Belle of the Ball

Oh what fun we've had in October!! Sophia has been in full princess mode this month. She has asked for a "Princess Story" every single night at bedtime, requested to watch princess movies, thrown on her princess gowns at least 3 times a week, and asked constantly about going to see them at Disney World. So, it was no surprise when she decided to be Princess Belle for Halloween. She debuted the yellow gown at Boo at the Zoo with our friends Angie, Taylor, and Michael, but donned the peasant version of Belle's wardrobe for the Halloween carnival and Trick-or-Treating. She looked stunning in both, of course, and everyone told her so. It still amazes me that perfect strangers seem to love and enjoy my child as much as we do. (Well, almost as much.) 
Sophie got a ton of candies and treats at all of these Spooktacular events, but she's still not big on candy. I "helped" her eat most of the chocolate, but she told me I could "get my own," when it came to the York Peppermint Patty. Really??
 She's so funny. She makes us laugh almost daily with the new big words she has picked up. Last week when I told her it was time for bed, she replied, "No, it's not." To which I said, "Yes, it really is." "No, it's really not." "Yes, it really REALLY is. Now GO!" And then she stopped me in my tracks with, "Don't AGGRAVATE me!" 
It's so hard not to laugh when a tiny princess gives you attitude and just the right moments, but a part of me flashed forward to her 14-year old self and realized I'd better not let this one fly, so we had a "little talk." :o) 

In the car this week, we've been singing the Fresh Beat Band CD since we're getting ready for her birthday party on Sunday, and we also love the new Taylor Swift CD. Of course, Sophie sings every word. "We are NEVER EVER EVER getting back together. Like, ever." :o)


Tonight we went to Sumo, a hibachi restaurant. Sophia was so concerned the Latin "nice Japanese boy" chef was going to burn himself, and she freaked out a little when he told her the onion "volcano" was going to erupt, but she enjoyed it. She loved the fish tank, made a new friend, (of course!) and practiced with her first set of chopsticks by removing every tiny vegetable from her fried rice. She's such a smart and sweet girl! I can't believe she's turning 3 already. <3 nbsp="nbsp" span="span">

Stay tuned for the birthday festivities!! 
 See ya real soon! ☼

Cheerleading, Fresh Beating, and Fair Food Eating.

 Sophie has been quite the character this last month. She entertains us every day, and loves to sing, dance, and tell stories. She is still going to school 3 mornings a week, gymnastics every Tuesday, and we usually do something with G.G. and Big Mack every weekend.



On Sunday we usually watch football with Daddy. She loves to say, "Go Gamecocks and GO RAIDERS!" I think she likes wearing her cheerleading outfits most of all. She does look super cute in all of them, I must say. Daddy loves it when she says, "Touchdown!"

Sophie got a treat 2 weeks ago when my cousin Lea led her Varsity cheerleading squad in a competition at Spring Valley High. Sophie had never seen real cheerleaders in person, so she was ecstatic. She danced, shook her pom pom, and screamed, "Go Lea Lea, GO!" I'm sure the other squads wondered who "Lea Lea" was, but she screamed for her when they all performed too. :o) Lea has just won Homecoming Queen a few nights before, so Sophia was bowing to her like royalty. She made a cute little friend from a neighboring school too.

 Our little Miss loves dressing up in her room and coming out in an assortment of costumes. I've moved all of her dress up clothes into a big bin that she can reach, and she goes and grabs things and throws them on while we're watching TV or before dinner. It's so funny to see what she's thrown on.
 
 Here, she came out as Cinderella and she told Daddy she needed a kiss from her handsome prince. And the hula girl outfit came with about 4 different headbands that I'd been looking for for months. She never forgets her accessories, especially her pocketbook, which is full of money from Daddy, "car keys" and her "cellphone" of course!
 
 
 

This picture of us was taken by Sophia :o) She did an amazing job of cropping us both in the photo. What a proud Mommy!

October is my favorite month! I think Sophia will soon share the same sentiment. What's not to love about cooler weather, the fair, the fair FOOD, and Halloween?! The Orangeburg fair was last week, and we went down with G.G. and Big Mack to see all of the animals and ride a few rides, but Sophie had to get cotton candy and a "groovy smoothie" like the "Fresh Beat Band" of course!

 

 
 She was such a big girl, jumping on every ride she was tall enough to ride, going forward and backwards while waving and smiling on all of them. I was so nervous she'd get sick, but she quickly proved me wrong! I love that she's finally at the age where she tells ME what she wants to do and where she wants to go next. (Not that I always listen, but I love it!) :o)

And finally, the Grand Finale, the moment we've all been waiting for since April, the FRESH BEAT BAND CONCERT! Soph has been anxiously counting down the days to October for 6 months, knowing we had these tickets. She absolutely LOVES the Fresh Beats and dances with them at home almost every night after dinner. The concert tickets were a gift from G.G. and she was excited to go with us too. What a great G.G.!!! She bought Sophie a new T-shirt and a microphone that spins and lights up and an activity book, and she danced and sang with me and Sophie too, after all we all know the words by now. After sharing popcorn with G.G. in the first half in the balcony, Mommy and Sophie snuck down onto the floor into an empty row with Kenzie and her dad! Kenzie is a friend from school, and Mrs. Christie, their teacher, saw us and snuck down too! Needless to say the rest of the concert was so much fun with the girls dancing and twirling, singing, holding hands and having the time of their itty bitty lives. It was so fulfilling to see them so elated and giggling.

