Tree O' Family

Homework assignment: family tree. Here is what Emma created. It kinda rocks.

Life through the eyes of Sophie

I'm too busy/lazy to think up my own blog topics right now, so I'm gonna steal from my youngest instead. Here are some random quotes/observations from Sophie this week that made me giggle.
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Started using the phrase My Little Pony as an exclamation. Examples:
"My Little Pony, it's a beautiful day!"
"Ugh. I can't get my pants up! My. Little. PONY!"
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Pointing at a black smart car: "Hey! That car looks like a peppermint patty!"
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Listening to "Teenage Dream" (GLEE version) in the car: "I asked Daddy to sing this to me for lullaby last night, but he didn't know da words. Daddy mean to me!"
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Listening to "If I Had A Million Dollars" in the car: "I loved this song when I was a boy."
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Listening to Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." in the car: "Hannah Mun-dana is a boy-girl. She has a vagina just like me!"
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In car, just after going over a speed bump: "Mommy, when you go 'bum-da-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM-da-dum' it makes my tummy feel funny."
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Exchange between Sophie and her babysitter Margaret:
Margaret: "Would you like to read a book?"
Sophie: "Sure!"
Margaret: "How about this one? Once upon a time..."
Sophie: "I really, really, REALLY love all the single ladies."
Margaret: "Hmm? What did you say? Oh, do you mean the song?"
Sophie: "What you say?"
Margeret: "The song 'All The Single Ladies'? I love that song too."
Sophie: "You silly. Now read."
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Peering into the toilet bowl post-defecation: "Look! The toilet paper is hugging the poop! They are friends!"
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Decided to take two buckets of sidewalk chalk trick-or-treating, which consisted of loops around the apartment and repeated stops at my "door" to yell, "Ding dong chalk! Halloween us!"
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Asked if we could "stick to home" and then requested popcorn for breakfast. When I agreed to both, she started dancing in the middle of the kitchen floor and squealing, "I so happy like I never been! Thank you, Mommy!"
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Typed numbers into the calculator and then asked her Daddy what 7:30 means. Chris replied that he didn't know. Sophie leaned right into his face and whisper-shouted, "It means KAY."
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Sophie: "There are no crabs at Red Lobster."
Me: "Really? Where did they go?"
Sophie: "They go home."
Me: "How did they get there?"
Sophie: "They crawled and crawled and crawled until they weren't there anymore."
Me: "Oh. That's nice."
Sophie: "Does dat make you sad, Mommy?"
Me: "That the crabs are gone? No, I'm glad they got home safely."
Sophie: "Me, too. They are so brave. They my favorites."
Me: "Your favorite crabs?"
Sophie: "No. My favorite friends."

One lovely ladyfellow and three boys of his(her) own

Sophie sings her version of one of her favorite lullabies. (Sorry Marcia-Jan-Cindy, you are apparently no longer in the family.)

Cooties and Double Spaceship

This is what Sunday morning looks like around here.

Florida, I am telling you...you're gonna love me

As previously mentioned, we spent a week in Sarasota, Florida over Christmas. It was my step-grandmother-in-law's (you follow that?) 90th birthday party, and the entire Wilson clan flew in for the event. It was great to reconnect with family we don't often get to see. We shared living quarters with Chris's stepbrother Paul, his wife Carrie, and their three awesome kids. By the time we left, I think Emma and Sophie were seriously considering asking Paul and Carrie to adopt them. It was a total lovefest. Between all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents vying for their attention, the girls were in serious happyland. Believe it or not, this birthday was the first I'd ever spent away from my family, and my in-laws surprised me with a cake at Christmas dinner. Even taking into consideration the ridiculous hat they forced onto my head requested I wear (see pic below), it was a super sweet gesture that I really appreciated. All told, we had a great visit. In fact, the only disappointing thing about the trip was the weather.

