Emmy says.....

Emmy's version of Grace to last nightDear God. Thank you for food and friends. Thank you for putting food in my belly. And the animals in the oceans belly. But we need more and more and more food in our bellies so we can be as big as elephants. Bon appetite, now you may eat. Amen. 

Emmy on going to see Auntie Koley this year"Mommy when we go to California to see auntie Koley we aren't taking a plane. We are going to take my flying horse. And Sophia will go on her flying donkey"

Emmy's First World Problems
Mommy, my back really hurts from coloring all.day.long. 

There is no way to preface this one....
mommy when I go to jail will you come visit me?

I am pretty sure she doesn't know what actual jail is.  Explanations we received were about germ jail and some game they play at school.

Emily has also become quite the little fibber these days.  She doesn't out right lie.  She will just take what you said and turn it around.  Most of the times its something like:

Me: Emily, maybe if you clean up your toys, we can read 3 books tonight instead of 2. 
Emily to Daddy in the next room: Mommy is going to clean up my toys, so you can read me more books tonight.  

She also signed herself up for ballet at school.  I received an email from the Stretch and Grow (a program that you pay extra for and they come to the school and do a sports class, which Emily participates in, and then another day they do ballet) organizer called to tell me she couldn't find Emily's paper work for ballet.  She informed me that Emily told the Coach that I signed her up, and she continued to line up with the girls every week since.  She had been doing it for several weeks....Needless to say, Emily now does ballet.  Her first recital is next week.  It's pretty cute actually.  Little Miss Independent sure knows what she wants. I am glad she can make decisions like this for herself, but I would like a little heads up sometimes. :)

Emmy is so silly, funny and independent.  I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next! 

Sisters

Everyday these two get closer and closer.  Emily is such a good big sister.  She is gentle and a good teacher.  She has her moments of frustration, but I am so proud of the big girl she has become.  There is nothing like the love between sisters! And here is a video the makes my heart super happy every time I watch it.

one.

I guess it is time I sit down and finally finish this post. It's been in draft mode for a few weeks now. My friend Kristin was right.  Writing this post was hard.  The hardest one yet.  The reality has set in. My sweet baby is now one.  I am in complete awe at how fast the last year went. It was probably one of the best years of my life. We made lots of changes, shed a lot of tears about those changes, we loved with all our hearts, and most importantly we grew in a family of 4.

My sweet Sophia...What is there to say about her.  She amazes me EVERYDAY by showing me what she has learned.  She is a little sponge.  She spends a lot of time watching and laughing at her sister.  She just thinks Emily is amazing (we do too..:) Here is what she has been up too:

• She weighs  19lbs 3 oz and is 28 inches long.  I still laugh when everyone tells me how chubby she is.  In reality she is itty bitty, sitting in the 10-25 percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height.  She is teenie tiny like her big sister.  The doctor also said her growth would probably slow down now that she is actively walking.
• She wearts size 3 diapers, 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes.
• Yes, she walks...no she RUNS.  This little monkey is super fast.  You can't leave her alone for a minute.  Actually, I take that back. As long as you block the stairs with a gate and close the bathroom door, Sophia is excellent at independent play.
• She loves to stack things and those toys where you put objects in slots. 
• She loves tear everything off the shelves, put them back up and then tear them down again. 
• She loves to read books by herself, sitting quietly in the corner turning the pages and mumbling softly to herself.
• She loves to sing songs and play peek a boo.
• She thinks daddy is so silly and giggles giant deep belly laughs when they play. 
• She loves to see your reaction when she throws things off her changing table or her sippy off her tray.  She kinda looks at you and gives you a sly smile before she chucks things just out of reach. 
• She is all about sitting in chairs.  She loves to climb up on any small chair she can reach. 
• She has learned to ease down off the couch and is really good and going down the steps without giving us a heart attack each time.
• She seems a lot more physical right now, but is starting to pick up on words and signs.  She surprises us with something new everyday.  Right now she can sign more, please, milk and all done.  She waves hello and good bye and blows kisses now and then. She loves to give hi fives. She can also clap and play pat a cake. She mimics everything you do, like when we point to her nose, eyes and tummy, but hasn't quite associated them yet. She pretty much does a lot of things when she feels like it.  She is no show pony, that's for sure.     
• As for words she says Mama, Dada, Daddy, dog (duh), hello, hi, uh ooh (she says this a lot after she plays her little throwing game. :) ), thank you, peek a boo (sounds a look like thank you). She sings lots of songs, we don't quite understand the words too. I am sure I am missing some in there.
• She gives the sweetest hugs to both us and her buddies.  She is turning into a little snuggler, which I love, but she is still Miss Independent.  
• She has a little sassy side and has started to throw tantrums when she doesn't get her way.   
• She still sleeps like a champ and doesn't need anything special to go down for bed.  We just turn on her sound machine, lay her down and she is out for the night, sleeping till 6:45 during the week ( when I wake her for school) and sometimes 9:30 or 10 on the weekends.  She loves to sleep.  We let her do it now, because I know she won't do it for long. Emmy was the same way and now she is up at 7 like clock work.  She goes down usually at 7, 7:30 is pushing it.  
• She loves to wash her hands and make messes in the sink and she hates the texture of paint, which is why our fridge is lacking artwork these days.
• We haven't switched to whole milk yet because my freezer stash has yet to run out (way to go boobs!).  I would say we have about a month left and then we will make the switch.  In an attempt to get through the freezer stash quicker, I continue to give bottles in the morning when she wakes up and before bed, but there have been days that we haven't and she has been just fine. She will drink more from a bottle though. Through out the day she gets her milk in a sippy cup. She drinks about 24 oz a day. We will ditch the bottle in a few weeks for good.
• She is the best eater and is not picky in the least.  ::knock on wood::  She will definitely go for the meat or fruit before her veggies, but has no problem clearing her plate. Hallelujah! I don't know what I would do with 2 picky eaters. 
• She's kind of a mommy's girl.  I won't say that too loud because I don't want to jinx it, but she won't leave my side the second I get home at night and she loves to snuggle right after work.  

