Stella & Sophia

Cupcake

2012-01-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

I was sitting at the table watching Stella finish up her lunch and talking about the birthday party we were about to attend.
Me-"Stella, I don't want to go. Maybe you could drive yourself."
Stella-"MOM! I can't drive!"
M-"Well, if I go, you have to give me your birthday cupcake. Is that a deal?"
S-"You're kidding, right?"
M-"I'm dead serious."
S-(nervously laughing) You're kidding!

Later on in the car on the way to the party, Stella was in the backseat, looking out the window.
S-"Mom?" (sounding sad and really serious)
M-"Yeah? What's up?"
S-"Do I really have to give you my cupcake?"

Love it! She had been worrying about that cupcake for 2 hours! I feel the same way about cupcakes.

2011 Wrap Up

2012-01-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

Had to throw this picture in of Sophia checking out the goats at the zoo. She was pretty amazed by this view.

A baby Quinn is born! We've been waiting for this little guy for a long time and he's finally here! He looks totally different now. I will post new pictures soon. He is ADORABLE!

"Mary" and "Joseph"(that's Jerome Bettis, Jr., for all you sports fans out there)

Stella was arguing with Papa John about how barrels work at the rodeo. Yes, her room always looks like that. (except for about 15 minutes on cleaning days)

Gingerbread house construction

Feeding reindeer (after Christmas eve ER visit and before mommy and daddy polished off a bottle of wine after our stressful day)

Cookies and milk for Santa

Opening presents on Christmas morning! So fun!

Sisters

Our farewell visit with best buddy

New bedding-courtesy of Mimi Sandy

Mimi Sandy and the girls on the porch of our new mountain vacation home. Just kidding. We were looking and pretending.

Date night while the grandparents are in town!

Top 10 Lessons of 2011

2012-01-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

Do not try to clean sand (or really, anything) from a potty training toddler's pants at the park. You might get more than you bargained for. (flashback to me, holding up my hand in horror, covered with poo at a park with no running water and Josh laughing at me)
Resist the urge to call 911 when your daughter has a collision with a coffee table and is bleeding out of her face. There was a lot of blood. It actually crossed my mind to call. I didn't. Instead, we made a trip to the ER and paid $845 for glue and steri strips. Maybe resist the urge to go the ER would be another one.
Don't feel guilty for not enjoying every moment of parenthood. Thank you, Momastery.com, for pointing out the difference between the kairos(listening to them giggle and play together peacefully) moments and the chronos (doctor's office diarrhea) moments.
Kids save weird things. Cleaning out the playroom baskets is an adventure. Twist ties, Christmas ribbon, dried play dough, paper with scribbled art work, a doll arm, an empty baby shampoo bottle...."Mom! You can't throw that away! I was saving that!"
Kids can be mean and it makes me want to hit them when they are mean to mine. I can't help it. I just do. I mean, I don't actually hit them, but I want to. Instead, I just give them dirty looks and hope their mothers aren't watching me. You know what? I don't care if their mothers are watching me. I'll give them a dirty look, too.
It is a TERRIBLE idea to take children to the grocery store after 4:30 p.m. I don't know what happens, but they shouldn't be allowed in public places after this hour.
We are not old enough to go to the movie theatre yet. ($27 for tickets, $10 popcorn, $7 drinks+getting there early to get good seats+1/2 hour of previews+small children=leaving after about 30 minutes after the movie begins)
Our kids are never going to sleep late. I must give up on this dream.
No matter how many times you tell them not to, kids are going to cut hair (on dolls, horses, each other) if left alone with craft scissors. After finding little piles of fuzz, Rapunzel hair, and finally Sophia's hair, I learned my lesson and took the scissors away.
Bubble baths solve all of the problems of the day. That's why we rarely skip a bath. They can go from chronos to kieros with a little capful of bubble bath. :-)

FIVE

2012-01-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

I know I am 2 months late on this one, but I have been really busy and had to find all of my notes that I have written down here and there as I think of them. Stella turned FIVE on November 8th. This is big. She has been talking about FIVE since, well, since she turned 4, I guess. (which is a long time in kid time) Apparently, her whole world was going to change when she "got 5." She chose to have heart shaped cookies with pink icing for her school friends and she wanted to invite Caroline and Stella P. to the zoo for her "party." Easiest. Birthday. Ever. In fact, she is getting really easy. So, I have compiled a list of 10 things I love about Stella.

She has the voice of an angel. And she loves to use it. She sings....and sings....and sings. She makes up songs, she changes the words to songs, and she doesn't care where we are or who is listening.
She has an amazing imagination. Did you know that wild dogs live in our back yard and she is the only person that can tame them?
She is nice. Yesterday we were at the park and this little girl was being a jerk to her and Stella just persisted and kept ignoring the little girl's disinterest in anything she had to say until the little girl gave in and played with her. This could be a good thing or a bad thing in the future, but I was glad she didn't throw sand in her face (which is what I wanted to do) or that SHE wasn't the punk kid.
She's a stellar dancer. Actually, she's a little spastic, but she dances with reckless abandon. Kind of like her dad.
Her favorite character in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was the "organic snow monster."
She is really funny.
She's going to be famous when she grows up. Do you know how I know? She is going to have 5 daughters when she grows up and their names are: Amelia, Pepper, Suzanne, Suzanne, and Pumpkinhead
She LOVES cowboys and horses. That's cool.
She's brave. She got up on stage as Mary in her school Christmas play in front of about 200 people and entertained the crowd without a bit of nervousness. She wanted to rock climb at the zoo and I told her she was too short. (she wasn't) I hope my fear of pretty much everything doesn't affect her. I hope she stays brave and fearless. Sometimes I need to learn to keep my mouth shut and admire her fearlessness. I love her for teaching me that.
I love that she shows her love for everyone (and I mean, everyone-even the exterminator) and doesn't apologize for it. She loves deeply, purely, happily, sweetly, and she gives hugs like she will never let go. I know one day she will, so I'll cherish those hugs for as long as I can get them.

Kids are Gross

2011-11-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Kids are the funniest. You can't make this stuff up. Almost every day of my life, I think "Is this really happening?" Friday, we had to go to the doctor's office for Sophia. She's had a cough and woke up with a fever. We were sitting in the waiting room and Stella and Sophia were taking turns pushing(no,hitting) the button that activates the train that goes around a track overhead. Then, at every passing, they shriek and squeal with laughter at the "surprise" that there is actually a train coming by. (We have been going to this doctor for three years)
Stella-"Mom? I need to go to the bathroom."
Me-"Really? We just went before we left." (knowing that a) as soon as I take her, they will call our name b)she probably doesn't really need to go, but has an obsession with public restrooms, and c)Sophia will touch everything in the public restroom and I will have to wrestle her away from everything and fight with her to wash her hands)
Me-"OK, let's go." I sigh.
We go and everything I knew would happen, did. They called our name, she didn't really have to go but Sophia decided she wanted to sit on the potty, too (didn't need to) and thought it would be nice to pick up someone else's used t.p. off of the floor and hand it to me to throw it away. Hands washed, germophobic mother thoroughly disgusted, and back out to the waiting room.
Nurse-"Sophia? Sophia?"
Back to the doctor's office we go, and as the nurse is trying to ask questions about Sophia's health, Stella is tugging at my shirt saying she has to go to the bathroom again. REALLY?!?!? The nurse says we can go while she weighs Sophia and gets her temp. I take Stella and she actually uses it this time. Wash hands and back to doctor's office. Dr. finally comes in and Stella says (holding her hand with something earth toned on it up to my face) "I just poopoo'd in my pants." Dr. says "I'll let you take care of that." And we go back to the bathroom. (this is the third time in an hour if you are counting) I deposit her underwear into the garbage can and use thirty paper towels to clean her up (no wipes because Sophia is potty trained and we don't need a diaper bag anymore, right? RIGHT?!?!?) Poor Stella has diarrhea, no underwear on, and blue jeans. Ouch. We wash hands and I try to get the poo off of my jeans that she wiped on me I tried to help her onto the adult sized toilet seat. We go back to the doctor's office and wait for 20 more minutes because now we have lost our place in the rotation. He returns and Sophia is swabbed for strep. "I'll be back from the lab in 5 minutes with your test results," says Dr.
Stella- "I have to go to the bathroom again."
Me-"Stella. Please try to hold it. As soon as we leave, the doctor will come back. Just wait a little bit, pleeeeeassse."
Five minutes pass and he steps back into the room to say "Sophia has strep. Here is her prescription." "Great, thanks," I say.
"MOM! I just pooped in my pants again," says Stella, spreading her legs apart in a semi-split. Dr. says "Alright-I will leave your prescription and file at the front desk. Hope you all have a great weekend!" So, here we are again in the bathroom cleaning poo off of Stella's jeans, stuffing them with paper towels, and cleaning poo off of toilet, sink, floor, hands, arms....did I leave anything out? I apologize to the giggling nurses in the hall that I am sure heard me saying "Oh my gosh. Oh...my...gosh....oh good Lord, help me....Sophia, get out of the trash.....Stella, stop touching that....ohhhhh.....good grief.....wash your hands....make bubbles....." Then, to the line to pay. Of course there were 185 people waiting to pay on a Friday afternoon. By this point, we had been there for 2 hours. So, as we stand in line, Stella and Sophia were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the babies and Stella decided to share with everyone how she had pooped in her pants. Lovely. Now, I have parents clutching their newborns to their bosoms and trying to get as far away from me and my diseased children. That was my Friday. Like I said, you cannot make this stuff up. Why would you want to? Kids are disgusting. It's a good thing they have wonderful personalities 85% of the time.

