Chiro-in-training

Steve's passing on his chiro wisdom to Sophie. First was leg checks on Baby.

Then Bunny. Because, if you didn't know, animals can also benefit from chiropractic. (True story.)

The Steve offered himself as a guinea pig.

After the checks were carefully made,

The adjustment was made. Check out that form!

Four

Sophie turned four last Sunday. I could have sworn she was turning three again. After looking through some photos of just a year ago, she (well, both of them actually) seems so grown up. I decided to do an interview with her, so I'll post the video and text from it a bit later. I wanted you to see some photos from her birthday.

Sophie's been talking about her cake since November (Ivy's birthday). She was pretty set on a Belle cake until I made a cake for a Relief Society dinner in March. Then she changed her mind. It was pretty easy, too, so I was relieved that I didn't have to capture Beauty and the Beast in cake form. Just a 9x13 chocolate cake divided into two layers with chocolate frosting and circled with chocolate-covered strawberries. Sophie is a chocolate fiend. And a strawberry fiend. I realized that every year so far he birthday cake has either involved chocolate or strawberries, and this time, both.

They were a lot of fun the rest of the day.

Steve's mom Judi and his sister Kimi came to visit and we all went out to Mexican for her birthday. (Her request. She could eat rice and beans and tacos every day of her life.) This was the only photo I got from the night (thanks!) Ivy didn't get a nap that day and didn't make the drive over to the restaurant.

Speaking of Kimi, I'm so glad she and Judi were here for Sophie's (very small) party. We had planned on having it at the park (mostly so I wouldn't have to stress out about entertaining the kids), but because the wind was whipping really hard at the park we had it at our house.

Kimi took charge and played a bunch of games with the kids in the backyard. I don't know what I would have done without her. Probably herded the kids outside and said, "Go play! There are lots of rocks out there!" I'm so not good with stuff like that.

Ivy, her little sidekick was right next to her the whole time. Like last year's party. I love seeing them play (nicely) together. They really are best friends.

Sophie picked out the candle and the sparkly red frosting (despite my doubts about it being edible)

Steve was a good little photographer and got some pics of us together. It's nice to have proof sometimes that my kids really do have a mother.

More presents.... 

Her actual birthday was on Sunday, so we staggered her presents all weekend. I'm so glad we did. I think when kids open a big pile of presents all at once they don't get as much attention as when it's stretched out over a couple of days. Three days, in Sophie's case.

We saved the box my parents sent her for last because I knew there was something in there she'd been asking for since just after Christmas.

Uh, no. Not a baseball bat. She wasn't sure what that was, so we had to have a lesson out in the backyard about sports equipment. (She also got a little plastic golf club set at her party. Not a clue about that, either.) More about that later. . .

THIS was what got her excited. As soon as she saw the fluffy yellow fabric, she got a silly grin on her face.

And didn't hesitate ripping it open.

Naturally, this is what happend next. . .

Not even 10 seconds after she got the dress out of the box.

Complete with white gloves, even. (Nice touch, Mom.)

We had to hold the real thing up to compare. I'm not sure what that look was. Probably, "please get the picture-taking over with so I can go spin around and sing in a high-pitched voice about true love."

Happy Birthday princess!

Sleeping Beauty

Girls are funny creatures.

I think there were a few weeks where they did this every day.

Sometimes if she didn't get kissed, she would yell for someone to kiss her. Funny, but not at 6:30 in the morning while she's still in bed and Ivy's still out cold.

By the way, I really like this coffee table. Too bad it stays with the house.

She's awake! Oh, but the game's not over. What happens after the princess wakes up?

Dancing of course.

Grace

A woman in our ward is offering some free ballet classes for girls 3 and up for a few weeks, so I thought we'd throw Sophie in to see if she'd like it.

I figured she would, since she dances around the house all day.

I took ballet for almost a year when I was 8. Lessons were twice a week and with piano lessons, too, I felt a little too busy. Playing with your friends is a huge priority when your 8. I wish I would have stuck with it because then maybe I'd have ballet legs and better posture. 

Anyway, I remember telling Grandpa Phillips that I quit ballet and he said that I shouldn't have because girls needed to learn how to be graceful.

Huh. I could definitely use some grace. I've been told I look like a ballet dancer when I bowl. But not when I dance. Or walk. Or accidentally drop things on the floor. Or cut myself.

Sophie's learning how to be graceful, too. I love watching her in class. Especially "skipping" (which is an awkward combination of running and jumping) across the room with her tongue hanging out.

She seems to like it, and I hope she wants to continue doing it down the road. 

Or she may end up like her mother.

(That last photo is my all-time favorite photo of her. It cracks me up every time I look at it.)

Drool

First I'd like to make a pledge to you that I will not become one of those bloggers who goes private and then posts maybe three times a year. (Yes, I'm looking at you!) I really do have a good excuse.

We've been on the road for almost a week. We've seen sequoias, stayed in three different hotels (with wi-fi . . . I love technology), attended a wedding, survived Disneyland, and now Steve's on his fourth office visit and we're doing our best to stay sane. Sophie's managing by running in and out of the balcony of our room singing about boogers. To each their own. At least she's not whining at me.

