Field Trip to Habitot

Today, Tim took the day off and we all went to visit Habitot. It's a hands-on children's museum in Berkeley. Sophie had such a great time, she threw a memorable tantrum on the way out. We'll definitely have to go back....the people that work there, the philosophy, everything about it just seemed to be wonderful.
Here's a picture of the maze Sophie is starting to crawl in. She made the decision she was going to do this last, of course right before we were about to leave. Smart girl decided to hide at the very top so we couldn't get her. I almost had Tim crawl in and get her, but then that would get us in even more trouble if he got stuck!
Here she is smirking at us because she knows there's nothing we can do.
She's on the space shuttle doing what seems to be some very important business.
Journey through space.....Sophie has her astronaut gear on and has taken the wheel.

Field Trip to Habitot Continued

Sophie loved playing in the water. She managed to keep herself dry for the most part. She told me shortly after this picture, "Mommy, I'm so happy!"
Sophie, briefly employed by NASA, makes an important phone call regarding her upcoming trip.
Here's Sophie doing her favorite activity, painting. She couldn't believe she had an entire white wall to herself!
Very focused and in the "flow" as the people who work at the museum like to call it.

America's Next Top Model

Is this a diva pose or is this a diva pose? Why can't she just look at the camera and smile, why?

Pain in the Neck

No, the pain in my neck is not Sophie or Noah, or even Tim. I literally have a serious pain in my neck. It's been bothering me the past few days and I can feel the tightness in my neck worsen as the day goes on. I can feel a knot on my shoulder the size of a golf ball and I'm wondering if it's bad that I touch a muscle between my shoulder blades and the pain shoots up through my head. Is this normal? I didn't think so.

Anyway, Mommy is in serious need of a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, anything that relates even slightly to the idea of being pampered is exactly what I need....and all Mommies for that matter. So, if you're feeling generous, I may come up with a Help Mommy Scholarship Fund. And oh yeah, I'm the scholarship recipient. Thanks for your donations.....

Sophie and Noah Candids

Noah and Sophie lying on Mommy and Daddy's bed. I ask her to smile and she looks like she's about to bite me.
Awwwww....Sophie is actually being gentle with her baby brother. Usually, she is smacking him on top of the head, lovingly of course.
This is Noah's surprised look. This usually happens after the 30th flash and his eyes just don't know how to react.

Just Like Mommy

I'm sure people will think I'm the meanest Mommy in the whole wide world for videotaping my child waking up from a nap. Who wouldn't be grumpy if a camera was in your face upon waking up from a nap? Well, the truth is Sophie acts like the ray of sunshine portrayed in this video roughly 75% of the time she wakes up and she inherited 100% of this behavior from good 'ol Mommy. Shouldn't people wake up and feel refreshed, rejuvenated, feel-good-all-over? Yes, they should, but in Mommy and Sophie's case, we wake up even grumpier than when we went down for a nap. And I just had to document this to prove, if anyone had any doubt, how much this child is just like me. And to anyone who has had the privilege (just kidding) of living with me or anyone who knows me really well will probably have bad flashbacks when they see this video.....

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:161266
password: sono

Looking After Mommy and Daddy

I guess when you buy a house, particularly one that was built in 1963, you come to accept the fact you will constantly be improving, fixing, working on, etc. It seems like we are constantly working on this house and the list continues to grow longer. I guess that's the payoff of being a homeowner??!!

Anyway, never a dull moment in our house. Yesterday, it seems our pipes were backed up really bad. So much so we started to notice a strange odor coming from the bathrooms....yuck, I know. As Tim is checking the pipes, he tells Sophie he needs a flashlight and asks her to go get her flashlight for him. We were expecting Sophie to run and get her tiger flashlight from her toy box (which, by the way, works spectacularly well). After about a minute I was wondering where she was and why she was taking so long. Next thing you know, we hear the door leading to the garage shut and Sophie comes running to the bathroom. She didn't get her tiger flashlight. She actually went into the garage and got Tim's huge flashlight. Such a smart girl.