Sophia-You are such a sweet angel.  You have made my life perfect and our family complete.  I can't imagine a day without seeing your smiley face. You are absolutely perfect and I can't wait to watch you learn and grow, at your own pace.  You are an amazing little girl.  You have the biggest heart. You give the sweetest and most genuine hugs and kisses.  You are sweet and sassy at the same time.  Thank you for one of the best years of my life. I have the hardest time putting into words how happy you make me.  Nothing else in the world matters.  Your daddy and I were so incredibly blessed to have been chosen to be your and Emily's parents.  I thank God everyday for giving you both to me.  I love you mosty toasty. To the moon and back.

Go figure, the last month we do the "formal" monthly pictures is the month that Sophia hams it up for the camera.  I had a hard time choosing one, so you are welcome for the photo overload.  

The key to getting her to smile...Bodhi

Mean mommy took the dog toys away

This one just makes me warm and fuzzy.  Sophia adores Emily. I think the feeling is mutual...

x

Sophia's Birthday Party!

It can be so hard not to go completely overboard party planning, especially for a one year old.  I tried to keep her party simple.  I went with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme and had a million ideas.  Zig really had to reign me in, but I still think it came out pretty cute.

I found this invite and party kit on etsy and rolled with it.  It came with the invite, birthday banner, party hats, food tags, thank you cards, and many many more customized printables.  We had the party in our church's fellowship hall and that was the BEST decision.  Everyone had plenty of room to spread out and it gave the kids a wide open space to be, well kids! We picked foods that followed the theme of what the Hungry Caterpillar ate and my amazingly talented sister in law made the cakes.  I purchased a hardback copy of the Very Hungry Caterpillar book and set it up on the table as the guest book.  I also set up a craft table for the kids with a coloring station, make your own caterpillar (out of construction paper) and coffee filter butterflies.  The kids went right for the crafts and it kept them entertained for quite a while.  After that, Zig became the entertainment.  Kids love Zig and he loves kids.  The flock to him and spent the remainder of the party chasing him around.  Sophia was snuggled and loved by everyone and showed off her new found independence and walking skills for most of the party.  Even though she had been teething really bad, she really enjoyed the party and especially the cake!  It was a fun day!  Per usual, I didn't take pictures of everything like I should have, but we will never forget that special day! I need to remember to be better about this sort of thing, but you really get caught up in the party and forget!  I am glad that each of us got a picture with her, but not all of us together. Oh well, there is next year! Here are some of the pictures I did manage to get! All in all, it was the perfect day!

How AWESOME is this.  My sister in law is so incredibly talented!

Kids cake. The face was Sophia smash cake

I love how in awe she is of everyone singing to her

She looks like the joker.  Haha.

Here are some more crappy Iphone pictures

Emmy says....

I think I am going to start a recurring post all about the funny things that Emmy says.  She is such a silly girl.  Lately she has graced us with these silly little gems...

"Me: Emily do you want to watch Mickey Mouse or Doc McStuffins?(weekend mornings we snuggle for a bit and watch a show)Emily:hmmm...ummmm...how about football."

