Homemade Rugelach. Yes, they were divine!
All of the presents for Mrs. Livingston
Mrs. Livingston's Birthday card
Her flower
Sofia's story...
Friday, February 27, 2015
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Livingston!
Today was Mrs. Livingston's birthday, so I told Sofia on Tuesday to make her a card since she was home thanks to the snow day. Instead, she decided to write her an entire story about Emperor Penguins. We watched "March of the Penguins" last week and she really loved it and has been researching Emperor Penguins since then. I suggested she make up a story about something to write for Mrs. Livingston, but she wanted it to be "non fiction" and got busy writing and drawing. She spent hours over nearly 3 days to write "Antarctic Emperor Penguins" for Mrs. Livingston and researched when the penguins travel to their breeding ground and what the eggs actually look like. She really enjoyed the whole process and did a great job! Meanwhile, on Wednesday I made rugelach, one of my very favorite desserts, from scratch. CK and I actually gave up sweets two weeks ago, but I had to try one and see how it turned out. It was incredible! I boxed them up to include them with Sofia's story for Mrs. Livingston's birthday. Sofia then wanted to write a birthday card, so she drew an Emperor Penguin birthday card for her teacher to go along with the story and rugelach. On Thursday afternoon, Sofia decided she also wanted to give Mrs. Livingston a little clay pot that she painted red and we researched on Pinterest on how to make a cute flower out of paper. We found one which uses cupcake liners and went to town. It really turned out super cute. I also had an extra sweet mint plant that I wanted to give to her, so I put it in a cute pot. We put it all in a bag and Sofia carried it to school this morning to give to her absolutely favorite teacher!
Homemade Rugelach. Yes, they were divine!
All of the presents for Mrs. Livingston
Mrs. Livingston's Birthday card
Her flower
Sofia's story...
Homemade Rugelach. Yes, they were divine!
All of the presents for Mrs. Livingston
Mrs. Livingston's Birthday card
Her flower
Sofia's story...
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Olivia at 3 1/2 Years Old!
Olivia is growing up so fast and it seems like her hair is finally starting to grow along with her body. She is now 40 1/2 inches tall and weighs 39 lbs. CK and I took Olivia to get her haircut the weekend before last for just her second hair cut ever. In the last two months or so she has to have her hair braided in either a french braid or two braids, "like Anna." Until then, she didn't want anything in her hair and always wanted to "wear it down" which meant it always looked absolutely crazy! So, the braid or double braid is a huge improvement and looks really cute on her. She loves playing with the plastic horses and dinosaurs and makes up all sorts of stories, just like Sofia used to do at that age (and still does now). Her other favorite thing to do is to read stories and she loves all of her princess stories, but especially The Little Mermaid. Ariel is her absolute favorite princess and she could read that everyday and we go through weeks of doing just that before bedtime. She also loves the books "Dark, Dark Night" and "Ponyella" which are her recent favorites.
Olivia still loves to pick out her clothes herself and will just about only wear dresses or skirts with leggings. Despite having all of Sofia's former clothes, Olivia has three princess shirts and she just about wears those exclusively! She doesn't actually have an Ariel shirt, but I'm sure if she did she would wear it every day! She doesn't only like her clothes, but also has to pick out her own shoes every day. She seems to go through favorites that last for a week or two before moving on to a new favorite. For the past few weeks, she's really loved wearing her pink cowboy boots. As soon as she is dressed, she wants her hair down and usually wants her blue Cinderella hair bow at the bottom of her braid.
In the past two or three weeks, I've tried to cut her nap out. Until then, she would sleep 2-3 hours and wake up a little cranky around 5pm. Dinner and playing with Sofia would re-energize her to the point that she would often struggle to get to sleep until 10 or 11pm! We would always put her to bed at 8pm and she would stay in her room for a while but would emerge wanting water or to go to the bathroom a few times before we would finally go to bed! It just became too much, so we thought of trying out bed time without a nap. So far, it's gone ok. Unfortunately the few hours before bed can be a little cranky, but she definitely goes to bed at 8pm when we put her in her bed after stories.
Up until two months ago or so, Olivia slept in a pull-up at night. She would almost always be dry in the morning and we'd offer to let her sleep in her panties after 5 days of being dry. However, on the night she wore her panties, she would inevitably pee the bed! That went on for a while until she finally started wearing just panties with her pjs and very rarely has a mistake. She also rarely wakes me up in the night to help her go potty, as long as we make sure she goes potty before bedtime. The other day, I decided to throw all of her left over pull-ups and random diapers away since we no longer need them, and it was so liberating!