Yesterday, I was feeding Noah and he pooped during the feeding. The smell was so foul I had to stop in the middle of his feeding and change him. I left the bottle leaning up in the corner of the recliner and went to change him. I get back and look in the chair to notice the bottle isn't there. Just as I'm about to yell Sophie's name and ask her where she's hid the bottle, I look over at the end table and there sits his bottle, sitting perfectly on a coaster. Gotta love my little girl.

Just To Clarify

Because I know my family is always concerned for the well-being of my children and will worry themselves to death, please know Sophie is wide awake in this picture. No, I'm not a mean mom and I did not let her fall asleep with a collander on her head. And besides, there ARE holes in a collander, so if she did fall asleep I'm certain she would get all the oxygen she needs, right? Right....

Just wanted to make sure I clarified before CPS comes knocking at my door.

Sunday Afternoon

After working tirelessly for an entire week on the trellis, it was finally completed yesterday. Since the weather was not so great today, Tim took some time off and was able to get some shut-eye and cuddle with his favorite Dora the Explorer blanket. Sophie decided to join him with her favorite toy on hand. I'm seriously not sure why I bother buying her any toys. I swear she'd be happy with a collander and a cardboard box.
Noah is happiest when his tummy is full. I told Tim to take a video of him laughing and giggling, but since our camera seems to be too complicated and time is of the essence, we missed our opportunity. Instead, we captured this great picture. I promise Noah will be live and in action soon! Well, maybe not live.

Earthquake ready

Here's a clip of Sophie...she's keeping herself busy these days....I can never find my collander...hmmm, I wonder why?

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:158681

password: sono

Home Improvement

As if we don't have enough projects going on at our house, we are also putting up a trellis. Tim's friends are generous enough to lend us their time, energy, and expertise...not to mention materials!!!
A different angle....the sand area is going to be converted to another seating area complete with firepit and stone patio. Pretty excited about it but not sure when it will be completed!
Here's a view of Sophie's (and Noah's, when he can actually walk!) play area. Her playhouse is equipped with everything you could ask for, including electricity! The windows pop open for a nice breeze.

Nothing is good enough

Toured another preschool with Sophie this morning. Did not like it at all, so it frustrates me to no end....hoping we can find something I like that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg. Tim came along and since he is not familiar with pre-schools, he was even more offended. I'm wondering if my standards are too high or if pre-schools are going down the drain and just around to take your money??? Not sure, but as you can tell, feeling a bit discouraged. One of the places (a pretty nice one) is asking $1400/mo. for Noah and $1300/mo. for Sophie. Might as well keep a one-on-one nanny for Noah and just send Sophie to pre-school, but that still means we'll be shelling out a ton of dough for it. Decisions, decisions!

Safety Helmet

Can I help you?

Free time, free time!!!

Both kids are sound asleep (ssshhhh!) and I'm so excited I can't take a nap myself.....ugghhh....and to top it off a neighbor is outside mowing his lawn....it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, doesn't he know people are trying to sleep?!?!

2-year-old craves asparagus like it's ice cream

I'm not sure if Sophie really is our daughter because her eating habits are clearly not in sync with either Tim or mine. Tonight, I fixed chicken and rice for Sophie. As I gave her a bowl to start on, I was also fixing a salad and steaming some asparagus. "Mommy, I want salad!!! Mommy, I want asparagus!!! No chicken, no rice, I want salad and asparagus!!!!" I've never seen a 2-year-old eat asparagus and salad like it's her last meal.....

Hurt Knees

Sophie fell on the sidewalk and scraped her knees yesterday afternoon. I brought her in and cleaned her up, Sesame Street band-aids and all, but she still whined for a good 30 minutes and claimed she couldn't walk. We were very sympathetic, but after a while, her dramatic performance was just too funny. Here's Tim taking a video of her as she is "trying" to walk. BTW-please excuse the mess of our house, it is currently being "transformed" so everything is everywhere and really has no place!

I added password security on my clips, so please type in "sono" to view the clip when you get to the website.

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:155465

Happy Noah

Daddy's making funny faces and noises and Noah reacts like this. I do it and he looks confused....

