Lagoon!!!

Jon and I have been curious to see how our girls, specifically Lydia, would do at Lagoon.  Would they like the rides?  Would they tire quickly? Would the crowds overwhelm them? So for Lydia's birthday we decided that a family trip to the amusement park would be worthwhile. Just to see how they would handle it.  Our sweet neighbor works there and got us cheap tickets and so Monday Jon's mom joined us for our little adventure.

I'm also amazed at how fearless our girls are.  Especially Sophie! Lydia wanted to ride some of the rides alone (wait, what?!), and I suppose Sophie followed her lead when she did that, but at age two it blows me away that Soph would be willing to ride these rides by herself.

They loved Puff the little fire dragon (which they road on again and again and again), the boats that went in the water, these animals (especially the dragon and elephant) that would go up and down as they spun through the air in circles, and almost every other ride they went on.  I should mention that Lydia has been wanting to fly for weeks.  In a plane, or like Rainbow Dash. Doesn't matter to her. If only she had wings!  So we told her that when we went to Lagoon she'd get her chance to fly. And did she ever!

Far and away the favorite for both girls was the Carousel.  Total Carousel Love with these two.  Sophie found and fell in love with a kitty.  And unlike many other animals, there was only one kitty to be found and it seemed to be popular with all the other little girls.  So unless we were first in line, Sophie didn't have a chance at getting what she wanted.  She cried pretty hard when the kitty had been claimed and I put her on a frog. My mistake. So we switched her to a horse just before we started spinning. It cheered her up immediately. Lydia loved the zebra and the dog, and probably would have been happy to ride them all day. Sophie too.

Lyds also got to ride some swings that Sophie, disappointingly, is not quite tall enough to ride yet.  Next year Sophie.  Next year.

Oh!  And I better not fail to mention the fountain.  Water.  What is better than water on a hot June day?  They loved that until a Lagoon employee told them they couldn't run around barefoot in the water.

Let's just say that I'm amazed at what this little adventure did for their confidence, and I wish that these pictures gave you a better feel for the giddy excitement we saw written all over their faces!

Piggie Party!

 

One of the things I love about Lydia is how excited she gets about anything she's interested in.  Six months ago she decided that she wanted a house birthday cake. I'm not sure what brought that on, but we started looking for a cake that she'd approve of and she seemed pretty happy about it until the idea of a rainbow cake popped into her head.  This was before her cousin Simon's birthday and I'm convinced that her original design didn't look anything like the wonder Aunt Lizzie came up with.  We had drawn up some plans and she was really excited about all the pretty colors, but when she saw Simon's cake she fell in love with it and I knew I'd struggle to turn out an acceptable replica.  Good thing she suddenly wanted to be a pig farmer when she grew up because in planning out her life it is only natural that we get that started by celebrating her fourth birthday with pigs. Only natural.  It's also been decided that not only will she be a pig farmer, but Sophie will care for horses, Dad will take care of sheep and I'll be in charge of the cattle ranch.  Oh, and Mia will be watching over ducks.  She's thought of everything.  Again, why not start now?

I wish I could say that the day went super smoothly, but I created some hiccups that could have been avoided.  Note to self: don't make chicken pot pie on any future birthdays.  As far as the birthday girl was concerned, I think the day was a success and she was pretty oblivious to my stress level.  She got to play with Uncle Nate, fresh off his mission from the Netherlands, Aunt Abby, Uncle Derek and Aunt Jess that morning.  She also got to choose her bath color (pink, so appropriate) when I bathed her and Soph that afternoon.  And she started taking note that the birthday girl got to make more choices than perhaps she might get to make on any ordinary day.  She chose an episode of Sophia the First that she's rather fond of, much to Sophie's dismay.  Soph doesn't like trolls and this particular episode had several.  Being able to choose shouldn't be new to her, but when she heard "since you're the birthday girl, you get to choose what kind of fruit we get for lunch" her ears perked up and she chose to enjoy it!

