Let Her Eat Cake

I guess you're never too young to be sad about getting old.
Or perhaps all the baby heads floating around are creeping her out.

Either way, I'm holding on to this picture for a lifetime... as well as the baby heads.



For Sophie's birthday we had a little party for her where the main event was watching her eat cake. I don't know why that is so amusing but let's face it... that's all anyone cares about on the first birthday.

She's a little confused by the candle and singing. Then she realizes there's cake in front of her.


Woo-hoo!!!


Just a few dainty nibbles.


Then the handfuls begin.


Sugar daze is starting to set in and Sophie is eating mindlessly while staring off into space.


Then she picks it up and starts eating it like a Quarter-Pounder.



Ok, I think she's done. She starts feeding the ants and throws it all overboard.


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Sophie conquered the cake!

The Sophinator Turns One!

I can't even begin to describe how much I love this little girl. She makes my heart swell with love (which is such a cheezy saying but so accurate) every time I see her. I just grab a handful of those chubby legs and turn her upside down and start kissing her squishy cheeks. I don't know how she puts up with a mom that's constantly attacking her.


A few things about Sophie... She says "hi" to everyone, uh-oh and mamamama. She fake laughs, a trick she learned from Eva. She has one and a half teeth. She likes to wave and clap. She loves to climb stairs and slide back down. She is quite a little explorer. As soon as I open the front door she takes off outside. Her favorite thing to do is to stand up and "surf" and walk around holding onto your fingers.



Devin says Sophie is our baby that likes to "mix it up". As soon as Devin gets home Sophie and Eva attack him and wrestle. Sophie is always getting in the mix and rolling around with everybody. She has this giant dog that she loves to pieces. She loves to wrestle it on the ground and she tries to carry the thing around with her.






She is just a delightful little child and I'm so happy she's mine! We love you baby Sophie! Happy Birthday!

I Love the 80's (and duck shirts)

I'm still laughing about this night which is why I can't bear to have the memory fade into blog-less obscurity. I went to an 80's birthday party last week and here are the results. Forgone conclusion, my friends are hilarious. As for myself... I had a meeting right before and didn't make the transition from meeting to party in time. So I showed up the only lame-o without an outfit. But the let me redeem myself...


I got the opportunity to describe my typical outfit. Mostly things that I'm sure many of you can remember, the pegged pant leg, the double sock with one color folded over the other, the rolled sleeves, the feathered bangs... but who else would sport the duck shirt 2-3 days a week? Jenny, where are you on this? I know you remember the duck shirt. I had a teal one, a pink one and some other color. I bought them at a store in Canada (Northern Reflections) and when my Canadian friend at the party found out what store she said, "You actually shopped there? My grandpa loves that store." Ha ha, yes. I loved these shirts and rotated through each color weekly. Not much of a surprise that I wore it for picture day. So there you go. A little bit of personal history. The duck shirt.

So I'm dedicating this post to my good friend Jenny who was kind and gentle enough to help me realize how hideous it was.

First Day of School (Insert Jim Halpert Face)

I bet you thought this was going to be the classic "First Day of School" post. The one with the smiling, well-groomed child, complete with backpack and a look of utter excitement, standing by the front door ready to greet the world with a high-five and "rocks". The exact post I had pictured in my head the night before the first day... It didn't exactly work out that way.

It was a usual, lazy morning... a little oatmeal and Disney Junior. Get back from taking Devin to the bus at 8:45 and realize I have half an hour to get everyone dressed and out the door. (Not to mention the perfectly framed "first day of school" photo!) Try to dress Eva and she will NOT put anything on. She doesn't want to wear anything in her dresser. I finally have to man-handle a kicking and screaming 3-yr-old into this nice white ensemble. Meanwhile Sophie is emptying the entire dresser at lightning speed.



Then we move into the bathroom where I prayed for a little cooperation and got none. Screaming like no body's business I finally get an elastic into Eva's hair. Meanwhile Sophie has completely emptied the toilet paper roll and the garbage.


I hurry and make myself and the baby presentable before fixing a snack and rushing out the door. Time for the photo. Employing my best smile-coaxing skills got me no where.



Finally, an expression of some sort. The closest thing to a smile. Oh well, we gatta go... Where are my keys? In the house. Door locked. Nice. Phone? In there too. Nice. Run out to the road to hitchhike from one of my friends I know will be passing by. This is ridiculous. Run over to my friend's house, borrow her car to get to school on time. Sweating like crazy. Kids screaming. I'm officially a wreck.


We pull up to school and Eva gets excited because she thinks school looks like the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Sweet. She's happy. Now for the shot. I'll settle for this classic face because it will make me laugh for years to come.



Now I know why my mom loves this picture of 3-yr-old me so much.


So to wrap it up she loved her first day of preschool, I was able to get my keys back and her princess purse is the envy of every little girl in the class. My sisters love to make fun of my fifty dollar preschool. (This summer when Eva was peeing all over the place (and everyone) I kept lamenting about how she wouldn't be able to go to her preschool that I'd already paid for. When they found out it was only $50 they couldn't stop laughing at me.) Well, this is it. It is run by the county so it costs $50 for an entire semester. But to get in you have to wait in line all night. Which is pretty hilarious that I'm that cheap. It takes me back to my days of waiting up all night at the Marriott to get good football tickets. Anyway, it's actually not that bad since I know about half the people in the line from my ward at church. The other half are Indians. (The Indian kind.) So there you go. The tale of the fifty dollar preschool.

New HowDoesShe Posts and Birthday Quilts

I know I mentioned this in the birthday post but I wanted to post a pic of the cute sock quilt Grandma Joanie made for Eva. The fabric is just darling and she had the quilter stitch little monkeys on each square.


And Teresa made Eva this little dolly raggie quilt to match her birthday colors. (Do these come in King Size for my bed, T?)


And I have a couple new How Does She posts if you're interested. One is on chocolate and ginger. I got the most darling photos of my niece, Lucy, with her beautiful chocolate eyes.

And I did a post on Banh Mi Sandwiches a couple weeks ago. I love these sandwiches....

Banh Appetite!