During our last trip to the Sunshine State, I began to suspect that Florida had something against us. After our most recent visit, I can confirm that Florida most certainly does dislike my family. The minute we arrived, Florida gave us the cold shoulder. Admittedly, the weather was still much more pleasant than what was going on back home in Chicago. I will even concede that Florida granted a brief weather reprieve on my birthday, and for a couple of hours I basked in the sun and studiously ignored the goosebumps flooding my flesh every time the wind changed direction. (Thank you, Florida.) However, the rest of the trip was jacket weather. The only day the temps edged past 70 was the day we were leaving, of course. Still, Florida was slightly warmer to us than she was back in February. I sense marginal progress. And I do love a challenge. So...Florida? Hear me now. I refuse to be deterred by your hostile overtures. We will continue to visit, and eventually, we will win you over. I promise you, one day you will weep sunbeams of joy the minute my family crosses the state line. Just you wait. And until then...game on.

And now...a few words from our sponsor pics from our trip.

 

 Christmas morning

 Happy birthday to me...and Jesus!

 The girls with G. & G. Kitty

 We clean up well, no?

 Dinner at the Ritz with the whole family. Fun fun fun.

Outside! In their swimsuits! IN THE WATER! Gotcha, Florida...take THAT!

Chillin' on the beach with my homegirl, Sophie P.

Sophie on a Wednesday

Woke up to Sophie's bloodcurdling screams. Terrified, I literally ran to her room, convinced she had somehow managed to set herself on fire or sever a limb. As soon as Sophie caught sight of me, all screeching ceased and she broke into a huge grin. "Mommy, hi! You're awake! Can we please go climb a mountain today?"

The girls had a great time in Florida with their grandparents and the entire Wilson clan. (I promise to post pictures soon!) Aunt Carrie crocheted scarfs for the girls, and Sophie loved being her crocheting assistant.

Carrie attached a little bell to the end of the scarf, which rings every time Sophie experiences sudden movement. Sophie usually loves the ringing, but in the car today, she wasn't feeling it. "Ma-maaaaa! Every time you make the car do fast, it brings my jingle down. Don't bring my jingle down, okay?"

During the same aforementioned car ride, Sophie pointed up at an airplane with a huge plume of dark smoke trailing behind it. "Look, Mama! That airplane tooted out poop all over da sky!"

Sophie: "I saw Santa Claus last morning."
Me: "You did? Where did you see Santa?"
Sophie: "On the street. He was walking around and looking for where all the Christmas went."

When we left for Florida, there was snow all over the ground. Upon our return, it was gone. This confused Sophie greatly. I explained that when we went to Florida, the snow melted away. She seemed satisfied with that response, and I thought the conversation was over. Then today, out of nowhere, she looked out our window and burst into tears. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Mommy, why did Florida dead kill our snowman?" she wailed.

Sophie has finally started attempting to go #2 on the toilet (as opposed to timing her bowel movements for naps or bedtime so she can use a pull up, which has been her impressively successful avoidance strategy for the last six months). Tonight was her second straight success on the potty. "Hooray!" I shouted. "What do you have to say for yourself, big girl?" Sophie beamed and exclaimed, "Yay! I go poop just like a dolphin!"

Ho Ho Ho...Merry Christmas!

Currents: Sophie

Current Books: Pinkalicious, Purplicious and Dora Christmas Carol. She adores being read to and often enlists her sister for this service if Mommy and Daddy are busy. She is starting to memorize books she has heard repeatedly and then "reads" them back to herself, which is super cute.

Current Music: She adores Laurie Berkner, and her greatest hits CD is probably Sophie's favorite. But lately we've been listening a lot to a Christmas mix I made, and her favorites are Glee's version of "Jingle Bells," "Jingle Bell Rock" by Rascall Flatts, and "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." Another favorite CD is the soundtrack from "Jack's Big Music Show." For contemporary music, her two favorites remain Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies" and Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop The Music."