Noah and his first shots

Noah had his two-month visit to the doctor today (can you believe it??) and he is a healthy boy!!! He was very good for the doctor, but that's only because he didn't know what was coming!!! He is in the 50th percentile for his height and weight and in the 75th percentile for head circumference. Yes folks, he couldn't escape his big-headed parents' genes. We have made certain to pass this trait on to both our children (although I think it's more Tim's noggin than mine:-)). He also had his first set of shots today....very painful (for me, that is). He was a bit fussy because of it and will probably be pretty sore because he really tightened up his muscles when he got his shots....the nurse said he was a very strong little boy!!!

Somehow, Sophie was the one who made it out of the doctor's office with a sticker....we shared with the doctor all her potty training success and she was rewarded with a beautiful Tinkerbell sticker, which she wore on her shirt for the rest of the day. Sophie was even nice enough to share with Noah...before we left, she stuck it on his bare foot, but I let her have it to herself....

This "big kid bed" thing might work out after all....

Today was much more successful with Sophie's nap and bedtime. Her nap took a while, but I stayed with her until Noah started crying out and she ended up falling asleep on her own. Tonight, we read two books and hung out for about 15 minutes before I left her on her own to settle down and fall asleep. She called my name instantly after I shut the door and I went in to reassure her....after that, I didn't hear a peep. Now, I know this is only the second night and I have not gathered enough evidence to come to any sort of conclusion, but let's just say I'm hopeful...

Getting ready for bed

Here's a clip of Sophie as we're getting ready for bed....not very talkative, but thought I should document her first night!

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:154568

Sophie's first night

So, Sophie spent her first night in a big kid's bed and I am willing to say the event, as a whole, was successful. She only tried to come out of her room once and I stayed with her until she fell asleep, which took a couple of hours because she was so wired about the newness of all of it. Once she finally fell asleep, I went back to our bedroom and kept waiting for her to tap me on the shoulder in the middle of the night.....thankfully, this did not happen....we'll see how she does, I have a feeling this transition will have its challenges!!!

Sleep is just a five letter word

Who needs it? Really, sleep is so old school. I don't know why people value it so much and why medical professionals keep telling us to get more and more of it....oh...maybe it's because shut-eye (when practiced in long, consistent doses) allows our body to actually function somewhat normally. It also allows us to make sound judgments on the premise that we're actually able to effectively organize our thoughts, process ideas, and communicate these processes while being sensible and rational.

So, what happens when you defy medical research and not get the recommended amount of sleep? You put in a full load of laundry, wash it, transfer it to the dryer, take it out of the dryer and into the laundry basket and leave it there for a day. And then wake up the next morning and put that SAME load of laundry back in the washer to repeat the process again.....are you kidding me?

First night in a big kid's bed

It's 7pm and Sophie has jumped into her new bed, ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately, she actually fell asleep at 10:45 p.m.
Still waiting on her quilt to arrive....she was expecting butterflies, flowers, and polka dots, but we were able to distract her with all the other exciting new stuff!
A different view....

It seemed like a good idea

Tim and I never go to the movies because, well, we have two babies...that's why. So, I signed up for Netflix thinking this was a great way to keep up with all the movies I want to see and it seemed like a really convenient concept. Well, Netflix sent me my first DVD, The Departed, about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have yet to take it out of its little jacket to watch it because there's never a good time. Either the kids are up and won't go down, it's too late and I can barely keep my eyes open, etc., etc. I think Tim and I have committed to three different "date nights" to actually watch this flick, all succumbing to exhaustion. I'm not going to give up though...I'm determined to watch this movie and even enjoy it, dammit! For now, though, I'm just thankful for "no late fees."

I hope this is because she's just 2

Tim takes his eyes off of Sophie for two minutes to go to the garage. In that two minute timeframe, Sophie manages to climb onto Noah's diaper pail and reach the lotion on top of the dresser. Of course, it would be silly to rub lotion all over her skin in an attempt to moisturize (that would be too easy to clean up), she finds it much more fun to put it all in her hair like it's shampoo. Tim found her sitting on the diaper pail all lathered (or greased) up, hair going in every different direction. Gotta love it.