I had these pictures from before we left that I wanted to post. One afternoon I let them watch a movie and went upstairs to get a few things done (and secretly hoped that they'd both fall asleep -- which rarely happens). I came down to check on them and found this . . .

Facing away from the TV. Upon further inspection . . .

Ah-ha. That explains the dried bits of saliva all over Ivy's pillow.

Weekend with the Grand's

My parents decided to celebrate my dad's birthday out here with us this year! The weekend went by way too fast.

It's kind of a tradition in my family for the kids to get a Halloween box from Grandma. We got ours as kids and now my kids are getting theirs from my mom.

These glasses were pretty popular...

We went to the Perry Farm's pumpkin patch. (One of the few around here who don't have those annoying bouncy houses.) And of course, we had to get a photo in front of the entrance.

We tried to get everyone smiling at the same time.

Or smiling period.

Ivy didn't crack a smile until she started climbing on a giant pyramid made of straw bales. I think she's going to be our mountain-climbing-extreme-sports child. She's fearless. And she likes climbing high.

After saying this a thousand times, "K, girls, sit close. Sophie, scoot over. Ivy, scoot over. K, look at me. Look at me! Smile! Smile! SMILE!!"

Result:

And of course, blowing out candles with grandpa. (And still no smiling for Ivy.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I called that cake, "Winter at the Crater" which might not make sense to 80% of you. What does make sense is three layers of cake, malt-fudge, and toasted marshmallows. I'll get that posted to my recipe blog shortly.

Crashed

This couch is where the girls take their afternoon nap. This is how it usually goes . . .

Around 2PM. (I've learned that it does no good to say, "hey, it's time for a nap!" because they just start arguing with me.)

After gathering a few books from their shelf, making sure to include a few big ones for the end -- they can never stay awake through the whole thing.

Me: I'm going to read ALL these books by myself!

I plop myself on the couch.

Sophie: NO! Read to ME!

Ivy: ME TOO! ME TOO!

Both girls climb on my lap and reading commences.

Ivy usually complains because she wants to pick the next book every time. After a while she learns to take turns. And then 10 minutes later she's OUT.

Sophie usually takes about 10-15 minutes longer than Ivy. This is when I pull out the bigger books, start yawning occasionally, and reading in a softer, monotone voice. And then she goes out, too.

That's when I make my escape.

In that photo above, Ivy had just rolled over because my camera is noisy. She didn't wake up. And don't worry about her falling off the couch. . .

She usually just goes back to sleep anyway.

P.S. That last one was on a different day. I came downstairs to rouse them and she started waking up and threw her feet off the side of the couch. Then went back to sleep.

P.P.S. Ivy isn't into wearing pants lately.

Big Girl Sophie

Someone started pre-school a couple of weeks ago. She also dressed herself (like always) in a shirt-tutu and jeans with red shoes and blue bows, neither of which really matched her outfit. I'm loosening up.

This pride and joy right here is the backpack. Personally, I think character-themed clothes and accessories are tacky (although Hello Kitty doesn't bother me as much), but Sophie is so in love with Disney Princesses right now I couldn't resist. (It was only a matter of time before those ladies were an integral part of our lives. I tried to postpone it as long as I could.) We surprised her with it the night before her first day.

So far she loves it. It's a parent co-op that meets two mornings a week (Joy School... if you've heard of it) so we rotate where "class" is held. That means I get two mornings a week alone with Ivy when I'm not teaching. She's a good hang-out buddy when she isn't being teased constantly.

This week was my turn to teach, and I wanted to share a couple of funny things. We're talking about the body right now, and I was asking the kids some questions during the lesson:

What happens if you don't get enough sleep?
"Andy": You get old!

What happens if you eat candy all day long?
"Mitchell": (while patting his stomach) You get diabetes!

That last one surprised me. I'm impressed that he knew what diabetes was, even. But from the gestures he was doing, I wonder if he was mistaking it for another "D" word that has to do with digestion. . .

Brownies and Traditions

For the past two years I've made these brownies and Sophie has helped me. And for the past two years I've let her lick the spatula and then made her cry while taking it away from her -- all while snapping pictures like an insensitive mother. The second time I did it, I wasn't intending it to be a tradition, but it kind of did anyway. (See this post if you need a reminder.) Seriously, though? I think it's nice to get a few pictures of your kids riled up. That's how my kids are about 60% (some days around 87%) of the time, and I like to capture a few photos to keep things real. I like to look back at these when they're sleeping and think, "wow, they're actually pretty cute when they're mad."

Anyway.

We started out with the blissful pictures of Sophie licking the spatula:

But when I took it away from her, I got this look:



Kind of a confused look like, "why did you take that from me and are you giving it back in the next 15 seconds?"

Not the drama I was looking for. On to my next subject:



Licking a chocolate-covered spatula is true bliss.

Now for the moment of truth. Mom takes the spatula away and . . .

Bingo. Just what I expected. I guess our little tradition of photos only lasts for two years per child.