Sophie's First Dentist Appointment

Sophie has been to visit the dentist's office with me a few times (usually while watching a movie and eating a snack), but today was her first visit to get her own teeth checked. She was pretty trepidatious about getting into the "princess chair" (as the hygienist called it), but she climbed right up when we offered to let her sit on my lap. After that, she did great! The hygienist tickled her teeth and counted them--she's got 20! She also "sparkled" her teeth with bubble gum-flavored toothpaste and rinsed them and cleaned them off with "Mr. Thirsty." If going to the dentist had been this fun when I was a kid, I would never have seen so afraid of it!!

Oh yes, Owen was with us, watching the action from his stroller next to the chair. He got a little fussy after Sophie got her teeth sparkled, so I hopped out of the chair to deal with him while the doctor checked Sophie's teeth too. She very bravely laid there all alone and very compliantly opened her mouth like an alligator for him.

I was so proud of Sophie!! She did much better than I imagined, especially after the delay in getting into the chair. She got a new toothbrush, paste and floss, and she picked a bracelet from the prize box. Sophie sailed through this major event so well that we went to "Donald's" to celebrate!!

Pizza Picnic

We had a family pizza picnic on Sunday night at a nearby park that was having an outdoor concert. The weather was beautiful, and there were no bugs!!

The kids got to play at the nice playground before the concert started. Owen had just as much fun as Sophie did, though he was restricted to playing on the ground.

Though the picture is fuzzy, you can see the face Owen was making below. He was throwing a little baby fit because I wouldn't let him eat the tiny pebbles that covered the ground.
Greg and I each "got to" sling Sophie around on the dance floor in front of the band.

Owen's First Bike Ride

I needed to run some errands a few nights ago, so Greg took the kids for a bike ride--Owen's first! You can see we love ONE of our children...

We haven't gotten a helmet for Owen yet, and, in fact, we think there likely isn't one small enough to fit his tiny melon. Sophie's been wearing the smallest one we could find for the past two years already! And she finally asked Greg the dreaded question: "Daddy, where's your helmet??"

Sophie & Mommy Date

On Saturday, Sophie and I had a much-needed, long-time-coming, Sophie and Mommy date. We spent a good deal of the day alone together, with a whole zoo full of strangers. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the outdoor animal trails/exhibits. Sophie actually enjoyed the little park and tunnels to climb in (at various exhibits) and the water-play area more than anything, though she did enjoy the animals too. Our first stop was out to a farm area where we got to feed goats (she's a pro!) and touch baby chicks.

We rode the tractor-pulled wagon back to the main trail, and when we finally got around to the buffalo (for those of you who've been to the big zoo, you know this is WAY out there!), Sophie was ready and asking for lunch. We had to elbow our way through a new exhibit and wait at a new food vendor for an eternity before finally getting our lunches. We were hot and droopy and in need of refreshment, and there were no tables available!! So, we had a picnic on the pavement. We were much revived after our french fries and cheeseburgers.

We were even further revived by joining other drenched children playing in the new water fountain. Well, mostly we played NEAR the new water fountain. Sophie's not a big fan of...well...water. Particularly splashing water. So, she got her toes wet, and was very refreshed.


A little later on we stopped to have a treat. Sophie requested a "colorful" one, which translated into a sno-cone (she'd seen one earlier). It was delicious!

One of the tunnels she liked climbing around in
Her wingspan
It was a lovely day and we had a tough time leaving.

Carnival

The kids have been sick most of the week, taking turns having fevers and sore throats. That means we were cooped up in the house for 4 days straight!! By Friday, everyone was finally feeling better all at the same time, so we had a family outing to a nearby suburb's city carnival. Sophie rode a few rides and even started to participate in a hula-hoop contest. She bowed out, however, stating that the (miniature, kid-sized) hula-hoop was too big. So then we all just enjoyed the music for a while before heading home.

Little Monkey

Yesterday I was going back and forth between the fridge and the counter, getting things out to prepare dinner, when I turned around and found this...

a monkey trying to help himself to some yogurt!

Father's Day

The kids and I took Greg to a downtown art festival to celebrate Father's Day. Before leaving church to go to the festival, Greg got teased a little about it, which concerned me a bit...until we got there. The first thing we came across was a vendor giving out free sample bowls of cereal with milk. Greg's two favorite things!! Free and cereal!


There were several other free food samples (Sophie's enjoying some yogurt below), and fun things for kids to do.

Here, Sophie's getting to do some Jackson Pollack painting (splattering) on a big white canvas on the ground. Amazingly, she did not get paint on her dress (it was washable anyway), but both she and Greg got some green freckles from a kid on the other side who was a little wild with his brush.

We brought a blanket and found a nice shady spot to have a picnic of a corndog, pork chop on a stick, roasted corn on the cob and a chicken pita.

After that we also had a chocolate malt which even Owen got to enjoy. He would get upset in between bites if Greg was a little slow to get some to him. You can see he's helping the spoon along below.

After lunch we went down to take a closer look at the river. The crowds were getting heavier by then, so Greg was carrying Sophie part of the way. She kept saying, "I'm not tired," while looking like this...

After naptime, we gave Greg his card and presents. Sophie was pointing out the "spider web" and "skunk tail" she had drawn on the card.
And after supper we gave Greg the cookie we'd made for him on Saturday and hidden in the oven until Sunday. Sophie helped to measure the ingredients, pat the cookie out on the stone and decorate it with chocolate chips. She was also to have kept it a secret, but she told Greg about it the second he came home on Saturday. Oh well, it still tasted really good!!

So Darn Cute