The Nutcracker at Macys

First, we got some hot chocolate and coffee from starbucks.

Then we saw the "Nutcracker" show.

I am mesmerized by the Nutcracker story.

The dancing sugar plum fairies and marzipan pigs were magical.

We finished our morning eating at the salad buffet for lunch on the 12th floor of Macys.

We have a tradition where we go to the Christmas display on the Eighth floor of Macy's in downtown Minneapolis every year. This year the theme was the nutcracker. We saw the show today and it was fabulous! It was a magical morning.

A Few Christmas Photos

Grandpa and me at Bachmans.

Grandma and me snuggling one morning.

Me and my new tiger that I named "Baby Abu" playing in a big box.

Merry Christmas 2007!

What a great Christmas! It was a fun party all week long. First, we went to White Bear Lake Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve. We started off our evening going to church. I do not go to church very often, but I think that I like it. The music is pretty, it is fun being with my family, and I enjoy the plethora of snacks that mommy and daddy bring for me. I ate cheerios, 1/2 of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a candy cane. Mommy said that she thought it would take me the entire hour of church to eat all of that food. Instead, it took about 13 minutes. She did not count on the fact that I would chew my candy cane rather than suck on it like a sucker. I also did not like whispering in church. Here is one of the conversations that mommy and I had at church:

Sophia (loudly): BRETT. BRETT. BRETT. HERE IS A CHEERIO FOR YOU. BRETT. BRETT.

Mommy (quietly): Sophia, you have to whisper.

Sophia (loudly): MOMMY. DON'T WHISPER. SCOTT. SCOTT. SCOTT. YOU WANT A CHEERIO?

Mommy (quietly): Sophia, "shhhhshhhh."

Sophia (loudly): MOMMY, STOP SAYING "SHHHSHHH." GRANDMA, HERE IS A CHEERIO FOR YOU.

Mommy (quietly): Sophia, you really have to whisper.

Sophia (loudly): MOMMY, I DO NOT WANT TO WHISPER. DADDY, WHAT YOU DOING?

Needless to say, daddy brought me out into the lobby a short while later where I nearly fell into the life-sized baby Jesus laying in the manger. I was having fun, but still happy to get to Grandma's and Grandpa's for some yummy food. On Christmas day, we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for brunch and to open up presents. I loved opening presents, but it took forever. I would open a present and immediately want to play with it right away, forgetting all of the other presents. Mommy and daddy still have presents at home for me waiting to be opened!

On Christmas day, my Green Bay grandparents came to visit, too. More food, more presents and more fun! We played with all of my toys, went on a walk in the snow, had lunch at Bachmans and just had a great time. Every morning, I would go downstairs and shout "wake-up, Grandma and Grandpa!" Then we would start our fun day! I was sad to see them go back to their home. What a great Christmas.

Mr. Turtle

Daddy and me doing "Mr. Turtle."

First Real Haircut

Here is my really long hair before the hair cut. When it was wet, it almost reached my butt!

My hair cut has started! DeLores at Kids Hair made sure that I was having a good time watching Dora the Explorer and eating a sucker.

I wasn't totally sure about this whole hair-cutting thing. Can you see my nervous smile?

The hair cut is done! I had about four inches cut off. The first thing that I said was, "My hair cut is so pretty." I love it! I feel like such a big kid.

Fun Games

I really enjoy playing "pretend" games. I like to pretend to have tea parties, pretend that my stuffed animals are babies, and pretend that I am sleeping. In these pictures, I am "pretending" to sleep and snuggle with Bunny Bun. The best part of the game is when mommy or daddy tickles me and says "wake-up!" at which point I scream and giggle. Please note my excellent acting skills in the pictures. I bet that I fooled you into thinking that I was sleeping for real! Another one of my favorite pretend games is "Mr. Turtle." It is a difficult game to describe. To play the game, all you need is your hand---moving like it is talking---and a funny voice. That hand is called "Mr. Turtle." If I get bored, I will often say, "Where is Mr. Turtle?" Sometimes, my hand is Mr. Turtle, but most of the time Daddy or Mommy's hand is Mr. Turtle. We are all pretty goofy over here.

