October 2006 Archives

Well we all knew it would happen some day.

Tonight we were getting the girls ready for bed and as usual, I was trying to do too many things at once. I was holding Josie and trying to dispense Tylenol to Sophie due to the fact that she is starting to cut her eye teeth. Jake came over and offered to help this mother out by giving Sophie the Tylenol. I had already filled the dispenser with the bright pink goo and just placed it back in the bottle without screwing the lid on. Josie decided to use this moment to show us her improved flailing skills and whacks the dispenser onto the white carpet. Jake drops the F bomb. Sophie pipes up with "Daddy said (in a whisper) fuuuuck". I thought I was going to wet my pants on the spot. I held it together and explained that Daddy made a mistake and that isn't a nice word and Daddy didn't mean to say it.

So far, she hasn't thrown it into her everyday vocabulary but who knows, it's only Tuesday.

If you've ever had an accident on the floor and aren't sure how to break it to your host, be sure to tell them you've gone poopoos first. When they find out it's just tinkles, and even better that it happened on a washable surface such as your little sister's playmat, they'll be so relieved they'll forget to be upset about the original offense.

It's been a beautiful fall so far here, things are pretty hectic but we're still trying to make time to get out and see the leaves. Sophie's been apple-picking twice now, including a family visit to Apple Hills where we had the best breakfast the Southern Tier may offer (yes, even better than Cracker Barrel). Plus I don't think I've ever tasted better apples.

We missed Iron Kettle last weekend with Danny & Trina, but hope to get out before they close for the season. We're all very excited that John is home for a visit, and are looking forward to seeing him this week.

As you can tell I've gotten a bit lazy about organizing our pics into individual folders, but on the plus side it's probably easier for you to view them all at once. Enjoy!

Please come home. We miss you and Sophie always asks when you are coming home from school. I tried explaining that you don't live here anymore but I don't think she gets it. Plus, I need you to take care of the girls while I update the website for your entertainment.

Today was Sophie's first Binky free day (other than nap time and bed time). We have been trying to wean her off of it since we noticed her talking less while she had it in her mouth. However, I usually cave and give it to her if she isn't feeling well or is sad or tired. Today as I was heading out the door I debated bringing it just in case she had a melt down or got tired. I decided to leave all binkies at home and go out cold turkey.

We headed to the mall and met up with Kim and Piper to do a little shopping and chatting. Sophie walked through the mall and ended up only having a couple minor meltdowns.

When we got home and were getting ready for bed Sophie asked for her Booey. I gave it to her as she was laying down and she started laughing hysterically and saying "My Booey, my Booey" like it was a friend she thought she would never see again.

I feel really guilty taking something that she loves so much away from her especially since she does use it to soothe herself. On the other hand, I enjoyed having conversations with her most of the day today rather than hearing her sucking on the binky.

Or, "Confessions of a Geek Dad".

Thanks to Naga's extensive and varied cookbook collection and its proximity to the highchair, Sophie has been familiar with Star Wars characters for quite a while now: the Wookie Cookies Cookbook bought us some extra highchair time on many occasions. Last winter the photo of Luke's action figure boots would keep her occupied for at least five minutes, and she fell in love with Chewbacca ("Bacca") and Yoda ("Yoba") from their respective cookie and soda recipes.

While exploring the toy closet downstairs a few months ago we came across Dan's collection of Star Wars figures, and Sophie quickly adopted R2D2 as her favorite. He stays out in the main living area consistently after the other toys go to bed, so eventually I decided to test the waters by letting her watch the Muppet Show episode where Mark Hamill is the guest star. It's admittedly one of the lamer Muppet Shows, but she recognized R2D2 right away and seemed to like it.

After watching her play with the R2D2 action figure in her playhouse this weekend I decided to let her watch a few minutes of Episode I. We started during the "Running the Blockade" sequence where R2 is introduced, and skipped over scenes he didn't appear in until the sandstorm on Tatooine. Episode I is now referred to as "The R2 and D2 Show", and was requested again tonight. We've also watched the Hobbiton scenes from Fellowship together, but nothing past the fireworks.

I expect someday she'll realize how nerdy it all is and never want to watch them with me, but until then I plan to enjoy every minute of it. Episode IV, here we come!

Happy 22 Month Birthday Sophie Jean!

The theme to Sophie's 22nd month seems to be commenting about how "cute" and "silly" things are. There's a hiring ad in the paper here where a monkey is dressed in a suit (how 60's) and she is absolutely enamored by him. "He's so cuuuute." She's also started declaring her love for people and things. A couple of things that she "yoves"; Daddo, i keem (ice cream), cookies, Naga, PopPop, Pooh Bear, the Bumble Bee and her sister.

She has been attending a weekly class for kids ages 1-2 at the Discovery Center which she enjoys. There are kids half her age who try to steal her toys but she backs up quickly when she sees them coming. I think she learned a thing or two from Eula. :) The best part of her class is that afterward we get free admission to the Discover Center so she runs all around and plays for another hour which makes for a great nap! Unfortunately, she is also exposed to all of those kids germs and has been hammered by a nasty cold for the last week.

She loves wearing our shoes, and belts and especially enjoys wearing my purse and telling me that she is going "bye, bye" to do various things. Her favorite pretend places to go are the bank, to see Daddy at work, to see PopPop down the road, to go shopping with Naga, to see Bert and Ernie and her absolute favorite, to get some ice cream. She makes sure that she says goodbye and gives me a kiss before heading for the door, then running back again to tell me where she is going.

She seems to have a renewed interest in singing and playing clapping games. She loves the Wiggles songs and requests them at various times of the day. I never thought I would be singing these songs through the supermarket but hey, it's better than her melting down. She sings the ABC song all by herself and counts to 10 (skipping 5 always for some reason).

She has been enjoying fall in the northeast by looking at all the leaves, collecting acorns, going to pumpkin patches, an apple festival, the cider mill and today we are going apple picking with our friend Karen.

I can't believe she is almost 2. I don't want her to grow up anymore but I am so amazed and proud of who she is becoming that I can't wait to see what each day brings. Jake and I are truly blessed with this head strong little girl.

The first guy I knew who played D&D, read Asimov and loved computers - generally inspiring my first career. Thanks for being such a good role model, and have a Happy Birthday!