A Little "Rocky"

So things have been a little "rocky" around here... you might say. I literally had to stop and look at the calendar today to check the date. I can't believe September is already here! Sophia has been in school now for around three weeks and I still don't feel like I am in the "groove." Soccer has begun....Joe's kindermusik is well underway...and Daisy's is just around the corner. I have been in the ER three times, had surgery and passed at least 6 kidney stones. I feel like I have missed all of the fun! But looking through the pictures on my camera tonight, I realized that at least I have pictures of all that has been going on....so I guess I haven't missed too much!

Kindermusik was the first class I ever enrolled Sophia in...and she loved every minute of it! I loved going with her and met some other really great people along the way. So now it's Joseph's turn! I was so excited to take him..as he takes after his sister and LOVES to dance. He requests the "Boom Boom" song (yes..I'm embarrassed to admit that my son knows the lyrics for a Black Eyed Pea song verbatim), and will stop what he is doing at anytime and start dancing when it comes on the radio. Here he is before his first class.




I think he enjoyed most of the class and probably thought it was pretty funny that I was actually sweating when we left...not from intense music exercise...but from stressing that he would not sit on my lap or follow any sort of direction. And rocking time....forget it. Boys will be boys. I coaxed Daddy into coming to the next class (the class is in the evening...I admit... I was so late in enrolling that I had to settle for a ridiculously inappropriate class time for a 19 month old), and things were a bit better. Tonight I "soloed" it again...and my little man had so much fun trying to squirm from my arms that I felt like I had been to a weight lifting class by the time we left. I did get lots of "just because" hugs throughout class, though, so I guess that makes up for his silly boy behavior!

Sophia seems to be adjusting to her new routine well, despite the fact that she continues to insist that I park the car and walk her into her classroom each morning rather than drop her off in the usual car drop off. We have actually made it to the front of the car line more than once....when she decided she just couldn't do it...so I just keep on driving right past the Principal...who probably thinks we just like to wave to him each morning without getting out of the car. Secretly.... I don't mind....I still love walking her to her room and giving her one last squeeze....and listening to little J say "ba-bye eeeea!"

Sophia's excitement this past weekend...a sleep over at Thea's! She was literally so excited to go, she could hardly eat! I thought she was going to have a screaming fit when for a moment she thought that my unfortunate trip to the ER might destroy her plans...but Thea made it just in time! She had great fun playing at her favorite parks, eating corn on the cob, and of course watching the new Hannah Montana dvd Thea had for her! Thanks Thea for such a fun weekend!

This little girl is 5 going on 17. Watching her sing to her favorite songs (all Hannah Montana, of course) is a riot. I wish she could stay 5 forever...probably not likely seeing as she has already LOST her 2nd tooth! And when I say LOST....I mean it...literally. We have been trying to pull this tooth for weeks because it looks like the one behind it is starting to come in crooked. But pulling this little gal's teeth can be more than a challenge.... she is sooo scared. So, we left it alone and checked it's wiggle status frequently. Well, Monday afternoon Yiayia came over and asked to see her tooth... and low and behold... it was gone...nowhere to be found...lost....vanished. Sophia was thrilled that it obviously came out without the anguish she had been predicting! We thought maybe she had swallowed it, and explained that there were no worries to be had...the Tooth Fairy...like Santa Claus was always watching and would of course already know of this momentous occasion. So, of course, all was well, and the Tooth Fairy still visited. Here she is showing off her Tooth Fairy certificate and coins!



And the very next day....her tooth was FOUND. Daddy must have some good eyes..b/c he found it on the floor in the playroom. So I guess since the Tooth Fairy already came...we'll get to keep this one! :)

Whew... is it the weekend yet? Couldn't have survived the past month without Yiayia... she has been here bright and early many a day so I could race off to the doctor or another appointment! Thank you, thank you! :)



So....okay....maybe I'm almost in the groove now. We're three weeks into the school year...both kids have colds....flu shots given (No tears for baby J by the way....Sophia cried enough for both of them and she didn't even get the shot...just the mist... imagine that!!!)...and I'm already checking my calendar for Christmas vacation! :) Maybe some milk and one of these is in order before bed tonite!