Snowy Day

This weekend we had our first snow storm of the season. It was pretty exciting. Today, we went outside and shoveled. I enjoyed shoveling the snow. (And, yes, that is a fireplace shovel that I am using). The last picture is a funny one of Mommy---doesn't she look like a Christmas elf!!!

On another note, I have not really been napping lately. I know that my sleep issues have been a frequent topic of the blog. Mommy will put me in the crib, and I have to stay there for an hour and "rest," even if I do not actually nap. I really do not rest. In fact, I have a grand ol' time in the crib. I will often sing, say my ABC's, count, read or play with my stuffed animals. This week, I also learned how to "paint" the wall next to my crib. Here is what I do, I take my metal barrette out of my hair and scratch little drawings into the paint. I often tell Mommy that I painted a little bunny or a little bird. I am pretty excited about it. Sometimes, if I get bored in the crib, I start to say, "Mommy, when you coming back?" over and over until she does. I am so happy when I get to be done with my "nap" for the day.

The problem with not napping is that I am usually pretty tired by about 5:00, but I obviously do not want to go to bed that early. A few days ago, I was really yawning at about 5:00 and Mommy asked if I was tired. I said, "Yes. I want to sleep." Mommy said, "Okay. Let's have a quick dinner and bath, and we can go to sleep." I thought about this for a minute and said, "No, I do not want to sleep." Mommy asked, "Well...when do you want to sleep?" I said, "In five years." I have to do a much better job of hiding it when I am sleepy or I am going to get a really early bedtime!

Those are my latest bedtime battle stories. More later.

Happy Girl

If you did not know this about me already, I am a super happy girl. I smile and laugh all of the time. Life is pretty great for me. I love gymnastics, my toys, playing in the leaves, swinging at the park, Bunny Bun, Little Bear, and Daddy. I guess I love Mommy, too, but she has been a little bit of a party-pooper these days. She keeps on telling me things like, "Sorry, Sophia, I cannot do a somersault because I have a baby in my tummy." Or she will say, "Sorry, Sophia, I cannot jump up and down and do the 'veggie dance' because my tummy is too big." I say to Mommy, "But, Mommy, it's EASY. Try Mommy. It's EASY." She still won't do it. On the other hand, Daddy is ready to spin, twirl, somersault, jump and dance until I am thoroughly tired. Mommy is great, but Daddy is FUN.

Halloween Pictures

I was a fairy butterfly for Halloween this year. I loved running around the house with my butterfly wings. Daddy even put little butterfly tattoos on my checks. Daddy took me trick-or-treating on my block. I said, "Trick or Treat" at every door. It was such a surprise to get a handful of candy in my little bag at the neighbor's houses! We only made up and down our little block before I got too tired and cold. But, the next day, I asked mommy if we could go trick or treating again that night! I cannot believe I have to wait until next year to this again.

Lindsay and Jeremey's Wedding

The wedding was a success! I was the perfect little flower girl. I marched down the aisle with little Blake. We held hands as we walked and thought it was pretty amusing that everyone was looking at us. I loved lifting the crinoline of my dress and twirling around with my full skirt. I can still remember so much of the wedding, even though it was almost three months ago!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Me

Mommy's homemade chocolate birthday cake is so yummy.

Here is the cake before we all polished it off.

Grandpa and daddy grilling the hamburgers on the deck.

The Wilenskys having fun (as usual).

I love my new bench from White Bear Lake Grandma and Grandpa.

I blew out all of the candles on my cake!

