Sofia turns 3!

It's incredibly difficult to believe, but Sofia is now 3 years old! Daddy and I celebrated by taking the day off from work to spend Sofie's birthday with her. We went to the Aquarium and rode some rides at the Mall of America. Sofia was worn out by the end of the day, but she had a great time! At bedtime I asked her what the best part of the day was and she said, "Opening my presents". I'd say that is a fair and honest statement. She was exhausted by the end of the day, but it's all good!


This is the birthday girl at breakfast wearing our new hat:

Playing at the aquarium...

Riding some rides...
Needless to say, she enjoyed herself very much! Daddy and I appreciated that we could spend the day with her!

My 1st visit to Samantha's classroom

Art Adventure is a program through our local art museum. It's designed to give kids access to some pieces around a theme (Animals this year) that they haven't been exposed to. I signed up as a volunteer and today was my first presentation to Samantha's kindergarten class. It was more fun than I expected it to be! The kids all did well listening and talking. I thought they all did well participating and I didn't see too many kids fidgeting from boredom so I've got that going for me!

After "art time" was over, I took Samantha and 3 other boys to work on some math puzzles. These 4 kids are all readers and fairly advanced, so I volunteered to spend some time with them. Out of this group, Sam is the only girl and I found it fun to watch her in that dynamic. It was interesting to get to know her classmates today too. I hope to keep doing it, but we'll see about the frequency.


Side note: The teacher today asked me if I would tolerate some of the behavioral and listening issues the boys have. (Of course, I didn't see much of it today.) I know it's tempting fate to say it wouldn't bother me, but I think we will just see how it goes. Usually I can get other people's kids to listen to me, but we'll see.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Poor Daddy. He's the only male in the house with the exception of Fonz and I just don't see a lot of solidarity between them. One thing that makes Daddy special is that he's a strong enough man to handle his wife and two daughters. Daddy is the model for what the girls probably will accept should they decide to get married someday. He works hard, loves to play and is the guy that does the right thing just because it's the right thing to do. He sacrifices himself at times, but he takes care of himself. We are all very proud of him and very blessed to have him as a central part of our family!

First snow of the season

It started snowing last night and hasn't stopped yet. The girls and I went out to play this morning. Sofie loved eating the snow, which is fine because we discussed that yellow (or any colored snow) is not okay to touch. I shoveled a bit and pulled the girls around in our sled. When Daddy came out to start the driveway, the whole family had a snowball fight. That was hilarious and fun even when Daddy got me in the face! Oh well, better me to get hit than the kids!

This afternoon both girls went to a friend's birthday party with a princess theme. They had a blast! Samantha was commended as the most polite and Sofia actually went potty on the toilet! It's always fun to hear good things all around!

Tonight we honored another tradition: a meal consisting only of finger food. It's a nice contrast to all the sugar the girls consumed at the party today!

Bartering

Both girls are great at negotiation. They use their skills with mostly Daddy and me (not to mention their grandparents), but yesterday Samantha used her skills at the mall. We met Nana and Papa for rides and ice cream. On our way to the car, we passed by a face painting station. I didn't have enough cash to pay the posted price and I was honest with Samantha about that. I told her she could ask the lady if they could do something else. Sam was very polite and of course got herself and her sister sparkling pink hearts. Way to go Sam! I was so impressed! I told her that I was very proud of her.

Thanks to Nana and Papa for a great afternoon!

Conferences at Samantha's school

This morning was Samantha's initial parent / teacher conference. She is doing great in school! That isn't a surprise to us, but the validation is nice. Apparently whenever there is a substitute, they are instructed to ask Samantha if she has a question. That's quite a feat! We love her teacher and more importantly, so does Samantha. She is one of four kids in her class that's reading and I'm hoping to volunteer weekly at her school to work with that group. We will see what happens!

Here's one of Daddy's favorite pictures of her. It was taken on a "Daddy and Sammy" day recently.

Autumn 2010

Autumn has flown by this year, so I thought I would show some highlights that didn't make it to other posts.

There was the open house showcasing all the things firefighters do. The girls put out fires and climbed on nearly every truck out there.

A quick trip to the arboretum with Grammy. We all had fun running around the stick house, playing in the "tornado" house and exploring the maze.


50's night at Samantha's school with Nana, Papa and Grammy. Both girls wore their Halloween costumes which worked out well. Samantha was giddy when she found Naomi and didn't leave her side most of the night!

We got to celebrate Mitch's brithday early with him and the family. Now that Jordan and Dylan are mobile, things are even more interesting and fun!

Behold, Dylan and Jordan are mobile! They are growing so fast...

Visits with Auntie She usually involving games of, "Red Light Green Light".

Dinner at the Gorilla house. Sofie got to hang with a baby (another S) and Samantha got to hang out with Kira.

It has been busy, but we're extremely fortunate to have the friends and family we do!