get blown out!)

I took this picture last Friday in the afternoon, but I thought it was really cute so I'm posting it today.  Sophie was putting on these soccer shoes and it was hilarious!  Then she stuck one out in front of Hudson so he could check it out!!

Sophie is becoming quite the little "fixer."  When she sees something out of place she fixes it!!  Here are several example just from this morning!  1)  I was changing Hudson's diaper to put him to bed and she picked up his toys (again), put them in the little basket, picked up the basket and handed it to me. "He-a, he-a."  ("here")  2)  She was sliding down the slide (over and over and over), stopped what she was doing when she spotted two stuffed toys in the igloo, went over and put them on the mattress and then back to the slide.  3)  She saw my pillow on the floor, picked it up and put in on the couch where I usually sit.  4)  Lauralea was leaving behind her blanket and heating pad on the Daycare couch.  Sophie started pointing...."uh uh uh uh."  5)  She was in her highchair and Bubba was in his highchair and he was yelling for his food.  She started singing "nigh nigh Bubba, nigh nigh Bubba." Wow!  She knew what would help him!  :)  Oh, I just thought of one more!!  I had a follow-up appointment for my thumb this morning and Lauralea was here with the kids.  She said that Sophie spotted Hudson moving around in his crib in the monitor before she noticed it!!  (He wasn't crying.) She came over pointing and getting Lauralea's attention!  That's probably enough examples - I think I've illustrated my point!  :)  Here are a couple random pictures from this morning:

Sophie - 1/15/2016

Sophie ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce - I mixed it together and she ate all of it.

This picture doesn't really show how cute her hair was, but you get the idea.  Lauralea made a "loop thing" and then the end the hair was pointing straight up and looking cute.  Little cutie!

This second picture shows the hair thing from a different angle.  Again, I didn't quite get what I wanted to in this picture, but Sophie had went over to the clothes rack and grabbed all of them with her arms and said, "MINE!"  Ha ha ha!  That cracked me up!  Typical 18 month old!!  Actually, she's the only one who plays with dress-up clothes right now so that's basically true!!

Here's a couple stories of Sophie yelling "NO" at Hudson this morning!  We have 3 pillows that pretty much hang out in the Daycare room all the time.  :)  I use one for my back and Sophie apparently knows that's the one I always use!  Hudson was playing with it on the floor and I sat down in the chair.  Sophie yelled, "NO" at Hudson and grabbed the pillow and put it behind my back.  Ha!  She knows where it always goes!!  Then later Hudson had made his way to the toy shelf and was grabbing some toy plates.  Sophie yelled "NO" again and grabbed the plates.  Maybe she thinks he only has access to his basket of baby toys.  Ha!

Sophie - 1/14/2016

Sophie ate most of raisin english muffin and two servings of blueberries at breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey slice, whole wheat sandwich thin, several bites of green beans, and two servings of strawberries.

I was going out to start Lauralea's car and Sophie was yelling my name as I was going.  She was doing a "D" sound for the "G."   Kind of like this; "Deh-wee, Deh-wee."  One other thing she's been doing ALL morning is making a "clicking" sound with her tongue.  She was doing it all day yesterday as well.

I took this picture yesterday afternoon when Kenzie was teaching Sophie some puzzle skills.  It was actually very adorable and Kenzie would let Sophie struggle for a few seconds before moving the piece a little bit.  I told Kenzie what an awesome job she was doing and doing it very naturally!  This was the first time Sophie has done puzzles at Little Treasures and she was nailing them!!  And she was focused and stayed on track for at least 10 puzzles.  Then she was carrying them all over to put them away as well.  Already a pro!!

I was changing Hudson's diaper and getting him ready for nap and I asked Sophie if she'd pick up Hudson's toys and put them in the basket.  I did one so she'd see what I wanted and she did the rest. So that was worthy of a picture too!!  After lunch Hudson was playing with the basket of toys again and she decided they needed to be picked up right then.  Ha!

