Happy birthday to our little monkey!

Sophie's two!!! She's growing up way too fast! We've eagerly anticipated today for months now. Lydia knows the order of birthdays in our home and talk of Sophie's big day has been much looked forward to.  She even reminded Jon that "today is Sophie's birthday!!" when he came home for lunch.  What I love most about Lydia's excitement is how much it's rubbed off on Sophie. Would she have been as excited about her birthday if Lydia hadn't been so excited for her?  I have no idea, but I feel pretty confident in saying that she would not have been aware that something awesome was coming without her big sister wanting to celebrate her and this milestone.

A few weeks ago I tried to get Sophie to tell me what kind of cake she wanted.  It was pretty easy.  She's been into the Lion King for months now and fallen in love with Simba and Nala. I found a lion cake, showed her the picture and got a very enthusiastic response from her.  Done and done.  Or so I thought.  And then about a week or two ago Sophie started pointing to our calendar exclaiming, "eeee oooooh!!" She was referring to the little pink monkey Uncle Jarom and Aunt Brittany gave her for her first birthday that was featured on the calendar. She loves it!! One of her recent favorites.  She also has monkey pajamas and requests them nightly.  Nothing else is acceptable.  I'm not sure why the thought of a monkey cake hadn't crossed my mind prior to a few days ago, but it hadn't.  Anyway, I found a monkey cake that I thought I could replicate, showed Sophie the picture and got the go-ahead.  I even had her confirm that the lion cake was a no-go.  No problem.  We can do a monkey cake.

So while Sophie napped Lydia and I busily worked on creating a monkey masterpiece.  Not one monkey, but two.  I'll admit that my confidence in turning out an acceptable cake is lacking (especially after last year's bear cake disaster) so having a back up was comforting, but Lydia reminded me that we were having lots of guests and that two cakes might be necessary for when the party started.  Aunt Abby thought it fitting that there were two cakes because the birthday girl was turning two.  Whatever the reason, I felt reassured that we couldn't go wrong with our plans.  Lydia was a big help.  She'd encourage me and then question why I hadn't done a particularly important feature like the eyes.  We made a a great team.

I should mention that before Jon left for work this morning Sophie saw the big balloon bouquet that he'd purchased the night before.  She immediately went into her happy Sophie dance which is my favorite with her!  And if you've been privileged enough to be near her when she breaks into that dance you know just what I mean. The grins, the giggles, the palpable excitement as she bounces while spinning.  I can't get enough. The morning went well.  Lydia went off to preschool despite concerns about missing out on the festivities and when we picked her up, Sophie ran out to meet Lydia in the middle of the street where she gave her the biggest hug imaginable.  I'd have loved for it to have gone on and on except that a car was coming.  And we were all in the middle of the road.  Once home we finished up the morning with both girls helping to bake the birthday cake, and before we knew it, it was time for Sophie's nap.  She didn't want to sleep and fought it well, but eventually she was out. We used our time as well as we could and then Sophie was awake and clearly excited about what was to come, so we crowned her with her birthday tiara and placed her sash over her shoulder.

Before long family started to arrive and we gathered for cake and ice cream.  We lit the candle and sang to Sophie, who was in my arms at this point, and in response to the singing she crawled up my tummy and then buried her face into my shoulder, not especially thrilled to be the center of attention.  She surfaced at the end to blow out her candle, or tried anyway.  After her attempts she and I had to blow with all our might before we succeeded in getting that flame to die out.  Unfortunately Lydia missed out on this part because she'd been overwhelmed by the number of people in our home.  More on that later.  Soph wasn't super into eating her cake or ice cream after she consumed the monkey's ear (a donut) so we moved on to opening presents.

Sophie cracked me up through it all.  First she ripped off a piece of wrapping paper about the size of a quarter and the next thing I knew I was opening her presents for her!  Oops!  But she'd giggle or gasp and just get so excited about everything she opened.  When she opened a Lion King book she jumped up when she saw Rafiki, and squealed when she opened another Lion King book that came with puzzle pieces.  Her dress-able bear and squawking monkey brought grins and giggles and through it all she got better at ripping off wrapping paper. We had quite an assembly line going with Sophie handing Lydia torn paper and Lydia handing it to Aunt Stacey who collected it in a plastic bag.  Despite Soph's improvement, all the little ones wanted to help her discover what was waiting for her on the inside of the wrapped boxes and they did their best to help speed things up.  We had to pass around Milo the Mouse (A Use-Your-Words Feeling Book) because it was so much fun to rotate Milo's facial expressions and find what he was feeling when he made a mess or found a bubble bath.  These books and animals and the blocks she got will be hours of fun in the coming days. She wasn't too sure about the bubble blowing lawn mower, especially when Conner turned it on and let her know how it worked, but I'm sure it will grow on her and when we're all outside and the bubbles are flying it'll be much more enjoyable.

