whatever!

Little Miss Sophia has taken to talking back lately ("whatever mom!"), refusing to listen, saying "no!", and whining. All. The. Time.

Ahhhh...gotta love the 3's.

(Of course, the other 75+ percent of the time she's an absolute angel. Oh, and if this is completely abnormal behavior and we are just terrible parents, please keep that info to yourself. Thanks!)

So, we made a special trip to Lakeshore last weekend to pick up this handy little tool:

This week's "goals" are as follows:

- Get dressed (this option should say "without whining")
- Brush teeth (again, without whining)
- Feed the pets
- Stop whining (YES!)
- Keep hands to yourself
- Take a bath
- Get ready for bed

The chart makes these seemingly small tasks more fun and rewarding because she's working toward her goals. It also provides us another way of reminding her of our expectations (without feeling like we constantly nagging her). The best part is that each goal has a picture next to it, which is perfect for pre-readers like Sophia.

Sophia is a very goal-oriented little girl. She's like me in that she likes the accomplished feeling she gets when she "checks things off her list". This chart essentially allows her to do just that. I wonder if she'll be a "to do list" girl like me someday? Poor thing!

Anyway, so far so good. Hey, it's worth a shot, right?

wordless wednesday

our boy (with the booger)

rainbow window hang

Sophia loves arts & crafts. Here's a little project we worked on over the weekend:


First we dyed some wagon wheel pasta with food coloring and rubbing alcohol. We let the noddles sit in the dye for about an hour and then rinsed them with water and let them dry overnight.




The next morning, Sophia played with the noodles(without glue) on the counter :).


Later that evening, we drew a rainbow on a half a sheet of paper (it doesn't have to be perfect, but just a general guide). Then we put a piece of wax paper over the guide and spread glue on the wax paper. Then we placed the pasta in the glue!

The final steps (not pictured) were to make a few small holes at the top of the rainbow (between the red and orange noodles) and lace a piece of yarn through the holes. Lastly, cut off the remaining wax paper around the rainbow.



There you have it! A perfect, springy, cheerful little window hang! So easy and so fun!

do you tutu?

The talented Mrs. N (Nana, that is) sent Sophia a hand-made tutu last week.




She loves it, Nana! Thank you!

Nate, on the other hand, wasn't quite as excited as his big sis.
(Ha ha! We couldn't resist!)


Sophia also loved her pretty new dress.


Oh and, of course, the paper and the box were huge hits as well.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival - Take 1

So, we ventured out to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn last weekend with my parents. We knew the tulips were not quite in bloom, but thought it would be fun anyway. And, between bouts of hail and rain, it was!

Nate and Sophia racing ducks. (Nate really spent his time grabbing the ducks out of the water and running away with them).




It was at this festival 2 years ago that Sophia had her first pony ride. She LOVES horses and just glows when she rides them.



Sophia the daredevil!






Grammy and Nate


We plan to return later this month for some warmer/dryer weather and lots and lots of color!

April Fool's Day

April 1st.
My birthday.
No joke.

It started off a little rocky. I woke up to a whiny little girl and a screaming little boy. Sophia "accidently" kicked me in the back during one of her morning fits. The line at Starbucks was out the door. I was running late. I spilled hot coffee all over myself. I was tired and a bit crabby.

It's amazing how a day can start off like you just want to bury your head under the covers and end the exact opposite.

Dan, the kids, my family, and friends SURPRISED me tonight with a pizza party complete with frolicking kids, beer, cupcakes, balloons and, most importantly, lots of love. I am one lucky woman. As much as I dislike being the center of attention :), it was so fun seeing so many of my loved ones in one room, all gathered together to celebrate ME!

Geesh. I'm still at a loss for words. So, I will end with just two...

THANK YOU!

(It really meant the world to me.)