Sophia's Check-up

Sophia had her 2-year check-up two weeks ago. She is doing very well. She weighed in at 27-lbs and is 35-inches tall. She was above average in both catagories. She talks a lot more these days, and is counting (up to 12 once), saying a few ABC's, and forming small sentences. She can just about name off each of my mom's cats (close to ten of them). Unfortunately, she is also learning to test boundaries (and my patience), and she is really beginning to perfect the art of tantrum throwing. Sophia has spent a few 'quiet' moments alone in her room lately. The last few days have been extremely hard for all of us because we believe she is cutting a new molar. Teething is never fun especially when you throw in the runny nose with it.

Grandma and Grandpa Barson Visit

David and Linda (John's parents) came to visit towards the last week of May. Sophia did really well. I was a little nervous since it had been a while but, she had a blast with them. Grandma is patient and loves to read with her, and Papa is kooky enough to make her giggle. I wasn't feeling well so we didn't get to tour much of Spokane. We did make it to Lake Coeur 'd Alene, ID, for the afternoon and found Sophia the cutest piggy bank (who we named 'Hammy').

Their last night in town we took Sophia to the hotel to enjoy a real bath in a bathtub. She loved it. Here is a 'good' picture of Grandma and Papa with the little Princess in her jamjams.

Okay, I know this isn't a great picture for anyone but, I just loved it. So much for trying to pose a nice picture these days. Notice Sophia's pout, and the arching back. I think Grandma was reaching for her cell phone to occupy the Princess for a second. At least we got one photo.

This one's for you Julia. Just after this picture I got one of Sophia's princess teacups and filled it with whipped cream to look like she was serving a latte. Unfortunately, the cream didn't last long and neither did my camera. David might have gotten one photo. Thanks again for the adorable Starbuck gear. Sophia actually wore her t-shirt today.

"The wheels on the bus go round-and-round..." She loves this book and you can sneak a five-minute cuddle with her if you read it. This is about the only time (except after nap) that she will sit in your lap for more than 30 seconds.

When David and Linda were visiting we all stopped by to see Karen and Leonard Kutkey who live in Medical Lake. David used to work with Leonard ages ago (50 years or 'something' ago, right?). Sophia had a great time. Karen had a chicken coop that Sophia wanted badly to get into to visit the 'chickchicks'. Leonard had a very, very large Griffon (100-lb dog) who looked much like a horse to Sophia. I think her favorite part of the afternoon was rolling around on the carpet in the house (since we don't have carpet, only hardwood floors). Karen later brought out this huge stuffed moose critter that Sophia and the ki-ki took to very quickly.

Babies are Hard Work

This photos were taken in mid-May while Sophia was caring for her Baby Huggums. She would feed her milk, sit in the chair with her, and wrap her in a little blanket. Sophia would often add the "gulp, gulp" sound effects for me. It was pretty cute. She only dropped the baby a couple of times.
Later that evening, she had to kick-back a little and relax. Taking care of Baby Huggums can be a tough job.

T-shirt

My friend Kim sent Sophia this great T-shirt, which is very fitting. It says "What Happens at Grandma's, Stays at Grandma's". My mom loved it, and then acted like she never lets Sophia get away with stuff at her house... ;)
Thanks Kim!

Ladybugs

These photos were taken in early May. There is a shrub outside the backdoor that was home to tens of ladybugs. They provided several minutes of entertainment for Sophia. She really thought it was exciting when they landed on her arms and crawled around. There may have been one or two casualties since she often tried to pick them up and put them on herself.

Here she is pointing to a ladybug on the branch. She called them 'buggies'.

Again, pointing to more ladybugs.

The only way I could get her away from the tree was to tell her that the buggies were sleeping. So, here she is saying "shhhhhh! buggies seep".

Appologies all around...

Hi All,
I am sorry that I haven't posted in over a month. I have many good excuses (and other people) to blame my tardiness on. I may sound like a broken record when I say "we've been really busy," who isn't these days. I am attempting to wrap up my last two weeks of teaching with my students (and myself) increasingly catching spring fever. I am also right in the midst of interviewing for the permanent teaching position at Spokane Falls Community College. For the interview, I have to put together a mini-lecture and lab as well as, prepare for two interviews with the interim VP and the 6-member hiring committee. I attended a weekend conference two weeks ago over on the westside (Auburn, WA) on teaching future educators (sorry to those I did not have time to visit...love ya). I drove back over to Spokane (with Sophia in tow) last, last Saturday just as John's parents were flying into town. They stayed for a week and had a blast with Sophia. She was pleasant and much more personable than she had been for them a few months previously. Fortunately for me, Linda helped out tremendously in the kitchen...and thanks to David for all the weeding! To top it off, my mom has been coming into Spokane every few days because she is moving (permanently) into our area on June 5. So, we have been helping with the new house and unpacking some. Also, because it is summer and people tend to drink more soda...John has been working 50-60 hours a week. We also seem to be having battery trouble with our digital camera, hence no pictures to speak of. I have taken a few, just have to get the camera up and running in order to transfer them to the computer. Lastly, I have been feeling under the weather for a few weeks now and it has just been real tough keeping up with everything.
Anyway, I do have to say a 'big thanks' to Julia in Seattle, WA. She is a Barson-family friend who just moved to Seattle to start her dream career as a fancy-pants ;) accountant with corporate Starbucks. She sent us a few items using her employee perks. Sophia received the cutest Susan 'cancer' bear, an adorable toddler-sized Starbucks apron, a t-shirt, and we got a t-shirt and some deluxe coffee. I did get one picture of Sophia in her apron with Grandma Barson (in her t-shirt), and I'll have it posted asap. Thanks again for thinking of us Julia!

I'll try to post pictures soon...