June update

This month went by super fast, probably because it was soooo busy.  We joined the neighborhood pool and Sophia started taking swim lessons.  She is having so much fun but is very tired at the end of the day.  She took two weeks of lessons in the afternoon while school was still in session and then two weeks of morning lessons.  They invited Sophia to be on the swim team but with our schedule in July it isn't happening.  Maybe next year.

Sophia got sick in early June.  It started with a fever and then had a wax build up in her ear after a cold.  It was very painful but thankfully the antibiotics worked quickly and she was able to attend most of her last week of school.

Sophia finished her two years as a Daisy and is now a Brownie.  We took a hike with with some of the girls in the troop in June.

Sophia went on a trail ride, off lead, last weekend.  She loves being around horses.

Sophia got her hair cut.  They cut about three inches off.

 

She also got new glasses after losing hers.  Of course we found the lost pair behind the chair in our living room after ordering the new paid.

She has just selected her glasses at this point.  The sticker is still on them.

May Update

Time continues to fly by.   We had a great month.  Sophia was in an in-house horse show.  She moved up in the class numbers so she was competing without a lead rope or leader in the ring.  She did GREAT.  She took first place in equation, second place going over the trotting poles and sixth place in pleasure.  She is a serious rider who looks like she is not having any fun at all.  Thankfully I know how much she loves riding otherwise I might think we were torturing her with these lessons.

We joined a neighborhood pool and it opened Memorial Day weekend.  It was chilly but Sophia still went swimming.  We signed her up for swim lessons.  In less than two weeks she is really showing progress.  She is making it all they way across the pool and also has been diving off the side and jumping off the diving board.

Aiden came down for a Memorial Day weekend.  It was nice to have him down.  Both Aiden and Sophia went swimming at Grandma Bev and Pop Pop's pool.  It was too cold for all the adults!

April update

April was a busy month for us.  Sophia entered the science fair.  Her experiment was testing which kind of homemade glue held the most weight.  The flour one (just flour and water) held 90 pounds.  Sophia had fun making the glue and helping test the glues.

Sophia performed with the Chinese group at multicultural night.   She listened to the song in Mandarin for about a week and then practiced a couple of times with the group.  She had no idea the meaning of the song (we still don't!) but she had a blast doing it.  She looked so cute in her dress.   It was neat to see her on-stage with everyone that looked like her.

Sophia learned to ride her bike without training wheels.  Now riding her bike is her favorite past time.  She rides every day.

Sophia and I joined Steve at a re-enacting event.  It was a market fair event so there was plenty of things to do.  Sophia had a blast playing with the kids.  She played for hours on end which meant I got to sit down and knit for a while.  It was a relaxing weekend, totally unplugged.  The nights were cold but I managed to survive the 39 degree weather without a problem.  I am glad we were able to just hang out all weekend together.

March update

Are the days going faster or is it just me.  March seem to fly by. 

We finally got a little snow on 3/5.  Enough to close the schools.  We had fun playing in the snow and building a snowman.  

 The Daisy troop participated in an Operation Welcome Home event were we gave out the cookies donated to our troop to troops coming home for an overseas tour.  I am sure that this is something the girls will remember.  

We celebrate Grandma Bev's birthday with her.  Susie, Jeff and the kids were in town so we were able to spend some time with them.  Sophia had a blast playing with her cousins.

Sophia loves animals.  She plays with the dogs and cats.  She even dressed up Kaegogi one day.  Kaegogi stayed still while Sophia got her all ready for bed.

 Sophia and I took a trip to Conn.  We were able to attend Linda's Easter egg hunt, spend Easter with Grandma Barb and spend time with Grandma, Linda, Stephanie and Hollie.  We shopped and went out to dinner.  I am glad we are able to spend time with my mother.  I know that it means a lot to her but it also means a lot to me.  Family is so important to me.  I remember visiting my grandparents every Sunday.  I remember the times I spent with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Hopefully these trips home to visit grandma will mean something to Sophia as she grows older.

