Sofia and I had a blast last night at my work holiday party. Ryan decided not to go because he was feeling a bit anit-social. It was a potluck, so there was a ton of food. My contribution included chips and salsa and little cocktail bread with dill creamcheese, cucumber and smoked salmon. The food was fantastic, I only wish my stomach was larger so that I could have eaten more. Sofia did a good job sampling some dishes, namely a deviled egg, cheese, crackers, and pita bread with hummus. However, as soon as Sofia heard the DJ start to play some rockin tunes in the teen room, Sofia was ready to party. She danced for over an hour straight. She shook her booty, twirled in circles, and basically ran the length of the room over and over. It was a blast and by the time we got home after 9:30, both she and I were ready to crash. Too bad she went to bed at 10 p.m. and decided to come into our room at 6 a.m. this morning. I mean, seriously? I think her big girl bed is cursed because she rarely sleeps past 7 a.m.

Here are some recent pictures. I'm just too lazy and tired to write much, so I'll say what I want through pictures.

Do you like our new cat ornament?

Thanksgiving 2009. This was a quiet moment with Sydney and Sofia. What you don't see is Sofia's room that got totally trashed within the first 5 minutes. However, both girls did a great job cleaning everything up.

Sofia the cook. I especially like the dish that is closest, looks like a mussel, sardines, and a cat hairball. Bon appetit!

Sofia's obsession with Aladdin continues with this rousing rendition of "A Whole New World"

Today was an awesome day. Ryan and I don't get too many days off together, usually only one or two a month. When we do, we kind of go all out and try to cram as much stuff as possible into the day. Today was no exception. Let me take you through it...

We started the morning going out to breakfast. For some reason, every time we go out for breakfast, we fight or argue or, in today's case, Sofia falls off her chair and then has it tip over and hit her head. And we were sitting right in the middle of the restaurant. There's nothing like hearing gasps from those around you as your child lays on the ground crying with a chair on top of her. One point for good parenting.

After breakfast we headed to Inniswood Metro Park. This park is different from the other parks because it is made up of gardens. It's very peaceful - there's no playground, no people of bikes. In fact, no active sports are allowed. We walked through the forest and checked out the herb garden. Don't tell anyone, but we stole about 10 sage leaves in the Herb garden. This is a big no-no, but we couldn't help it. The sage was just going to die anyway, and as Ryan said, herbs need to be cut so that they keep growing.

When we got tired of the park (or I should say, got tired of hearing Sofia whining about how tired she was) we headed to a comic book store that Ryan has been looking for. The only way to see the turnoff for this store was a small paper sign. But we found it and made a great find there - a Wesley doll from The Princess Bride. I know you're jealous. Don't worry, everyone can come over and see it whenever they want. He's hanging on our living room wall for the world to see (along with my Librarian Action figure and the Marie Antoinette action figure with ejector head action.) We are such dorks.

Our last stop before nap time was Alum Creek park in Westerville near Otterbein, my alma mater. Ryan and I stood around while Sofia went down the slide over and over and over again. The trip ending when she bumped her mouth and bit her lip.

Finally, while Sofia was taking a nap, I attempted to make stew. I had the vegetables cut, everything set out ready to go, only to realize that the meat was bad. Not bad bad, but it had a funky smell. I didn't feel like risking everyone's health to make my delicious stew...so we went out to dinner instead. To Hoggy's. All I have to say is, "oh lordy, I am stuffed." I had a $10 off coupon so I went all out and got the taster platter. Who can seriously eat ribs, 3 different kinds of sandwiches, and 4 small sides? Not me. But, now I have lunch for tomorrow.

Our last stop of the night was Kroger's to pick up marshmellows, chocolate bars, graham crackers, and firewood. (Not to mention all the extra crap we got including: a Tinkerbell coloring book for Sofia, a Disney princess coloring book and a box of 96 crayola crayons for me, and Pepto Bismal for Ryan.) Yes folks, we made s'mores. Sooo goood. Sofia was able to eat two. I'm sitting here waiting for the sugar rush to start. Now Ryan is getting ready to go out for the night and I get to relax and perhaps read, or color, or watch a movie. I'm so excited!