Cake making and decorating went on for the better part of the day with Lydia helping here and there, and taste testing the pig cupcakes before the party started was essential. Partly I was worried that they were a baking disaster and partly Lydia had been incredibly patient in waiting to sample the pink marshmallows that would be used for the pig snouts and ears. Unfortunately, by the birthday girl's standards, the Pink Lemonade marshmallows were disgusting.  Bummer.  At least the cupcakes tasted yummy enough.  Even with the buttery buttery cream cheese frosting which was melting everywhere as Jon and I frosted them. Jon took over frosting the big pig cake while I decorated the cupcakes.  I love the textured look he came up with.  I also love that Sophie has called dibs on Aunt Cathy's cake pan for her giraffe birthday party next March.  Just in case you were wondering. Clearly birthdays are kind of a big deal at our house. :) 

Aunt Abby, Aunt Sarah and Milo arrived later that afternoon and the kids had a nail polish party.  Even Milo got into the action with his lovely painted toes.  We were able to enjoy dinner and had plenty of time to spare before guests started to arrive.  Aunt Amber lent her pig collection (something that Lydia has really enjoyed whenever she spends time with Aunt Amber and Uncle Isaac) to Lydia for the party and they really set the tone.  Besides loving the balloons, the girls each chose a favorite pig that became her buddy until the party really started.  We loved having so much family there to celebrate Lydia's special day.  Aunt Abby started spreading the word that it would be fun if everyone were to wear pink to this pig party, an idea she came up with when I told her the theme of the party.  I'll be honest, it was really fun to see all that pink!

When Lydia started opening her gifts it was pretty clear that she was not super excited about her new clothes (first gift opened) but after that I loved seeing the quiet excitement that is so characteristic of Lydia, especially around lots of people, radiate from her from that point on.  I loved the pig gifts from the Talbots, Stotts, and Isaac and Amber.  Lyds loves having her little collections and this pig family will be thoroughly enjoyed. When she opened Bolt from Grandma and Grandpa Frazier I thought she might raise that quiet excitement to a much more audible level, but she kept didn't and she really didn't let on just how thrilled she truly was.  I'd say the evening was a success with her blowing out her candle and playing in the backyard. 

I've loved her anticipation of this milestone.  Turning four meant that she really was becoming a big girl. She's been telling us for months that she'll no longer need to wear bibs.  She'll no longer need help when using the potty.  She's been very curious about how different she'll look when she's four as opposed to three. And though she hasn't outright stated it, apparently turning four meant that she is now in charge of changing Sophie's diapers...

Lydia is a joy.  I am so impressed with how fast she is!  And I tire watching her race from one end of our backyard to the other. Where does all her energy come from? She pretends to be Rainbow Dash from Ponies and flaps her wings at the same time. That's another thing I love about her.  Once she gets into character it's not easy to pull her back to reality.  She's determined to continue being a puppy, or a troll while Sophie is Sophia, or Pound Cake while Sophie is Pumpkin Cake, and I'm Pinkie Pie and should be chasing after them or Baby Snow White and Sophie is Princess Sleeping Beauty making food for Baby Snow White. She has a fabulous imagination and I love that about her!  She still loves books and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I love love love reading to her and Sophie before they go to sleep each night.  I did discover her imagination put to use in a way that gave me pause.  I'd fallen asleep a few weeks ago in the afternoon and when I woke up I was told not to go in the kitchen.  Unfortunately for Lydia it was laundry day and I needed to rotate the loads that had been going.  I explained this to her, walked into the kitchen and discovered a river flowing (not literally) from one end of the hardwood floor to the other.  She'd wanted to make a river for her duck Ralph.  So creative. So her.  She's a do it yourself kind of girl and yet so not okay!  The nice thing about her escapades that day is that we were compelled to clean a floor that had been needing a cleaning for days. She loves water and I'm so glad that it's summer because being outside and getting wet isn't a problem.

This little lady has one heck of a memory too.  She's been talking about her missing papa pig (one that she got for her second birthday) for ages.  He disappeared over a year ago.  And then there's her missing black dog.  Also disappeared about a year ago.  We're not sure we'll ever hear the end of that one.  Jon had a great idea to get her some little dogs for her birthday.  The hope was that they'd replace her little black dog and she'd be able to let him go.  She loves them (it nearly broke her heart to give one set to her classmates the day they celebrated her birthday at school.  She didn't know she'd get to keep her own set on her birthday) and has made little families out of them- the Dalmatians, the hot dog dogs, among others, but she still talks about the little black dog.  The other day she brought up the bad spirit at the Utah game while she had a baby sitter.  What?!  I was so confused.  Then I remembered the game that was around Halloween and how costumes were encouraged.  Someone dressed up as what appeared to be a Dementor.  She was an evil spirit.  I vaguely remember trying to explain that to her and that was her take away. Halloween was months ago!  This was the first time I remember her bringing that one up.

