Boy, I'm a slacker...

I really mean to update this thing more than once a month, but I'm just too lazy to do it.
Let's see...what's happened in the last month?

Sophie currently has 4 teeth. She's going to be in junior high before she gets her 2 year molars, I suspect. She's learning more words (her current favorites are shoe, milk, neigh, and zoom). She likes to eat baby spinach with balsamic vinegar on it (she's weird). She's also starting to sport her true drama queen hat. She has a very carrying voice, so when she yells to get your attention, you lose all hearing for about 30 seconds. If she does not get her way (you do not immediately fetch the toy, read the book, or produce the beverage), she throws herself down, buries her face in the floor, and cries. Luckily it lasts less than a minute, but you feel a winkle and 3 gray hairs pop out in that less than a minute. Andy and I agree her only saving grace is that she's so darn cute when she's not crying (or sometimes when she is crying). An example was today she was mad I wouldn't let her watch Dora (she gets to watch 10 minutes of a Dora video when I need 10 minutes to regain my sanity or fill time). She was holding the DVD player remote, and while tears streamed down her face and she sobs from the heart, she holds the remote to her ear and says "hello" like it's a phone. Perhaps she's trying to call child services on me.

Its days like these I remember daycare fondly. I caved today and gave her back the pacifier at nap. I took it away about a month ago, but she pretty much has cried at naptime and bedtime everyday since then. She eventually quiets down, but after a morning of whining and crying today, I decided the pacifier in the bed and perhaps braces in the future are cheaper than lifelong therapy for both her and I. My mom told me to pick my battles, so I retreated behind the defences of the binky.

Anyway, maybe this is why I haven't blogged in a while...I have nothing nice to say. :-) Again, as my mother said, this too shall pass. Too bad it's on par with the passing of a kidney stone. I do love her, and I tell her this. She sometimes even tells me she loves me back (although she also sometimes bites me in the shoulder or sits on my head). I'll take those as signs of affection.

Andy had his annual review at work a few months ago. I asked him if he'd be doing an annual review for me since he's my boss now. I said maybe then I could get a raise each year too. I quickly recanted that though, because I wasn't sure I'd want to hear the evaluation of my performance. He laughed at least. He also takes it upon himself to clean the house on my "day off," which makes me wonder if he's hinting that I'm slacking behind on my job. I'm going to believe him when he says he does it because he knows how hard it is to be home all week and get things done. My excuse is that after being in the house all day, my coping mechanism is to not notice things that would otherwise drive me crazy (like dusty ceiling fans).

Anyhow, enough ranting. Here's some pictures of the happier times (I guess we had some since Sophie's smiling in some of these).



Happy Halloween! She was a dog, because this was the costume we inherited from her cousins. I added the purple bows on the ears to advertise she's a girl dog (not sure about the intended pun yet). This is also a picture of my new haircut, although I'm going to say it's not fixed very well.



I loved this picture of her peering into the candy bucket with big eyes. She did not get to eat any candy, but she thought the boxes of Nerds made for fun shaker toys.

I bought this collapsible bucket at the dollar store for her trick or treating, and she instead used it as a hat.

This is at the pumpkin patch. She had a pretty good time, except that she's at that awkward stage where she doesn't want to sit in the stroller, but if you get her out, she instead eats dirt.

I loved this picture. She likes to climb on you when you lay on the floor, and she just tackled Andy.

She's intrigued by a green bug crawling on the driveway.

She wanted to get a closer look.

It's a plane!

Apparently coloring with chalk is exhausting.

I thought this picture was sweet. They were looking out the window at the backyard together.

Sophie is probably the oldest child to still be put in a johnny jumper. But hey...they weight limit on the thing is 25 pounds, and she's only 22. I'm using this thing as long as I can, because it keeps her confined while I take a shower. She also channels her inner ballerina and will spin in circles on one toe (it's actually very graceful...I'm very impressed by it).

This is her climbing on her step stool in her room to examine her bookshelves.

We had a giant grasshopper on the side of the house, and she was looking at it through the front window.

She had an unfortunate incident with some pita bread and hummus. Sadly, the pita and hummus didn't make it. They were eaten by this Godzilla-like creature.

Sophie's favorite past time. I'm serious when I say she'd let you read to her 24 hours a day. Every time we sit down to play, she either points to a book for you to read to her, or she'll look at it by herself. She even sits though a whole Babar book (which if you haven't read a real Babar book in a while, check one out...they're long and dense).

It was cold one day when we went for a walk, so we bundled her up. The mittens were cracking me up...it looks like she's doing the robot or something. Her hat was knitting for her by my friend Amy Pennington for her birthday...it's a birthday cake with a candle!

Here's Amy Pennington now with her little boy Aidan. We decided that Aidan and Sophie would sport their Amy Bhesania originals together at Kindermusik one day. She's an amazing knitting and made Aidan's sweater vest and Sophie's dress. Notice Aidan holding on to Sophie's dress. He's serious in that she's his and he's not letting her get away.