Ok, so I have to post another picture of Lauralea loving on Sophie this morning.  Lauralea had been singing to her.  Hey!  Speaking of singing - at lunch time today Reid started saying, "walk walk, gallopy gallopy, walk walk....."  That's the game Lauralea frequently plays with Sophie in the mornings.  (Except Lauralea adds "trot trot" in the middle.)  Well Sophie just grinned from ear-to-ear and she started doing it to in a "singsongy" voice.  That was so stinking cute!!!!  She was saying, "Walk walk, walk walk, walk walk..."

Sophie - 1/13/2016

Sophie ate jelly toast and three servings of mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken/rice/bean burrito, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.  (Molly, I serve those sweet potatoes in little chunks so she can pick them up and serve herself.  It was the first thing she ate today and she ate them all.)

I took these two pictures yesterday afternoon and Sophie was in a great mood and being very silly.  She went over and set on Hudson's lap and was chuckling.  Hudson, of course, was loving it and immediately started grabbing her.  Sophie started frowning big-time!!  "What the heck is he doing!?!" I was glad I had the camera handy because it was so funny and it happened quick.  The look on her face was priceless - not the reaction from him that she was expecting!  :)  In the second picture she is pulling hard to get away and screaming "NO NO NO!!!"

This note is also from yesterday afternoon.  Like I mentioned Sophie woke up in a great mood and she was being loud and demonstrative!  She was walking around saying (loudly), "Momma, Momma, Momma...."  She walked over to Reid and repeated it loudly, "Momma!"  Reid said, "I not Momma!" Then looking at me Reid said, "Him want his Momma!!"  Ha!

She had a great morning and played with several different toys and did some free-drawing as well. She was playing with the dress-up clothes again!  She loves the shorts in this toy set - I decided one of the reasons she likes them so much is because they have a silky material that slips on and off so easily!  And it's usually on and off her head - everything goes on her head!  :)

Sophie - 1/12/2016

Sophie ate cinnamon roll and two servings of canned prunes.  For lunch she ate scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese combo.  She also ate bites of waffle and ate melon mix.

Today's Blog is going to be shorter because I had a follow-up Doctor appointment this morning and Lauralea covered for me.  (So I don't have notes - hard to get good help for free!!  Ha!)  Lauralea said while I was gone Sophie pointed out the window several times and said, "bye, bye, bye?"  Sophie said my name twice this morning and it kind of sounds like this; "Geh-yee."  When Lauralea was leaving Sophie said "byyyyy-eeeeee!"

As soon as I put Hudson down for his morning nap Sophie had all the baby toys in the little basket and brought the basket over and handed it to me.  Then she started pointing up to the shelf where it goes!  Ha ha!  Ok Nora!!  Lauralea said, "Wow! That was just like Nora!!"

Here's a picture of Sophie first thing this morning.  Right back to the dress-up clothes and putting the shorts on her head.  She knew she was being silly and was chuckling while trying to walk blind.  She was reaching out to grab me when I took the picture.

Sophie - 1/11/2016

Sophie ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham sandwich, half of peas, and three servings of mandarin oranges.

Reid and Lauralea were singing and Sophie went and got one of the egg shakers and started shaking it; grinning all over the place.  Then she was sitting on the cozy love seat between Lauralea and I.  She was leaning her head against me and then she'd lean it against Lauralea.  So dang cute and sweet.  Lauralea was saying, "Gary's turn" then "Lauralea's turn."  Reid couldn't stand it - he got up too and said, "Reid's turn."  And started laying his head on us too.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend.  Sophie played with the dress-up clothes several different times this morning.  It's a "sports theme" with the dress-up clothes in this toy exchange; like soccer shoes, soccer shirts, shorts, etc.  I took this two pictures below when Sophie was putting the shorts on her head.  She also looked so cute walking around with one soccer shoe on!

Cooper had taken off his socks and hadn't put them on the changing table.  He said, "Hey Gary! What color of sock did I have?!?"  No idea Coop!  As soon as Sophie heard him say that she came packing one of his socks over to me holding it out saying, "He-a, he-a, he-a."  (here)  Thanks Sophie!

