Wish Lists

I've had several requests for Lucas and Sofia's wish lists. Here are the links, in case you would like them. We keep them updated regularly. Thank you!

Lucas's Wish List

Sofia's Wish List

Natalia's Wish List

Leaves

I think Lucas really likes raking leaves because last weekend he raked each morning and both times exclaimed "this is the best day EVER!" while he was doing it.

No Diapers Today!

Yesterday (day 2 of potty training) I was starting to have some doubts. Although we had some triumphs (a big one too if you know what I mean) we ended the day with a total miss. It was really discouraging. But my voice of reason (Chris) reminded me that it was only the second day. True!

So we kept at it. This morning we continued pants-less. I increased my hovering... gently reminding Sofia not to go on the floor, or the chair, etc. Probably every 2-5 minutes. But I tried not to be too annoying about it. Sometimes she and I joked about it. (Where does the pee-pee go? On the bench? Noooooo. On the pumpkin? Of COURSE not! Pee-pee goes in the POT-ty!")

The morning went by with no accidents. She didn't go at all until right before her naptime. She napped in a pull up and woke up a bit wet which I expected. Then we went bare-bottomed again. She spent a good deal of time lingering on our not-cheap wool rug and I noticed that I was beginning to feel ok about it. (Until I started thinking about it too long and brought out the water resistant picnic blanket.)

The most iffy time of day is when we pick up Lucas from school and stay on the playground for a while before heading home. Obviously, I have to put pants on her, but since pants give a false sense of comfort in this early stage of training, accidents are likely. I've been putting her in a diaper for this daily excursion and had no intentions of changing that this week. But today it just seemed like the right thing to do - so off we went with no diaper, but a change of clothes in tow. In the car, I reminded her every couple of minutes not to go in her pants, because we would be going at the (wonderful, amazing) potty at Lucas's school. I put the picnic blanket underneath her while she was in the car seat. She stayed dry!

At dinner we had split pea soup. Sofia was dining in the buff and she got a little nervous when she spilled a spoonful in her lap. I think she thought she had an accident! She said "Mommy!" and gestured (or maybe I imagined it) to the bathroom. I checked and she was dry. So we went at her request.

She likes the big potty, which is better for me (no transfers.) And flushing and washing hands is enough of a reward it seems. Sometimes she likes to look at a book while sitting. And we have gone through many, many non-productive potty trips every day. But I just wanted to get her to the point where going in her pants seems really strange.

No accidents today! Praying that we are in the clear!!

Potty Training - Day 1

We woke up this morning and said bye-bye to the diapers. Potty training, phase one (the naked popka phase) began today! Once mastered, this will be followed by "pants but no panties phase" and finally "pants & panties" phase.

Sofia is using two IKEA potties right now. The white one stays in the bathroom, and the lime green one resides mostly in the kitchen (central to the den, living room and office.) The green one travels with us outside or to the basement - wherever we go to play.

I kept her hydrated with berries and apple juice so we would have lots of opportunity. Once the novelty of tinkling all over the place and wiping it up wore off, Sofia dutifully went pee-pee on the potty mid morning. It was exciting! We poured it into the toilet and she flushed and got to do her favorite activity - hand washing.

She napped in a pull up which was only slightly wet when she woke up. To sum up the afternoon/evening, there were three pee pee occurrences. (1) I caught her mid-stream at the pantry and redirected her successfully to the potty. (2) She asked my mom (by pointing) to use the potty during her bath and did. (3) Total miss during playtime in the basement. So I'd say we are operating at a 50% success rate! No poopy yet. We shall see what happens tomorrow...

Styrofoam Karate

Lucas has been itching to destroy things lately (in a positive way.) The other day I was trying to convince him to watch a nature show instead of Power Rangers and he almost complied, "but I really want to watch destroying." So I suggested a National Geographic about lions killing their prey but that wouldn't do. It had to be people, specifically ninjas destroying something. So Power Rangers it was.