B.J. Reece's Apple Orchard

Apple pickin' smile

This goat looks thrilled to be here.

About 2 seconds later, she was running to me screaming bloody murder because the turkey pecked her. He's gonna make a nice Thanksgiving meal.

Short-lived slumber party in Sophia's new bed

After 5 years, we finally said goodbye to the crib. It was bittersweet, but Sophia was soooo excited about her new bed! Stella thought it was her bed, too. She wanted to have a sleep in "her" new bed next to Sophia, so we said o.k. since it was a Saturday night. We read stories, tucked them in, gave goodnight kisses and ventured downstairs. We sat on the couch and smiled at each other, so proud of our precious, little girls. About 20 minutes later, there were wails and tears and names being yelled at one another. "What is going on?" I said, flinging the door open. "Sophia hit me in the head with a BOOK!" "Sophia? Is this true?" "YES! Sissy is a POOPOO PANTS!" Alright. Slumber party over.

Disney Princesses on Ice at Phillips Arena

Brooke, Moody Stella, and Harper

Bert's Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Painting

We got "Boo"d!" If you don't know what this means, it happens when someone knocks on your door and leaves a treat and you are supposed to "pay it forward" and leave treats on another doorstep. It is really exciting for kids, so we decided to choose two friends to "Boo" after we received our surprise. I made up little treat bags and loaded the girls in the car. When we arrived at the first house, I told Stella to hop out of the car and leave it on the doorstep of some friends of ours. These friends have a gorgeous golden retriever that hangs out in the front yard at times and this was one of those days. After Stella struggled to try to open the door (child lock), I had to get out and open the door for her. As I am getting back in, there is a lady in a car waiting to get into the driveway of the house we were about to "Boo." Lady in Car-"Are you trying to get into their driveway?"

Me-"No-we are trying to 'Boo' them."(assuming everyone knows what that means-I was wrong)

Lady in Car-"Pardon me?"

Me-"We are leaving candy on their doorstep"

Lady in Car-"Oh...o.k." (looking a little unimpressed)

Back to Stella-by this time, she had made it halfway across their football field front yard and was racing back to the car, screaming and crying, with the Golden Retriever on her heels trying to lick her to death. By this time, the person we are trying to "Boo" (this is all supposed to be anonymous) has come out onto the driveway and is yelling at the dog. I am grabbing the bag from Stella and running it to the front doorstep and running back across Central Park yard back to my now locked car. Luckily, I have a code and type it in, jump into the car and speed away. First Boo-ing=Success....well, maybe not.

Sophia kept telling everyone she was a kangaroo and requested lion makeup to go with her costume

Stella and Caroline at Trunk or Treat at our church

Snow White for school

Sophia's class was outside playing during Stella's class party and she could smell candy-this is her trying to party crash

July/August/Tour de Tejas 2011

2011-09-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

Sophia has an interesting fashion sense. This is in for fall-pairing metallic gold capelet with Mardi Gras beads

Here we have princess dress paired with plastic lei

Amicalola Falls

Yes, that it is my child with a snake-and loving every minute of it

Wading in the water

Overlook

Heading to the falls

Antique truck in the forest-had to take this picture for my dad

My girls

Sophia's first day of school

She was very excited

Stella and her Papa Mike

Stella's first day of school

This is from our Tour de Tejas-visiting with the Donalson fam

Heading home from the pool with the Turner fam

Hunter, Sophia, and Aunt Carrie at their "water park" pool

Stella was worn out! She put herself to bed that night at the Turner home

Our visit with the Black family

Jason and Mandy

Stella enjoying a popsicle with Owen and Sophia

Owen!

Sophia-topless

Stella and her apple smile, courtesy of Grandma Polly

Sophia's apple smile

Grandma Polly, Stella, and her snow globe

Stella's catch of the day with Papa John

Papa John and Sophia. What's on the end of the string, you ask? Why, Stella, of course! Can't let her float down the river, so they tied a string to her life jacket! I think Dad may have called her "gator bait."

Sophia at Lake Wedowee

Stella and Mr. Paul

Stella and Preston

Bathtime

What's that saying about the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead? Um...yeah....

Thar's gold in that thar vial!

In the Consolidated Gold Mine-Dahlonega, GA

Panning for gold-Stella's the only one that found gold

Snake at Anna Ruby Falls

Anna Ruby Falls

The girls at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, GA

What's been going on with the Newman family? A LOT! We had such a crazy, busy, wonderful summer. It was so great to visit with everyone in Texas and I couldn't have made the trip there without Nikki (who flew from Dallas with her daughter to Atlanta to drive out with me-willingly, I swear!) and Mimi Sandy driving back with me to Atlanta after a two week whirlwind trip starting in Jasper, passing through The Woodlands, Montgomery, Austin, Houston, and Sugarland. Did I leave anyone out?

When we returned to Atlanta, Mimi and I decided that Sophia should go into potty training boot camp before she started school. She had been showing signs of being ready and we knew it was time. How do I know that I will never have another baby in my life? It's not the sleepless nights. It's not even the pregnancy, delivery, postpartum issues....it is potty training. I never want to potty train another child in my life. Unless it it my grandchild thirty (yes, thirty) years from now. I have never soaked so many tiny, pink training pants, cleaned poop/urine out of places that it should NEVER be, and run through the grocery store with a toddler yelling "Go TEE TEE!" I would consider adopting a 5 year old. I like 5. Stella's close enough to 5 to say this. I teach 5 year olds and they are pretty cool. Don't get me wrong-I love Sophia more than any other 2 year old in the world, but 2 is challenging to every fiber in my body. It is like being around a mental patient in a tiny body. You never know what it going to set her off and you can only hope it isn't in public. And I know from experience with Stella that I have a couple more years with this mad woman until she evens out. And then we start the countdown to puberty! Parenthood is a beautiful thing and I am glad I am experiencing it with these two, precious little people. And I am even more grateful to have Josh to share it with.

So I feel like I should do a little Top Ten for Sophia so you don't think I am considering leaving her at a gas station.

Here goes-

Top 10 Things I Love About Sophia

I love the way you take my hand and put it on your back for me to pat it when we are rocking in the chair at night
I love it when you make your hundreds of silly faces
The way you say "Boo!" and hide in plain sight
Your gorgeous mop of curly hair
The way you yell "HI! I Sophia!" at every single person we pass in public
The way you say "yah" like a Danish person instead of saying "yes"
The way you repeat everything your sister does/says
The way you point out your imaginary booboos to everyone in hopes of getting a band aid
The way you hide something by throwing yourself on top of it
The way your face lights up when you see me and how you are always willing to give a hug and a kiss. I love your snuggliness. ( I know that isn't a word)

Backseat conversations between sisters:

Sophia-Poopoo pants! (Sophia's favorite thing to say)

Stella-I am NOT poopoo pants!!!

Sophia-(whispering)poopoo pants

Stella-Sophia? I am going to pray for you.

Sophia-o.k.

Stella-Sophia, let me have the book

Sophia-No

Stella-Sophia, if you want me to be your friend, you have to give me the book. Do you want me to be your friend? Say yes.

Conversations between us:

Josh-Put the golf club back where you found it

Stella-Why?