Our girl loves apple juice, apples, grapes, oranges, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, chicken and steak and is pretty willing to try anything. She really hates when she gets hiccups, which she still gets pretty often and starts to fuss and sometimes cry until she drinks water and they go away. She hated them ever since she was born. Much like CK, she isn't much of a breakfast eater and will usually eat nothing or snack on cereal in the car ride to drop Sofia off at school.
Olivia absolutely adores her sister and looks forward to her return from school every afternoon. She loves to play with her in whatever games Sofia comes up with and goes along with just about anything Sofia tells her to do. On any given afternoon, the girls play with the horses and/or dinosaurs, pretend they are part of an owl family, act like they are dragons, or run around like pegasus.
About two months ago we went to a Beauty and The Beast play at a children's theater. Olivia was SO excited to meet Belle, she could hardly sit still!
Ready for a hair cut
I think this is her 2nd hair cut ever! Her hair isn't growing as quickly as Sofia's
All bundled up for some fun in the snow (last weekend)
Playing
Dress up!
Playing dress up with her big sister! She's wearing a dress my Mom made that fit her perfectly when she was 18 months-2 years old!
Playing with horses - one of her favorites
One of her three very favorite shirts!
It's a stampede!
Our little girl is growing up!
So sweet!
Love this picture!!
Same shirt, different day.....she loves it!
Her "Elsa" braid with the Cinderella hair band she must wear with each braid.
Olivia still loves to pick out her clothes herself and will just about only wear dresses or skirts with leggings. Despite having all of Sofia's former clothes, Olivia has three princess shirts and she just about wears those exclusively! She doesn't actually have an Ariel shirt, but I'm sure if she did she would wear it every day! She doesn't only like her clothes, but also has to pick out her own shoes every day. She seems to go through favorites that last for a week or two before moving on to a new favorite. For the past few weeks, she's really loved wearing her pink cowboy boots. As soon as she is dressed, she wants her hair down and usually wants her blue Cinderella hair bow at the bottom of her braid.
In the past two or three weeks, I've tried to cut her nap out. Until then, she would sleep 2-3 hours and wake up a little cranky around 5pm. Dinner and playing with Sofia would re-energize her to the point that she would often struggle to get to sleep until 10 or 11pm! We would always put her to bed at 8pm and she would stay in her room for a while but would emerge wanting water or to go to the bathroom a few times before we would finally go to bed! It just became too much, so we thought of trying out bed time without a nap. So far, it's gone ok. Unfortunately the few hours before bed can be a little cranky, but she definitely goes to bed at 8pm when we put her in her bed after stories.
Up until two months ago or so, Olivia slept in a pull-up at night. She would almost always be dry in the morning and we'd offer to let her sleep in her panties after 5 days of being dry. However, on the night she wore her panties, she would inevitably pee the bed! That went on for a while until she finally started wearing just panties with her pjs and very rarely has a mistake. She also rarely wakes me up in the night to help her go potty, as long as we make sure she goes potty before bedtime. The other day, I decided to throw all of her left over pull-ups and random diapers away since we no longer need them, and it was so liberating!
Our girl loves apple juice, apples, grapes, oranges, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, chicken and steak and is pretty willing to try anything. She really hates when she gets hiccups, which she still gets pretty often and starts to fuss and sometimes cry until she drinks water and they go away. She hated them ever since she was born. Much like CK, she isn't much of a breakfast eater and will usually eat nothing or snack on cereal in the car ride to drop Sofia off at school.
Olivia absolutely adores her sister and looks forward to her return from school every afternoon. She loves to play with her in whatever games Sofia comes up with and goes along with just about anything Sofia tells her to do. On any given afternoon, the girls play with the horses and/or dinosaurs, pretend they are part of an owl family, act like they are dragons, or run around like pegasus.
About two months ago we went to a Beauty and The Beast play at a children's theater. Olivia was SO excited to meet Belle, she could hardly sit still!
Ready for a hair cut
I think this is her 2nd hair cut ever! Her hair isn't growing as quickly as Sofia's
All bundled up for some fun in the snow (last weekend)
Playing
Dress up!
Playing dress up with her big sister! She's wearing a dress my Mom made that fit her perfectly when she was 18 months-2 years old!
Playing with horses - one of her favorites
One of her three very favorite shirts!
It's a stampede!
Our little girl is growing up!
So sweet!
Love this picture!!
Same shirt, different day.....she loves it!
Her "Elsa" braid with the Cinderella hair band she must wear with each braid.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Snow Day!!