He's also been kicking boxes and things around the house. He's doing a great job of channeling all this ninja energy (Sofia doesn't have a single bruise!) but I wanted to come up with a really great outlet for him. These styrofoam pieces were protecting a bookshelf I bought. The boy was in heaven. Martial arts classes, here we come!

Oh, and Sofia started saying baby today! It rhymes with her favorite word "Mommy" so it's actually "Bobby." :)

First Potty

A couple of weeks ago, I put a little potty in the bathroom for Sofia to sit on when she wanted to. At first she wanted to have nothing to do with it, and then it became a passion of hers. But she never did anything other than sit on it. Yesterday, she brought it to me while I was cooking and I asked her if she wanted to go potty. She said "Yeeesss" - the first word she says consistently (more on that later.) So we took it into the bathroom and I helped her sit down. And she went pee-pee!

Someone told me that according to Montessori wisdom, the "sensitive period" for toilet training is 12-18 months. So this is either the beginning, or a random occurrence. I'm thinking about going for it.

One Benefit of TV

Lucas, On Art

"Jackson Pollock's art is, like, massive!" Lucas says to me in the bathroom one day. "It's like this, and THIS, and this..." (making artistic, ninja-like swooshes that are way too grand for our little pink bathroom.)

Lucas's Jackson Pollock

His class was planning a trip to the High Museum and they were learning about several artists. I asked him which was ones he was going to see and he said Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, and Renee (really Piet) Mondrian. He has Renee on the brain - more to come on that.

L: But one of them is not a real artist.
Me: Oh ya? Which one is that?
L: Pablo Picasso.
Me: Why not?
L: Because sometimes when he paints faces he paints them like this (looks as if he is molding some sort of slime that keeps slipping through his fingers) and paints diamonds for eyes and stuff. When he was older he got better though.

Incidentally, Lucas is also a sock artist.

Sofia at 15 Months

I have been wanting to write and update on Sofia for a while now, but how do I encapsulate this delicate firecracker in a blog post?

She continues to melt Chris's and my heart more each day. When I was young, I used to wish I could have the snuggle laundry bear for my own. I remember almost being in tears, that's how badly I wanted to hold him. And now, although she is climbing all over the place and turning the house upside down, the moments that she comes up to me and lies her head down make me feel that I have a snuggle bear of my own.

Lucas finds her a tad annoying at times. Still, he's good with her and it's obvious that she's captured his heart too. She plays soccer (since she could walk, she began naturally kicking the ball) and loves cars, dirt and rocks so they already have many activities to do together!

Here are some highlights of Sofia's life at present.

Words to describe her:
Hopeful, adventurous, graceful, resilient, impatient, observant, well-paced, gratuitous and approving when something is being done for her, smart, funny, demanding (but with a smile), always ready to have a good time, and known for her gurgles, inquisitive looks and her eureeka sounds (oooOOOOooo).

Her sleeping style:
Sofia still often wakes up multiple times a night from teething, or just whatever. The waking is erratic though. Several nights in the past few week or so, she slept straight through. Then last night she was up three times. She still has to be nursed to go to sleep. Sometimes more than once in a stretch, but she always goes down drowsy and falls asleep on her own. Any attempts at letting her cry it out turn into a hyperventilating hysteria, so I've decided we are going with the "Wait It Out" plan. She often sleeps through the night when she is about to come down with something. And that is pretty often - lately it seems we've been having a lot of weird bugs come through here, most recently a mild tummy virus that she is still working through. Her illnesses are much more brief now and she is usually able to play and eat through them.

She sleeps with a blanket and her cloud b ladubug. The lavendar insert in the ladybug was quite strong so we are letting it ventilate for a while before putting it back in. Lucas has one in his giraffe that is a year and a half old so more subdued but he does enjoy the scent - he says it helps him fall asleep.

Her eating style:
With Lucas I had a free hand and enough energy to keep his eating a bit neater. With Sofia I do not, so she often has oatmeal in her hair and chili in her ears. But she is getting better (one positive of being left on your own - you learn quickly!) and has already mastered the spoon. She is now onto the fork and has not quite figured out how to pierce food, but when I help her achieve this she gets giddy with delight! She hands-down prefers feeding herself and oftentimes refuses to let me help her even if it's something she enjoys. But she makes an exception for smoothies.

