We knew she would leave home someday...

We just didn't think it would be this soon!

Congratulations on learning to crawl, Juliet!

Love,

Sophia, daddy & mommy

The State Fair Extravaganza

In Minnesota, the state fair is a pretty big deal. For the Heffelbowers, the state fair is a really big deal! Every year, all of the Heffelbowers take the day off from work on the first day of the state fair. We look at animals, eat, talk, people-watch, try out the tractors and have a great time. Mommy and daddy brought two strollers---one for me and one for Juliet. The thought was that Juliet would fall asleep in the stroller in the afternoon for her nap. That did not happen. She was having too much fun. Juliet, however, loved the stroller and lounged in it all afternoon. In fact, for most of the day she lay side-ways in the stroller with one foot on the tray of the stroller. The first several pictures are of baby Juliet lounging in her stroller.

"Ahhh. So relaxed." ---Juliet

"I have not a care in the world." ---Juliet

"What a great day." --Juliet

"Who wants to smell my feet? Anyone?" ---Juliet

"I understand that you put this blanket here so that I would try to nap in the stroller. Do I look tired to you?" ---Juliet

Me, Lindsay and Bunny Bun in the middle riding the 4-wheelers (for pretend).

I loved sliding down the slide.

You have not lived until you have tried a deep-fried candy bar on a stick. I know the thought is shocking, but it is truly a wonderful experience. I ate the entire thing myself. It was gooey, messy, sweet and wonderful.

Lindsay and I stared at those bees in the hive forever.

Daddy and Ross. What else can I say?!?

Running around with Lindsay-Linds

The whole gang resting and sampling food. Jeremy had deep-fried alligator!

The animals were great. I heard a horse neigh and then couldn't stop neighing loudly, too.

Such a cute little ducky.

I am drinking milk. There is a milk booth where you pay $1 for a cup and can get it refilled all day. I love milk, so it was great for me.

Looking cute with daddy.

Me and my piggy ears.

We will be back next year! Can't wait!

High-heeled

You know you are a real grown-up lady when you wear high-heels and ride your trike! I love these shoes. I don't why mommy doesn't wear them all of the time!

"Road Closed"

Our house is located in a great neighborhood called Kingfield in SW Minneapolis. We have a fun block with lots of kids and we all try to look out for each other. Recently, the city began some major road construction on a near-by busy street (Lyndale Avenue) that is going to last for several months. The city failed to put-up adequate signage for detours, etc. So, cars began using our little street as the de facto detour for Lyndale Avenue. This caused a lot of problems. One time, we were almost hit by a speeding car as we crossed the street. Another time, a car hit another parked car and started to drive away until mommy ran after them. We were all pretty fed-up with the traffic situation. So, mommy emailed our council person, Scott Benson. Scott went into action. After several more emails with mommy, it was decided that the entire length of Garfield Avenue (our street) would be blocked off for local traffic only until the end of the construction. Here is mommy standing by our sign on our block indicating "local traffic only." The sign has worked and our traffic problem has been solved!

Juliet's Eating Solids

Eating around here is always a family affair!

"The bowl tastes almost as good as the avocados."--Juliet

"Avocados can sure make a mess." ---Juliet

"Yum."--Juliet

Juliet started eating rice cereal when she was about 5 months old. Since that time, she has had bananas, peaches, avocado, sweet potatoes, yogurt, and few tastes of ice cream. Mommy makes all of Juliet's food. She seems to love it. She gobbles it all down. I really enjoy feeding Juliet, too. The only problem is that I am not fast enough and Juliet will often grab the food off of the spoon before I have had a chance to get it to her mouth.

Here are a few other food related stories. A few days ago, I came to the table for lunch. I sat down and looked at my plate and said, "A giant blueberry. I love giant blueberries." I was so excited. Mommy later told me it was a plum. How disappointing.

I have been eating gum as a special treat. Daddy and White Bear Lake Grandma chew gum. I would pretend to chew gum by chewing up tootsie rolls or jelly beans in an exaggerated manner. I would say, "Mommy. I'm chewing gum." Well, I finally got the chance to chew real gum. I would chew that gum all day if mommy and daddy would let me. But, they finally make me spit it out after it turns into a rubbery little grey thing.

Swimming at Fuller Park

One of our favorite things to do in the summer is to go swimming. We sometimes go down to Lake Harriet and swim at the beach, and sometimes we walk to our little neighborhood park and swim at the pool there. We went to Fuller Park this weekend. In a stroke of good fortune, our neighbors Jude, Chloe and Josie and their daddy were there, too! Juliet loved trying out her floaty-thingy for the first time. She just loves to splash in the water. I loved jumping and splashing and climbing all over mommy at the pool! It was refreshing on a hot day.

Sisters are Best Friends Forever

I know that Juliet is going to be my best friend and sister forever. I even let her play with Bunny Bun. (Admittedly, it is only occasionally and only briefly). I also say nice things to her. After her nap and we hear her crying in the monitor, I will tell mommy, "Juliet is awake!" I then rush to the stairs and start racing for the top while shouting, "We are coming, Juliet!" Today, in the car, Juliet was fussing. I leaned over to her and said, "Don't worry, Juliet. I am sitting here right next to you."

P.S. Juliet and I do not sleep in the same crib, contrary to what you might think from the photo above. We were just playing in the crib together one morning as I was waking up. In fact, I no longer sleep in the crib. I am officially in a big kid bed with big kid fairy princess sheets from Auntie Katie. More blog entries to follow on that new development!

