In Sophie’s Words

I be funny.  I shake my booty.  I go to Grammy’s.  I play with Mommy and Daddy.  I like to bug people.  I like to swim in Grammy’s apartment.  I have with everyone.  Shirley and Bone-Bone and everything are my favorite stuffed animals.

I like to burp.  I like to prout (that’s French for fart).  I be very fun.  I like Mommy’s glasses since they have purple on them.  I like to be a cat.  I like to do somersaults and swinging and the balance beam.

I like to play with my friends.  I like princess movies.  I like to have straight hair. I like to wear dresses.  I like pink.  My favorite game is Dora on the Wii.

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That’s the extent of my first interview with Sophie.  4-year olds are great.

Puberty

Chloe had her annual check-up today.  All is well.  But when the doctor and I started talking about the onset of puberty Chloe asked, “does that mean when you have a love interest?”  Both the pediatrician and I did a double-take.

Chloe had a grin on her face – proud of her extensive knowledge of vocabulary.  Sorry to burst your bubble, darling.  Puberty is when your body starts doing funky things, like growing hair in previously unhairy places, and you’re even moodier than usual.

I know, you’re all thinking, Chloe’s only 9.  But we’ve noticed some preliminary signs that she’s getting closer – terrifying thought.

Although Chloe is getting older, she still acts like a baby when it comes to shots.  She wasn’t expecting any today and when she found out she was going to be pricked, the tears started to flow.  When she found out she was going to be pricked more than once, the tears flowed even more.  Post-shots, she remarked that it wasn’t all that bad after all.  Our doctor is no dummy, however.  She made a note to order both girls the flu vaccine in mist form for next season.

Chloe’s Canine Cousin

There she is. Cousin Lucy. She’s about a year older than Chloe. Lucy is a great dog. Very well trained, very loving. She and Chloe had a nice time together. Chloe did all the talking and Lucy did all the barking. A match made in heaven.

We knew that Lucy had grown comfortable in Chloe’s presence when she allowed Chloe to lie down on the floor with her while she was eating her new bone. Unlike the way she sometimes treats her sister, Chloe didn’t dare tease Lucy or otherwise bait her. She affectionately pet Lucy and gave her hugs. She accompanied Lucy and her uncle on a couple of walks and ball tosses in the backyard.
We returned home from Austin a little while ago. I’m really glad I got to spend some quality time with Chloe – she had a great time and behaved really well. Surprisingly well. She’s at the right age to travel and I can’t wait to do more of it with her, and with Sophie when she’s older. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for a terrific long weekend!

More Austin

We went on a Texan adventure today. Drove a couple of hours east of Austin to Blue Bell Creameries, home of the third largest ice cream producer in the United States (after Dreyer’s, aka Edy’s, and Breyers). Those of us who live in the northeast aren’t familiar with them, because they sell to 18 states in the southern half of the United States. But their ice cream is yummy! We went on a tour of the factory and saw the workers (of whom there were far fewer than I expected) packaging the treats. Most of it is automated and very streamlined – no Lucy/Ethel shenanigans there.

Continue reading More Austin

Winter Wonderland

This is what one of the trees on our property looked like as the snow was falling the other night. It was so very peaceful and white. No traffic, no people. Just snowflakes.

It’s not so peaceful anymore, nor is it as white. The roads have been cleared and the snow plowed from the roads is black with soot. Dogs have left their yellow marks in the snow. There are piles of the white stuff everywhere. And so much of it that even if it has started to melt under the sun, there’s no discernible difference yet.
The girls enjoyed two days off from school. Not really sure why the second day was necessary; a delayed opening would have worked just fine. But no mind. Chloe had an impromptu sleepover at a friend’s house and Sophie had an impromptu playdate with one of her best buddies.
On another note, Chloe just read a couple of blog entries from 2007 (here and here) after I told her that she once enjoyed wearing dresses and was quite the fashion plate. She was skeptical. After smiling and laughing through the pages, she exclaimed, “Mom, you’re really good at writing. Those were really funny!” Now if that’s not a compliment to end all compliments, I don’t know what is. I’ll be going to bed happy tonight.

Thinking About Things Warm

It’s supposed to snow a lot tonight. We may get a foot or more of snow. And we’re lucky. ‘Cause we’re not in Philly or D.C., where folks are still digging out of the two feet that fell a few days ago. So, rather than think about snow and cold, I’ve decided to post this photo of Chloe, which although taken in the middle of winter at an indoor pool, still makes me think of sun and warmth.

On another note, it’s about that time for another Chloe opening paragraph masterpiece. Here it is:
When I saw the new kid coming I knew he was going to be trouble. He had that sneaky, sly strut. He had the kind of face that always seemed to hold a sneer. And he had deep, gray, pitiless eyes. He acted as though school was meaningless and the only reason he came was that his parents made him. Yet there was something different about him and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I had to figure it out.

I suggested she start a serial, in the spirit of Dickens. Her eyes bugged out at the thought of it and declined with an emphatic “No!” She’s not yet ready to make that kind of commitment.

Social Butterfly

I saw this one coming from a mile away. Little Sophie has apparently evolved from larva into social butterfly over the course of the last few months at preschool.

There’s good and bad to this. Getting the good out of the way first, she’s definitely not as shy as she used to be. And she’s made a couple of adorable little friends, most of whom have curly hair just like her.
The bad will take a little longer to enumerate. First, she’s a yakker. And she’s had to be separated from her pals a few times over the last couple of weeks. Second, she hasn’t played the yakking game very well. She tends to do most of the yakking when she should be listening and learning. She’s not the only one guilty of this particular crime in her class – the yakking disease seems to be contagious.
And although she’s a yakker with her friends, she still doesn’t participate very much in class. The teachers are having a difficult time evaluating her progress because she clams up around them.
Needless to say, I’m a little concerned, mostly because she’s going to be so very young when she starts kindergarten in the fall. She’ll first be turning five about a month after school begins, so she will definitely be the youngest in her class (hell, she missed the cutoff by three days). I want her to be as prepared as possible for the onslaught of public school.
We talked to her tonight about doing a better job of listening to her teachers in class. When she realized that we were gently berating her, she started running away and talking gibberish. No big surprise there, either. This is a work in progress and it’s going to take a lot of time. And a lot of deciphering gibberish to make sure she’s processed the message.

A Mom's Ramblings About the Marvels & Mishaps of Parenting, the Joys of Family Travel & the Writing Life