Sofia's Hoe Down!

Last night Sofia and the entire 2nd grade held their Square Dance Hoe Down at school! The kids have been practicing twice a week for awhile and Sofia has been sure to wear an extra "twirly skirt" on those days so she can "honor her partner" when they practice. As usual, it was difficult to coax Sofia to get up and get ready for school, but when I mentioned that it was Thursday and her Hoe Down was that night, she literally shot out of bed! She and her Papa had picked out a cute pink tutu skirt and pink and light blue plaid collared shirt the night before in anticipation, but I convinced her to wear something else for school so she wouldn't get it dirty or spill on her cute outfit. It was a hard sell, but she decided to wear another skirt and top (because they would be practicing instead of doing PE).

We ate dinner early and headed to school so we could get good seats since the Hoe Down took place in the gym and seats were around the perimeter. We actually got there just after Sofia's friend Shivani and her family, so they chose a square in the corner and we sat right next to them so we could get good pictures and videos. Apparently each kiddo could decide which "square" they danced in and then waited for a boy to show up to be their partner. Over the weeks of practice, I always asked who Sofia's partner was and she always told me she danced with someone different each time. As the gym started to fill up, Jack ended up sitting next to Sofia. Jack and Sofia were in Kindergarden together and he's a sweet kid and approximately a full foot shorter than Sofia too! Sofia's friends Shivani and Emma were also in the square with their partners and before long, the dance started.

Unfortunately, they were short by a few kids so they had one pair of kids left over. After each dance, Coach Baze and Coach Trapegen moved the couple to replace a couple of dancers in our square. Sofia and Jack were the last to be replaced and when they were put back in, they were put into a square across the gym from where we sat. Although not really close to us, we could still see well and were able to get good pictures and videos. Meanwhile, Olivia laid on my lap and relaxed as she watched. She didn't get a nap earlier and could have fallen asleep during the show!

The kids danced to 7 or 8 square dance songs and did a great job! The dances were all different but some were close enough that I'm surprised how they kept them straight in their heads! The dances got progressively more complicated and all the kids did really well with them! After those dances were over, it was time for the grand finale where each square lined up in a straight line together and danced around in a circle all together. Coach Baze called out the dance steps and it went fast and faster! It was pretty crazy and all the kids did an amazing job! With that, the show was over and Mrs. Shimmick thanked the coaches for all their hard work and the kids for such a great job. We were asked to pick up our folding chair and return them to the chair racks out in the hallway. All the kids scattered and ran to their parents and we completely lost Sofia in the chaos. We took up and chairs and after a few minutes Sofia made her way to us. She ran over to her teacher Mrs. Livingston to give her a hug first! She completely adores her teacher, and frankly Mrs. Livingston adores Sofia.

We chatted a little with some of the parents on our way out to our car and headed home where we put two tired girls to bed!

Sofia with "her horse" ready to go to the Hoe Down!

Sweet girl!

Showing off her braids

In the school gym

With her buddy, Shivani

Sitting in her "square" ready to start

Sofia and her partner, Jack

The Hoe Down begins!

Sofia and Jack

Dosey Doe

Honor your partner!

Sofia's friends and classmates Kelley and Allen

Sofia' friend, Emma and her partner

Sofia and Jack

To the right

The group dances all together

Coming together....

....and apart

The next dance begins

Shivani and her partner

Sofia and Jack move to another square

The girls dance together

The whole group together

The final group dance

She LOVED it!

Forward and back!

Sofia with Coach Baze

With her favorite teacher, Mrs. Livingston

Goodbye, Training Wheels!!!!!

Yesterday we went to Meeting, had lunch at Uncle Julio's, stopped by the house to let Buddy out and change clothes (Olivia dumped an entire glass of water on her lap while sitting on my lap so we were both wet), and then headed to Casa Mañana to watch Charlotte's Web, which was really a lot of fun. Both girls loved it and it was a really fun performance.