Me-Don't question Daddy, just put it back

Stella-You question Daddy all the time

Stella-singing

Me-Stella, you have a beautiful singing voice

Stella-Thank you

Me-You could be on the radio one day

Stella-And tv?

Me-Yes

Stella-Not now, though. Maybe when I get to be 5.

Stella-Bootsy(Mimi and Papa's dog), I can't play with you right now. I have been on my feet all day.

April, May, June

2011-07-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

Backyard picnic

Shrek the Musical with Beckett

Last soccer game

This is serious

This is the face Sophia makes when Stella asks her for a goldfish

Soccer star-o.k., maybe one day

Mother's Day breakfast feast!

Decatur Arts Festival with the Chornyaks-this was Sophia's first ice cream sandwich

Stella and the Chornyaks

attempt at family photo

That girl's got hair

Stella and her hero, Coach George

We took a much needed vacation to Playa del Carmen and this is one of about 5 pictures I took. That's what happens when you go to a resort and sit on your bum all week! Too lazy to take pictures!

Josh and his pina colada

Our new, fabulous, spectacular, wonderful swingset! The girls love it and their mommy loves it even more!

piggy tails-that lasted about 5 minutes

Three Little Pigs ballet recital

Easter dresses courtesy of Mimi Sandy-thank you!

Easter egg hunt at church

Sophia was more interested in swinging

What we're into lately:

Stella is really into "Swamp People" on the History Channel after the last grandparent visit-thank you, Grandma Polly and Papa John! :-)
Sophia is into throwing hyperventilating-kicking-screaming-glazed-look-in-the-eye-crazy tantrums. Not cool. But when it's over she asks for a kiss or a hug. Are we in an abusive relationship with our 2 year old?
Cousin Tori came out with my parents and taught the girls lots of tricks on the swing set-thank you, Tori! You rock!
Sophia still loves taking care of babies and names them all Diego (or "Daigo", but she is not making ethnic slurs)
Stella is becoming very, very helpful and I think has finally grown out of the terrible 2's (at 4 1/2). This is good because we are just beginning with Sybil-I mean, Sophia.
Sophia is a wild card. She might be deathly afraid of the baby pool sprinkler, but she won't hesitate to go down the 10 foot water slide at the neighborhood pool.
Stella has imaginary pets and friends that she won't claim. She talks to them all the time, but won't own up to it when we ask who she is talking to.

Spring Break

2011-07-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Sophia is 2!

And here she was BLUE!

Aunt Carrie made her Blue's Clue's cake-thanks, Aunt "Ra-ree"(oh yeah-Uncle Richard, Mimi, and Papa were also here to help celebrate!)

Aunt Carrie bought dresses from their California trip

She likes to read in her quipao-she is actually reading Mandarin

I had to include this picture from the Georgia Aquarium. This is the picture I was taking when I lost Sophia. I stopped to take the picture (this is my favorite exhibit) and when I looked down, she was gone. This is a very dark room and every day of the year at all times of day, there are 150,000 people inside the Georgia Aquarium. I'm serious. I panicked, broke out into a sweat, and became that parent-running through the crowds yelling Sophia's name. Thankfully, I found her around the corner. Otherwise, I would have to say I lost my kid while taking this stupid picture of these stupid jellyfish. And it wasn't even a good picture.

Stella Tenenbaum

Stellas at the zoo!

This is the life!

Caroline's birthday is also in April

Sophia was eating the bread that was meant to feed the ducks

Another amazing Michelle creation-the Tangled cake

Pony rides?!?!?

Sophia isn't the only one being potty trained around here

Top 10 Lessons of 2010 (I know, it's late)

2011-03-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

Notice she's clutching her water-must stay hydrated

Oh Coach George, you are a riot! Must suck up to coach to get maximum play time.

She has mastered the cookie scoop!

This is a picture of Grandma-note the curly hair. I am not sure where Grandma's body is, but we'll work on that.

Guilty smile after discovering....

she had been hiding her socks behind her bed during nap time!

Valentine's Day-daddy bought them flowers

My attempt at Toddlers & Tiaras-putting makeup on little faces is hard! I give those crazy pageant moms credit. Sorry Stella, you'll never make it into the Sexy Southern Baby Glitz Pageant with me as a stage mom.

Top 10 Lessons of 2010

(better late than never, right?)

1. Children can be extremely clumsy. However, they can remove the tiniest piece of broccoli from a parent's attempt at hiding it in a dish with the dexterity of a surgeon.

2. Vomit has no warning signs in small children.

3. They have no concept of real time. "Mom, do you remember next year last week when I went to fishing with Grandma Polly in her boat and Papa John shot the alligator?"

4. They have the memory of an elephant. (See #3)

5. Reasoning skills improve with age.

Stella: Mom, can I have some of your drink?

Me: No, it's not for kids. (it was a soda)

Stella: Why not?

Me: Because soda will make you stop growing.

Stella: Then why do you drink it? Don't you want to grow?

Me: Nope. I'm finished.

Stella: Is that why daddy eats chips? 'Cause he's finished growing, too?

Me: Um...yes.

6. Road trips are not for the weak. (See #2) p.s. Vomit smell gets into your pores.

7. Even though your kids are having a great time at a party at 10:00 p.m., it's never a good idea. They don't know how to sleep late to make up for it. (at least, not in our house)

8. I've said this before, but I'll say it again-we should learn a thing or two about eating from them. Kids eat continuously all day. They don't get the three meals a day concept and they are probably on to something.

9. Bodily functions are nothing to worry about it when you are having a good time. Who needs to actually go to the bathroom when you are playing a game? Just go. Right there. You can change later, when the game is over.

10. It takes approximately three times to memorize a book and realize that mom or dad is skipping pages or shortening sentences.

Musings

2011-01-13T12:09:00.001-08:00

tearful "cheese"-not a fan of the cold weather

These kids....they will melt your heart one minute and drive you to your wit's end the next.

Sophia is growing and changing by the minute. She is starting to say a lot more, but you just can't always decipher what she is trying to say. She says something that sounds a lot like "butt," but she is always pointing when she says it and it is never at a "bottom." We don't say "butt." "Huh" followed by another word is "I want." (ie: "Huh cookie" or "Huh wa-wa." ) She will point to her nose or mouth and say nonsense words, but she can say "cupcake" as plain as day! I guess that's how she keeps her figure-she knows the important words and what more do you need? She loves riding her rocking horse and yelling "Hee ha!" I love rocking her at night because she likes to "sing along" to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. (and by sing along, I mean yell nonsense babblings into my ear to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle") On Sunday, she was convinced that Alec Baldwin on "Prelude to a Kiss" was "Daddy" and was terribly upset that he wasn't responding to her when she talked to him on the screen. I can sort of see the resemblance in young Alec. She loves the camera and anytime it is out, she yells "Cheese!" On Monday, she was crying because she didn't like the snow and I took out the camera and she tearfully said "cheese."

Dancing the night away on NYE

Stella, Stella, Stella....where do I begin? We are learning so much from her. We are definitely learning what not to say around her. Her new favorite things to say are "Get it?" or "Whatever." I was appalled by her smart aleck attitude until I heard them both come out of my mouth in the following week. Oops. Now we are trying to explain that you can say those words-it just depends on the tone. She points out when anyone says it and says "That's bad." even if someone says "Whatever you want to do" or "You need to get it." "Mom! They said "whatever!" Ugh.

She is also becoming more verbal in her daily observations. "Mom, he's missing a tooth." "I know, sweetie. Shhh." "But Mom-what happened to his tooth?" (about 3 feet away from said "he")
She told me recently that she wants to be a Spanish teacher. Then, I heard her teaching her animals in "Spanish." "Glide" is Spanish for "fly." And she will try to quiet Sophia by saying something in Spanish. "Sophia, la lechuza. Bas, bas, bas." I wish I could remember some of the other words that she uses and corrects me if I repeat them incorrectly.
She is really into horses right now. She got four stick horses, a Cowboy hat, and boots for Christmas. We need to build a stable! She reeeeally wants a horse. A magical, flying one would be nice. She has a horse named "Princess of the Fairies" (she named it) and wanted me to horse sit for her. She said "She likes to eat macaroni and cheese for a snack and she loves to play games on your 'scream.'" ("scream" is my ipad-she means "screen") "Oh, ok. Where are you going?" "I need to go to New York. I'll be back tomorrow." She walks back into the room, holding a baby doll. "How did she do?" "She was great! How was your trip?" "Well, I went to the dentist, and a baby popped out of my tummy!" "You went to the dentist and had a baby?" "Mom," whispering, "We're pretending." "Oh."

