Apologies

I am sorry that I haven't written in so long, but this series of photos should let you know what we have been busy!  The picture above shows Sophia and her new Beginner Bible.  Every year, our church presents the 2-3 year old class with their first REAL Bible and it is such a sweet event.  Sophia's name was called and Josh walked her up to the front.  "Aww's" abounded from the audience because she looked so precious.  Then, she looked at Mrs. Cody, the director of children's ministries, took the Bible, clutched it to her chest and said "This is MY book! I can keep it in MY room!"  Nice.  I hope to read some verses on sharing tonight at bedtime.  I don't care.  She's still pretty cute.  

 Sophia turned THREE! Big news!

 We celebrated at the zoo.  The Allen family hung out with us for a bit.  Here's Harper feeding the birdies.

 Stella was mesmerized by the orangutans.

 And her favorite exhibit of the day?  The river otters.

 Those silly orangutans!

 Being silly with Shawn.  Boone didn't want any part of the elephants.  

 And Andrew came to visit!  He was on his way home from being discharged from the Marines and stayed with us for a few days.  As you can see, the girls didn't take long to fall in love with their cousin.  Stella hadn't seen him since he graduated from boot camp (probably 2?) and Sophia had never met him.  

This is the closest thing you will get to a smile-I'll take it!

 Setting our butterflies free....this  was a really cool little project for us.  You get the caterpillars, watch them change into chrysalids, and emerge as butterflies!  

 This one's wings never quite opened and it ended up dying before we released the others.  Josh taught the girls that it was still beautiful even though it didn't look like the others.  

 Mimi and Papa came to visit and took care of the girls while we went on vacation-what a blessing!

 Easter Sunday

 Key West vacation

 With Jason and Mandy-so fun!

 Just playing around with my new camera-Stella enjoys being my model

 Soccer started!

 Stella doesn't like sleeping alone

 St. Patrick's Day with the Tenenbaums

 An Aquarium trip?  Don't remember when this happened....

 So....soccer might not be Stella's game.  She starts out strong, then....

 ...this usually happens....

 ...then this happens....

And she ends up by the fence eating snacks and looking for a dog to play with.  Maybe we won't sign up for soccer next year.  Perhaps she is more of the scholarly type.  

 Or artistic type-check out these mud pies!!!  

 And this girl!  Love her!

 ...even when she is like this....

 Stella, after a princess birthday party

So, with age, comes independence.  And while independence can be a beautiful thing, it can be a difficult pill to swallow for a parent.  There are times when I definitely don't mind the girls being independent.  You want to clean up your own mess?  Wonderful!  You want to wipe your own bottom?  Fantastic!  You want to make your own sandwich?  Get to it, girl!  But there are those moments when you think, "hey, what about me?"  You don't want me to read the book with you?  Paint with you?  Brush your hair? (you can see from the picture above who wants to brush her own hair. *sigh*) This is tough for me, but it is yet another stage in life that I have to accept and grow into.  These girls are such a gift to us, but an even bigger gift to each other because they will have each other long after we are gone.  They teach each other daily.  Some of Stella's lessons to Sophia? "Sophia-I am the boss of you, Mom is the boss of me, and Daddy is the boss of Mom."  Huh?  Ok-here's a good one-Sophia-"Where is God?"  Stella-"God is the wind.  He is the air we breathe.  He is all around us."  Couldn't stop smiling after that one.  She teaches Sophia jokes, too.  This was her first joke that actually made sense.  "Why did the chicken cross the playground?  Why?  To get to the other SLIDE!"  (uncontrollable laughter)

Happy birthday!

She's Three!

Top Ten Things I Love About Sophia

• Her many faces-this being one of them.  "Are you givin' me the bug eye?" 
• She says "Fuh-getti" instead of "spaghetti"
• She still loves her Dollar Store baby named "Baby Diego"more than any other baby doll
• She loves her big sister and has recently dropped "Sissy" and started calling her "Steh-yuh."
• She is an adventurous eater.  (if you have ever met her sister, you know that this is a blessing)
• Her independence.  I tried to take a nap with her today and she told me "You need to go to your own bed, Mom."  
• She is very friendly and says hello to everyone she sees.  She also tells them her name and that she is "three years old," holding up her little chubby fingers.
• She insists her name is spelled "P-O-H-Y-P."  This one might be a problem, bur it's kind of funny for now.  
• She likes to do the voices in books when you are reading to her.  
• She gives the tightest, squeeziest hugs, laughs with the most genuine laugh, and is an absolute joy to have in our family.  Thank you, God, for our Sophia!  Happy birthday!