Sophie Bangs

I trimmed Sophia's bangs the other day (can you tell I did it myself?) I just love this picture, even though I cut the top of her head off when I took it! Total cuteness! Sophia is counting to ten perfectly now (she used to skip #4), and is doing a pretty good job with her ABC's. We don't work too hard on them, but before we get up in the morning, she gets in my bed and we have 'cuddle time'. When we're done with cuddle time, we count to ten, and then say our ABC's. Just doing this, once a day has, helped her learn them. She doesn't watch any TV other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Wiggles, so she's not getting the good old education stuff like Sesame Street has to offer. She likes what she likes, and I can't seem to sway her. Right now her favorite Disney character is Minnie Mouse, and Mermaid. I think Minnie Mouse has taken the lead. We've been watching all of our Disney movies, (one per night), so she'll be familiar with the characters when we get there in March. I will be uploading a video or two soon - check back! Oh, and you are allowed to leave comments... so I know someone out there in the world is reading! :) Thanks!

Peepa (Pizza!)

Tonight we had home-made pizza, a special request from Noah. Sophia helped me make the dough, then Sophie and Noah topped their very own pizza. Sophie's choice was broccoli (her FAVORITE!) And Noah went with pepperoni and pineapple. Home-made pizza is so yummy, and half the fun is making it! Even though Sophia had her own pizza loaded with broccoli, it didn't stop her from stealing all the broccoli from Daddy's pizza too. She sits beside him on the bench, and when he would grab a new slice, she would put her hand on his arm (as if to stop him from stopping her), and quickly pluck the broccoli from the slice. She loves the stuff! Poor Ted though, didn't get a bite, and had to settle for garlic and pepperoni.

Chef Sophie Makes Minestrone Soup!

Today Sophia helped me make minestrone soup. She was so proud of herself! At bedtime we were talking about the day, and she said, "Me help Mommy soup, Yummy Tummy!" Here are a few pics, and I might add, the soup was delicious! In the first two pictures, Sophia was very serious, telling me 'Wo-wah makes pippa (pizza)' , explaining that she wasn't the only one that cooked!

Ready for Disneyworld!

I found out today, that Paige's county spelling bee is the day we are leaving for Florida. After much discussion, we decided to change our flights, so Paige and I (& Sophia) will be here for the spelling bee. Ted and Noah will fly as scheduled. I was on the phone for 1/2 the day today, trying to get that straightened out. Not the cheapest thing we could have done, but it's what we wanted to do. We figured if Paige could win the school spelling bee without trying, we wanted to give her a chance to see what she can do (when she studies..) , and how far she can take this. Ted & Noah will get there at 9:45 pm one night, and we'll get there 10:45 the next morning. We're going to have to leave here at 3am to drive an hour to the airport, to fly to Florida. What was I thinking??? LOL

Sophia's new luggage arrived today, she was so excited. She keeps putting the backpack on, and wearing it around the house. It's 'Tinkerbell' luggage, and she's modeling her new 'Mermaid' jammies. About 6 weeks to go... Can't wait!

Pizza & Patriots!

Tonight we had home-made pizza. I usually make it, but tonight Noah asked if he could make his own pizza. Paige & Sophia followed suit. Noah's pizza was voted the best tasting by Dad and Sophie. Here are the pics!

Here are Dad & Sophia, relaxing and watching the New England Patriots. Well, Daddy is relaxing as much as he can... his back is really hurting, and laying flat on the floor feels better than the couch.

It's Tigger Sophie!

Sophie was goofing around, playing dress up. Here she is with Tigger ears, and Paige's sunglasses. We're going to Disneyworld in a couple of months, I guess she's just getting ready!

Snow Day!

Friday, January 19th: Today Paige & Noah had the day off from school, due to a snow storm. Here's Sophie with her baby and her 'Baby Minnie Mouse'. She really likes Minnie Mouse lately. Good thing -- we're going to Disneyworld in March, and she'll get to see her! She's also very excited to see 'Mermaid' too. Now if only the Wiggles could show up as well - Sophie would be in heaven!

Paige wins school spelling bee!

Paige just came home from school to tell me she won the spelling bee for the whole school! (Grades 6, 7 & 8!) She'll go on to the next level, I think it is the spelling bee for the county. We're so proud of her~ She reads a lot and is a good speller, but didn't study for the spelling bee. I think we will do some studying for the next one, though! Below is a video of Paige when she was 6 months old. It makes me laugh!

My Dyson girl!

For Christmas, Sophie got a vacuum - just like Mom's. We love our Dyson vacs! Here she is, helping me clean this morning. Who knew vacuuming could be this much fun?

L L Bean

Below are my 21 year old (yes you read that correctly) LL Bean, Maine Hunting Boots. I love them. I took a picture of them today, because I thought it might be the last time I would see them again.

Oh my, I had the BEST experience with LL Bean today. I was 15 when I got my first pair of LL Bean Maine Hunting Boots. They were the 'in thing' back then (are they still?). A few months ago, I sent them back to LL Bean, to have them re-soled. After 21 years of wear, the boots were in great shape, but the bottoms were smooth. I love these boots. They re-soled them and mailed them back to me (cost of about $50). I was so happy to have my comfy, broken in boots back, good as new. No more falling down in the winter, yeah! I WAS happy, until I tried to put them on - they wouldn't fit me! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my feet in them.