Today the girls had a snow day! Actually it's more of an ice and freezing rain day, but fun none the less. The freezing rain started late yesterday afternoon after raining hard all day. I headed to an Oscar party at a tennis friend's house around 630pm and the roads were slippery even though it was no longer coming down. Shortly after I arrived at my friend's house, GCISD texted that school would be cancelled the next day even though the weather was clear out. In the very early morning, the freezing rain and sleet started and continued for a few hours. The girls were able to sleep in since CK told them last night that school was cancelled for both of them. Of course, they were both so excited for "snow" that Olivia was up by 6:30am and Sofia was up just after her. CK worked from home to avoid the slippery roads, so I was able to sleep in until 7:30. After I got up and had a cup of coffee, the girls were itching to get outside and play in the snow. Sofia wanted to sled, but we couldn't find a trash can lid that would work, so we decided to walk Buddy in the neighborhood and check out the pond.
Sofia got bundled up with her warm puffy jacket, my white hat and gloves while Olivia "didn't want to wear a jacket." After about 3 minutes, Olivia changed her mind and put on her jacket, mittens, and hat but refused her snow shoes. We set out and Buddy was as excited as the girls were! Sofia immediately started playing in the ice in the road and then she laid down to make snow angels, and Olivia quickly joined her. After, we headed down the street and made our way to the lake. The girls loved throwing snow into the lake and watching it slowly melt. The lake was actually steaming a little bit with warmth in the cool air and it was really beautiful. We walked onto the bridge and then headed home the way we came. Both girls were starting to get cold and a little hungry so we returned to our warm house where CK had a nice fire burning. Olivia took a warm bubble bath, while Sofia just changed into her cozy clothes and started reading. We made pancakes and scrambled eggs before the girls started playing with their horses. What a fun day to be lazy!
We are off in the "snow"!
Snow angels (in the middle of the road)
Happy girls
Love this picture!
We made it to the lake
Checking out the snow around the lake
Throwing ice into the lake
Lots of fun!
And we are ready for a fireplace and pancakes!
Sofia got bundled up with her warm puffy jacket, my white hat and gloves while Olivia "didn't want to wear a jacket." After about 3 minutes, Olivia changed her mind and put on her jacket, mittens, and hat but refused her snow shoes. We set out and Buddy was as excited as the girls were! Sofia immediately started playing in the ice in the road and then she laid down to make snow angels, and Olivia quickly joined her. After, we headed down the street and made our way to the lake. The girls loved throwing snow into the lake and watching it slowly melt. The lake was actually steaming a little bit with warmth in the cool air and it was really beautiful. We walked onto the bridge and then headed home the way we came. Both girls were starting to get cold and a little hungry so we returned to our warm house where CK had a nice fire burning. Olivia took a warm bubble bath, while Sofia just changed into her cozy clothes and started reading. We made pancakes and scrambled eggs before the girls started playing with their horses. What a fun day to be lazy!
We are off in the "snow"!
Snow angels (in the middle of the road)
Happy girls
Love this picture!
We made it to the lake
Checking out the snow around the lake
Throwing ice into the lake
Lots of fun!
And we are ready for a fireplace and pancakes!
Sunday, February 22, 2015
First Soccer Game of Spring
It didn't exactly feel like spring out on the soccer field yesterday afternoon at 3:15pm for Sofia's first game of the season. It's still pretty chilly and was a bit windy, but the sun came out just as the game started which really helped. Before the game Sofia was still in her favorite pjs playing with her sister after having a make-up piano lesson and eating ham and cheese sandwiches and apples. We arrived at the field and the girls got warmed up with Coach Jeff and Coach Kevin as the parents socialized. It's great to see all the parents again and we look forward to a fun soccer season. Nearly all the girls returned this year except for Paige, Ella V., and Olivia. Paige had a conflict with soccer, Ella V. and her family are moving and Olivia is now playing select soccer. One of Sofia's classmates, Claire, joined our team and I know her Mom from school functions as well as the Colleyville Garden Club. They will be a great fit. It will be interesting to see what kind of season the girls have without Olivia, who routinely scored the majority of the team's goals. Olivia is not only a very good soccer player but also has a Mom who is very fun and sweet but turns into a crazed soccer mom when Olivia is playing, so the dynamic will change in several different ways. One aspect of having a strong player like Olivia on a team is that the other girls tend to not play as hard since they know Olivia will take the ball and score for them. So, I'm thinking it may be better to have a team without Olivia knowing that Olivia is now on a team that is full of strong players.