Favorite Foods:
smoked salmon, blueberries, raspberries, chili, chicken, broccoli (a new one!), warm broth from the sippy cup & smoothies

Favorite "inside" things to do:
having tea parties with her singing teapot from Gigi and Papa (Chris's parents), following through with little requests ("Sofia, please through this napkin away" or "Please put this sock back"), reading books, helping herself to things from the pantry, putting laundry away, baths, having us hold her upside down like a bat, Uttanasana the yoga pose and peeking at us upside down between her legs, pressing the pause/play button over and over on Lucas's stereo playing "Back in the USSR", dancing (is there anything cuter than the toddler bopping up and down move?)

When I am getting her dressed I act completely distraught when her hand is still in the sleeve, as if it is gone forever. Then I get overjoyed when it comes through and kiss it like crazy. She things this is the funniest thing in the world!

Favorite "outside" things to do:
digging, collecting rocks, kicking the ball, swinging (although this is becoming too passive an activity for her), going down slides head first, navigating the ramps at the multi-level treehouse/deck at Lucas's school

I am amazed at how babies develop naturally and teach themselves this second go around. Without even a suggestion, she began opening the silverware drawer and setting the table by herself to indicate that her tummy says it's time to eat! She loves order and understanding where things go, getting her shoes and other items by herself. After dinner, she marches straight to the bathroom, knowing that it's probably bath time. And even if she doesn't particularly want to take a nap, she takes initiative and walks herself to her room when I tell her it's time to read and "sleep with ladybug."

And now, naptime is over, so that's the end of the post!

Sofia is no longer anti-fruit

The girl loves berries now. Hooray!

Eating

Sofia now enjoys eating snacks at the island, standing in her learning tower. I like it because I can chop and prep and we can keep each other company.

Lucas is taking more initiative in preparing his own snacks. His signature sandwich is jam and cheese on Ezekial bread. This morning he taught Chris how to make it and they sat on the bench together and enjoyed their breakfast. "I'm so glad you like my sandwich Daddy!" followed by a proud lion's chomp.

Walking

I think the official date that my baby became a toddler was Wednesday February 1 (or was it the 8th?) Well, it was a Wednesday and Sofia was just around 13 months. In recent days, she has completely abandoned crawling and walks all over the house. She has really improved, but still falls a lot. It's very cute!

Lucas and Sofia's Birthday Party 2012

Lucas and Sofia's birthdays are seven days apart. This year we decided to have more than just a family party and invite a few friends. Here are some pictures that give an idea of the atmosphere. Many of them were taken by Elizabeth Poole, a best friend for almost thirty years and soon to be mom! Thanks Liz!

The themes happened to be "Lucas Oil" and "Flowers/Sofia Coppola Sparkling Wine." There was Lucas Oil Stadium paraphernalia placed throughout the party rooms that I purchased on-line or nabbed from my mechanic. Very fitting considering that is where the Superbowl was played this year!

Another amazing cake by Chris's mom, "Gigi"

I got a wild hair and made "trips around the sun" posters.

These are used "Lucas Oil" bottles from our mechanic Greg (Appollon Auto Repair, Chamblee) with branches from the yard. It's a high-performance oil used often used by race cars. There is a stadium named for it too.

Sofia Coppola sparkling wine

Kids' Table

Hanging above the kids' table

Sofia, a.k.a. Ruffle-stiltskin...

...getting a kiss from Dyedushka (my dad.)

Maria and my brother Sasha :)

Lucas and Benton acting natural

Harris scoping out the scene

Elizabeth's husband Jason practicing with Jody & Britt's baby Troy

Elizabeth taking a turn practicing

The Potts minus Britt

Chris's Dad B.J., his bro Matt and Ryan a coworker

Melinda and her and Ryan's baby Lawson - beyond edible

Gabriel, politely requesting if he can dig in the big pot of dirt - also Sofia's favorite pastime.

Digging in!