Snow Days

2011-01-13T11:43:00.001-08:00

This sums it up. We were so excited the first day! Then, after the top layer of ice formed on the beautiful, powdery snow, it all went downhill. (pardon the pun) The roads are icy, so we can't leave the house, the streets are too slippery for little rubber boots to traverse, games have been played, pictures have been drawn, television shows have been exhausted....so we eat. We eat rice crispy treats, brownies, potato soup, shrimp tacos, homemade apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies. We eat like there is no tomorrow and we will never escape this winter prison. But as I type, the melting snow is dripping from the drain pipes, so maybe we will be free tomorrow? I certainly hope so! Or I am going to have to find some elastic-waistbanded pants.

This is when they loved each other....before the snow fell and they had to spend 4 uninterrupted days together. ;-)

Kids sledding on the street

Snow pizza

All smiles!

Attempted snow angel-the ice layer was too thick!

Sledding southern stye-on a trash can lid

Down our driveway!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Waiting to open presents before the Texas trip

Stella didn't want a bike (good thing we only paid $15 for it)

But Daddy likes it!

Sophia loves her trike!

Visiting with Uncle Tim in Buna

Cousins Taylor and Tori

Aunt Tonya

Attempt at family photo

Aunt Carrie adn Sophia

Looking at the log cabins in Montgomery, Texas

Cousins Grant and Hunter, Papa and Daddy playing cards

Sophia's balancing act

The back of our car (notice the case of Dos Equis in the lower right corner)

The only thing (besides a purple unicorn pillow pet) that Stella wanted for Christmas was a snow globe

Santa at Lenox Mall-Stella told me, while in line, that this was not the real Santa. The real Santa had come to her school earlier that day, so she wasn't taking this guy very seriously. The guy that was at school had a rented costume and looked very much like Billy Bob Thornton from the movie "Bad Santa," but she was sure that he was real because he had a "real beard." Now take a look at the fake below....

Really?!?!

Sophia's favorite thing to do was push all of the musical ornaments and dance

The dust buster has been a big hit-Stella is a cleaning machine! Not sure what Sophia is doing in this picture...

Our trip to Texas was not without troubles, but we had a great time despite the hiccups in the road. And by hiccups, I mean violent stomach viruses and strep throat. I had always heard of friends telling stories about vomiting babies on a road trip, but never knew the reality of it until December 18th, 2010. It is a day that will live in infamy. Sophia puked on every square inch of fabric in Josh's car...pajamas, outfits, stuffed animals, blankets, my shirt, my jeans, the floorboard, the cooler, etc. She didn't discriminate. Then, it was Josh's turn when we arrived in Texas. Thankfully, my parents rescued Stella from the madness and she didn't get it. I managed to escape the bugs, too. I guess I had done my time being sick for most of October and November. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and hope you can forgive us for spreading our germs! We'll visit again in the summer when we are less....vomit-y.

2010-12-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

I was hugging Stella in my classroom today after school and noticed her pants were wet. Just the top was wet, so I was puzzled. "Stella, why are your pants wet?" "Because I tee-teed standing up." "Why?" I asked. "Because I can." Oh really?

November

2010-12-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

On our way to Stone Mountain Christmas with Grandma Polly

Listening to Mrs. Claus tell a story

Waiting for the Polar Express 3D movie

Papa John

Waiting for the Snow Princess

Waving to her

Both are in awe of her

Mistletoe!

Snow Mountain

Stella decorated a cookie

with Grandma

Out of order-Snow Princess-in every picture, Stella has the wand in front of her face.

Train Ride

It was coooold!

Daddy tried to sneak a kiss under the mistletoe-no such luck

Why does she always try to choke her in a picture?

Love their accessories...

Is that Giada?

Jim looks exited about Thanksgiving dinner

Lisa

Stella gets to pick out her clothes on the weekends

Awww Sophia!

Very excited about the big kids table

FOUR!!

2010-12-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

My baby is 4

FOUR!

She loves her doll house! (or doll mansion)

The birthday spread...She wanted a ballerina birthday party and when I asked what she wanted to eat, she replied "Burritos!" We had a ballerina fiesta.

Stella, Harper and Stella

Caroline-one of her besties

Disney's Toy Story on Ice!

That poor Lucky dog-he gets it every time we are in the Aaron's box.

Is it bad that I can't remember how she got her black eye?

Stella is such a wonderful, dramatic, funny little girl. I can't imagine our lives without her. She is such a gift.

Some of her latest quotes:

When asked if she was worried about me when I had a cold and couldn't stop coughing, she patted my back and said "No. My teachers told me to worry about myself."

When asked what she was doing when she and Sophia were yelling and tousling about, she said "Mom-we were attempting to play fight." ("attempting"?!? How old is this kid?)

When asked who was on her pajamas (they were a gift-Hannah Montana pajamas), she scratched her head and said "Hmmm....Taylor?" (her cousin, Taylor)

When asked today if she was going to make another Santa Clause at school-"Mom, my Santa Clause making days are over."

When asked what she was doing in the bathroom for so long, she said "My bottom kind of exploded and it got on my pants." (she'll hate me for that one someday, but I had to include it)

October

2010-12-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Popcorn and a movie-guess who's only interested in the popcorn?

Family picture 2010

Mimi and Sophia

Mr. Paul had a squirrel named Gilbert

At the Sagamore Properties Annual Pumpkin Patch

Posing

Mr. Paul and Stella enjoying a laugh over the squirrel

Gilbert was a good squirrel...

Stella in my veil

Pretty peacock

Stella the princess fairy ballerina and the her favorite candy

Stella and Beckett at Trunk or Treat

Bert's Pumpkin Patch

Stella and Becks

Apple picking

Could CPS get called for this? Josh did it.

Back to School

2010-09-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Dress up with BFF "S"

Sophia doing her happy dance-this girl loooooves dress up!

Enzo the Clown

Jamie Lee Curtis (she went nuts for a balloon and after waiting in line forever and losing said balloon about 45 times, I was really excited that the balloon string was directly in front of her face for the picture) I should explain-we went for a book signing of her precious new book called My Mommy Hung the Moon. She was fabulous. We even saw her before the book signing just walking around in town with a guy-having lunch and hanging out. Don't see that a lot around these parts! The next day, we saw an Activia commercial and I asked Stella if she remembered the lady from the library. She said "When are we gonna see Enzo again?" She really made an impact, I guess. She hasn't seen "Halloween" yet, though.

On the way home from school on the first day

Same-she NEVER falls asleep!

First day of school for all of us!

Don't they look excited?

Someone can reach the countertop now

And I think she regretted it

New kitchen

Stella's "new" computer-I realized on her first day of school when she had no idea how to use a computer (since we threatened her within an inch of her life of touching ours), that we needed to have one for her. This came from the basement-we'll see how long it lasts.

First day of ballet-she was so excited! Jennifer told me that she was fine through the first part and cried for the last half. I asked her why she was so upset and she said "I just wanted to dance." I had a "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" flashback. I told her that all of the little steps would turn in to a dance. I can't blame her. I felt the same way about piano lessons. I wanted to play Beethoven on my first day. Maybe next week will be better.

Sophia's princess shoes-yes, they are heels.

Stella and her horse

Josh thinks she looks like Will Ferrell's sidekick in "Talledega Nights." He wishes he was this cute.

Sophia likes the train table

Spaghetti!

As you can see, we have been up to a lot of "firsts" lately! They are both so funny and I wish I could write down everything that they say that cracks me up. I would probably be the only person interested in the play by play, but it would be great to have the time to do it.

Some of the highlights:

Stella: Where does God live?

Me: In the sky-it's called Heaven. He's really all around us.

Stella: Like the wind?

Me: Yeah, like the wind.

Stella: Does He blow on me when I am hot?

Me: Yes, probably.

Stella: Well, that's really nice of Him.

Me: You can wear your butterfly shirt, brown pants, and hot pink socks tomorrow. (laying them on the end of her bed)

Stella: Hmmm....let me feel them. (picking up the socks) They don't feel very hot.

She is also loving to sing gibberish and tell me the she is singing in Spanish. They have a Spanish teacher that comes once a week and she is so excited to share her new vocabulary!