Things calmed down after presents.  Jon measured Sophie on her awesome growth chart, we chatted and played for a while and then Lydia, who you'll remember didn't want to join the multitude at the start, stood guard at the front door and tried her best to block people from taking off.  The party wasn't over as far as she was concerned and maybe if nobody could leave it didn't have to end.  A special thank you to Uncle Isaac for taking our family picture and for coaxing a smile out of Lyds with the promise of staying to play for a few minutes.  The girls loved that and Jon and I were able to get some cleaning done too!

Things were going so well until we asked the girls to get their pajamas.  Lyds pulled out her Dora jammies and suddenly Sophie was asking for "Memo" (Nemo) pajamas.  She'd been drinking out of a Nemo cup earlier and that's the only trigger I can think of for bringing on this demand/meltdown.  This little tantrum confirmed how tuckered out we thought she might be after all the excitement.  She got so upset and worked up that nothing I tried calmed her so I went looking through her 2T clothes (which haven't been transferred to her closet yet) searching for an acceptable pair of pajamas when I found some princess ones.  They eventually became a suitable substitute for Nemo.  This little lady has some serious opinions about clothes.  She's our little fashionista and prefers to pick out her outfits each morning especially if I try to find something for her first.  She lets me know if she doesn't approve of what I choose and moves on to other things right away.

I love how much sweet Sophie loves books.  She's a little book worm and several times a day I find her gathering a stack of books for me to read to her.  It's one of my favorites about her.  One of many.  Her sense of style kills and impresses me.  Her hugs make me melt; I cannot get enough of them.  I love that occasionally she's besties with her big sis (when she isn't tormenting her) and wants her to read to her, or hide with her or surprise Dad with her.  It warms my heart when she runs up to Lyds, grabs her by the hand and pulls her somewhere for an exciting adventure. I love her sassy personality, her nicknames for Dad and her animals, the animal sounds she makes and her learning to speak.  Learning to speak on her terms.  She won't ever try to say what we want her to say.  I figure she'll say it when she's ready. I do love that she says, "Bye Baby" everyday at lunch as Jon heads back to work.  Not sure how that started, but I think it's adorable.  Some of her favorites lately include swinging, sliding, dressing up like Rapunzel, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, singing Popcorn and Daddy's Homecoming, stashing her treasures in one of many special hiding places (a wicker basket, the pantry or a certain kitchen cupboard to name a few) and hide and seek with her sister.  Some of her favorite books include Flat Stanley and the Haunted House, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, There's a Monster in my Closet, Pinkalicious  books,  Goodnight Moon and Pirates Don't Change Diapers.  Among others.  She's so much fun and so full of surprises.  I love this little firecracker and what she adds to our family.  We're so lucky she's ours!!!

The 4th- what a marathon!

Such a fun day!  It actually makes me a little tired thinking about all the back and forth from Bountiful to Kaysville, but what could we possible cut out??  My parents ward's breakfast is a great tradition and with Dad putting it on, it's even more fun to take part in it.  The devotional is a great way to start the day, then off to the Kaysville parade where Lydia is just beginning to get excited about the candy the people on the floats throw.  The noise is something our girls may never get used to, but they sure loved sitting on Dad's shoulders when there were horses or other exciting passersby. At least Lydia did.  Sophie and I hung out on the blanket for the better part of the parade.  Occasionally we'd brave the crowd and join everyone clumped together on the curb, but it'll be another year or more before Sophie chooses to join Lydia and her cousins in that action.

Lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Frazier and the cousins is always a good time; as is dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Blackhurst with as many Aunts, Uncles and cousins as can make it.  And amazingly last 4th of July Lydia stayed awake through it all.  Ending a day like that with fireworks couldn't be more fun.  It couldn't be more fun according to me; however, the girls might disagree with that assessment mostly because of the noise.  Those explosions are not their favorite!  Which is why we come prepared with headphones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lydia sure enjoyed her ice cream while Sophie and I took a much needed nap.

 

I love this picture because it sums up so perfectly that Lydia knew what to expect with the fireworks and was clearly not thrilled with what was coming, whereas Sophie had no idea what she was in for and couldn't be happier about it.

 

 

To the beat of her own drum!

Right after Lydia turned three she was able to participate in Cheer camp.  The camp was for kids ages three to twelve and each group was broken up to include kids who were at similar stages.  The three and four year olds were together, five and six in the next group and so on.  I should clarify that within any group there were diverse interests in dancing as well as a range of abilities.  Lydia has loved dancing for months, but her interpretation of dancing consists of spinning around in circles over and over again.  The cheer leaders at Fairfield Junior High were so sweet with her.  And patient!  Those in charge of the three and four year olds were amazing.  Amazingly patient.  I was able to watch them teach the dance a little bit before the performance and Lydia was off in her kitty world for quite a bit of it.  She did join them for some of the stretches and parts of the dance, but when it came down to performing,  she relied in what she knew and spun her heart out!  The girls danced to "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled. I love the video Jon took and wish that you could see her twirling and twirling.  I'm so glad she didn't fall off the stage and so glad that she didn't make herself sick.  She must have gotten dizzy! 

