Rock a Minute?

Well, I'm here with an update on little Miss Sophia. She will be 19 months in just 7 days but will proudly tell you "18 months" when asked how old she is. And she will tell you just about anything. That is probably the most striking thing about Sophia right now, her talking. Well, of course I'm partial, being a speech therapist and all. :) She is combining 4-5 words in a sentence, knows her colors, and can sing 4-5 words of "Jesus Loves Me" at one time. She can also count up to 13 with help. O.kay, enough proud parent talk.

There are a few of her "sayings" that Tony and I find especially cute. One, is "Rock a minute?" Everytime she starts to get sleepy, wants to be held in the middle of the night, or wants us to read a book to her, she will walk over and ask us, "Rock a minute?" After we agree, she will throw a mountain of books into the large green rocking chair and then crawl up beside us. That is until she realizes she needs her blanket, puppy, lambie, and a pacie. Upon realization that she needs these things, the next 10 minutes are spent hunting around the house for her "lovey" items. Sometimes I try to persuade her to look for these herself, to which she replies, "Mommy find it," or the slightly more polite, "Help me please." Lambie (a gift from our dear friends, Marshall and Laura) Puppy (a gift from Mimi and Grandpa with a patch of Tony's childhood blanket sewn in) and pacie stay with Sophia for about an hour after waking and an hour before bed-time and nap-time. We actually had the pacie almost extinguished until teething started in again. Now, I really don't see the point. Seems a little cruel to take it away when her life is about to drastically change with a new baby brother in the house. Can you believe this, coming from a mother who is a speech therapist and a father who will be an oral surgeon?

Here she is first thing in the morning clutching Lambie and Puppy

"Reading" books is still one of her favorite things to do.

Smelling flowers at the Botanical Gardens

Another cute saying is "Cheese on top." Yes, she has acquired her mother's obsession with cheese and will request "Cheese on top," on just about every food item. One of her 5 word sentences is "Noodles with Cheese on top." If only I could use this obsession with cheese as an ally in my battle with green vegetables. She will suck off the cheese and then spit out the vegetable. Sad, sad.

And finally, the other evening Sophia was playing in Vincent's crib and looked right over at Tony and said, "How's it going, Daddy?" We were shocked! The delight on our faces and all the laughing just encouraged her to keep going. Here's a video as evidence except by the time Tony grabbed the camera it turned into "How's it going, bear?"

Sophia brings us such joy. Each day we are amazed at her growth and all that she is learning. I'm home from work until Vincent's arrival and am truly enjoying this extra special time with just Sophia. My favorite thing about her right now besides the singing, the talking, the walks, the smiles, the just being Sophia? Her pretending. Last night I sat on the floor with her while she served the dogs and I homemade "pretend" cookies that she "made" herself. She would run around the corner, touch the cabinet with her little fingers, run back over to me, and then place her sweet, little fingers inside my mouth and say, "Mmm, Mmm!" After awhile, she decided the dogs needed bibs. So mommy gave each dog a bib, which they hated but tolerated because they thought a "real" treat was forthcoming. We played for a good 10 - 15 minutes. And today before her nap, we sat on the carpet in her nursery and put each of her stuffed animals down for their naps - covered up with blankets, snoring sounds and all. So sweet. Such great times to cherish.

Playing pretend in my pretend "house."

Playing dress up in my fashionable hat from Pops.

"The toy box is fun too!"

You are a true delight, little one.