Sophia is starting to try to say more words. She says a few "words" all the time that no one has a clue what she is saying. One of her favorites sounds like "hair bow," but she says it for so many things. She still barks at everything as well. She is so silly and has so many expressions. We walk down the halls at school and there are teachers that I don't even know saying "Hi, Miss Sophia!" She's a little celebrity!

We are anxiously awaiting the fall grandparent visits in October and early November. Stella says "I sure wish I could see Mimi/Papa/Grandma Polly/Papa John at least once a week." Or if I mention cousins, she says "Can they come over tomorrow?" Don't I wish! Love you all and can't wait for Christmas!

Summer. Check.

2010-08-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

Papa John and "Ethel Ruby"-my cousins think she looks like a little old lady. I think this means she looks very wise.

Eating sand and giving her "What are you gonna do about it?" face

Silliness

And more silliness

Hanging out with Papa John

Grandma Polly & Papa John

Mom & Dad's back yard

Checking out the chickens

Stella's drawing of me-I think I look very thin

Catch o' the day!

Gigi and my Great Aunt Francis

Ice cream!

Miss Tori striking a pose

Stella & Bradley enjoying their programs

Niece Taylor DRIVING!

Oh my what a summer we had! Two trips to Texas, a trip to Mexico (kids excluded), kitchen remodel (still going-yes, still going), Nebraska trip, and back to work for me! It was great fun, but I am ready to get back into the school year and a semi-normal routine.

Sophia is really growing up fast-she loves making faces and laughing. She isn't saying much-mommy, daddy, cheese (when you get out a camera, not for actual cheese), ball, book, water...she won't say "dog", but points and says "woo woo woo!" in her deepest voice. Strange kid. I already caught her trying to chew the rubber stoppers off of our BRAND NEW CABINETS. Didn't think we would need a child lock for that reason. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear Stella saying "MOM! Sophia has something in her mouth!" Her obsession with the toilet still remains in full effect-but now she likes throwing things into the toilet rather than just splashing.

Stella loves telling knock knock jokes. Here are some of her favorites:

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Banana.

Banana who?

Banana in the bathtub, too!

(then she bursts into a giggling fit and wonders why you don't get it)

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Table.

Table who?

Table in the living room! HA!

Then we taught her some classics....

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Boo.

Boo who?

You don't have to cry about it!

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Interrupting cow.

Interrupting....

MOO!

She likes the new ones, but inevitably reverts back to her favorites that make no sense at all. She is also developing quite a sophisticated vocabulary-"Would you care for some cookies" and "Mom, I'd like a word with Papa John." And at other times, she is sounding like a total teenager already. I guess I am saying that it is going by way too fast. All of it. Part of me is so ready for them to be past the baby phase and the other part of me is trying to hold on to this phase forever. Sigh. Oh well, at least the pre-teen years will be a lot of fun, right? Oh yeah. I remember those. Never mind.

The Land of Corn

2010-07-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Kitchen remodel demo-while looking at the pictures, Stella said "It's a picture of our broken kitchen!" Well said...

And this is what we came home to from Nebraska!

The new bar area

James Arthur Winery in Nebraska-Carrie, Amy, Aunt Debbie, Cousin Brittney

Aunt Debbie, Britt, Carrie and Aunt Marty

Grapes!

Posing with the creepy owl

Stella was making some phone calls

Stella and Cousin Alix

Cousin Alix and Brittney at the waterpark

Cousins Hunter, Audra, and Joy

Carrie, Grant, Wendy and Jackson

Jackson was having a pensive moment

Stella is always a lady-even when she sleeps

You must be "yay high" to use the big water slide-we weren't there yet

Trying to capture her first freckles on film

Stella, Grant, Alix, part of Hunter's head, Jack and Audra

Riding Tony the Pony with Cousin Cletus

The kids were very impressed with Tony

Grant on the boat

Audra

Alix-always camera ready

Sophia (or "Sophus"-as Uncle Butch calls her) with Uncle Butch

CORN!

Grant on the pony-I think his feet were dragging the ground at one point

Sophia loved Tony-he was so gentle and sweet.

Kind of how my hair looked in high school-Stella just wakes up this way

Spencer

Aunt Carrie and her boys

Papa reading to the girls

Mimi having a tea party

Carrie came to Atlanta on Friday night and hung out with us in the remodeling mess at our house on Saturday. At 5:21, we were discussing the drive that we would be taking at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning to Nebraska. Josh was looking on the computer and realized that it was 1000 miles instead of 800. How did we not know this? This trip had been planned since March! Leave it up to us to check on the map the night before....

So we looked at each other and said "Wanna leave tonight?" So we ended up leaving at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and made it to Nashville. We were so proud of ourselves for knocking 4 hours off of our trip. Saturday morning, we woke up and were on the road by 8 a.m. Fast forward to somewhere in Missouri when we realized we had taken a wrong turn....I'll spare you the details and just let you imagine what it like to travel with a 1 and 3 year old in a loaded car from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight. Let's just try not to think about it and be grateful that they will not remember it. I am sure Carrie and I will try to forget it as well.

We finally made it and had such a great time with the Nolting family! We stayed on the farm in Bancroft-in the home where Mimi Sandy grew up. Aunt Debbie and Uncle Butch were so great to let all of us stay and feed us really well for the week! We got to hang out with all of the cousins (minus Cousin Carl's girls-we'll get 'em next time) and made some wonderful memories. Highlights of the trip-James Arthur Winery with the grown ups, Fremont Water Park, BBQ at Marty's, my first Runza (delicious sandwich), Stella's first pony ride, boat ride with Mr. Fogarty and family, and lots and lots of delicious fresh off the stalk sweet corn!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Aunt Carrie for taking this road trip with us. We'll fly next time, I promise! And thank you to all the cousins, aunts, and uncles for showing us such a great time!

Wish us luck-the Newman girls will be leaving for Texas on Saturday for two weeks with Grandma Polly and Papa John. Josh will be here taking care of business with the kitchen. Hopefully it will be complete when we come home!

Young Chefs and Stage Fright

2010-07-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Young Chefs Cooking Class-they made lasagna cupcakes!

Taking a drive

Watching a movie in the "boat" that Daddy made

Princess Lunch

Sophia's first movie-she wasn't very impressed

Stella's 1st movie-she was VERY impressed! (especially with the popcorn with Whoppers provided by Mrs. Jennifer)

Sno Cone at VBS Fish Fry

I get no respect...

So we had the camera ready and video camera ready to catch her first stage performance-this is what we got....for about 10 minutes....and she wet her pants while on stage....maybe not Broadway bound? She's still cute, though.

Daddy and Sophia didn't enjoy the heat so much at the fish fry.

Me: Stella, have you seen a big bag of marshmallows?"

Stella: No. Me: Are you sure?

Stella: Yeah, I'm sure.

Me: Are you positive?

Stella: I'm positive. Wait...what's "positive?"

The kitchen demo starts tomorrow, Carrie's flight comes in Friday night, and we are leaving for the land of corn on Sunday morning! It should be interesting and I will be chock full of stories when we return.

Texas Trip

2010-07-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well this should be an easy post. My camera is out of commission, so I can only write about what we have been up to lately and hope to try and add some pictures from my mom's Shutterfly account at the end.

It all started on the morning of June 5th at 3:00 a.m. We had packed the car and woke up early on Saturday morning to begin our road trip to Texas. We waited until the last minute to wake the girls and put them in the car. I have never had children that transferred, sleeping peacefully on my shoulder from the carseat to their bed, so my hopes were not high. The good news is that they were both in great moods for 4 in the morning. Stella kept pointing out all the "bright, shiny things!" (street lights) and Sophia just kept taking roll "Mama?.....Dada?......De-duh? (Stella)" We all finally fell asleep again around 5:30 or 6. At 7:30, we stopped for breakfast in Mississippi at the worst IHOP in the United States. And before you start judging, on the way back, we ate at the BEST IHOP in the United States. I just wish I could remember where they were. I don't need to-Josh will remember. Anyway, back to the trip-I have to admit, I fought leaving early and making the whole trip in one day with every part of my being. I did. I thought it was a terrible idea and would surely be the end of our marriage. But....ahem...it was actually not so bad. The girls (including me) were so tired from waking up at 4 a.m., that we all took naps during the day and it was actually pretty peaceful. And Josh even let me drive for 5 hours so he could get some sleep!

Anyway, we were able to visit with Papa and Mimi for a few days before we left for Mexico on Tuesday, June 8th. We had a wonderful time and while we were gone, the girls even got to spend some time with Aunt Carrie, Uncle Richard, and their cousins Hunter and Grant.