If you were to ask her what she liked best about Cheer Camp, she'd tell that she liked the treats, the pom poms, and the Popsicle when it was all over.  I admit it, I loved watching her dance to the beat of her own drum. What a fun week for her!  She may not ever be a cheer leader, or a dancer of any sort, but she gave it her all and from what I could see, she sure had a good time!

 

Months later she still talks about it and asks where "her cheer camp school" is.  She's expressed interest in participating in it again, though I'm not sure that it's because her love of dancing has increased or her ability to follow directions is better, but I admit that I am curious.  Hopefully next time we can get better video and you can see what she's capable of,

The swing set

It's hard to believe that we'll have had our swing set for a year come Memorial Day.  Besides being there when we purchased it, I wasn't terribly involved.  Actually, Jon and I did plan a date night where we worked together on it.  What a telling experience....but more on that later.

 

Jon borrowed Dad Frazier's truck to transport our little girl's dreams home.  Yikes!  I thought him rather brave to drive the distance with that crate sticking off the back end of the truck as far as it did.

Jon was awesome at documenting each step with pictures so you get to see it all!!

I loved seeing Lydia with those binoculars!  She and Soph wanted to be out there putting it together with Dad. Or at least watching the progress.  I was there to keep the girls safe and out of the way.

This was about the time of our date night.  I really wanted to be involved and helpful.  I know that watching the girls while Jon worked was really the most helpful thing I could be doing, but as long as we were planning a date night why not work this into it?  Well, I'll tell you why.  Not having put a swing set together before, it was a bit of a challenge to delegate tasks to me especially when only one person was required.  I mean I was definitely an asset when it came to putting up the rope ladder, and I could retrieve tools for Jon, saving him some time that way, but otherwise I kind of missed having the girls there and feeling really needed.  Maybe if we went into the swing set business we could get really great at dividing up the work, but since that isn't likely I'll sit back and watch Jon work his magic.

We could have paid a bit more to have our swing set assembled at our house, saving us time and energy, but that's one of the many things I love about Jon.  He's good at putting things together and as long as he is able to do so why pay someone else to do what he can do? 

And this was when Jon decided to record the blisters that started forming on his hands.  Did it stop him?  Of course not!

Lydia was so excited about that red roof!  Her little club house coming together for her.  Knowing what a great imagination she has I'm sure she was looking forward to the good times she'd have steering her ship on some rough waters or hiding out from wild animals trying to reach her from below or the picnics she'd have with her animals.  So much to look forward to!

Sophie was an excellent helper.  She LOVED picking up Dad's tools and carrying them around.  She also really enjoyed picking up pieces of box that the different parts came in.

Lydia enjoying being up so high!

The slide made it look almost complete.  Almost...

And once the swings were up it really was!

Jon's hands needed a good rest after the 14 or so hours he spent assembling it. 

Not that he ever complained about his blisters or the time.  And how he could he?  The looks on these little girls faces made it all worth it.

Utah State's Baby Animals with Ike and Amber

This is the first of many posts highlighting events from 2014.  Hopefully this year, despite the fact that it's basically March already, I can be a little more on top of things!!

Mid-May Ike and Amber invited Lydia to Utah State's baby animal days as an early birthday present and we loved the idea and tagged along.  What a perfect day!  The girls had a great time and suddenly Lydia seemed so little!  She wanted to do everything and it didn't matter that most of the other kids were significantly older than she was or that their Mom or Dad was right by their side whereas Lyds ventured out alone.  She's one tough cookie!  Well... she's tough unless she's faced with a bunch of noisy toddlers in the bounce house.  She'd been so excited to take her shoes off and jump to her hearts content when she saw that big blown up house.  We waited in line for a considerable amount of time but once in she lasted no longer than five seconds.  Too much for her.  All those kids were just too much.  If she could have had the place to herself it would have been a different story entirely. 

Sophie was not really into much of anything, but she was a good sport anyway.  It was a beautiful day.  A little colder than I'd hoped, but nice none-the-less.

She looked so grown up on that big horse!  And yet so little at the same time.

Sophie eventually fell asleep in the bjorn.  Can't say that I blame her.  She would have been napping had we not been out having adventures anyway.  I'm glad she was able to get in a little snooze.

Lyds wanted her face painted and requested a pony.  Of course she did!

Sophie didn't necessarily want her face painted but put up with it anyway. 

This was the moment I was reminded just how little Lydia really is.  She looked tiny in that train car!  And seeing older kids cuddled up next to their parents in other cars made me realize that in some ways Lydia really is fearless.  She needed to know where we were, but as long as she could see us she was happy to be on her own.

Lydia loved spending the morning with Uncle Isaac and Aunt Amber.  The sheep sheering made an impression, the horses were a favorite and petting those rabbits was very memorable for her.  What a great idea Isaac and Amber!!  Thanks so much for knowing Lyds so well and for thinking of her and for letting us tag along!  We'd love to make this a tradition.