I never imagined...

Sophia would learn to ride her bike without training wheels in less than an hour...







I never imagined myself as a "soccer mom!"





Obviously... I am not your typical "soccer mom." Instead of texting on my phone the entire practice like the majority of other parents... I couldn't stop taking pictures. Can you believe I was the only one with a camera???? Obviously this is my first go round with soccer. Evidence?? I had to ask my neighbor (who is 11 yrs old, by the way,) how to lace Sophia's cleats and where to put the shin guards (over or under the socks??)? I guess I'm learning! Practice was a riot! It was so funny to watch the coach try to get this group of girls to listen and pay attention. There was so much going on around them on the other nearby soccer fields, that the girls were watching everything else but what they should have been. He numbered them off into teams by counting ones and twos. It was funny when he asked the ones to raise their hands....and then the twos to raise their hands...most of the girls raised their hands both times b/c they had no idea what coach was talking about! Too funny! I LOVE that Sophia chose pink shin guards, pink socks, and a pink adidas tee shirt. She is my pinkalicious fashion queen even on the soccer field.







And last but not least... I never imagined my mother could hula hoop better than anyone I know!!!





Hmmm I wonder what new adventures lie ahead this week???

School Days

It seems like yesterday that I was pacing around the house trying to keep her from crying...stressing about which formula was best for her tummy...then all of a sudden...just like everyone had warned....she turned into this beauty!



I was a bit worried that Sophia would have a hard time waking up so early...but she was sooo excited when I went to wake her that she jumped right out of bed and was more than anxious to put on her uniform so she could run downstairs and surprise daddy! Doesn't she look soooo grown-up??




Sophia must have been pretty excited because she WILLINGLY posed for some pictures for me after breakfast.



Notice how the little guy snuck in the last picture? It was so cute how excited he was for his big sister! But big sister wasn't too thrilled about him trying to steal her thunder....b/c this is what she looked like seconds later....



Back to being the star for the day...and happy about it!



Just a few more pictures as we were heading out the door! Watching her wave good-bye almost made me cry! But I was happy that she was so excited!




Still happy on the car ride to school!




Here are some pictures when we arrived at school! Here is Sophia standing next to her "Sophia S" apple...we made sure it was not the "Sophia M" or the "Sophia R" apple. Who knew it would be such a popular name?




Here are a few from her classroom. I think she started to get a little nervous when she was hanging up her backpack, but by the time she got to her table she was pretty relaxed and happy! Her teacher was even nice enough to let me take a picture of the two of them.






There weren't even any tears when we left. I was so proud of MY Sophia! Even though her school is only 3 hours....Joseph and I didn't know what to do with ourselves while she was gone! Here is what my little guy found to keep him occupied till 11:15!



I even brought the camera when I came to pick her up! I tried my best to snap a few pictures as she was walking with her class. Can you spot her with her cute pink backpack?



Sophia was so excited to come home and tell us about her day! Such a change from preschool when I would ask her about her day and say it was "fine." This year she's been really good about sharing lots of details! I'm thrilled that she loves it as much as she does.

Here she is before we headed off to another Sophia's house for a pizza lunch and play....what a day!




And if the day wasn't memorable enough....I ended up in the ER trying to get relief from a number of kidney stones.... not quite the way I wanted to remember her first day of kindergarten! But I guess it is surely a day I won't forget!

Hope you have a great first year, Sophia! We are sooooo proud!

ON YOUR MARK...

GET SET....

ALMOST ready for Kindergarten!!!!!

Today was Sophia's orientation as a Kindergartener!!!! Sooo hard to believe she is already school-age!!!!! We all know how difficult change is for me....but my Sophia......is FEARLESS! I'm so proud of her...she walked right into her classroom and began her work! I don't think she even noticed when we left the room! Hopefully things will go this smoothly when she begins on Wednesday!