My Doctor's Appointment

I had my three-year-old doctor's appointment last week. It wasn't too bad. The doctor said that I am in great health and developing wonderfully. She noted that I could talk really well. I do have one little story to share, however. The nurse told me that I was going to need to take a vision and hearing test, which I had never done before. We were led to a small room with a desk. The nurse told me to sit at the desk, which was way too big for me. On the desk was a big piece of paper with the giant letters "H O V T." Across the room on the wall was a standard eye exam chart. The nurse told me that she was going to point to a letter on the chart on the wall and that I should point to the letter on the chart. I was a little confused. She pointed to the first letter. I said, "H" and then pointed to the "H" on the sheet on the desk. The nurse repeated this procedure several times, sometimes putting glasses on me with an eye patch on one side and then the other. Each time, the nurse would point to a letter on the chart on the wall, and I would say the letter and then point to it on the chart on my desk. The nurse then put giant earphones on my ears. I kept telling the nurse, "I can't hear. I can't hear." But, the nurse continued to give instructions. I was supposed to say, "I hear it" every time I heard a noise in the earphones and then point to the ear where the noise was coming from. Again, I thought this was awfully complicated and silly. But, I followed her instructions. Afterward, mommy and I did not know what to think about the test. It seemed very complicated for a three-year-old to do. Well, that's because it was complicated! When Dr. Mackey came into the examination room, she saw that the nurse wrote on my chart that I had passed the eye and ear exam. Dr. Mackey exclaimed, "Sophia passed! Three year olds never pass. In fact, many four year olds never pass. Great job, Sophia! You know your alphabet and I bet you know your numbers, too!" After that, I felt much better!

By the way, I am continuing to be tall. Mommy lost the chart the doctor gave to us telling my weight and height, but I think that I am 32 pounds, 4 ounces (about the 65th percentile) and 38 inches tall (about the 75th percentile).

A Picasso? A Kandinsky?

....No. It's a Sophia!

Daddy is a super great artist. I may have inherited the artistic gene, too. I love to draw, paint and do "art projects." This is my latest creation. I spent at least a 1/2 hour one night making the circles and then placing the dot in the middle. I also made lines between some of the circles and called them "connections." The next night, I added a few more things to my drawing.

Family Birthday Party

I had another birthday party last weekend. This birthday party was my "family" birthday party with the Heffelbowers and the Mulloys. Green Bay Grandma and Grandpa drove all of the way from Green Bay to help me celebrate my third birthday.

Here I am just hanging-out with Uncle Brett

Dinner was yummy. We had chicken, corn on the cob, and Italian salad.

We ate outside on our deck.

Mommy and Lindsay and me and Juliet played on the grass.

Another picture of the crowd.

Mommy made "fruit pizza" for my birthday cake. I had asked for a carrot cake, but mommy decided that the fruit pizza was a little bit healthier and mommy does not have a food processor so she did not know how to chop all of those carrots. Maybe next year.

I blew out all of the candles on my cake.

I loved opening presents the best.

I got lots of great presents, but Uncle Scott always gets the best ones. He gave to me two little remote control "tv's." I still think that they are fantastic.

It was a great party. What made things even greater is that a few days later Green Bay Grandpa drove all of the way back to Minneapolis to spend the week with us while Grandma visited her sisters in Arizona! It was such a treat to have him here. We played and played and played. Grandpa did a lot of "babysitting" while mommy and daddy had some date nights. One night, Grandpa was even able to get Juliet to go back to sleep after she woke up crying by rocking and singing to her. We went to the zoo, to Bachmans for lunch and to look at the flowers, out for Mexican, and lots and lots of walks around the neighborhood.

My Friend Daxton

I have known Daxton since I was 3 months old. Daxton is exactly one month younger than me. We meet in an "ECFE" (early childhood family education) class. I was long and thin with a head full of black hair. Daxton was bald and chunky. Our mommies became quick friends. Daxton and I have been good friends since, too. Daxton now has a baby brother (Ryder) who is three months older than my little sister, Juliet. When we all get together we have so much fun. Today, we all went to Lake Harriet late in the afternoon to play at the beach. Daxton and I had so much fun together. He pretended to be a crocodile and chased me through the water and the beach. I love chasing games. Daxton also has an excellent vocabulary and says insightful things; like today, at the beach he said, "The sun is getting low in the sky because it is going to be night soon." At one point, Dax and I were just sitting and floating in the water together looking at the wonderful things that are at the lake, while our mommies talked on the beach and played with the babies. Mommy later asked me what we were talking about in the water and I said, "We were just chit-chatting." I am glad that Dax is my friend.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sophia!

We love you so much & cannot believe that you are 3!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Juliet's Dr.'s Appointment

Juliet had her six month check-up yesterday. The doctor said that she is looking great. Her height is 26 1/2 inches and her weight is 16 pounds, 9 ounces. That puts her between the 60th and 65th percentiles for both. She may end-up being tall like me! I did not go to the doctor's appointment. Instead, Auntie Lindsay came over and played with me while mommy and Juliet went to the doctor's office.

When Juliet came home, she had two big Garfield bandaids on her legs and a little cut right above her lip. The bandaids were for her shots, and the cut on her face involved a little accident at the doctor's office. Mommy told us the story. Juliet was being examined by the doctor on the examining table. Right next to the table on the wall was attached some of the doctor's equipment----the ear and eye examination equipment, gloves, tongue depressors, etc. Juliet reached-up and pulled super hard on the cord for the ear examination equipment. She pulled so hard that she yanked it right off of the wall and it fell on her little face. She cried and cried and got a little cut. The doctor felt terrible about it. Juliet calmed down after some snuggles with mommy. Poor little girl! After that, the shots did not seem so bad!