Current TV/Film: She's all over the map with movies. She just told me her current favorites are "Cinderella, Snow White and Elmo." She also loves Strawberry Shortcake anything, Toy Story 3, and (still, but not as obsessively as she used to) Thumbelina. Right now the girls are watching "Frosty The Snowman" on TV, which is a holiday favorite along with The Grinch. Sophie's favorite TV shows are "Wow Wow Wubbsy" and "Max and Ruby," but she also really likes "Kai Lan," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and "Powerpuff Girls" like Emma.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: As disgusting as it is to say, she really loves picking her nose. And, sometimes, even eating the boogers, which I've caught her doing gleefully more than once. She also likes to lick things like windows and walls. Her favorite window to lick is the one at the gym that encloses the pool. She'll put her face right up against the glass, wave to all the swimmers, and lick away. I cannot express how much this grosses me out. I'd rather watch her eat boogers, frankly. Another guilty pleasure is drooling. She sleeps in the same corner of her crib every night, face down with her butt in the air, and in the morning I find her laying in a pool of her own drool. She sometimes puts her hands underneath her mouth and then wakes up with red, cracked, bleeding hands. I have no idea why she does this. I've asked her several times, and the only answer I get is, "Because I want to."

Current Color: She doesn't have a particular color she likes over others, at least not an obvious one. Although whenever she plays "Guess Who?" with Emma and has to ask which color Em's character is, she always starts with blue. Clothes-wise, I think she looks really good in dark purples and browns.

Current Links: She still asks for "monster funny" once in awhile, which was what she dubbed the Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody" video on You Tube. But other than that, she is really never on the computer.

Current Fetish: Hmmm, this is a tough one. She's 3, so she's very particular about things, which can often come off as fixations. ("Fixation" is a synonym for "fetish" according to my Microsoft Word thesaurus - aren't I resourceful?) She won't go on the potty unless she is stripped completely naked from the waist down; she has to be the one to hit the start button on a movie or she won't watch it; she insists on reading every page of a book, including title/dedication/copywright pages; she is incapable of being away from the house more than five minutes without a snack; etc. As for an object of obsession? Well, she adores her favorite snuggle, Little Bat. (See pic.) And she's definitely crazy about orange juice and cheese - she can't get through the day without either. But in the last couple of days, her favorite thing in the world is the dollar bill she got at the grocery store the other day.

 

Current Outfit: Brown footed pajamas with red, pink and white polka dots.

Current Fragrance: Honestly? Sophie pretty much always smells vaguely of pee. Even right after the bath, when I've lathered her with lotion, I swear I still catch a lingering whiff of it. But if anyone can pull off the whole urine-odor-thing, I suppose it is Sophie.

Current Drink: Half water, half orange juice. Water on bottom, juice on top. Shake and serve. Do not EVER vary from this concoction or severe tantrums will ensue. If no orange juice is around, she will sometimes drink apple juice or fruit punch. Occasionally she will deign to drink water, but only if it is from Mommy's water bottle. Milk is 100% off limits and will never pass her precious lips.

Current Wish List: Sophie doesn't really wish for things. She wishes for events: to go to Indiana, to go to Florida, to go to St. Louis - basically, to see a grandparent stat; to have someone read a book to her; to have Mommy or Daddy "come sit in the living woom wif me"; for Emma to come home from school and be with her; for Sophie to be able to go to school and be with Emma; to go see Daddy at his work; to go where Mommy talks in the microphone so she can see Debby and Beckham and get a treat; to go see friends at the gym; to go swimming in the pool. (This last one she asks for every day, and every day I explain that the pool is not open in the winter and we'll go when it is warm again but it will not be warm again for many many many days. And she nods her head and says okay and then asks me the exact same question the very next morning.)

Current Triumph: Putting on her mittens and boots by herself; brushing her own teeth (and by "brushing" I mean sucking off all the remaining toothpaste from the brush after Mommy or Daddy has gotten every tooth clean); being big enough to grab onto the handle above the window in the back seat of the car; learning all the words to "Jingle Bells"; counting to 20 (although always forgetting the number 16); washing her own face in the bath; writing her own name with my hand guiding hers. 

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Naps. Love/hate relationship, definitely. Sometimes she comes to me before 10am and says she is tired and ready to go to bed. Other times, she screams in her crib for two hours and refuses to go to sleep. She also hates darkness when she sleeps. She insists we keep her bedroom door "big open" at naps and bedtime, and if for some reason we ease it partway closed during the night, she wakes in the morning hysterical about how the mean monsters and dinosaurs are trying to eat her. 

Current Celebrity Crush: Strawberry Shortcake. Snow White. Powerpuff Girls. Laurie Berkner. The usual.