Here are some pictures of MY Sophia (3 of the 6 girls in her class share the same name!!!), and I must say she is the cutest Sophia I know :)





And of course...I had to get a shot of her already hard at work in her new classroom...



And the mailman delivered a surprise at the end of the day....Sophia's brand new backpack! I was late in ordering b/c of course I couldn't decide if I wanted to spend the money on this custom-made backpack.... I went back and forth.... IMAGINE that!!! Anyway...when I finally made the decision....AND paid extra to rush the order....I was told the earliest it would arrive was Wednesday afternoon. I had already prepared Sophia that she would have to use her "old" backpack (that still looks brand new by the way...) for one day before her new one arrived....so you can imagine how thrilled she was that it came early. I got some pictures of her with it...and of course when I told her to "turn around" so I could capture the back, too, little brother "copycat" started turning around too:)






I do like the backpack.... I guess I made the right decision... with only one mistake...should I have personalized it with Sophia S.??????? (One of those other Sophia's might love it as much as I do!! :)

A Friday Frenzy

Oh my...what a day! As "Edith Ellen Eddy's" mother says in one of Sophia's favorite books "My minds in a whirl!" I feel like I've been juggling too many things in my head as we get ready for Sophia's first official school year that I tend to be forgetting more than I can remember. Proof that I am losing my mind among other things:

We ran out to grab a bite tonight with the kids...and were looking forward to a short walk when we came home. I came in the house to bring in the baby bag, etc and that is when I noticed that I was only wearing my wedding band...no engagement ring. Did I forget to put it on? Did I have it on at physical therapy earlier... Did I have it on a dinner.... I couldn't remember any of this...and I PANICKED. I quickly walked back out to the garage and delivered the bad news to Brett. He was NOT happy to say the least, but he offered to head back to the restaurant....and after a few prayers to St. Anthony and a lot of searching... he found it in the parking lot; a little mangled but still in tact. Whew!!!!

Still recovering from knee surgery....much of my time has been spent in physical therapy....so Joseph and Sophia have had lots of yiayia and pappou play time. Sophia has really loved having her pappou around as he enjoyed a few weeks of vacation. She is already sad that he will not be able to spend the day with her next Wednesday when she goes to Yiayia's. She was thrilled that Pappou took her to the pool a few times (as I have still not been given the okay to get my leg in the water) AND loved the fact that she got to eat lunch there too!! I wish I had some pictures

Both of the kids look so much bigger to me now than they did even just a few months ago. Sophia even has another loose tooth! Oh my...she (or Hannah) as she calls herself is growing up way too fast.



And Joseph is finally starting to have some understandable conversations with us. Today he told me he wanted "juice!" He normally does not like juice, but today he saw Sophia's juice cup and pointed to it and kept saying juice. So I gave him some juice of his own. He liked it!!!!.... (for a moment at least) before he let it spill out of his mouth...then he walked around holding his apple juice smelling shirt and saying "Uh-oh juice!" Tooo cute!




Sophia had her first pedicure (really it was just a "polish") at a real nail salon today. She's been wanting to do this forever...so when I decided it was time to get my toesies painted....I decided she could join in on the fun! She of course chose a fabulous pink and was very particular about the flower she wanted... particular....imagine that! We had a good time together...just the girls!






And a little picture of a little project I've been working on.... silhouettes for the guest room! I think they turned out pretty cute. It might be fun to make them again in a few years and see how their profiles have changed!



Sophia decided it was time for Joseph to have a special friend in his bed during his nap just the other day. Of course he had more fun playing with this cute little bunny and decided playtime in his bed seemed more fun than actually sleeping. After I came in and gave him a few "sh, sh's" he did finally fall asleep and this is how I found him before he woke up! Hopefully our transition to kindergarten next week will be this peaceful!!