Sophie - 1/6/2016

Sophie had a couple bites of blueberry bagel and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of ham, ate whole wheat elbow noodles topped with cheese, ate corn, and a bite of apple.

Sophie sat for all of Story Time today.  I've started sitting her on the couch beside me rather than on my lap and it's been working great.  If she doesn't want to sit and read she can just climb down.  At the end of a story I always say, "The End."  I finished a book and she said, "The End."  :)  Another book was animal sounds so it kind of went like this: What's a cat say?  Sophie said, "Mrr-ow, mrr-ow."  What's a pig say?  "Mrr-ow, mrr-ow."  What's a sheep say?  "Mrr-ow, mrr-ow."  Ok, you get the idea.  :)

I asked Sophie if I could have a love and Reid grabbed me from behind and was hugging me.  He said, "I give you love when Hofie give you love!"  He's a very sweet boy.

Sophie was walking around lifting up her shirt "wiping" her belly with a baby blanket.  She finally looked at me and saw that I was watching her.  She started grinning all over and chuckling and really started showing off then!

I decided to give it a try with Sophie on the nap mat today.  (Primarily because Hudson is needing her room full-time.)  And here's the proof that it worked!  Nice job Sophie!  She was a very big girl and handled it like a trooper!  She has inherited Nora's old napping spot!  (Hey Molly, I see a few popcorn crumbs around her on the floor in case she gets hungry during nap!)

I took this picture when Sophie was practicing bouncing on the mattress.  It's also great practice for her balance.  Especially when Reid is bouncing all over the place and she's fighting to stand up!  (Cooper is out today so it was Reid, Sophie, and Hudson at Daycare. )  I took a 10 second movie of her bouncing, but it didn't download so I'll have to figure that out!)

Sophie - 1/5/2016

Sophie ate waffle and three servings of pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tuna & crackers, ate sweet potatoes, and mandarin oranges.

Sophie was enjoying a bonding time of singing with Lauralea this morning.  Sophie was actually sitting on the arm of the couch and Lauralea started singing, "Pony Girl" and Sophie immediately started squirming to get on Lauralea's lap!  So cute.  I've mentioned before that Lauralea sings another song for her - "walk walk, trot trot, gallopy gallopy" - and when Sophie wants that song she taps on Lauralea's knee that that is the signal!  Ha ha!  (It's because Lauralea starts bouncing her up and down.)  I think Lauralea's in love with Sophie as much as I am!!  :)

I could post pictures every day of Sophie being a Little Mommy!  (And I just might!!  Ha!)  After I was done feeding Hudson his first bottle this morning Sophie went over to where he was sitting on the floor and tried to stick the doll bottle (in picture) in his mouth.  :)

Sophie was walking around this morning saying, "Hi Daddy, Hi Daddy..."  Then it was, "Hi Bubba, Hi Bubba...."  One of the times she was standing in front of the mirror watching herself say, "Hi Bubba, Hi Bubba..."  :)

Sophie - 1/4/2016

Sophie ate chex cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of Canadian Bacon sandwich, bite of tomato soup, ate crackers, and ate banana serving.

Lauralea was pretty impressed watching Sophie while I was getting Baby Bubba ready for his morning nap.  As soon as I started getting him ready and Sophie heard me say "nap" she started singing, "nigh nigh Bubba, nigh nigh Bubba."  And she was on tune!  When I came back from his bedroom she was waiting at the gate and still singing it.  :)

I was having fun with Sophie and spinning her first thing this morning.  I love her giggle; it's so cute. I decided pretty quickly that a little spinning is almost too much!  Ha!!

Here's a picture of Sophie with the doll she was playing with this morning.  She had the doll and blanket in the cloth bag or purse (whatever it is!) you see in the picture.  It has a handle and she was carrying it around the room.

I love this picture how Reid is bending over talking to Sophie and she's looking up at him very attentively!  So cute.  (She really likes her Reid.)  Earlier she'd found his socks on the floor, picked them up and brought them to me.  I told her to put them on the changing table, but she couldn't reach it so she put them on the top of the dress-up clothes rack in her secret hiding spot.  :)