 Now that the concert is over, the next big events coming up are the State Fair this week, Halloween Fun, and planning Sophie's 3rd birthday party. Can you guess the theme she has picked? It's a pretty "fresh" idea!  ;o)

See ya real soon! ☼

Back to school and back to fun!

Yay! School is back in, gymnastics has begun, and football season has started! The weather has even cooled down considerably. It almost feels like fall! (I even snuck in a pumpkin cappuccino last week!)
Sophia absolutely loves her 2 year old class at Spring Valley Baptist. Mrs. Christie and Mrs. Daniela are so much fun, and she latched on to them immediately. A few friends from her class last year have also switched to 3 days a week, so she has familiar faces, but now she has 9 classmates and a lot more girls (yay!), although she likes the boys better. She gives me a "Bye, Mom!" when I drop her off and a big hug when I pick her up and comes home every day with a whole sandbox in each shoe. The whole staff at school gets to hear about her day as we walk from the classroom to the car every afternoon, and she loves carrying her new backpack with Bear Bear in it.

This week Soph told Daddy and me she wanted to have a "meeting." She sat at the kitchen table while we were eating dinner, (all we could see was her face and little hands,) and said she needed our attention. We then proceeded to have a talk about her birthday party in November, which she's given considerable thought to apparently. She told me we would need cupcakes, banners, balloons, streamers, signs, and snacks. She knew exactly what the theme would be and told me who she wanted to invite. She listed some family, her teachers, and then the boys in her class. When I asked the names of the girls? "Ummm...no." Haha and so it begins. :o)

Sophie is also quickly becoming quite the gymnast. She listens so well to her teacher, Miss Tiana, and she has already memorized the names of all the tumbles and skills. She is so good at the balance beam and front roll, and is working on the bars and handstands already. I can't believe they start everything so young! I thought they'd just be running around and doing a flip or two, but they're prepping her to be a total Olympian. Most of all I love that she enjoys it.
Mommy and Daddy got to go to the first football home game last weekend and had so much fun with our friends tailgating and riding around in the gamecock golf cart. It was so ridiculously hot, and I almost passed out in the stadium from the heat and had to leave in the third quarter - good thing I had only been drinking water all day and I have such a great hubby and friends! Sophie spent the day at home with G.G., Big Mack, and baby Ben. What a handful! Poor Geeg had 3 kids to take care of all day ;o) I came home to a clean house, laundry done and folded, dishes clean, and perfectly happy baby girl. What amazing parents?!

Sophie has become quite the singer, and picks up on new songs almost immediately after the first or second time. She loves the "Pontoon" song by Little Big Town so much that I actually bought the CD yesterday to surprise her. We listened to that song about 6 times today, and I'm pretty sure I heard her singing along to a few other songs too already. She's so much like me it's scary. I'm posting a video of her in the car singing another of her favorite songs. I have to be careful now to turn the station when the "bad songs" come on. The last thing I want is her singing along to "blow my whistle." Yikes!

 Today we went to the zoo to visit our animal friends and we ventured over to the botanical gardens for the first time. She was "kinda nervous" to take the tram, so we hiked over the bridge and a quarter mile up the hill to the gardens with no stroller! We took our time and I called it our nature hike, so she loved it. I taught her about maple leaves and a few types of berries and acorns, and she screamed every time the tram went by. When we were in Disney World she told everyone her favorite ride was the parking lot tram (!) so I couldn't understand why this smaller tram scared her so, but we hid when it came by and giggled. She loved the pink playhouse in the children's garden and I taught her how to make a wish on a penny before throwing it in the fountain. She told me her wish had been that "we could be Octonaut friends forever." I had to talk like a British polar bear boat captain the rest of the day, but it was precious. :o) We went back over to the zoo, she conversed with the zebras and ostriches for awhile, fed the giraffes, danced to the African drums, rode the carousel, visited Rain Man and Betsy (the llama and cow,) participated in the bird show, and entertained everyone she met along the way. I tried to talk to her about it while we were on the way home, but she sternly told me "I'm busy SINGING mom!" No one tells you when you become a mom that you can no longer talk on your cellphone or sing along to the radio anymore! GAH! Haha.

Daddy has drill this weekend, so I will take her to Orangeburg tomorrow to spend the weekend at G.G.'s house. I'm sure she will come home with some new toys and a lot of stories to tell me.
See ya real soon! ☼

Bring on the fall!