Who is watching this child?

Did I really just chase my daughter down the street as she is only wearing a long sleeved top and underwear? She and Sierra were running around the front yard for a good 10 minutes before I realized she was bottomless....and on top of it, she got a hold of one of Sierra's treats and took a big bite out of her pupperoni....I'm sure there's good nutrients in those, right?

Getting bigger every day

Feeling pretty content after a feeding.
I'll even smile for you.
Okay, stop....seriously, don't you know when I've had enough, Mommy???

Is that so bad?

So, Sophie can now easily recognize Starbucks and Target and screams their names every time we pass one of them. Next thing you know she'll be asking for a nonfat caramel macchiato, no foam, extra hot. And Target, I'm actually happy to pass on this addiction to her. I think that store is just the best. Anyway, we were on the freeway and she saw the Chuck E. Cheese sign and screamed so crazily we almost drove off the road we were so panicked. Oh no, it's just her favorite rat. The funny thing is, there wasn't a picture of the rat (or mouse, Tim and I just like to call him a rat) on the sign, just the words....so, of course, I tell Tim we have a genius on our hands because our daughter can read. Am I setting my expectations too high already?

On another note, I'm wondering if it's bad that the excitement of my evening is waiting for the Mega Millions numbers to come out. There's $340 million out there waiting for me and I'm convinced that since I actually bought a ticket for the first time since I've moved to California, I'm obviously going to win. Oh, what I could do with that kind of dough....

Spring Fever

We are having such nice weather right now I feel like laying out....okay, not really, but we have reached 70 degrees for the last few days and may see 80 degrees before the week is over.

Things are busy as usual in our household. Noah slept a record 8 hours last night...I'm thinking growth spurt so I'm not going to get too excited. I couldn't believe I got 6 hours of sleep last night....I was so excited about it I got up at 4am with Tim! Not so smart on my part, but it was nice to just lay on the couch and watch Golden Girls at 5 in the morning.

Yesterday, we all went to San Francisco for a brief trip to one of the outdoor stores there. I picked up some nice kicks and a pair of Spy sunglasses for really cheap. Very excited about my purchases. As we are heading home, it's really nice out and Tim rolls Sophie's window down as we're driving through the city. She's enjoying every minute of it, sporting her Dora sunglasses, and the next thing you know, her sunglasses go flying out the window....thanks to Sophie, of course. She flat out throws them out the window and for 2 seconds I thought I might get out quick and save her $5 glasses, but thank goodness my senses returned soon after the 2 seconds had passed and we just ended up driving away. Save sunglasses or get hit by car??? Took me a while to contemplate, but I think I made the right decision. So, needless to say, Sophie had a very sad trip on the way home....

Already Slacking with Child #2

So, Tim and I are both the second born in our family and also the baby of our families. We are convinced, actually it's more like scientific fact, that second born children are not quite treated the same as the first child. We grow up with hand-me-downs, have approximately a 1/3 of the amount of baby pictures as the firstborn, and are generally cheated out of a lot of firstborn perks. Not that we're bitter, we've just come to learn this little known fact and have chosen to succumb and live the best we can despite our envy of our older siblings' glamorous childhood.

Therefore, when Tim and I knew we were going to have a second child, we promised we would make sure he received just as much (if not more) of everything, just like Sophie has. Well.....I have just become yet another case study to prove the above scientific fact....I'm fighting an uphill battle and it's getting harder and harder to catch up! By this time when Sophie was a baby, she was already baptized and had her first set of professional pictures done and practically put on the wall by now. Noah has yet to have his baptism (but I did set a date this week!) and I have not made an appointment for his first set of pictures. BUT.....I refuse to admit failure and now that I have realized my shortcomings, I am making the necessary changes to rectify this situation.....

This is for all the second born children out there.......I WILL make it right!

Still New

Whoa....what is this?! Where am I??
I'm really not sure about this.....
What are you going to do to me???!!!