2 Years Old!

Happy Birthday Zoe!! Here's the birthday girl with the famous Pooh Bear. We hope Zoe had a fun birthday. She got to open presents from the family, including a pink Cozy Coupe from Grammy Harriet and a new big kid bike just like Sophie's! This evening her friends Donovan and Quentin were over (I watch them every Friday) and we had cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday. I think Zoe had a fun day. Everytime we said, "Happy Birthday!" to her, she would say it back to us. Pretty cute! Check back after the girls' checkups on Monday for the official updates, including height, weight and new developments since their last birthdays!

New Toys

The girls have been enjoying all of their new birthday presents. They got a great wagon from Aunt Michelle, Uncle Brian and cousins Chase and Tanner. It's much easier for our evening walks than using the big double stroller, and the girls love to take turns pulling each other. I also love the big shade on top, which is a necessity here in the desert. Another toy that Sophie got is a set of Tinker Toys. I have fond memories of my own set, but I clearly didn't know the real way to play with them. Andy has whipped up some fun structures, including a microphone on a stand and a guitar!

Gieseke Nature Preserve

Ever since we put in the grass, there has been an abundance of desert creatures coming to visit. It started with a pair of rabbits that came every evening to munch on the shady grass. They must have told all of their friends, because some nights now we have as many as 20 rabbits grazing outside while the girls and I eat our dinners. One of the rabbits had a baby, which we discovered a couple of days ago hiding by the hot tub. The baby comes out everyday too, but always retreats back under the spa.

In addition to rabbits, Andy discovered a rattlesnake on the driveway the other day. He "took care of it", but before it disappeared, we brought the girls out to show them what the snake looked like and to give them their first lesson in Snakes 101. The lesson goes like this: Never ever, ever, ever touch a snake. If you see a snake, run away and get a grown up. This lesson prompted Zoe to walk around for the rest of the day saying, "Never ever ever touch it." And Sophie began questioning who was considered a grown up.

So not only do we have rabbits and snakes, but we frequently notice quail, roadrunners and ground squirrels spending more and more time in our backyard. Today I discovered a bird building a nest on our picnic table. I mentioned it to Andy and he said we should remove it. I said I wanted to leave it because maybe the bird would leave an egg in the nest, and wouldn't that be fun for the girls to see?? The picture tells you who won that discussion:)

3 Years Old

It truly is amazing to me how fast the past year has gone. Sophie is now 3 and such a big girl. We don't go for her check up until the beginning of June, so check back for her height and weight stats. There have been so many changes this past year, I'm not quite sure where to begin. The big obvious change is that she's potty trained. We potty trained early (2 years 3 months), and it was a mostly painless process. I will have to think about what else to report, after I look back to see all that has happened in the past year. I promise a thorough update after her 3 year check up!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Sophie had her offiicial birthday party on the 16th. A handful of her friends came over to play in the pool and eat pizza and cake. I was so busy being hostess that I never took a single picture (bad mommy), so we'll have to wait until I can copy some from friends to see the highlights. There is a video on the way too thanks to Uncle Josh.

On Sophie's actual birthday she got her present from mommy and daddy (a big kid bike) and from Grammy. That night we had dinner at Grandma Laura's where she got to open even more presents! After days of celebrating, Sophie spent the first day after her birthday trying out all of her gifts. Some of her favorites are her new bike, roller skates, a basketball hoop and ball, books, games and puzzles. She got very nice presents from all of her friends, and more are on the way thanks to some checks that arrived in the mail! Zoe has been a very good sport about waiting until her birthday for the rest of her presents from family, since she did get to open a bunch of presents at her birthday party.

Birthday Celebration at School

Sophie's ongoing birthday celebration started on the 14th at school. She brought popsicles to share with her class mates, and they all sang Happy Birthday and their own "We Love You" song. Sophie was excited to finally be the one that got to wear the birthday crown, and Zoe and Grammy were there to help celebrate too!

Swim Season is Here!!

Now that the temperatures are in the triple digits, it is officially swim season here in the desert. On Saturday the girls started their swim lessons at the YMCA. Sophie is in a big kid class now (no parents allowed), and Zoe is in the parent/tot class, which fortunately is at the same time as Sophie's class. The girls love the water and Zoe can already get to the side of the pool and climb out by herself. Sophie likes to jump in the water and blow bubbles.

We continued to celebrate swim season by swimming at Grandma Laura's house on Mother's Day. Everyone got in, and the sun tired us all out! Sophie, Zoe and Andy all took naps, while Josh studied for finals and I beat Laura at scrabble!

Today we tried out our new kiddie pool. The one we bought last year didn't quite survive, so I spent a little extra money for one that all the reviews say lasts for 3 years. I especially love that it folds up and has its own carrying case, so we can take it with us places, or store it in the garage on those windy monsoon days.

Top Chef

I'd like to see this as a quick fire challenge on Top Chef: Plan a healthy meal that two toddlers with different tastes will eat. Prepare the meal with the help of those two toddlers, allowing them to do as much as possible, without letting one help more than the other. Then serve the meal before the starving children have meltdowns!

This was my own personal challenge today, and the girls did a great job helping me with a new recipe: Chicken Tamale Casserole. We also made two peanut butter pies while the casserole was baking. The failure in the challenge came when we tasted the meal. I thought it was delicious, however it was VERY spicy - oops!! The girls were happy to eat the melon that I served with it and some leftover noodles I had in the fridge. Hopefully the peanut butter pie will go over better tomorrow!