One morning before school I told Emily that she could pick out a book from the book fair, but if she wasn't a big girl and cried when I left she would have to put it back. She picked out a book and I reminded her of her promise, to which she replied "it's ok Mommy. I'll just put the book back and Daddy will buy it for me later." 

"Emily: Mommy, God gave me eyes so I could see.
Me: That's right Emmy, God also gave you ears so you could be a good listener.
Emily: Haha, no Mommy, that's silly!"

There are some things she says or pronounces incorrectly.  I try so hard to correct her, but sometimes its too cute and I let it pass.  Because I know she won't say them that way for long...

Instead of saying yesterday, she will say "the last day." Instead of remote, she says "morote." Instead of saying she sneezed.  She says "I blessed you."

I plan to keep a running tab of these cute things, because I never want to forget how silly, funny and carefree me sweet girl is!

Cha Cha Changes!

I think I mentioned it before, but Miss Stephanie, the woman who has so lovingly cared from both my girls since they were babies, first at Emily's first daycare and then from her home, is expecting a baby of her own shortly after Sophia first birthday.  We are so excited for her and cannot wait to meet her new addition.  

Over the years, Stephanie has become a great friend.  She had done so much for our family and for my kids.  She was and always will be a great support system for me and gives the best advice on how to deal with toddlers. ;)  She is going to be a great mom and she has decided that once Baby Mackenzie arrives, she is going to stay home and be with her.  Over the last few months, Steph got tired, and decided to close the school a little earlier.  We had looked at a lot of schools during the transition period and finally settled on a school that we had looked at a few years ago when Emmy was little, before Steph asked us to leave Little Squirrels with her.  We were happy they had openings because at Emmy's age, there weren't a lot of spots for preschool aged kids till August.  

The girls have been at their new school for 2 weeks now.  As expected, bot girls caught a couple bugs. Emmy developed an ear infection and then strep/croup, her favorite combo, last week.  We can't wait for their immune systems to build up a bit, but we figured it's either now, or when they start kindergarten.  Things are going really well.  They both transitioned great!  We are so sad that the girls are no longer with Steph and are going to miss all the very personalized crafts and gifts they brought home.  Plus the, basically, one on one care they got, but really this was the best decision for Emily.  She needed to be around other kids and she needed to learn that she didn't always get her way or come first.  So far, so good, but change is hard!  

Also in the last month, I switched jobs, which was a HUGE change for me.  I was at REDW pretty much since I graduated college 8 1/2 years ago. It was a great company to work for, and had I felt that public accounting was a long term career path for me, I would have stayed there forever, but the fact is, I didn't enjoy what I did.  It took me away from my kids.  Maybe not always physically, but mentally I was unhappy and it showed.  I found a new position, and while it is new, I love it!  The culture of the company is great, the work is really interesting, and it will give me opportunities that I may not have had before, like traveling to locations in China, Europe or Japan or auditing a factory in India.  I am really excited to grow with the company.  What's better is that traveling is optional, but likely impossible to say no too, because of the life experiences I will gain.  They are flexible with my schedule and support my family is first mentality.  Again, change is hard, but I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity.  I really can see myself working for Gap for a long time.  Great company, with great values.  Even better, I get to wear jeans everyday.  It sounds stupid, but you wouldn't believe the impact something so small could have on your moral.  In this case, change was so welcome and so good for us!

So these two changes have impacted our routine over the last few weeks, but we have all transitioned good.  We are all looking forward to whatever other changes 2013 has in store for us!  

She walks!

On January 25th, Sophia stood up and took 3 small steps into Zig's arms.  I wasn't there to see it, but I expected it to happen at any point.  Soph has been standing on her own for at least a month.  She didn't need to use anything to pull into standing position, she would just stand.  And she could hold that pose for what seemed like forever.  She continued to try to walk, but really wouldn't take more than 1 or 2 steps at a time.  On Superbowl Sunday, shortly after the lights went out, she did it again. It was almost like she knew the game was boring at that point, so she wanted to entertain us.  It was a pretty cool moment, there were lots of cheers.  People we aren't close with were excited to share that moment with us.  From that point on she still tried, but it seemed like crawling was faster, so that continued to be her preferred method of moving.  We took this video of her taking about 9 steps, but she still wasn't consistent. 

That is until last Thursday.  That marked the day that Sophia decided, she was going to walk.  And we haven't been able to stop her since! I love how happy and excited she gets with each step.  We are officially to the point where she walks more than she crawls.  I am one proud mama!