Sofia's intelligence never ceases to amaze me. I'm not saying my kid is any smarter than others her age, but it always takes me by surprise when she does things I'm not prepared for. For example, today she was sitting on the toilet (I know, I should be shocked just by that. I swear, that girl will never be out of diapers.) and out of nowhere she started singing the ABC song. Where the heck did she pick that up? Granted, I've sung it once or twice around her, but it's not something we practice every day. She also does a medley of the ABC song with Old MacDonald...perhaps musical theater in her future? The next American Idol (god, I hope not. )

Trick-or-Treat

Let me just start off by saying that I think it is sacrilegious to not have trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Case in point, we had "beggar's night" tonight, a Thursday, as opposed to the actually holiday on Saturday. Why? Really, why? I just don't get it.

Okay, enough of that rant. Trick-or-Treat was so much fun tonight. Sofia was dressed as Tinkerbell. We went out on Sunday night and got the costume. She actually let me pull her hair back in a ponytail, which I would love to have her wear more often because it shows off her face. I digress. She was so excited about her costume, especially the pink hair spray and the make-up. What pink hair coloring has to do with Tinkerbell I'm not sure, but it worked.

We joined up with Russ, Vanessa, Genevieve, Vanessa's mom, as well as another family, and hit the road. The two little girls were so into getting candy. They would race up to a house together, get their candy, and then come back and say, "Okay, let's go to the next house." We walked around a neighborhood that was close to Russ and Vanessa's just because it had houses ans sidewalks, as opposed to condos and apartments. The neighborhood was really nice and the people were friendly. I just walked down the street wishing I could afford a house like those and thinking of all the fun decorations I could put up if I lived there.

We stayed out for the whole 2 hours. Sofia got a little cranky towards the end and only wanted to ride in the wagon. But, I will say, she did a lot of walking/running in the beginning. Both her and Genevieve were very possessive of their candy. We brought an extra bag to put the candy in when her little princess bag got to full, but it was such a battle to convince Sofia that we weren't stealing her candy, we were trying to help her get more. I can't wait to go through the candy and see what we, I mean Sofia, got.

Leed's Farm

This is a little late posting, but we went to Leed's Farm again this year. It wasn't quite as fun as last year - probably because of all the people. There were a ton of people this year. It's wierd, I work with the public at both jobs, but I can't stand large crowds of people.

Anyway, we did the giant black slide, the barn full of hay, and Sofia even rode the Banana Bus all by herself. Which is good, because I didn't want to try and humiliate myself getting in and out of one of those little cars.

Yes, this is the banana bus. Jealous that Sofia got to take a ride in it? I thought so.

This was the giant black slide. It was actually pretty fun. I think all my extra weight really helped us fly down the slide.

TinkyPell

We took Sofia to her first movie yesterday. I had a couple of free passes to the new TinkerBell movie. This was the only time it would be shown on the big screen, because usually it's a straight to DVD type of movie. So, we got up early and left for the theater. The paper said to arrive early, so we got there about 30 minutes before showtime. The line was almost out the door. By that point, I figured we weren't going to get in and almost wanted to leave. However, we did get seats and Ryan bought popcorn and soda. Sofia was fantastic the whole time. She did hog the popcorn and ate practically half the bag herself. Most of the kids in the theater were really good! There was a really funny moment **spoiler alert** when during the film, the magic moonstone was smashed, you could here the guys in the audience (not little kids, but dads) gasp and yell. It was hilarious. The movie wasn't half bad, I will admit. After the movie we went and got lunch at a pizza place Ryan used to work at back in the day. (Way back in the day, like 10 years ago). By the time we got home, I was feeling like crap, so I took a 5 hour nap. This nap did not make me feel better, however. In fact, it made me feel worse. I kind of left Ryan with Sofia for the evening, while I sat on my bed watching Say Yes to the Dress on TLC. Thank you Ryan, for letting me watch crappy television while you watched Sofia.

Puzzle-liscious!

Sofia is all about puzzles. You know, the kind that have lots of pieces that you lose all over the house and are never quite complete? Well, Sofia has mastered the age 3+ puzzles. These usually come with about 24 pieces. Sofia will do the puzzle once, and then from there on out, she can do it over an over again. It's not a challenge. Ryan decided to buy her puzzles for the 5+ crowd. These have 100 pieces. How can you go from 24 to 100 pieces? Sofia likes these puzzles, but she hasn't finished one on her own. I've helped her finish a Tinkerbell puzzle (Tinky-pell anyone?), but she does still need a little help. However, it truly amazes me how much she likes working on puzzles and totally obsessed over them everyday. It's so cool!