We came home on the 13th and on the 14th, Grandma Polly and Papa John came to get us so we could spend the week in Jasper. Stella had the best time fishing and riding on the boat!

I was concerned about the little animal/insect/all creatures great and small lover wanting to put the worm on the hook. She watched as Mom put the worm on the hook and didn't bat an eye. When she pulled her first fish out of the water, I said "Do you want to let him go?" She quickly replied "No! I want to eat him for lunch!" And the fisherman is born. She even woke up one morning at 6:30 to go out on the boat with mom and dad. Now that's dedication. She has even taken to couch fishing here at home. She has fashioned a fishing pole out of a bat and a whistle string. She sits on the couch, hangs it over the side and says "Shhhh....I think I've got a bite!"

The girls also got a chance to see some of their relatives that we rarely get to see. I told her that Aunt Donna and Uncle Robert were coming to visit and she excitedly clapped and said "I love them! Who are those guys?" My dad's sister, Donna, also came to visit with Gigi and when they left, she tearfully said "I sure am going to miss you." It was the same with Tori and Taylor-she is full of love, that girl.

Sophia had a great time as well. When we left her, she was walking like Frankenstein (she officially became a walker on May 21st). When we returned from Mexico, she was practically running! She is blowing kisses, playing peek a boo, trying to repeat more words (night night, bye bye, etc) She is understanding more words-if you ask if she is sleepy, she puts her fingers in her mouth and pats her cheek (what she does when she goes to bed), or if you ask if she has a dirty diaper, she points to her diaper.

A day in the life-

Sophia had a pooptastrophy on the way home from Texas. We were sitting at the table eating and smelled something that one should never have to smell while enjoying a meal. I told Josh I would change her and took only a diaper and wipes. Can you sense something about to happen? I open the diaper, only to discover that it has....escaped the confines and has travelled up her back. I quickly try to remove the onesie as she does what most babies do when you are changing their diaper-explore the contents. Well, the "contents" is deposited in her hair as I try to pull the thing over her head. (I still think they should invent breakaway outfits for these occasions-snaps all the way around instead of seams-think about it-it could work) I panicked. I think the whole restaurant could hear me saying "OH MY GOSH!" over and over. There was a woman watching me the whole time-an employee. I turned to her and asked her to find the guy in a blue t-shirt with a little girl and ask him to bring a change of clothes for the baby. She had a look of horror on her face as I put Sophia in the sink and began soaping her up with hand soap. She nodded and quickly left the bathroom. I waited....and waited....no Josh. So, I did what any mother would do in my situation. I dried her with about a hundred flimsy hand towels, deposited the poop smeared changing pad in the trash, wiped up the counter and put a new diaper on Sophia. I walked out into the restaurant holding my half naked baby and Josh nearly spit out his food. "What happened?" Yeah, I figured. The horrified woman in the bathroom didn't speak English. She just nodded and smiled and thought "This woman is crazy. I have to get out of here."

And while we're on the subject of poop-

The other night I was on my hands and knees cleaning spaghetti off of the floor under Sophia's high chair (We had decided to let her feed herself) I was thinking to myself, "This is disgusting. What is wrong with these kids? Can't they find their mouth? Sophia never seems to have a problem finding her mouth when she finds a screw, a pencil eraser, an outlet cover, a crayon, etc. I just cleaned spaghetti sauce off of the window. The window!" Then I hear Stella calling from the bathroom "DAD! I JUST POOPED!" I snickered because Josh hates poop. He doesn't like to talk about it and won't even admit to actually doing it. I glanced over my shoulder to see him making his way to the bathroom. Then, I hear Stella say "Look at it, Dad!" "Yeah, Stella. That's great." "Is it the biggest poop you've ever seen?!?!" "Yes, Stella. That's a lot of poop." I couldn't help laughing. You can't make this stuff up, really.

Oh yeah-and guess what word Sophia learned today? Yep, that's right. "Poo poo." Thanks, Stella.

Shoveling Snow in a Blizzard

2010-05-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

The "three-toed sloth tracks" we found in our neighbor's driveway

Sophia always likes to have her hands full

A pair of socks and a bracelet

We always have to wear our rubber boots outside! Stella loves to spin around in the swing in circles as fast as she can. It makes my stomach turn to even type it.

We finally hung the swing up in the back yard-they both love it!

Can't have a photo shoot without some silly faces

Shirley Temple

Sophia was playing quietly one day and this is how I found her. She had found a bag of apples in the pantry and taken about 50 tiny bites out of 3 or 4 of them.

My favorite quote of the week-"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling in a blizzard." -Unknown

This particular picture is about 10 minutes after cleaning the downstairs. Did I mention that a stick of butter went missing from the counter and I found it a couple of days later under a pillow on the couch in our office? Or that Sophia pulled an entire bowl of oatmeal and glass of milk off of the table? I always feel great after the cleaning is done. I feel like I have just completed a work of art and it has taken blood, sweat and tears. And then someone comes along and smears it with their peanut butter and honey fingers into something that is unrecognizable as a masterpiece. How rude! Where are their manners?!?! Who is responsible for these animals? Oh yeah....that's me.

As a mom, you have to be prepared to take a hit to your self esteem on a daily basis. When I come out of my room in a sundress and Stella says "Hey Mom-why are you dressed like a lady today?" Or after cooking a great dinner, Stella says "I don't like this. I want a slice of cheese." In the meantime, Sophia is dumping her entire plate on the floor. You have to reevaluate your station in life as you are on your hands and knees picking bits of food (that you took time to prepare and cut into bite sized morsels-making sure all food groups are included) off of the floor and your baby is trying to kick your head and dump the remainder of her milk in your hair. Stella loves to step on the scale and learn her weight. "Stella, you weigh 35 pounds! What a big girl!" "How much do you weigh, Mama?" "Well, Stella, Mommy weighs (insert ideal weight here-let's say 120)" "Whoa! That's a lot! You are an even bigger girl!" Thanks for that. My only consolation is that she has no idea what she is saying. She thinks "Max and Ruby" is great entertainment and that fine dining is a tubular bag filled with yogurt.

Stella continues to make us laugh and amaze us with her daily musings. When asking for chips, and being told that that is not a good choice for snack, she said "Mom-it's not serious. Chips are just yummy for my tummy." Or her weird ideas about the temperature of things-"Nothing like a nice, cold bath." or "I just love a nice, cold bowl of oatmeal." Those things just don't go together. She recently saw markings on the driveway of our neighbor and said "Look, Mom! There must be a three-toed sloth nearby!" Huh? When asked why she likes to play with the boys at school, she said "Because they like to play roll ball, basket shoot, and roll the cars down the hill game. But girls have better eyesight." Again...huh?

Sophia is learning to "sing" with us. She tries to follow the melody and rocks to the music. She doesn't say a lot-Mama, Dada, Baby, Deh-duh (Stella), but she has a lot to squeal, scream, shriek about. She loves to hand objects to you and always says "Gah?" when you take it. I think that's pretty normal. Just kidding-I think she's a genius! Don't all parents think that their kids are the most intelligent beings? Well, mine actually are. I'm serious.

Swimsuit Season

2010-05-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

Let's go outside!

Sophia "yawning" with a mouthful

That girl...

2010-05-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Using the rug as a pillow. Gross.

We made a tent out of the jumparoo-might as well get some use out of it while we wait for our Craigslist friends to respond!

Sophia loves to stuff every morsel of food on her tray into her mouth. She then cries until you go over and dig it out.

She thought it was pretty funny when I got the camera out.

This is the look we get when we tell her "no." Good grief. How are we going to deal with this child? And she gets told "no" A LOT because she is a human tornado. She is into everything and can destroy a room in seconds.

Stella has taken over Sophia's barn. She plays with this thing all the time!

Sophia in action-she has discovered the desk drawers.

Stella and Sophia are developing the cutest relationship. The other day, they were playing the "She touched me!" "Waaaa!!!" "Mom! She pulled my hair!" game in the back seat and Josh turned around and said "Sophia-we do not pull hair! Stop it!" Sophia immediately lost it and started crying. Stella leaned over and said "It's OK, Sophia. I'm here. I'm sorry daddy yelled at you." Today, it has been more of the same. One minute they are the best of friends and the next I hear Sophia crying and Stella saying "Shhhhhh! You're o.k. I'm sorry!" At least Stella is pretty honest about it. "What happened?" "I hit her in the head." "Oh. Well, say you're sorry and go to time out." "OK, Mom."