Recently my favorite thing with her is our conversations.  I'd been at Young Women's one night and the next day she started talking about Joseph Smith losing his leg.  Jon had started reading the Doctrine and Covenants with the girls the previous night and they'd learned about him getting the marrow cut out of his bone.  It's been interesting, again, to better understand her take on things.  She also talks about what it's going to be like to return to Heavenly Father and how she doesn't want to make Lucifer happy by making mistakes. When she grows up she's going to have a dog.  She can't wait to learn to drive.  She'll eventually grow to be too big to fit in our house or our car.  She wants to be a mommy and hopes that her kids like her cooking.  Love that!  Can't imagine why that's a concern for her. ;)
 
I know that Sophie being born totally rocked her world.  I love that though the two of them have their moments, they're also really cute when they play together and I love hearing their conversations.  Before Sophie could talk Lydia would try so hard to keep her happy and ask her questions she could answer.  Now that Sophie is a chatterbox she doesn't need to do that anymore and they really are sweet with each other.  For the most part anyway.  I think she really is excited about Mia and I hope that her excitement helps Sophie transition to being a big sis more easily than it was for her.  Sophie definitely goes off of Lydia's leads and we saw that the other day (more on that in another upcoming post) when we took them to Lagoon for the first time.  Both girls are talking about sharing things with Mia and Lydia talks about what she thinks her favorite color will be and who she's going to look like, her eye color and hair.

She suddenly seems so grown up to me.  She's gained this confidence that I think we all want in our kids.  She turns and makes sure she can see us if she isn't super close, but she no longer has to be by our sides.  We went to a park near our home and she was running around holding hands with two of her classmates from school.  Love that. I couldn't believe how fearless she was at Lagoon, or how eager she was to jump into the spraying water at splash pads.  The splash pads aren't so surprising with her love of water, but doing it on her own definitely is.  Oh.  And she has taken it upon herself to become my personal hairstylist.  She came up with this crazy awesome do the other day.  I regret not capturing it on camera. She loves to help me cook, but what I love more than almost anything is that when Jon asks Sophie if she wants to snuggle with him on movie night and she says no, Lydia always tells him that he can snuggle with her.  I love how sensitive and reassuring she is.  I know she prefers it when people are happy, but finding a way to help make things better is really impressive.  Like I said, so grown up!

We love our Lydia!  She was singing "I hope they call me on a mission" in the bathtub the other day.  And I hope they do call her on a mission one day!  She'd be fabulous!  "Whenever I think about Pioneers" is her primary song choice each night after we read scriptures.  She adds so much to our family and I love that about her!

Little Chatterbox afterall

Sophie used to call Jon "Nana" or "Nanny" and it kind of seemed like she just wanted to get a reaction out of us, but Jon wondered if there wasn't something more going on.  Could she say her "d's"?  Was she just not hearing them right? I didn't think much of it at first.  I figured she'd pull something similar to Lydia and start whipping out full on sentences when she was ready.  But then it seemed like she was using incorrect letters more and more often when she would try to talk and I started worrying.  I was trying not to compare her to Lydia, but we don't have a lot of experience with anyone else learning how to talk so I found myself doing it against my better wishes. I also didn't want speaking to become frustrating for her, but I worried that it would get frustrating for me trying to understand her before it bothered her.  I was reading to her one day while Lydia was at school and before Jon had left for work and she would point to pictures in the book and he or I would say what they were.  She pointed to a boy and I asked her to repeat boy and she wasn't able to do it.  She'd attempt to repeat what we'd say on each picture (something new for her.  She used to simply refuse to give it a go) and get a beginning or ending sound right and sometimes the middle sound, but usually not the whole word and definitely not anything really coherent.  Anyway, we were worried enough at this point to have her tested.  Fortunately Jon had had his wits about him at her two year check up and so we knew what we needed to do.  Her doctor told us to take her to our elementary school where they should be able to test her.  He told us that he'd write a note if they needed one, recommending her, but that it probably wouldn't be necessary.  Well, when I went to the school they told me that I needed to schedule through the district.  When I called them it took a few days to connect with the right person, and at that point they told me that they were about a month out.  This was the beginning of April and so May 12th became this huge day for us and felt so far away!