So... with a winter storm coming, I took a trip to the LL Bean store, with boots in hand. I was wearing my purple crocks, it was snowing, and the interstate was down to 45 mph due to weather. I was hoping they could stretch them, resole them with the right size bottom - whatever. At last resort, I would take a new pair of boots (they have a 100% guarantee, and they really mean it there!) I explained my dilemma to the nice lady behind the counter. She suggested I go up to the boot section, and try on some, so she would know what to put on the paperwork for when they re-sole them, so they'd get it right this time. I did just that, and determined the proper size. The lady came up to find me (did I take too long?) and wrote the right size down. The man in the shoe department mentioned that they could give me a 'loaner' pair of LL Bean boots, till mine were ready (would be a couple weeks). He handed me the new, $75 pair of boots I had just tried on for size, that fit. He said I could mail them back when I got my new boots, postage paid. Wow.

It gets better. We get in the elevator to go back downstairs to finish the transaction, and the woman apologizes for the problem, and tells me NOT to return the new boots I was just given. She also said she would credit me back the $50 I paid to have my 21 year old boots re-soled (since they didn't do it right), and they would re-sole them correctly at no charge, and mail them to me. We proceeded to the register where she gave me the new boots, a receipt for them, and completed my transaction. WOW. I was really in shock at what they were willing to do for me. Mind you I was very pleasant to deal with, and not an irrate customer or anything like that. I was just a woman, that loved her boots, and wanted them to fit.

So here is my recommendation. Don't hesitate to deal with LL Bean - they really do mean what they say about their 100% guarantee - and then some.

I'll also post a couple cute pics of Sophia, since you'd probably rather see pics of her, than my 21 year old boots!

"Hello, Daddy?"

Sophie loves to talk on the phone for real (especially to Daddy), but also pretend. Here she is pretend talking to Daddy. She does quite a job pretending; she might even make you think she has him on the other end! She'll laugh out loud during the conversation, and end the call with "I love you... um... bye."

Paige's Photography

Paige has fun w/Sophie

Today Paige had a 1/2 day of school, so she came home & had some fun with Sophia. She got her dressed up, and took pictures of her wearing different hats and such. Here are the pics!

Sophia loves Noah's new toys...

Here's Miss Sophie, having a blast with Noah's new birthday toys. She's all girl, but loves pushing around Noah's trucks too!

Yesterday Noah was on the phone with his Grammie, thanking her for his birthday present. He was walking around the living room while he was talking, and Sophia was right behind him, on her phone, doing the same thing, it was too cute! She didn't repeat everything he said, but got the key words.

Happy Birthday Noah! Part 2

Saturday was Noah's friend party at the local bowling alley, and Saturday night was Noah's family party. It was like Christmas all over again, where will we put all the new toys?

Here are some of Noah's friends signing his bowling pin. What a great keepsake for him!

Happy Birthday Noah!

Today my boy turned 7. Hard to believe! Noah is such a sweet boy. He wanted to wear his silk outfit from China to school today. I called his school this morning, and cancelled his hot lunch and showed up just before lunch with his favorite - a foot long Subway club sandwich and a little gift in a bag for him.

Pictured above, he is excitedly opening his present at home tonight - a Ford and Chevy truck thingy with men and and the trucks say things like, "built Ford tough" etc. Noah's a Ford man, just like his Dad. He got a kick out of it that the Chevy truck, new in the box, wouldn't talk when you push the button. "See the Chevy's junk!" LOL

The last picture is of Noah & Sophia playing with the trucks in the living room. Noah let her play with the Chevy, and he made a jump out of a pillow. Did I mention Noah is 100% boy?

Here are some things you should know about Noah:

• He has more tools than the average man.
• His favorite food is a foot long Subway club.
• His little sister loves to mimic whatever he does, and whatever he says.
• His big sister loves to tease him.
• He likes to pull out his own teeth when they are loose.

Happy Birthday Noah!

ROLLING SOPHIE VIDEO!

Pictures

Wow, this is really quick and easy to use. I loved having my other website, but this one is my favorite right now. It's much easier to add in pictures and such. Sophia turned two October 9th. Here are a few interesting facts about Sophia:

• Sophia loves the Wiggles
• She has a blanket she calls 'Awe Love', that she couldn't live without, and we won't ask her to!
  
• Ariel (Mermaid) is her favorite Disney character
• She likes to cook bread just like Mommy (in her new kitchen)
• Sophia makes us all laugh so much -- she's a funny girl!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog.

These are my daughters Paige (13) and Sophia (2). Noah (not pictured here) is 7. I started this blog, because this site seemed to be more user friendly, and easier for me to update. Sophia has been home for more than a year now, and we all love her so much. What a perfect fit for our family! You can find out why we adopted from China, and follow our trip there, back and then some at our other website: WWW.JOURNEYTOSOPHIA.COM

I hope you enjoy the posts, pictures and videos. I hope to post a couple times a week, so check back and please post comments so I know people out there are actually reading and viewing the site.

Happy New Year everyone!
Christine & family