Current Indulgence: Other than orange juice and cheese? "Cheese from the deli," a regular grocery store request. Chili cheese fritos or barbeque potato chips. Tangerine or blue raspberry dum-dum pops. York peppermint patties. Plain m&ms. Strawberries. (I include this because it's the only fruit she regularly asks for, but they are out of season and so expensive that I can't justify buying them right now. So, for this time of year, an indulgence.)

Current Excitement: Well, Christmas...of course. This is the first year she really gets it, so she's asking a lot of questions about Santa and presents and all that stuff. She's also very excited to go to Florida over the holidays. She is looking forward to seeing Grandma and Grandpa Kitty, but the two things she can't stop talking about are the airplane ride and going swimming. Every time we see a plane flying in the sky she points and asks, "Mommy, is that the airplane that takens us to Florida?" 

Current Mood: Happy. It's Saturday morning, her beloved big sister is home and playing games with her, and life is good. Sophie is a pretty happy kid. She definitely has a temper, and she has her share of bad days, but for the most part Sophie is full of joy...and it's infectious.

Currents: Emma

Okay, I'm totally stealing this whole idea from my friend Genevieve. (Thanks, Gen.) So, here is Emma at six and a half years old. Sophie will follow soon.
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Current Books: At the moment, she is reading Junie B. Jones, Boss of Lunch. She loves the Secrets of Droon series and recently finished all the Judy Moody books. She is deep into chapter books and reads way beyond the level typical for her age.

Current Music: Tis the season, and she's really digging Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." She still loves that dumbass "Tik Tok" song by Ke$ha. (And no, that's not a typo - the girl actually spells her professional name with a dollar sign, which is just another in a long list of reasons why I can't stand her.) She also loves Taylor Swift's "You Belong To Me" and "Love Story." And Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." And Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream."

Current TV/Film: She just saw The Wizard of Oz and it was love at first sight. She also digs the Barbie movies and recently discovered Home Alone. For TV, it's all "Powerpuff Girls" all the time around here.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Pushing her sister's buttons. She loves to make faces at Sophie or whisper things to her when she thinks I'm not paying attention. She does not do this to entertain her sister (I wish!); she does it to get a rise out of her. When Sophie then starts screaming at the top of her lungs and we ask Emma what happened, the answer is always, "I don't know." Or sometimes she shouts "I didn't do anything!" before we've even asked what's wrong, which is always a dead giveaway that she's guilty as sin.

Current Color: Always always always always...pink.

Current Links: She likes to go on Nick Jr.'s website and use their drawing pad. At school she visits sites like Study Island during computer class. That's about it. Oh - I also show her some of the songs from "Glee" online. Of course, "Teenage Dream" was her favorite.

Current Fetish: Her diary and her notebook. She has to have something with her to write or draw in wherever she goes. She carries her notebook in her backpack...she used to carry her diary too, but it was stolen at school and complete devastation ensued, so she doesn't take it there anymore. She typically uses her notebook for songs and pictures, and she records her dreams in her diary. I am so happy that expressing herself artistically has already become such a vital part of her life.

Current Outfit: Today she wore a patterned sweater dress with red tights and her beloved black ankle boots. 

Current Fragrance: Hmmm...this is tough. Emma always smells like Emma to me, a fragrance impossible to describe yet so unique that I would recognize it blindfolded. I will say that she has some nasty sleep breath first thing in the morning, which just started happening in the last year. Gone are the days of sweet baby/toddler breath all the time. I think it's because she sleeps with her mouth wide open, just like her Daddy. She chews watermelon Trident on the bus every morning b/c she's such a bear to wake up before school that I can't get her to brush her teeth.

Current Drink: Orange juice or chocolate milk. Sometimes green tea or apple juice. Once in awhile Gatorade or this special passion fruit blend she loves. She covets Sunkist, but I will only let her have it on New Year's Eve. (The rest of the year we have a strict No Soda policy.)

Current Wish List: Sunkist, to rule the world, to stay the night at her friend Olivia P.'s house "all the time every day!", no more homework, to sleep in on school days, to have parents who don't tell her what to do, to get Tivo season passes to "Hannah Montana" and "iCarly" (I flatly refuse), to live in Indiana.