It amazes me now to think of the progress she made in the weeks following our scheduling this appointment.  She would get frustrated when I couldn't understand her after she'd repeat herself two or three times.  At least I think she must have been frustrated; however, she'd just laugh at me and give up despite my best efforts to encourage her to continue helping me understand.

And then suddenly she was speaking in full on sentences. I think that Jon and I were aware of what was happening, but when both sides of our family noted how chatty Sophie was when we spent Sunday dinner with them it was very reassuring.

I was sent a bunch of paper work in the mail from the district and the more I filled it out, the more embarrassed I became.  My answers to their questions were very different from what they had been when I'd cried on the phone the this poor district employee.  I called her the Thursday before Soph's appointment confirming that we'd be there, but had mentioned that I'd wanted to talk to her personally.  I planned to call again on Friday but didn't remember in time.  Fortunately she called me Monday, the day before the appointment, and I told her that I felt horrible canceling, but that we didn't think Sophie needed to be tested anymore.  She was so nice about it, telling me that they celebrate cancelations.  She also said that had we come in they would have been really nice, and probably would have teased us a little bit too, asking "so... why are you here?"  And then reassured me that if something came up we knew where to reach them.

Ever since then Sophie has just increased her vocabulary like crazy!  I love the way she enunciates.  I love seeing her progress.  I was really excited when Lydia learned to talk, but because we were so worried about Sophie I feel like every new word is more exciting than it otherwise would have been.  Watching her try new words especially after she wouldn't even attempt them has been so fun for us.

Some of my favorite Sophie phrases lately include:

I not a baby. I a princess. I Sleeping Beauty.
My. Heart. Is. Broken.  My kitty bloke my heart.
Not today. (In a sing songy voice).
Daddy! Oh no! Your flower! (The girls have given their dad this lovely toy flower and apparently find it bothersome that it doesn't go everywhere he goes.  When it's left at home and Sophie sees it that is what she says.  And then she sets it on his pillow for him to find when he gets home from work.)
I made it myself! (Referring to her pink bracelet, which broke...  And now her watch.  She often credits Jon with having helped her.  I'm really not sure where this started, but it's cute and imaginative for now.)
I have no time for this!
It's all my fault.
Daddy forgot his hat! (She notes this each time he mows the lawn. Unless he remembers his hat, like today! In which case she says Daddy wearing his hat!)
I a girl. You a girl. Lydia a girl. Mia a girl.  Daddy not a girl.  Daddy a boy.
Mr. Milo Man threw his soup on the floor! (Followed by laughter).
Zacorra has scary eyes. I don't like Zacorra.  She say "beware. Beware." I don't like her.  (She's a My Little Ponies character and has apparently made quite an impression on little Soph).

When Grandpa Blackhurst comes to read stories to the girls he always says the title and author before beginning to read the book.  It's stuck with Sophie so much so that I hear her starting her books with a title and author. Doesn't matter if she isn't right.  She says whatever she says with confidence! A few days ago she repeated, "Hannah Potty Book. By Mark Brown. (Bwown)" over and over again while "reading" the book the best she could in between announcing the title and author.  We sure love Arthur books at our house!

Anyway, apparently we worried much more than we needed to.  And that's okay.  Every day has been so delightful listening to her world of words increase.  The conversations she and Lydia have are adorable. I love our little chatterbox.

Easter this year

Just had to mention that Easter was awesome this year.  It was so fun to celebrate my birthday and watch General Conference the same day we celebrated Easter.  I loved what I heard from the talks that were given and am so glad that we are able to watch them again or read them over and over long after Conference ends. 

I don't know how much the girls understand about what Easter really means and is all about, but we sure enjoyed watching them hunt for Easter eggs!