My birthday was over a month ago! I cannot believe that I have been two for more than a month already! My birthday party was fantastic. Lots of my relatives came for a BBQ and cake. I did not eat much of dinner because I was so excited for the party. Actually, I did not eat much cake either. I mostly ate the frosting and the ice cream. I had fun blowing all of the candles out on my cake. Everyone sang happy birthday. I still love to sing that song. How can it not make you feel happy?? Opening presents was another highlight of the party. I preferred presents to clothes. When I opened a present and saw that it was clothes, I would say, "shut it" and shut the box. White Bear Lake Grandma and Grandpa gave me a little bench with little animals on it. Green Bay Grandma and Grandpa gave me a "Sophia book" that Grandma made and that includes fun activities all designed just for me. I am looking forward to having another great year. I can pronounce my name really well ("Dophia") , I can count to ten, and I can name most of my colors and shapes! I am going to learn so much more this coming year. Stay tuned for another fun-filled year with me.

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"May the force be with you." ---Obi-Wan Sophia

Sleepy Heads

Here we are having a nice little family breakfast on a weekend morning. I love looking at photographs of myself and other people that I know on the computer. In particular, I love looking at the blog.

No Ordinary Pizza

This may look like ordinary pizza, but it is not. First of all, this is the first time that I insisted (no, demanded) that I eat an entire slice of pizza. You can see that mommy and daddy nicely cut little bit-sized pieces of pizza for me on my plate. I wanted nothing to do with those. I wanted my own big piece, and I got one! Second of all, the pizza delivery guy was super crazy. We ordered the pizza from a place called "Galactic Pizza." The pizza delivery guy showed up in this little teeny-tiny "car" where the entire top of the car (dashboard and steering wheel included) lifted-up to let the guy out. This was no ordinary guy, because he was dressed up like a galactic super hero with shiny tights, boots, and a cape. He handed us our pizza and I just stood there, not knowing what to think. I had to walk to the sidewalk and watch him climb back into his "car" and drive away until I could no longer see him. Wow.

Say Cheesey!

I had to put this picture in here because I look so cute! Great Auntie Monica and family gave me this outfit and sunglasses when we were in Green Bay over the Fourth of July. I am such a little fashionista! I even have a cheesey super model smile. I wear those sunglasses nearly every day.

So much has happened!

When I just got to Bay Beach, I knew I had to ride the ponies. I kept saying, "Ride Pony. Ride Pony. Ride Pony" until I got to do it! I was as great as I thought it would be.

This was my second time riding the helicopter at Beach Beach that day. I loved it so much. In fact, I talked about "riding the red helicopter" for days afterward.

This was my first time riding on a ride all by myself! I was a little nervous. When the ride started, I grasped both sides of the little car and held on tight. Once I got used to it a little more, I started to loudly ring the bell. I highly recommend this ride to other toddlers--not too scary, but just enough action to make it worth while.

Here I am on the ladybug. Mommy tells me that she used to ride on this ride when she was a little girl growing up in Green Bay. Unfortunately, I had a very short ride on it because the seat was too hot and I kept standing up saying, "too hot, too, hot." They let me off the ride.

This is a picture of Daddy and me at the end of our adventure at Bay Beach.

I have been very neglectful with my blogging. So much has happened---trips to Green Bay, my second birthday, Lindsay and Jeremy's wedding, etc. Stay tuned for a lot of new blog entries. I am going to start with a trip to Green Bay that I took over the Fourth of July.

During our trip to Green Bay, we went to a magical place called "Bay Beach." Mommy says that she used to go there when she was a little girl. The rides are only $0.25 (they were $0.10 when she was little). Mommy says that we spent a grand total of $3.50 during our morning at Bay Beach, and that included a pop! The rides at Bay Beach are really great. I posted a few pictures of the rides that I went on. I cannot wait to go back.

While we were in Green Bay, a lot was going on. We were so busy! It was the Fourth of July, a party for my great Auntie Joanie's 50th birthday and so much more. One of the highlights of the trip, however, was Grandma's "vurms" (worms). Grandma has a "worm condo" that she keeps in the basement for composting. Every morning after breakfast I would say to Grandma, "See vurms, feed vurms." Grandma would then gather her composting matter and we would go downstairs. First, Grandma would take the top layer off of the condo and we could see the worms wiggling around in the dirt and compost material. We would continue to open the condo layer by layer. Grandma would ask if I wanted to touch a worm, and I would always say, "Too scary!" It was a great time.