Current Triumph: She recently lost her first tooth, and although I'm not sure this technically counts as a triumph, she sure treated it as one. She was prouder than I've ever seen her. She also got all As on her first quarter report card and received a blue Honor Roll ribbon. She was narrator in her class play Spiderella, and she just mastered how to fast forward through commercials on the TV. Gosh, what else? I feel like she experiences little triumphs every day. Her ballet teacher told me she's a natural and should be taking classes at the Joffrey (which I will sign her up for immediately after winning the lottery); she was one of only 16 kids in her entire school of 1500 students to be selected by a casting director to audition for a national Lunchables billboard campaign (she didn't end up booking the job, but she had a ball at the photo shoot); and she now knows how to do double digit subtraction and is tackling basic algebra in math.

Current Bane Of Her Existence: When Sophie or I ask, "Did you have a fun day at school?" Apparently this makes Emma so mad that she wants to hit us, as she so bluntly explained to me in the car yesterday. She also hates wearing pants.

Current Celebrity Crush: Hmmm...she doesn't really know of many celebrities. She's still grappling with the knowledge that actors on TV are real people with real lives separate from the characters they are playing. Same with music - she doesn't connect the voice singing to an actual person; to her, it's just a voice. I showed her a picture of Taylor Swift on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and she was horrified that that was the person responsible for some of her favorite songs. I believe she said that Taylor looked like a magician. (In Emma's defense, Ms. Swift was dressed up in a tuxedo.) I guess her biggest "crushes" right now are probably Santa and the Tooth Fairy. She also loves Jack Black. He guest starred on episodes of "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "iCarly" and Emma declared him goofy "in the best way."

Current Indulgence: She has a wicked sweet tooth and will go after almost anything sugary. Some of her favorites are Fun Dip, Oreos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Current Excitement: She is very excited to go to Florida next week. She also gets excited when she creates what she declares to be the "perfect" picture; when I let her watch "iCarly"; when we go get donuts for breakfast; when Daddy lets her play his Nintendo DS; when she gets to stay up past her bedtime; when Aunt Jayme babysits; going to the movies or a play; and when Mommy doesn't have to go to rehearsal and can put her to bed.

Current Mood: Grumpy. Em yelled at me three times during the walk back from the bus stop. Right now she is in her room writing "I will not scream at my mother" 25 times. We'll see if it works.

Sophie saves the day

At the post office today, Sophie and I patiently stood behind a long line of people waiting to mail holiday packages. As a diversion, I told Sophie to listen for the bell the employees ring every time they finish helping a customer. I explained that every "ding!" meant we were one step nearer to being next. She eagerly awaited each ring and would scream after every one, "YAY! We're getting closer!" We'd been waiting about ten minutes when a woman waltzed into the room, bypassed the line entirely and stepped up to a suddenly open window. Her timing was impeccable; it was as if she'd materialized out of thin air at the precise moment a spot opened. The clerk didn't even have a chance to ring the bell. The woman plopped her boxes down and imparted mailing instructions to the befuddled postal worker as if she were queen of the world. I was struck dumb at her audacity. Apparently others were too, because we all just sorta stood there, speechless. No one confronted the woman, but soon a handful of people became increasingly vocal in their dismay. I seriously thought a fight was gonna break out. Amazingly, the woman didn't even acknowledge the uproar she was causing. It's possible she was oblivious to all the complaining going on directly behind her, but I doubt it. I just don't think she cared. Either way, I know she heard my little one. Just as everyone's anger seemed to be reaching the boiling point, Sophie pointed directly at the lady and shouted, "Hey! It's not your turn! Da bell didn't ding!" The line cutter didn't say a thing, but her face turned red enough to tip me off that she had caught every word of Sophie's spot-on tattling. The rest of the people sure did, because every person in line started cracking up. Sophie had no clue what was going on, but she knew she'd done something funny. So, of course, she started milking it, dancing in a circle and singing her own weird version of (as she calls it) "Jingle Bell All The Way." Everyone (except the evil line cutter, of course) loved it. We were all laughing so hard that no one seemed to notice when the woman finally left. We reached the front, did our thing, and waved goodbye at the people behind us who were still giggling. For the first time in my life, I left the post office in a great mood.