After the play, we headed home where the girls spent the afternoon riding their bikes in the backyard by the pool. At one point, CK stopped Sofia and removed her training wheels, and she was NOT a fan! She got upset and said that I'd promised her that we wouldn't remove them until she was ready. I explained to her that we should remove them for the afternoon and see how it goes since she rode all the way to the grocery store and back on Saturday without relying on her training wheels at all. Although her training wheels are on the ground while she rides, she is completely balanced while she rides and really doesn't need them. Of course, she didn't love this idea at all. CK took her bike out front and told her that he would hold onto the back of her bike seat while she rode and would not let her fall. She finally agreed to get on her bike but was not happy about it. CK held onto the back of her seat while Olivia tried to help by pushing her back and giving her encouragement while they ran down the sidewalk. I decided to head to the grocery store for a few things and let CK deal with the biking efforts. Knowing she was tired, frustrated at her training wheels being removed, and probably hungry, I figured nothing would come of the attempt to get her to ride and that we'd have to try again then next day. Instead, after being at the grocery store for 45 minutes, CK sent me a video of Sofia riding around the cul-de-sac all by herself with a huge smile on her face! I couldn't believe it! When I made it home shortly after seeing the video, Sofia was riding around the cup-de-sac by our house and loving it. CK told me that she rode solo shortly after I left and that she only needed a little help getting up on her seat and started and also used the curb to stop herself which she'll need to work on. She said she's afraid of hills (going up as well as down) but we explained that she'll find out that they are really easy. She enjoyed riding her bike so much that she didn't even want to go inside as it became dark outside!!

That night, as I tucked her in she said she was falling asleep and her eyes snapped open because she realized that maybe she'd forget everything she learned that day about riding without training wheels. I told her about the saying "it's like riding a bike" and explained that now that she knows how to ride by herself she'll always remember it! She was still a little worried she'd forget how to ride her bike but went to sleep.

This morning, having today off for President's Day, she came down the stairs at 8am wearing her "biking clothes" and ready to ride! Of course, it's 33 degrees and windy out but she headed out front with her bike regardless. Of course she hadn't forgotten how to ride her bike and loved riding around the neighborhood. It was short lived because of the cold though. All day, she pestered me about riding our bikes to Starbucks and back. The weather never got above 36, so I told her that I'd be happy to ride with her one afternoon after school when the weather is better. Plus, I told her that day light savings is coming which means we'll be able to ride our bikes to school and back before long. She agreed to wait on our ride to Starbucks and instead rode around the neighborhood again that afternoon, but was cold after just a few minutes. She's so excited to know how to ride her bike without training wheels! It's so cute!

CK trying to convince Sofia to try a training wheel-free ride

Off they go and Sofia is NOT happy!

Heading down the sidewalk with Papa and Olivia helping

A very happy and proud Sofia after her successful ride!

On Monday afternoon with her "riding clothes" on and in 36 degree weather! She's dedicated!

Happy Valentine's Day!

CK and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day for just the two of us on Friday night so we could celebrate with the girls on Saturday night. It was CK's idea and what a great one! CK got us a reservation at Trio, one of our very favorite restaurants for Friday night. We had a fun night and a great meal while the girls enjoyed hanging out with a sitter (which they LOVE).

The day before, I made our favorite sugar cookie recipe and the girls helped me cut out hearts and put them on the cookie sheet to bake. We originally made cookies using this particular sugar cookie recipe when CK's best friend, Brian, got engaged. We threw an engagement party for Brian and Jenny and made all the food (it was overwhelmingly tiring, but also fun). Of all the food we made, everyone raved about the sugar cookies. Since then (nearly 10 years ago), I've made them about every Valentine's Day and they are always a favorite. The girls loved helping and especially loved eating the dough. I iced the cookies once they were cooled while the girls played. Then, boxed them up for our neighbors and Sofia's teacher Mrs. Livingston. On Saturday morning, I played tennis in the morning and then CK headed out to fly after I got home. The girls played and I relaxed and read for awhile before realizing that we needed to go to the grocery store before it got much later. The girls had been riding their bikes around the backyard patio and having a great time in the beautiful weather, so Sofia suggested that we ride our bikes to the grocery store. CK and I planned to make filet mignon, lobster, asparagus and a chocolate tart with homemade whipped cream for dessert so we didn't really need to buy a lot.

