What I want to be when I grow up!

Sophia and I read one of my favorite books tonight - Rosie Revere, Engineer. That prompted the discussion of what she wanted to be when she grew up.
A scientist? An engineer? I asked.
Maybe Mama. But first...

I want to be a policeman. And an artist. And what was that other thing, with animals?

A veterinarian?

Yes, that's it.

For the life of me, I had no idea why she wanted to be a policeman. Nothing wrong with it, but she never has had (thankfully?) a meaningful experience with a policeman or law enforcement in general. So I asked her.

Sophia, why do you want to be a policeman.

"Well Mama, when I grow up to be an adult, I want to be a policeman....so I can drive REALLY REALLY FAST. "

Yup. She's got the need for speed. At 5.

Sophia's 4th Birthday - A big day in the City

To say Sophia was extremely aware of her birthday this year is an understatement. She had a countdown going and, for the final 3 weeks before her actual day, kept asking if she could bring cupcakes to school TODAY. 

Birthdays were always big in my house growing up. Some of my best memories are of times I spent with my mom and dad on my birthday. I could have whatever I wanted to eat and we always had a special day planned. 

This year, Sophia was particularly enchanted by the Make Way for Ducklings Book, as well as taking the Subway. So we built the afternoon around that. 

The morning was all about school, where I got to parent help and bring in cupcakes. It was great to see her in action at school with her teachers and friends. The cupcakes were a big hit, mostly because they were chocolate, but also because the simple recipe made them very friendly for kids, even those with allergies. 

After school got out, Sophia & I hopped on the T to head downtown the Charles street. 

But the first order of business was to get some Mac n Cheese. So, lunch at Figs it was! Great food for everyone. 

It had been raining earlier in the day, but we dried off during lunch and made our way down to the Garden. First order of business was to say hi to the ducklings & Mrs. Mallard. By this point, they had "shaved" their playoff beards and were back to normal. 

Next stop was into the Garden to feed the ducks. I had baked a loaf of bread for the occasion. (It sounds really good - usually by bread doesn't rise and is pretty painful, but this one actually stuck - lucky ducks. 

 Sophia was just ecstatic to watch the ducks eat and flat all around. It was pure joy to watch.

 Apparently, smiling big smiles isn't cool for four-year olds to do anymore... Sigh. It's like Blue Steel or something...

 Final stop of the day was to get tea. It felt like a very fun and grownup thing to do. We headed to Panifico for a cup of tea and, when the women heard it was her birthday, they brought her a special cupcake with a candle.

After a long day, we made our way home for hugs and presents from Nonni.

With that, I proceeded to pass out on the couch in exhaustion. Man, was that a busy fourth birthday! I can't wait till next year.

My little girl is getting bigger every day

Somehow 3 years old has felt both the longest year as well as the shortest. Sophia has sprouted up what seems like 6 inches and has become a master of the imagination. 

She can conjure the most amazing stories from end to end, and draw you in to building "Dunkin' Donuts" for her Mickey characters with her blocks or tucking her doggie into bed and going through the entire bedtime process for him. 

She also has gotten faster than anything. I'm fairly certain, when she is so inclined, that she could beat most kids in a 50 yard dash. She just takes off. She's playing soccer on Saturdays now and it's great to watch her just run, kick and have fun. (the other half of the time, well, she just wants to "hang out" and play with the little kids around her.)

Drawing and creative stuff has never been our strong suit. That's one of the reasons we were so excited about her preschool. Creativity and arts are the focus - so is making sure they get outside everyday to play, no matter the weather. I'm amazed at the change in her drawing and handwriting - she is starting to write her letters (she can write MOM) and some pretty good stick figures (she drew a picture of her in her carseat!) 

She's also able to verbalize so much more and understand her feelings. We've really tried to work on express that she's actually frustrated, hungry or tired, rather than throwing a temper tantrum (though no fear, there are plenty of those still!) The other day, she came home from school and after a bit of a fit, she shared that one of the little boys at school didn't want to play with her. It broke my heart, and she was clearly still bothered. It was definitely the first time she had put something like that into words. But she said that she and another girl played and had fun. The next day, when she ran home, she said that L played with her and clearly, all had been forgotten. 

We're entering a whole new time of dynamics, relationships and feelings. I can't wait for this next journey. 

My amazing three year old

Some how, some way, my amazing, incredible, sweet (and sometimes patience-trying) Sophia has turned 3 years. 1,096 days old. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Maybe a lot of the stuff in between has faded a little, but every day we are making new memories.

We celebrated the big day with friends and family, and of course, a fabulous Mickey Mouse cake (and Mickey's clubhouse themed birthday!)

The day started off with our yearly tradition of hanging and examining the banner of the year's pictures.

Nana & Pop Pop came up for reading and playtime before the party began. 

Then, the party started. Here's Sophia& Frances - both born on November 7th. 

Wow - have they grown from last year. 

And of course, the customary shake down from Dad.

 Snuggle time from Grandma:

A little dance party!

And finally - birthday cake time.

Happy Birthday my big girl!!

Hurricane Potty Training

I've always envied those moms who said "Oh, potty training took us the weekend" or "She just 'Got' it" or, as some of my more militant friends went the "He's 2. We trained. That's what we do" route.
For Sophia, I knew it would come. I wanted it to happen. We had the seat, bought the M&Ms but couldn't really connect all the pieces.

Admittedly, some parts of parental laziness clearly played a role - I had no desire to sit inside all day on a perfectly gorgeous Saturday to train when we could be outside running around.  At the end of the summer, I signed her up for a town program that required kids to be potty trained, with the hair brained idea I could make it happen in 2 weeks.  Ha...good thing they gave a refund.

So around came Hurricane Sandy. Stuck inside all day. What a better time to give it a go. And magically (and I choose that word precisely because that's what I attribute all the stars aligning) it worked. After running around for an hour or two with no pants, out came the "Mama, I have to go potty." To the potty she went and it worked. So she got a load of praise, two M&Ms - red & brown, and stamps for her "Potty Chart" (aka a lame piece of paper with a grid drawn on it taped to the wall). Bam, another time before bed. This is pretty cool.

It's been a week now, with only 1 accident (completely attributable to parental rushing out the door) and even managed to get comfy with #2. We've switched to pull ups for sleeping times. Hopefully, this continues as well as it is going.
I'm so proud of my little girl - of the smile on her face after success.

Hooray and sigh... My toddler is officially a little girl.