After the post office, we went to the grocery store. Sophie was be-bopping happily alongside me as I searched for the perfect gift card for Emma's teacher. An older woman caught sight of Sophie and started oohing and aahing over her. She was in love with Sophie, I swear. She reached into her purse and asked if she could give Sophie a surprise. I figured she was gonna whip out some kind of little treat, so I said sure. Our brand new friend proceeded to give Sophie a crisp dollar bill. I protested, but the woman just shushed me and said that seeing Sophie's face had brought joy to her morning. She explained that she had no kids or grandkids of her own, and she wanted to give Sophie something special. Sophie grinned ear to ear at her present and exclaimed, "Thank you! This is the bestest dollar I never seen!"

Walking back to the car, I marveled at the magic of Sophie. She has a way about her, and I'm not just saying that because she's my kid. She touched a lot of people today. Thinking about that kind woman in the store with no family of her own, I felt so incredibly grateful. One moment with my daughter is enough to put a smile on a stranger's face, and I get to enjoy the gift of Sophie every day.

Ballet Snowgirl

Attention: the following blog post is for family only. All other readers will probably be bored. Consider yourself warned.

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Here's an example of what my fabulous kid does at school. She's not the best speller, but I dig how her mind works.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Tonight is the first rehearsal for my new show. It is the first play I've done with a theater company other than Infamous in over four years. With the exception of one distant acquaintance, I know nobody in the cast or crew. As always when starting a new job, I'm a little anxious. But I'm excited too. I put on my new red sweater, some earrings, a little makeup. Of course, as any good loved ones would, my dear family sensed my nervousness and immediately attempted to bolster my confidence and set my mind at ease.

Me: "Hey girls? I am going to wear my locket with your pictures in it, so you will be with me tonight."
Em: "How can we be with you if we are here at home? We aren't going to your workshop..."
Me: "Workshop? What am I, Santa Clause?"
Chris: "Well, you are big and red, so..."

Oh, yeah. He said that. I am 99% positive that's what came out of his mouth. However, Chris claims that what he REALLY said was, "Well, you are baking bread, so..." Seriously? That's the best he can do? Since when does Santa bake bread?

Now I am asking, in complete and utter sincerity - can one person out there claim to believe him? Because honestly, I need a very compelling argument right now AGAINST doing physical harm to my spouse, a.k.a. Mrs. Clause.

Winter Fun

Winter? We heart you. Or, more accurately, my girls heart you. They have been lovin' the cold lately. We went to the mall to have their pictures taken, and all they wanted to do was run around outside and see whose face could get the most red. (Sophie won, by a mile.) Then we got hit with our first big snow of the season, and they partook of much snow-related fun with their Daddy and Paw Paw.

This morning, we noticed someone had tipped over our bizarre looking beautiful snowman during the night. He looks pretty pathetic lying face-first in the snow. Yet even this failed to deflate the girls' winter high. Emma shrugged it off, pretending that the snowman was "snow swimming." Sophie just rolled her eyes and declared, "I bet a boy did it."

 

Heck no, this tooth won't go!

Emma finally lost her first tooth. I seriously thought we were gonna have to break out the ole door-and-string trick. The tooth had been loose for weeks and ended up twisted and sticking straight out of her mouth, parallel to her tongue. The permanent tooth had started coming in behind the baby tooth, yet the original mouth dweller was all "You will not evict me!" and refused to go. (Hmmm...Emma with stubborn teeth? Go figure.) The troublemaker finally fell out with a little help from our secret, tooth-evacuating weapon...cheddar cheese Ritz Bits. (We tried apple after apple, but leave it to the processed food to come to the rescue every time. Just one more reason to distrust healthy foods.) Between our first Tooth Fairy visit and Sophie's birthday, we had an exciting morning last Wednesday. Emma's response to all the hubbub? "When all my teeth fall out, will I be old enough to drive?"

There's a three-year-old in da house!

Three years ago, our family eagerly awaited a very precious gift.

 

Two days later, we got it.

Today, the gift just keeps on giving...and growing! Just like our love for her.

 

Happy birthday, sweet Sophie.