Sofia was so excited when I agreed to ride to the grocery store and Olivia somewhat reluctantly climbed into the bike trailer. She originally wanted to ride her princess bike, but I knew that wouldn't possibly last even halfway to the grocery store, and she was thankfully easily convinced. Sofia did a great job riding and is really a confident biker and attacks the hills. It only took us about 45 minutes to get to the grocery store and it's maybe 2 miles away (we did stop for two water breaks). Once we arrived, we discovered Olivia was fast asleep. I picked her up and we all headed into Market Street, which was completely packed with shoppers (apparently we weren't the only ones planning a night cooking at home). We bought our food items, refilled our water bottled and headed back home. Sofia rode well although I think we ended up stopping 3 or 4 times for a water break on the way home. CK arrived home shortly after we returned and we started getting ready for our big Valentine's meal. CK made the crust for the chocolate tart while I took a much-needed shower and the girls played with their horses. We finished the chocolate tart and CK lit the fireplace outside since it was so nice outside and we planned to sit outside after dinner. He grilled the steak and lobsters while I steamed the asparagus and before we knew it, we were eating a delicious meal! It was great and a lot of fun and less crazy than going out! The chocolate tart was great and we put the girls to bed before going outside and enjoying the fire outside on a beautiful Valentine's evening!

Ready for date night!

Olivia helps me make sugar cookies

Sofia picking out the right heart cookie cutter

Olivia with her cookie cutter

Cookies!

Olivia catches a cat nap on the way to the grocery store

Headed home with groceries!

CK grilling fillet mignon and lobsters

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Papa opening his gifts

Valentine's Pictures

I planned to get Valentine's pictures of the girls at a photo place, but then decided to do it myself using ideas pulled from Pinterest. On Saturday a week before Valentine's Day, I dressed the girls up in their cute Valentine's clothes and we did a photo shoot around the outside of our house. Unfortunately, Sofia had a fever and sore throat (we learned on Monday that it was Strep) so I tried to work fast. She wasn't feeling terrible but just not really 100 percent either. Luckily the weather was quite nice and sunny, so the girls had a lot of fun and were good at following my directions, which isn't always the case. I started off with something I'd seen on Pinterest where you make a heart out of the kids toys and then put them in the center. It didn't really work the way it seemed to on Pinterest, but I did capture some cute photos of the girls. One of my favorite is one where Olivia is completely cracking up over something Sofia said and they are both laughing. It's very sweet! After taking several photos, we changed venues and moved the girls to the backyard after Sofia had written "We love you" on a little heart chalkboard we have. From there, we headed to the front yard and took pictures with Buddy and I actually was able to capture a few cute ones with Buddy and both girls looking at me! From there, we headed to the side yard to take a few more pictures before we moved back inside for the girls to play and relax. I took over 100 pictures and was really pleased by the number of photos that turned out cute (not all of them, of course)!

I decided on a few of my favorites and made Valentine's cards that I had printed and sent to family and friends before Valentine's day. I also had a photo of both girls framed and had a coffee mug with three photos of the girls on it which the girls gave to Papa on Valentine's Day. I was really excited to capture a couple of really cute photos of the girls without having to drag them off to a photo place (especially with Sofia being sick).

My attempt at the Pinterest-inspired photo idea

Sweet girls cracking up over something Sofia said! My favorite photo!

Another favorite of the girls

Another sweet and silly picture

The girls in the backyard with their "We Love You" sign

Sweet sisters!

The girls and Buddy

Toward the end of the pictures

Sweet Olivia

Being silly over something

Both girls acting silly - another fun and favorite photo

Our sweet and silly Sofia