Kitties, chickens, tarantulas

Sophie and I had a girls morning out today. It's been seeming like she could use a little one-on-one time with me, so we planned a fun outing together. We went out for breakfast to Denny's (what a thrill!). Then we went to a really cool children's bookstore in a fancy part of the city. It kind of reminded me of the bookstore on "You've Got Mail" (the Meg Ryan movie)--it was one of those privately owned ones with lots of character. We walked in through the purple kid-sized door that was cut into the larger adult-sized one, and found a gray cat all stretched out in front of us. Sophie squealed with delight and ran right up to pet it. She was totally enthralled with the cat until a chicken ran by. Yes, a chicken! And then she squealed even louder and ran off to try to catch the chicken. She was loving chasing the chicken until it turned and started chasing her a bit and kind of made to peck at her fingers. Then she was done with the chicken. There were animals in every nook and cranny (mostly in cages, thank goodness, since one was a tarantula!), including a fish tank in the bathroom mirror. We saw ferrets, chinchillas, geckos, a frog and several types of birds, and even some rats in a cage in the floor that you could see through glass. Clever. I kept asking Sophie if she'd like to look at books since she typically enjoys doing that and it would be a lot easier to do without Owen. She always said, "No. More animals." So, we'd go around and look at all the animals again. Finally, she hooked up with some older girls and enjoyed chasing the cats around the store until the girls had to leave. We had a great time at the bookstore where we read no books. And now we're both tired, but only one of us gets to nap!

Rock Star

Today Sophie graduated to Dora underwear! We've been waiting for her to go "dirt" for 3 days now. The bonus is that there haven't been any accidents of any kind for 3 days either! I've been telling her that if she can remember to go dirt in the potty instead of in her underwear then she can wear the Dora ones. Today was the day! She came to me this morning and said she had dirty pants, but on checking I discovered that wasn't the case. So, I asked her if she needed to sit and she said yes, so we whisked her into the bathroom. She went right away and was very excited! She was very excited to check out her new duds in the mirror in her room. I can't believe she's so old!

We went out to play today and on our way home in the car we were listening to music, as usual. Sophie said, "I need it louder!" So I turned it up. Then she said, "Let's dance, Mommy!" So, we danced in our seats. Then she said something I couldn't figure out..."I play tar!" I replied, "Yes, you're playing in the car." "NO!" she said, "I play tar!" Then I looked at her in the rear-view mirror. She had one hand up in the air and the other at her stomach, and she was wiggling her fingers......She was playing AIR GUITAR! Guess who taught her that?!

Just like Wenny

Sophie's new big request is "I wanna watch a moooovie." She's also been very interested in princesses and Tinker Bell lately due to the Disney book she's been reading at bedtime. So, the other day at the library, I checked out the DVD of Peter Pan. She's loving it! She'd watch it several times a day if I'd let her. She snuggles up in the corner of the couch with her special pink blanket that Aunt Rainie gave her and laughs and points out Tinker Bell, Peter Pan and "Wenny!" Yesterday, she insisted on wearing a dress and kept saying, "I so pretty. Like Wenny." Yes, just like Wendy, except that Wendy's dress is blue and Sophie's was green with striped tights. Ha! I would have included a picture of her, but our camera's in the shop being fixed right now. Hopefully we'll get it back soon! I'm also hoping to get our own copy of Peter Pan soon, as we only have the library copy for a week! Yikes!

Owen too

I don't want to neglect to include Owen here. He's not saying/doing as many funny and interesting things, but we do enjoy him. Not so much last night (it was a rough one!), but we do enjoy him. He's typically a fairly content little guy and he sleeps and eats well. His big excitement is that we just got the swing out this weekend. Sophie likes to push him in it, after she's given her doll Lily a turn. Sometimes Owen and Lily swing together.

I think Owen smiled intentionally for the first time yesterday! He had his eyes open and was looking right at me. It's fun to know there's a little person inside of that pudgy little body!

Reading

Sophie loves books! In fact, if she's being naughty, warning her that she will not get to read books at rest time usually straightens her out. When she wakes up in the morning or at nap time, I can often hear pages turning before I hear talking to know that she's awake. She tends to get in a rut of reading the same books over and over for a few days. I've posted her current list of favorites to the left--you may even recognize the name of one that you've given her! I thought the list could even give someone with small children an idea for a new book to read.

Reading is my favorite thing to do when I need a break too. I especially like to go to Barnes & Noble or Caribou to read in a coffee-scented atmosphere with eclectic music playing in the background. The book I'm reading currently was by an author suggested by my mom. She told me that Rosamunde Pilcher was my Grandma Snookie's favorite author. That made me want to read Pilcher's books, and I have really been enjoying her too. Kind of fun to know my Grandma read and enjoyed the same book! I always like to have a plan for what I'm going to read next so that I'm never without a book in case I have a spare moment. So, I've posted my current read to the left also, in case others, like me, need help with ideas for books to read sometimes.

Potty training

Sophie has been wearing underwear (training pants) for 5 days now and has stayed dry every night! She has been good (mostly) about going wet on the potty, though she has to be prodded to sit. We haven't been quite so lucky with #2, though we have had a few successes. When she has gone "dirt" (her euphamism for you-know-what) on the potty, she gets very concerned about sitting down again because it might touch her.

The other night, while the kids and I were alone, Sophie had a "wet" incident involving her dress and a puddle on her chair all while I was trying to get hotdogs and tater tots ready to eat and while Owen was screaming for his supper. I finally got everything cleaned up and Owen a bottle when Sophie (now wearing only underwear because that's all I could manage) came running up to me, laughing, saying, "Mommy, dirt on the floor! Dirt on the floor!" Sure enough, there were two "treasures" on the kitchen floor! So, we went and sat on the potty just to be sure, and after waiting a moment, Sophie said, "I go dirt on the potty! Let's see it!" So she stood up, but there was nothing there. Bummer, I thought! Then, thunk, there it was on the bathroom floor!!! Oh the joys of potty training!!

Where's the Band?

Yesterday we headed to our little downtown for the "Fall Round-Up." Sophie enjoyed jumping in the inflatable bouncy house, making a picture with glitter and buttons glued to it, and scoring lots of free loot (a pop, a strawberry Twinkie thing, an apple, a flower ring, a sucker, a stuffed dog). She also met a little wiener dog wearing a black dress whose name was also Sophie. For lunch we all shared a JUMBO corn dog while we waited for the parade. Sophie kept watching and asking for the band, so we had to stay until we saw it (well past naptime!) before we could safely leave! It was a great time!

Fun Times

Last weekend we went to an apple orchard to enjoy a beautiful fall day as a family. We had apple brats and apple crisp with icecream for a treat. Sophie most enjoyed the petting zoo--especially the "sheepie." We were impressed with how brave she was about touching/feeding the animals. Mom and Dad were cheapskates and forgot to bring quarters for corn, so she scavenged some off the ground and was perfectly happy with that!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I thought this might be a fun way to keep in touch with everyone and share stories about what the kids are up to without having to remember who I've already told what story to. Also, I can post pictures here so you're up to date on new haircuts and growth spurts. I'll try to keep posting regularly, so come back often!
Love to all!