Well the hot summer is FINALLY coming to an end, and we are so ready for football, school, and cooler weather!

The last few weeks have been a great end to our summer fun, and we have been blessed to spend it with the people we love the most. Mommy and Daddy went out to Las Vegas to celebrate a lot of family birthdays, including a late celebration of Daddy's big 4-0! We were joined by our friends Ruben and Jen, our wonderful "Buela," Diego, Juan, Jenny, Jonny, Lupe, Jerrie, Nicole, and her friend Nessa! What a FUN week it was! We stayed on the strip, ate at so many great restaurants, went to pool parties by day and fun nightclubs in the evenings, and have many "Vegas stories" to remember the trip by. :o)

 Sophie spent the week with G.G. and Big Mack and traveled to Fontana Dam for the weekend. She was so excited to ride on the Smokey Mountain Railroad, and came back with so many fun stories of her own about the people she met, swimming in the pool every day, riding on the boat cruise and seeing baby bears, and of course, the TRAIN! This girl is so interested in so many things. Her little brain is so full of curiosity and knowledge. I wish I had her retention! She remembers it all.

The last few weeks since have been spent getting ready for school! Sophie started gymnastics and she absolutely loves it. We've been twice to the gym with her teacher, Ms. Tiana (who Soph refers to as "Princess Tiana "of course.) She has done so well, and loves to be first in line, show off her front roll, and is already mastering new skills like pulling up on the parallel bars and walking on the balance beam. I think her favorite parts are wearing her sparkly leotards and getting stamps and suckers after class. Until she's 3, Mommy goes to class with her and does everything she does, so it's fun for me to be back in gymnastics jumping on trampolines and doing cartwheels again too. (Yes, I can still NAIL a cartwheel!) "Yay Mommy," Sophie says. :o)


We also went to Sophie's first wedding this past weekend. My God-sister, Claire married my elementary school friend Kevin Ott! It was a beautiful wedding and Sophie was a little under the weather, as are the rest of us, but she sniffled and sneezed her way through the whole night with a big smile as she watched the bride and groom at the ceremony, then danced the night away with G.G. and Big Mack at the reception. She got to stay out later than usual, but it was worth it to see her shagging with Big Mack to "Miss Grace" like I've done so many times. It brought tears to my eyes. We stayed until they cut the cake, had a few pieces of candy from the adorable candy bar, and took some gummy bears home in a "Kevin & Claire" koozie to remember the special night forever. Sophie is still talking about the wedding and what SHE wants to have when she gets married. We've also already had to explain to her that she can't marry Daddy because Mommy already has. :o)

We have had a lot of family time in the last few weeks. GranMarian came for a visit and met baby Ben, and then we celebrated G.G.s birthday with the whole family in Orangeburg. It was a great birthday present to us when G.G. announced she was getting a new car, so she sold her Murano to us, and we gave the Passat to Uncle Wes! Yay for new cars! Now Sophie can see out of the windows much better as she rides, and she told me she doesn't feel sick anymore in the car and likes "seeing the rainbows." I'm just thrilled to have rear air bags, air conditioning for her in the back seat, and a CD player that works! Woo Hoo! Happy Birthday to all of us! Now the fun task this week is visiting the DMV, calling the insurance company, switching titles and tags... I actually had to do a lot of this anyway since my whole wallet was stolen in Vegas. New military IDs, credit cards, social security cards, and a few others are on the agenda anyway, so why not do it all at the same time? Fun.


Last night marked the official kickoff of football season, and we are all so excited! We will have to take Sophie to her first game this year, but as for last night, we hired a new babysitter to come play so we could go watch the game with friends, and Leah and Sophie watched the game together and cheered for the Gamecocks at home with popcorn and garnet pom-poms! Sophie loved Leah immediately, and told me she showed her all of her toys and sang her every song she knew. I'm sure Leah was thoroughly entertained. She called me around bedtime and I was so worried something was wrong, but I heard Sophie just singing in the background. Turns out Leah WAS calling to tell me Soph had gotten so excited and run around so much she'd made herself sick. My silly girl told me, "I'm OK Mommy. I got a little sick, but I'm playing in the bathtub now. Have fun. I love you!"  What a nut.

So school starts back next week, and we met Sophie's new teacher, Mrs. Christie yesterday for lunch and she is precious! I can tell Soph will love her and we are going to get along so well. She brought Sophie a book and some clothespins with the letters of her name on them and told her she wanted her to learn the letters and the order they go in before class next week. Well, my Sophia took those clothespins, put them in the right order on the page, said "S,O,P,H,I,A! SOPHIA!" and handed it right back to her. Mrs. Christie just died. She told Soph she was SO impressed and she had a feeling she was going to be her favorite student. (But it's our secret.) :o)

Can't wait for all the fall fun to begin! We're off to a great start already!
See ya real soon! ☼