As I was driving Sofia to the babysitter's this morning, she said the sweetest thing to me. She goes, "Mommy, I'm really happy. Mommy, you make me happy."

How sweet is that? I love that little girl.

New Family Member

Here's a picture of Max, finally. He's such a great cat, but it's so strange having a kitten. I'm not used to the biting and play scratching, but he's acting a lot like Kitty did when we first got her, so that's good. Not to make Max feel bad, but Kitty was an awsome cat. Deep down I'll know that Max will be pretty awsome too! Sofia loves him. Like, LOVES. He gets along with her, which I'm happy about. She's been pretty gentle with him, too. Too bad he was sick when we first got him, and so far vet bills have cost $160. But, he's worth it!

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Sofia had her 3rd birthday today. I can't believe she's 3 years old. I mean, seriously, where has the time gone? I wish I could have hung out with her more today, but I had to work. During my lunch break I picked up cupcakes for us from Pink Moon Cupcake Bakery. These are the best cupcakes I have ever had...ever. When I came home from work, I had Sofia sit at the table and then I put the candles in her cupcake. I brought it over to the table and she had the biggest smile on her face. Ryan and I passed on the idea of a party just because our schedules are so hectic and I didn't want to spend the money on it, to be honest. I think the next party birthday will be her 5th.

Anyway, Ryan took her to the toy store and got her some more paints and a few art supplies. The bike we got her a couple of weeks ago has already been put to good use, as you will see in the video I posted.

I finally had a full day off on Thursday. Working two jobs is really starting to take its toll. I enjoy having the second paycheck coming in, and I actually enjoy serving again (wow, didn't think I would ever say that again), but working everyday is starting to get tiring. So anyway, back to Thursday. When Ryan got home we decided to get out of the house and better yet, get out of Columbus. For the past couple of years I have been wanting to take Ryan to Yellow Springs, so what better day than Thursday? We left the house a little after 1 p.m. and headed the 66 miles to Yellow Springs.

Our first stop was Young's Jersey Dairy Farm. This place was pretty neat - and free. They had a store where they sold fresh-made cheese, minature golf, goats and cows to see, awesome ice cream, and a restaurant. The first thing we did was check out the store and buy stuff - blackberry jam and plum preserves! Sofia had fun climbing on the tractors. After that, we headed over to the restaurant for a late lunch. The food was so yummy! But the homeade ice cream was even better. After that we headed into downtown Yellow Springs. We walked through the town and stopped at a couple of shops. Ryan wanted to go to the comic book store, which was fine with me. While we were both browsing the comics, Sofia was browsing the candy rack that was conveniently right at her height. While I wasn't paying attention (bad parent alert!) Sofia was doing some "shopping" of her own. Two seconds later she walked up to me with half a peppermint patty in her mouth. I made her walk over to the comic book guy and apologize - and give him the 10 cents she owed for the candy. I think he was more embarrassed than I was!

After walking through the town, we hopped in the car and headed back towards Columbus. Along the way we stopped at Peifer Orchard. As soon as Sofia got out of the car, a huge labrador came lumbering over and tried to sniff and kiss her. She freaked out, which is only natural when something bigger than you comes over. I can only imagine how that dog must look to Sofia. We did a little shopping here as well - fresh peaches, tomatoes, jalapenos, and fresh herbs. This is another place I was to come back to. Soon.

We capped off the day at Unos. By the time we got there, Sofia had been napping for all of fifteen minutes and I really needed a beer. We were still stuffed from lunch, but I knew I could get some free snack appetizers. Sofia was slap-happy and crazy, but pretty well-behaved for the day we had.

Sometimes it's just nice to get out of Columbus.

Now that Ryan works very early in the morning (we're talking 4:30 a.m. here people), he has the rest of his days free. Since I'm back at Unos part-time (I just can't get away from that place!), Ryan has a couple of days where he has Sofia all day long. The other day they went to the Zoo together and had a blast. However, we have created a face-paint monster. I let Sofia get her face painted once, and now she talks about it all the time. Well, the day that she went with Ryan, the monster reared its head. Sofia ran from Ryan straight to the face-paint booth. However, this next part I kind of blame on the employee. The girl working the booth started asking Sofia which picture she wanted, and even helped her up into the chair. Ryan wasn't even over there! Who conducts business with a 2-year-old? Ryan caved and let her get her face painted, only he picked a the bigger design which cost him $11. Oh well, it made Sofia happy. Ryan's just happy because now he can paint her face for Halloween. Zombie toddler anyone?!

