Oh dear.

I thought I would not hear this uttered in our house until at least the pre-teen years:

"Mommy, you never let me have any fun."

---Sophia (in reference to the fact that I would not let her pull on the cord of the blinds as I was carrying her up the stairs).

Sophia Marie

Self Portrait #1

Self Portrait #2

Self Portrait #3

Mommy should not leave her lipstick in plain sight!

Goofing around with Juliet.


The girls.

Super happy.

The latest "green" fashion.


I know that this goes without saying, but we just love Sophia so much. She is a really sweet, smart, and fun kid. But, it is hard to sum her up. She is really active and loves to jump, climb, ride her new bike (with training wheels), swing on the swing-set (and pump her legs all on her own). She also loves her stuffed animals. The other day she told Adam to call her "jungle" because she loves animals so much.

She is also a really sweet big sister to Juliet. Yesterday, Juliet was having trouble with a toy that makes music when you push buttons. Sophia stood there and patiently showed Juliet how to do it, and continued to laugh along with Juliet when she finally would figure it out, long after Sophia actually thought it was funny.

Sophia also is independent and can go an entire day without hardly seeming to care or notice her dear mommy, until bedtime when she says, "Mommy, I just love you so, so much. I love you a gigantic, super duper gigantic-gigantic much."

Sophia is also the barometer of the family absorbing it all in; she misses nothing. When we are stressed, so is she. When we are happy, so is she.

She is also totally hilarious. Sophia rarely cries, even after a big fall. She will often stand up and immediately say, "I'm okay. I'm okay." So, we have developed a habit of asking her if her arm/leg/wrist can still move after she takes a particularly bad fall. Today, after she fell, Sophia did not wait for my question and instead stood up, wiggled her entire body around and said, "See? They are all moving." I could not stop laughing.

Anyway....time just suddenly seems to be moving so fast and I do not want to forget how wonderful our little 3 1/2 year old girl is.

Multitasking

"I may be able to squeeze you in for a playdate after my nap. I will have to check my calendar."

"She actually ate the sand? Shocking."

"Oh my! You don't say?"

"Ha, ha, ha...I spill my food on the floor, too!"

P.S. The phone has no battery. Juliet just loves to pretend!

Crabby (for pretend)

Never argue with a three-year-old, or you will get crabby! In these pictures, Sophia and I were pretending to be crabby. I particularly like Sophia's hand on her hip for added emphasis. I often forget the rule that you should never argue with a three-year-old, and find myself in the most ridiculous arguments with her. After all, I am the grown-up and should know better!

Why the girls love daddy soooo much

First Corn of the Season

Who says that kids won't eat their veggies????

Bye Nanny Katie!

Last week we had to saw goodbye to our dear nanny-Katie. I work two days per week at the law firm. Katie watched the girls on Wednesdays for the last nine months. I am very particular about who I let watch the girls. But, Katie was wonderful, and I felt so comfortable leaving them with her. Sophia and Juliet love being outside and so did Katie. Sophia would tell me about their adventures going to the park, the lake, playing on the swing-set or the sprinkler. Sophia called her "nanny-Katie" and would often ask if it was a "nanny-Katie day." We were so sad to see her leave, but wish her the best as she starts her latest adventure in Seattle. We will miss you!

We Love Summer!

We love summer! These are pictures Adam took over the weekend while we were playing outside at our house.

We live near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Almost every day in the summer we walk down to Lake Harriet or the Rose Gardens adjacent to the Lake. This afternoon we went to the Rose Gardens. The roses are not in bloom, but many other flowers are in the bloom and the City turned on the water fountains in the gardens. Also, just beyond the Rose Gardens is a vast park with rolling hills and shady trees. I can find a spot to sit in the grass and just watch Sophia and Juliet run and run and play and play. Living in the City makes me forget how important it is to have wide open spaces to run. At home, we are constantly telling the girls, "Don't run into the alley. Don't run into the street. Watch out for the people on the sidewalk." But, not today. Today they ran free in the hills and played in the trees. It was a good day.

Conversation with Sophia

Conversation at the Heffelbowers today:

Sophia: How was work today, daddy?

Adam: It was an interesting day.

Sophia: Why was it interesting?

Adam: I got a lot of work done, had a few meetings. It was just an interesting day.

Sophia: Did you type on the computer?

Adam: Yes, I did.

Our little Sophia is turning into quite the conversationist. She often asks Adam how he day was when he gets home from work. When someone asks Sophia, "How are you doing." Sophia answers and then asks, "How is your day going?" It is so sweet.

Fun Stories

Today we went to a First Communion party at Adam's friends' Trung and Tang's house. Adam met Trung 16 or 17 years ago when Trung and Adam both worked on the factory floor at a company called Seagate when they were about 20 years old. Trung's family had recently arrived from Vietnam. Several of Trung's other family members and friends also worked at Seagate. Adam and Trung became friends. Trung and a few others needed rides to work on most days. Adam would drive them to work. Trung's family would pack extra Vietnamese food for Adam to eat when they were on their lunch breaks.

I met Trung and his girlfriend Tang when Adam and I started dating (13 years ago). Trung and Tang got married the same summer that Adam and I got married. Adam and I were in their wedding. They have been good friends over the years. Trung is now an engineer and Tang has her own successful tailoring/dressmaking shop. They have two little boys, and the oldest had his First Communion today. We got to go to the party!

Vietnamese food is awesome. They grilled the best ribs/chicken/beef. Unfortunately, we were all so busy having fun, that we did not eat very much. Tang packed-up a bag of still hot grilled meat for us to take home. Sophia and Juliet began begging for the meat once we got into the car. I gave Sophia a piece and Juliet immediately wanted some, too. They wanted more and more and more. Every time I gave Juliet a piece of the meat, she would say, "MMMMMMM" , pop it into her mouth and chuckle gleefully. We ate the entire bag of meat on the way home.

At the party, Sophia and Juliet got to play with the other kids. Sophia was able to show off her big sister protectiveness. Sophia, Juliet and another little girl were walking and playing, when the little girl (also named Sophia) started gently hitting Juliet with a toy. Sophia put her arm around Juliet, pulled her a little closer and said, "Don't wack Juliet. Don't wack her." until the little girl stopped. Thanks for watching out for your little sis!

Finally, Juliet has learned to say "ball." To her, anything that is round is a "ball." At the party, Juliet looked up at the early evening sky, pointed at the moon and said, "ball." Every time she glanced upward and saw the moon, she would again repeat "ball." Adam and I thought it was so darling!