And why don't empty threats work? Last night, I said "Stella, pick up your toys so I can mop." "No thanks." "OK-either pick up your toys or I am going to throw them away." "I want you to throw them away, Mom." Hmmm.....

Mimi and Papa Visit

2010-05-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

Mimi's birthday dinner

Why didn't we just give Sophia a laundry basket for her birthday?

It was all fun until Stella wanted Sophia to push her in the basket....then the fun was over. Quid pro quo, Sophia.

Cutie patootie

Stella loves her new chair that Mimi painted for her

Reading her new Bible with Papa

Gardening with Papa

She's got worms!

Mimi's birthday dinner at the Atlanta Fish Market-YUM!

Stella and the giant fish

Sophia's 1st Birthday

2010-04-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

One year ago-oh my. Time has gone by too fast.

And here we are with our first cupcake-she was a big fan

So was Caroline!

And big sis, Stella

It was Stella's birthday, too. Thank you for letting us take over your big day! Sophia is eternally grateful!

I think she kind of looks like Woody Harrelson here. I promise, he is not her father.

Stella and her balloon

Jamal-(Stella's baby doll's namesake)

Tessa and the birthday girl

Lisa and Harper

The girls playing with Sophia's new barn (keep having to remind Stella that it is actually Sophia's and she can play with it)

I can't believe it has already been a year since I gave birth to sweet Sophia. She is such a joy-easy, breezy, beautiful. She loves, loves, loves her sister. Her whole face lights up when she enters the room. She is still crawling at lightning speed, loves to eat and sleep, and I believe Lisa said it best in her birthday card-"It has been such a wonderful year with you in it!" We love you, Sophia!

Stella P's Build a Bear Birthday!

2010-04-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

So proud!

Happy Harper

Playing at the mall

On the carousel

Spring Break

2010-04-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Taking time to smell the rosemary

Beautiful tulips at Callaway Gardens

Sophia was worn out!

No wonder everyone was feeling lousy! (pollen sludge)

Stella and Caroline frolicking

Our girls

Posing with the "blue morpho butterfly"-this kid never ceases to amaze me

The fingers are the sign that it is nap time!

Stella wasn't a fan of the birds of prey show

one of the birds of prey

The girls having a snack

Posing with the dinosaur at Fernbank Museum

Caroline and Stella (Stella kept telling us that she couldn't hear because of the waterfall)

"Fishing"

Stella was pretty amazed by the dinosaurs

See?

Making gigantic bubbles with Marie and Caroline

Well, they tried....

Splishin' and a splashin'

2010-04-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Swimming pool!

The water was freezing-I don't know how kids do it.

Sophia was content staying outside of the pool and splashing

Hangin' out with the the Stella and Harper at their house

Superstar Stella P.

Jumping in the sprinkler (Stella calls it a sparkler)

Pretty girls

Easter with the Fisher/Chornyaks

2010-04-23T13:51:00.001-07:00

Linda and me

Me, Stella, Lisa and Andrew

Chef Mike and Stella

Easter Morning

2010-04-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Good morning, sunshine!

Sweet Sophia

Sweet Stella

The loot

Josh found a baby bunny in the back yard!

Easter Egg Hunt at Montie's

2010-04-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Out of order-this is on the way home from Montie's house-they were exhausted! (This was after the zoo that morning) Montie is the coordinator of the Mom's group at our church.

Easter egg hunt!

Mrs. Lynne, her teacher for the Honeybee class-we LOVE Mrs. Lynne!

Sophia

Helping Mrs. Lynne stuff eggs-Stella was in the worst mood until she came and saved the day!

Montie was explaining to Stella how to do the icing on the bunny cake

The Zoo

2010-04-23T13:22:00.001-07:00

Stella was holding her leg up like a flamingo

The only thing Stella was interested in seeing all day-the elephant! "Hey Stella-look at the rhinos!" "I want to see the elephant." "Stella! Look at the giraffe!" "Cool-I want to see the elephant." You get the picture...

Before we went to the zoo, she asked if she was going to get to see the saber tooth tiger, a cave man, or a woolly mammoth.

Caroline, Stella, and Sophia in a giant nest

Don't look so serious, girls!

Caroline's Birthday Bash!

2010-03-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

We played outside a lot this weekend-you can tell from Stella's appearance, right? She was watching the ants in the driveway.

Jumping!

Learning to play hopscotch

Mulching with mom

Sophia liked riding in the car!

Neighborhood Easter egg hunt

Walking home from the hunt

Hunting for some eggs-it was so cold!

Arriving at Stella's "best friend Caroline's" house for her 3rd birthday party

The birthday girl enjoying a story

Stella jumped right in to listen to Mrs. Marie

Marie's sister, Michelle, made this AMAZING cake

So cute!

Can you tell I loved the cake? Surrounding the cake were these adorable baskets for the egg hunt.

Getting ready or the indoor hunt-the weather was uncooperative, but they did such a great job!

Hunting in Caroline's play room

SWAG table

Caroline feeding the bunnies

Stella was so gentle, but I kept reminding her to stop waving the carrot and hold it still. The bunnies were surely traumatized after this day, but the kids loved them!

Oh.....my.....gosh-I know I am biased, but I have the cutest kid in the whole world.

I meant cutest kids in the whole world

Caroline enjoyed her special cake

Stella's Easter bonnet from Caroline

Mommy had to try out the bonnet

Caroline's Aunt Michelle made these beautiful keepsake eggs-there is a little chick in inside and HANDMADE eggs and flowers with a sign that says "Caroline's Easter Party"

Stella was very impressed, but immediately tried to pull the chick out. We'll have to put this egg on a high shelf.

Her "special present"

Thank you, Caroline(and family), for giving us such a memorable day! We love you!

Watch this!

2010-03-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Picnic outside on a pretty day

Sophia was trying to catch bubbles

Yeah, that's right-I'm chewin' on a a stick.

Stella jammin' on the xylophone at school during her St. Patty's Day party

Sophia just hangin' around with Daddy

The girls hangin' out with "other Stella"-the only other Stella we know!

"Other Stella" and her baby sister Harper came to play with us last week

Regarding the post title-"Watch This!" Stella's latest thing is yelling "watch this!" and doing things like this-not much, but she wants you to look and be amazed.

This is another one

And another

She is also really into "Roll Ball." What is roll ball, you may ask? Well, it's very complicated. You sit on the floor and roll the basketball back and forth. Oh, but there is more. There are many tricks involved-rolling the ball up your legs and catching it, lying on your stomach and catching it with your face, fist bumping it back to your opponent, bumping it with your bottom, etc. We are champs at Roll Ball around here. And every time you do a new trick, you have to yell-you guessed it-"Watch this!"

This game is welcomed since the other games she likes to play involve running "super fast," jumping off of the couch on to the coffee table, seeing how many items you can carry, dragging Sophia around by the back of her pants...and usually hurting herself in the process. She has her mom's grace, unfortunately. She falls and runs into things constantly! Poor thing-hopefully she will outgrow it or maybe Roll Ball will become a real sport and we won't have to worry about it.

She is definitely not shy. A couple of weeks ago, we were at the Babies of 2009 Celebration at our church. They had a short message in the sanctuary, a group picture, and refreshments in the parlor. I was chatting with a fellow mom, Josh was feeding Sophia a snack, and I turned around to find Stella pushing her head between an elderly women's legs! I looked at Josh in horror and ran over to her-"Stella!" The elderly woman was flustered at first, then spread her legs apart and let her pass through. She happened to be talking to our pastor, who made a joke about it and she began to laugh. I tried to explain to her that we do this at home and call it "the car wash." We even did this with Maybelline. One of those "It's o.k. at home, but not in public" tricks. That girl....

As for Sophia, even though it seems like she has had a cold every other week paired with an ear infection for the entire winter.....she is amazing. She is the happiest baby on the block. She is still not walking, but very good at balancing. She crawls really fast and cruises along the table and couch. She hasn't met a food she doesn't like and is growing by the minute. I can't believe last year at this time, I was nine months pregnant with her. It has gone by so fast! I know everyone says that, but I really understand it. We can't wait to get her in the water-she is crazy about the bath tub and unfortunately-the toilet. If she is ever missing, she is in the bathroom splashing in the toilet. Gross! I heard Stella yesterday saying "Sophia Kate! That is disgusting!" Sure enough-the toilet. Good thing we got into the neighborhood pool this season!

