It seems that every day I am more and more amazed at how much Sophie can say. I think what’s really amazing isn’t so much the words that are coming out of her mouth, but the fact that they are a manifestation of what she knows…turns out she knows a lot. Today, she wanted the “blue cup” for “wawa” out of the cupboard. Gone are the days where I could pretend I didn’t know what she wanted because now she has words and she will repeat them – over and over and over – until you get it right. It’s not that we always have to give in, but you do have to acknowledge what she’s saying (I know you want the blue cup for water, but you have to stay in the kitchen to drink it because it’s a big girl cup).
We made cookies for the last couple of days. Sophie likes to help dump things in the bowl and stir with the big spoon (yes, that was quite messy). But, her favorite thing of all is to use the “turny, turny” (she likes to add “y”s to the end of words…both corn and corner are corny, which sounds really funny in her little Sophie accent) which is the roller. She was actually pretty good with the cutters too. I was surprised because when I put the big block of dough on the counter she said “cookies” (again, super cute in her little Sophie accent with an added dose of excitement). That’s just another example of how much she understands and picks up on things when you talk about her. Not much gets by her, that’s for sure! Anyway, she had lots of fun standing on the chair making cookies. She even started to ball up the dough to reroll it to make more cookies and she would look for the best spots for the cutters so that it would fit completely on the dough.
Yesterday, she again demonstrated how tall she is getting by grabbing a cookie off of the counter even though I thought I had put it far enough back. She went into the kitchen saying “Mama, cookie please”, and despite her good manners, I said “no”. Not to be deterred, she responded “I get it” and proceeded to get it. Stinker!
Now, Max isn’t forgotten in all of this. How could he be since he doesn’t sleep through much of anything. Mostly I just move his bouncy chair into the kitchen when I’m cooking and he’s pretty happy. He really likes it up on the counter by the window (yes, I know that can be dangerous, I’m extra cautious, I don’t see any reason to worry yet). He’s such a little ham and loves to interact and smile. Sophie definitely wasn’t that much into people at that age but then again, she didn’t have a busy toddler tearing through the house to keep her entertained. Max’s favorite person is probably Sophie. He loves to watch her and loves it when she talks to him or jumps or plays by him. As for Sophie, I really do think she likes Max. We haven’t really had the jealous spurt (she has told me to put him down sometimes to play). She’s always the first to let us know when he wakes up, what he needs (poop, milk cup, mat), how he’s feeling (mad), and she’s constantly bringing him toys. She kept putting them too close to his head so I told her to put them by his hands so he can reach them and now she does – usually saying “hand” and will keep readjusting it when it falls away.
What a great blessing these two kids are. And thanks to all of our family that helps make each day great, especially Tom for working hard so that I can have this time at home with the kids. We all know it’s not what I had planned on, and some days they can drive me absolutely up the wall, but I know that I will always cherish the memories we are able to create. Of course, a huge thanks goes to my Mom who gives me time to come down from the wall that the kids drove me up! It’s so great to see how excited Sophie gets when she knows that my Mom is coming over, she’s always looking out the window and when she sees the car, she yells “Nana!” and starts running around the house. Oh, and that reminds me, we started using “Oma” for Ingrid because Sophie wasn’t saying "Grandma” (and Oma is German for Grandma) and now she can tell me that's where she wants to go when we drive in town (while pointing down the street)…of course, if we go straight into town, she’ll tell me she wants “Donalds”. Oh that Sophie. :)
Max @ 2 months w/ Moose
Christmas w/ Felskes @ Mom’s
Sophie playing hide and seek with Alex & the other kids at Uncle Rich & Aunt Carolyn’s for a Saturday lunch.
Oh, btw, potty training is going good. Needs a pull-up at night but doing good during the day. We tried to go to the Christmas Band concert…had to leave because Sophie wanted to dance – wouldn’t be so bad but she wanted to dance in the middle of the floor…where the band was. We tried to go the Elementary Christmas program…had to leave because Sophie wanted to run to the stage…where the kids were performing. These events wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t so loud; she is definitely outspoken!
Ok, good enough for now. Just keep telling myself that something is better than nothing when it comes to blogging. Hopefully I’ll remember to add something about Turner Xmas at Becky & Josh’s next time!