Sofia got this sweet ride for her birthday, even though her birthday is a few weeks away. I couldn't pass it up - the bike was $12 off. She loves it. Ryan got to see her ride it outside first. Sofia really caught on quick - she seems so much older now that she can ride a tricycle.

With mine and Ryan's schedules so weird now, it's hard to go out and do things. I keep meaning to go to the park, but it just doesn't happen. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I don't have much Sofia news, she's still not potty trained, she never stops talking, and she's a blast to hang out with. She's really been into painting as well. Everyday she wants to stand at the dining room table and paint with watercolors. It's awesome to watch. Now, someone just needs to blast me with some energy and I will be all set.

I have a good reason for not posting, I swear. I've been finishing up my Master's and I turn it in to day. Now that I'm finished and have more time to sit around on the computer, I'll post more. Promise. The one thing I wanted to point out today - Sofia and I woke up at 11 a.m. That's right, 11. I love her. She's the best. I'm so glad she got her sleeping habits from me. Could I have asked for a better sleeper. I'm sure the next child (whenever that will be) will be the complete opposite, but I'm going to enjoy it now. Thanks Sofia.

Boops

Let me set the scene: Ryan, Sofia and I are sitting in the living room watching television this morning. Ryan is on one couch and Sofia and I are on the other. Sofia is leaning against me when this conversation happens:

Sofia: (pointing to my chest) What are these?

Me: (looking down)What?

Sofia:( pokes my boob) These.

Me: Those are boobs.

Sofia: (lifting up her shirt) I have boops.

Me: No, only big girls have boobs.

Sofia: Why don't I have boops.

Me: Because you're not a big girl.

Sofia: I want to go to the store and get some boops.

We went out to dinner tonight and then to the pet store. Sofia got a big kick out of the kittens and we had a hard time dragging her away. Finally, two men came up behind her to look and we pulled her away. Two seconds went by and then she walked up between the two men and said, "Excuse me, excuse me. You're in the way." And then she pushed her way back through. Well, at least she sounds polite when she's being rude.

After the pet store we went to the shoe store. I don't know why, but I really wanted to buy Sofia a new pair of shoes. She grabbed an ugly, gold pair of Dora sandles off the wall, but I made her put them back. I then saw a pair of white gym shoes with the Disney princesses on the side. I asked Sofia, "What about these?" She then said, "Oh Mommy, those are perfect. They're perfect, perfect, perfect." I had her try them on and walk up and down the aisle in the shoes. She wasn't walking, she was prancing. She kept saying, "Oh thank you Mommy. Ilove my new princess shoes. They're perfect." Ahhh...love of shoes starts young.

Support Ohio Libraries

Sofia and I did a couple of things this morning. First we tried Yoga for preschoolers and their parents. Let me just say that I enjoyed it. Sofia, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled. She didn't want to try the poses, she sat on some steps and pouted, she told me wanted to go outside, she cried. There were only 4 other little girls in the class - and they all participated. I tried to engage Sofia, but she just wasn't having it. I was a little disappointed because I thought she would get into it. She's always clowning around at home. I thought that maybe she's just not that used to structure and other kids since she's always home with me. Who knows? If I had the money, I would have signed up for the 6-week session, but after today I'm glad I didn't. I've thought about getting her into gymnastics or dance, something to help blow off steam and get her around more kids. Hmm...maybe something to look into if I can find a place that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

The other place we went was down to the Statehouse to the Save Ohio Libraries Rally. This is a big deal to me, not only because I work in a library, but also because libraries and books have greatly impacted my life. I can remember riding my bike up to the Mt. Washington library in the summer to get books, or going to the Batavia library and attending an origami program. I want Sofia to be able to have these same experiences. Keep your fingers crossed that the budget committee will figure something out! The rally attracted a few hundred people, including lots of parents and kids. Sofia was on my shoulders at one point and was clapping along with everyone else. I also had her saying, "Save Ohio libraries!" We didn't stay too long because of the heat, but I'm glad we got a chance to go.

I finally, after three years, bought chairs and plants for the back patio. It looks a lot better and is lot more comfortable to sit. I also bought play sand and filled up Sofia's green plastic turtle. She has a blast in there, however, I think she had more fun the day I bought the new green tub to put her balls and toys in. What do you think?