February Update

This month we went to see Grandma Barb in Connecticut.  They had a huge blizzard the week before and the snow was still pretty impressive.  Sophia enjoyed playing in the snow.  We even went sledding with Hollie and Stephanie.  It was really windy that day so we only lasted about 30 minutes sledding but it was fun nonetheless.   You even got to see a huge horse.  Linda took us to see her friends horse.  This horse is even bigger than Elliot

We celebrated Chinese New Years with your China sisters.  You all had such fun playing together.  You all did a lion dance with a mask that Laura, Sarah and Ellie made.  It was amazing.    We made dumplings and almond cookies for the party.

We had a couple of very warm days in February.  One was even nice enough to go on a family "hike." We took Boba along with us.

You continue to do very well in school.  You are reading and doing three digit addition and subtraction.     You love to play with your stuffed animals.  One night after a trip to the library we found you asleep with a book in your hands, which is not that unusual.  What was unusual was that many of your horse friends were reading books too.

January 2013 update

This month was pretty uneventful.  We had a few storms, if you can call them that, which produced a light dusting of snow.  It was enough snow for Sophia and Boba to go out dog sledding!  I am not sure who likes this more, Sophia or Boba.

 Sophia has been writing notes to us and leaving them at the top of the steps for us to find when we go up to bed.  The notes asks what time she can get the iPad in the morning or if Steve would bring her breakfast in bed.

Sophia and I made steamed dumplings.  They came out really good.  They are a lot of work but something Sophia really enjoyed doing.

Noelle, Sophia's favorite cat, spends almost every night next to her.  Sophia doesn't sleep in her bunk bed because "No No" can't climb up.

December 2012 update

December is always an exciting month.  We started the month with a Girl Scout dance to benefit those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  The sponsoring troop had a coat, hat and mitten drive which was very successful.  The girls all had fun between dancing and playing different games.  Sophia won the hula hoop contest at the Daisy level.  She was on fire!

Sophia was quite the shopper at the holiday fair at school.  She picked out gifts for me, her father, brothers, cousins and a friend.  The gifts she picked matched each one perfectly.  She also made gifts at a Girl Scout craft day.  She gave her handmade gifts to her grandparents, Aunts, me and a friend.

Right before Christmas Sophia got a high fever.  We thought it was just a fever but brought her to the doctors to be sure seeing we were planning on traveling to Conn the following week right after Christmas.  It turned out that she had the beginnings of pneumonia.  She was given antibiotics and the fever went down in two days.  The coughing lessened and we were able to travel the following week.

We had a blast trimming the tree and making gingerbread houses.

It snowed a little bit on Christmas Eve.  Boba became a sled dog again and Steve and Sophia built a tiny snowman.

Christmas was exciting.  We had both Nick and Aiden down with us from Thursday until Christmas Day.  Sophia loves having her brothers around.  She was too sick much of the time to really play with them but enjoyed their company.

Christmas morning was wonderful.  Sophia woke up at 3:30 AM wondering if we could go downstairs yet.  We told her we weren't sure Santa came seeing it was the middle of the night and she went back to sleep until around 6:30 or 7:00.  Santa left Sophia an Xbox, a book and a Playmobile Pegasus toy and an electronic drum set.  Aiden got a football and Nick got a magazine and a Lego Hobbit toy.  We opened gifts from each other, played with the toys and had breakfast at home.  We then went to Grandma Beadle's, Grandma Bev's and PopPop's house for a Christmas Story dinner, Chinese food, and to open more gifts.  Nick spent a little extra time with his grandparents.

Steve, Aiden, Sophia and I traveled to Conn so that we could see Grandma Barb, George, Linda and all the girls the day after Christmas.  It was great to be together there.  We stayed a few days in Conn enjoying the time with family.

December was busy but a whole lot of fun.  It is hard to believe 2012 has gone and we face a new year.  2012 had many high points and a couple of lows.  We are grateful to share good times with family and friends.