Spring is finally here....sort of....

2010-03-18T12:21:00.001-07:00

Just a couple of shots from our little photo shoot....

On our way home from the Tennessee Aquarium with the Thompson family-Stella chose a "Deep Sea Diver Steve" from the gift shop

Sophia was trying to watch the movie

Snake petting

I agree with Sophia-no snakes for me!

Butterfly garden

Piedmont Park with the Pedersens and Fishers-Sophia had been eating strawberries-can you tell?

Unsuccessful kite flying

Thank you, Crayola!

2010-03-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you for nontoxic

washable

obviously tasty paint! Yes, Sophia decided to help herself to Stella's paint.

Look everybody! I'm Crazy Jumparoo Head! Now give me some candy!

(In Adam Sandler voice)

Stella loves her new lacing boards. Next, we will try a sewing machine and see if we can make some money off of this kid.

Girls

2010-02-24T09:49:00.001-08:00

She isn't lunging at me-she is sitting in a tiny chair.

Stella's finally driving her Barbie Jeep that has been sitting in the garage for a year. Now, to get her to learn to steer....

All work and no play makes Sophia....sorry, I couldn't resist.

I love this picture

Oh, to be proud of your fat rolls-wish I had that kind of confidence.

Circus at Phillips

2010-02-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

Josh, beating up the children with Lucky the Aaron's Dog

Sophia, sleeping through the chaos

Stella was so tired-everyone needed a nap!

Chatting with Payton

Snow Day

2010-02-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

Watching the snow

Heart shaped snowflake

My first (and Stella's first) snowman

Yeah, I hit her with a snowball in the face-what of it?

Four Much

2010-02-10T16:47:00.001-08:00

Me: Stella, do you know how much I love you?

Stella: Too much.

Me: Too much-that's right. How much do you love me?

Stella: Mommy, I love you Four Much.

Things to do on a rainy day...

2010-02-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

...bird watching in a box

Smile

Chew on a desk

Hang out in your pajamas (this was actually a picture from her pajama day at school-she thought this was the best thing in the whole wide world!)

Feed your sister (notice the tongue?)

Wear your pants backward

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.
Dr. Seuss

Redeeming Qualities

2010-01-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

Hanging out before school

Stella's starting to get some Brook Shields eyebrows....might have to start plucking soon. I'm kidding people! Gosh!

Hippo Hop is a cool place!

I love the pig tails

Sophia liked watching Stella go crazy...or did she?

Forgot how messy babies are when they eat

And how it takes 45 minutes instead of 10

Sisters

Play date at the school playground

Busy, busy, busy

Enjoying a picnic in the driveway after a walk

Playing after bath time (her face looks kind of strange because she had roseola-a virus that causes a rash)

Look at those rolls!

No wonder she has rolls-look at what she's eating! Hot dogs and chicken legs?!?!

This kid can sit like this and just chill out forever-love it!

You are probably wondering why my title today is "redeeming qualities." Well, let me explain-in the past two weeks, this is what has been going on around here:

Sophia has been to the doctor three times-cold, antibiotics, ear infections, roseola virus, diarrhea
Stella has been once for a cold that wouldn't go away
Stella locked me in the basement with the basement waterproofing guy
Stella painted her walls and comforter with my mascara
Sophia is eating everything she finds on the floor-plastic rings, dice, lint, grass from potted plant, play doh, etc. She looks like a chipmunk and I have to go through all of Stella's toys TODAY and throw everything that is small away. She is about to give me a heart attack every time I find her chewing on something.
Stella pooped on her rug in her bedroom
And put graham crackers in my Dr. Pepper can when I wasn't looking....still gagging
She also found a permanent marker in the desk drawer and wrote on the couch-AGAIN!
And she also got into my make up AGAIN (when will I learn to hide it?) and smeared lipstick all over her face (and probably somewhere else that I haven't found yet)

Now that everyone is in their room and safe and supposed to be taking a nap, I decided to write a blog post. I thought at first that I wasn't in the right frame of mind to write anything sweet about my girls and then I started looking at pictures to post. I could feel myself smiling and the tension and stress melting away. They are a mess and they drive me nuts, but they sure are cute, aren't they?

Just so you won't think I was lying....

2010-01-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

You couldn't even tell in the pictures from yesterday that it was really snowing. It's 16 degrees in sunny Hotlanta today!

It's Snowing!!!

2010-01-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Under construction

2010-01-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to get a good picture of the girls together to change the header. It could take awhile, so bear with me.

Mommy got a new camera....

2010-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Attack of the flying baby!

Our family Christmas before our trip to Texas

Cousin Grant, Josh and Cousin Hunter

Stella and Papa at the park in Mongomery, Texas

Playing soccer with Bootsy-look at that form!

Shopping with the boys and Aunt Carrie

Sophia enjoying some "o" shaped cereal (I don't get sponsorships from this cereal, so I refuse to promote it)

Mimi, Papa and the grandkids

Walking to the park

Daddy trying to keep her warm

The Donalson visit on Christmas eve

Opening presents with Uncle Richard

Aunt Carrie

This was on the way to church on Christmas eve-I think the service started at 6:00?

Putting food out for the reindeer

...and milk and cookies for Santa

Christmas morning

Santa came through! A teddy bear-she named him Possum

And on to Jasper, Texas to visit Grandma and Paw Paw-it was sooooo cold in Texas this year!

What a great present! Paw Paw and Sophia reconnecting

Cousin Tori, Cousin Taylor, and Stella opening presents

Cousin Brandon and Sophia

Stella got to help Uncle Tim collect eggs from the chicken coop

Sophia's first seafood gumbo-she loved it!

Checking out the goats minutes before....

the twins were born!! This goat is just a few minutes old!

Gigi had to come see what all the commotion was about in her trusty golf cart

Back in Atlanta having some ice cream for Paw Paw's birthday

We couldn't fit 62 candles on the cake

Can we cut the cake already?

We are finally home and trying to get back to normal. As you can see, we had an eventful two weeks. I had to take both girls to the doctor yesterday. Our whole household is sick or recovering from it. We had such a great time in Texas, though. The awful 15 hour drive to Texas was no indication of how our vacation would be. I think we should rent an RV next year. Having the kids strapped in those car seats was miserable! Anyway, it was all worth it. Now we are ready for 2010!

Top 10 Lessons in 2009

2010-01-03T17:18:00.001-08:00

1. Never trust a 3 year old with paint supplies. Stella has painted our couch and her rug with finger nail polish, our stairs with white paint, her hair with water colors. She is a budding artist and the world is her canvas. This had better pay off someday. We hope to be laughing about this one day while she refurnishes our home with the sale of her first masterpiece.

2. Run, don't walk when you hear the sound of Sophia crying and Stella saying "Shhhh! You are o.k."

3. Children sense weakness.

4. Children also know when you are outnumbered. On our drive back to Texas, we stopped in at a Chik -fil-A for lunch. We were enjoying ourselves and being out of the car, so Josh offered to go get gas while we finished our meal. Not even thirty seconds after he left the building, Stella said "I have to poop." Are you kidding me? Well, you can't tell a recently potty trained kid "no." I had to pack up our food, snacks, Sophia's high chair cover, Sophia, and Stella and drag it all back to the bathroom. Since I couldn't hold everything and Sophia and help Stella, I had to strap Sophia to the diaper changing station and hold Stella's door open with my foot while holding Stella over the potty yelling at her to stop touching everything.

5. Watch your mouth. Stella repeats everything. (ie: "Grandma's crazy.")

6. Diego is our best friend. He has come in handy especially since Stella has recently given up her nap. When you ask a 3 year old what her favorite animal is and she says "a tapir", you know Diego has been involved. What the heck is a tapir?

7. Cheap stickers aren't easy to remove from floors, tables, shoes, cabinets, and windows. Always invest in hight quality stickers.

8. Always have poison control on speed dial. Children's medicine tastes like candy and they love it-and child resistant caps are no match for a three year old.

9. Don't put a step stool in the pantry-especially when snacks can be reached with the use of step stool.

10. After going through potty training, we now know that your entire home has to be sterilized upon completion. And to all of our friends with potty trained children, you never told us how gross and difficult it really would be. Thank you for that, because if you had, Stella would be wearing diapers until she graduated from high school. Sophia might have to go live with another family when her time comes.