The girls played against the Shooting Stars, which includes one of Sofia's friends, Frankie, who recently left their elementary school to go to the Aspire Academy (for gifted kids). The girls were excited to see each other and connected a few times on the field to talk. The game went really well and Aria, Emily and Abby handled the ball mostly but all the girls did a great job and played hard. At one point after halftime, Sofia became the goalie. One thing we love about Coaches Kevin and Jeff is that they believe that each girl should play every position so they are comfortable with the entire game of soccer and shouldn't be pigeonholed into one position all season because they ultimately won't learn what they need to know about the game. That said, I always have a special fear when Sofia puts the orange jersey on and is goalie. Although she's becoming more aggressive, she hasn't been very comfortable stopping the ball with her hands and is a little less sure than she needs to be at times. Before halftime was over, Coach Jeff gave her some advice which must have really worked because Sofia was awesome as the goalie!! One of the players on the Shooting Stars is also named Sofia and is clearly their star player. She took at least four shots on goal while Sofia was goalie and our girl stopped every single shot!!!! She stopped two by grabbing them with her hands and two more by kicking the ball out of the way! It was amazing! She did such a great job and after the game she said she loved playing goalie!
Sofia played both offense and defense in the game and had a few good kicks, especially in her role as defender. The Pink Pirates ended up winning 4-2 and it was a good, fun first game. Throughout the game, Olivia was off with her buddy, Katie who is Abby's older sister. Olivia adores Katie and Katie is just awesome with Olivia. After both teams gave each other high fives, we pulled the girls together for their "official" team photo. Once again, I'm the "team photographer" which I really love to do, although I think I'm a bit rusty. Following the photo, Chloe's mom, Julie passed out cupcakes since it was Chloe's birthday! Of course, both girls gobbled them up (Olivia after dropping her entire first one on the field and having another one). I'd made snicker doodles that afternoon and Sofia ran to the car to share with everyone. It was a really fun first game and we look forward to more fun soccer!
The game begins
Sofia throwing the ball in from the corner
A quick break
Sofia with one of her defensive kicks!
Our soccer player
Getting some goalie advice from Coach Jeff
Our goalie is ready!
One of her awesome stops!
Sofia
After yet another stop!
And another!! Go Sofia!
After the end of the game! Good job, Pink Pirates!
Team photo
Cupcakes!! Happy Birthday, Chloe!
Yum!
Focused on that cupcake!
The girls played against the Shooting Stars, which includes one of Sofia's friends, Frankie, who recently left their elementary school to go to the Aspire Academy (for gifted kids). The girls were excited to see each other and connected a few times on the field to talk. The game went really well and Aria, Emily and Abby handled the ball mostly but all the girls did a great job and played hard. At one point after halftime, Sofia became the goalie. One thing we love about Coaches Kevin and Jeff is that they believe that each girl should play every position so they are comfortable with the entire game of soccer and shouldn't be pigeonholed into one position all season because they ultimately won't learn what they need to know about the game. That said, I always have a special fear when Sofia puts the orange jersey on and is goalie. Although she's becoming more aggressive, she hasn't been very comfortable stopping the ball with her hands and is a little less sure than she needs to be at times. Before halftime was over, Coach Jeff gave her some advice which must have really worked because Sofia was awesome as the goalie!! One of the players on the Shooting Stars is also named Sofia and is clearly their star player. She took at least four shots on goal while Sofia was goalie and our girl stopped every single shot!!!! She stopped two by grabbing them with her hands and two more by kicking the ball out of the way! It was amazing! She did such a great job and after the game she said she loved playing goalie!
Sofia played both offense and defense in the game and had a few good kicks, especially in her role as defender. The Pink Pirates ended up winning 4-2 and it was a good, fun first game. Throughout the game, Olivia was off with her buddy, Katie who is Abby's older sister. Olivia adores Katie and Katie is just awesome with Olivia. After both teams gave each other high fives, we pulled the girls together for their "official" team photo. Once again, I'm the "team photographer" which I really love to do, although I think I'm a bit rusty. Following the photo, Chloe's mom, Julie passed out cupcakes since it was Chloe's birthday! Of course, both girls gobbled them up (Olivia after dropping her entire first one on the field and having another one). I'd made snicker doodles that afternoon and Sofia ran to the car to share with everyone. It was a really fun first game and we look forward to more fun soccer!
The game begins
Sofia throwing the ball in from the corner
A quick break
Sofia with one of her defensive kicks!
Our soccer player
Getting some goalie advice from Coach Jeff
Our goalie is ready!
One of her awesome stops!
Sofia
After yet another stop!
And another!! Go Sofia!
After the end of the game! Good job, Pink Pirates!
Team photo
Cupcakes!! Happy Birthday, Chloe!
Yum!
Focused on that cupcake!
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