Sophia on Video!

Sophia's Music Program

Sophia goes to Kindergarten at a little school called SW Montessori. It is basically a one room school for three to five year olds with a kindergarten program. It was a last minute decision to send her to this school, rather then the public school we had signed her up for. We decided that we wanted a smaller, more nurturing environment for Sophia for this year. Also, Sophia is a young five year old with an August birthday, so we were unsure if putting her into a public school kindergarten was the right thing at that time.

We were lucky that the director of the school (who is also the lead teacher) allowed Sophia into the program. The Kindergarten program is usually reserved for kids who have been with the school for three years. But, Lisa had unexpected opening, and after meeting Sophia and seeing that she could read and write and was a good listener, she agreed to accept us. It has been such a blessing. Sophia has absolutely thrived at this school. The montessori materials are wonderful. The families at the school are wonderful. I am just amazed at how much Sophia is learning. The teachers have recommended that she move to First Grade. We still do not know exactly what that school will be, but we are excited for her. And, next year, Juliet will get to go to SW Montessori as preschooler!

Today was the music program at SW montessori. Sophia has been talking about it all week. She made a pig hat at school for the program. She got to chose which animal she wanted, and that is what she chose. They have been practicing so hard. Sophia was almost bursting with excitement. The program was so, so, darling. Sophia was very confident and very sweet. Later, in the afternoon, the school rented a room at a community center. We went ice skating, and had hot chocolate and treats. Sophia said that the day was as wonderful as she had imaged!

These are the four and five year olds in the school.

Sophia getting ready to perform.

Juliet and Adam in the audience.

Sophia singing a song.

Proud Mommy.

Sophia showing us where she will be standing once the show started.

Dance class

The two little tushies on the right are Juliet and Sophia.

These are just a few cute pictures of Juliet in her dance outfit and the girls at dance class. The teacher is really nice, but firm. All of the kids have fun, but must follow her directions. Sophia and Juliet are good little listeners. They are both really graceful, too.

The Little Gym

Juliet and I do a mommy and me gymnatics class every tuesday after we drop Sophia off at Kindergarten. First we go to Caribou and sit and drink hot chocolate and a skim latte. Then, we head off for some gymnastics. Juliet likes the class and has become more comfortable doing things on her own in the gym. She likes to be first and to be the teacher's helper. Today was the last day of class, and she got her medal. I used to do these classes with Sophia when she was a toddler, so I often think of her while Juliet and I are in class together.

Random Pictures for a Random Day

These are pictures from Adam's iPhone from the last few months:

Juliet fell asleep in the car today on the way to her first "drop off" birthday party. She did great!

Last weekend we went to the Como conservatory. It is a great place to go in the winter in an attempt to pretend that winter is not really happening.

Look at those big blue eyes!



Sophia has really blue eyes, too. She told me last night, "my friends say they look like turquoise." I am just impressed she has friends who know the color turquoise.

Cute, as always.

Auntie Chris. This is the newest member of the Heffelbower clan: Whitney Ann Finneman. She loved to suck on my shirt. She was born at the end of the November.

Yes, it is cold here. Really, really cold. And, we don't mess around. Notice Sophia's snow pants, thick winter coat, hat and gloves. Notice my fake-fur lined boots, down coat, big gloves, and warm hat. This picture was taken after the mega-snow storm a few weeks ago.

The problem with being the blogger and the photographer in the family, is that there are few pictures taken of me. That's okay, except I do not want the girls to look back at the blog and wonder where I was! So, these are few pictures of me and the girls.

Today was a hectic day. First, we all have bad colds. That means that Juliet was up about five times last night, requesting her infamous "mamadaddy" until we come. She ultimately ended up in bed with us at about five in the morning, and fell asleep for another couple of hours. But, the minute she was in the car, she fell asleep.

Second, the girls had dance class this morning. We are not a very scheduled family, and do not sign the kids up for much. But, Sophia has been begging me to do a dance class, and this class she and Juliet could do together. It is at a Minneapolis community center. The class is so cute and they are learning some real ballet moves. Juliet came out of class once to tell me, "Mommy! I just whistled," and then promptly ran back to class.

Third, Sophia's friend Rory invited both Sophia and Juliet to her birthday party at a suburban community center. This is the first time that Juliet has been to a "drop off" birthday party. She did great, mostly because big sister Sophia was there. It was a big day! We are planning a much more relaxed "family day" tomorrow.

Pinkalicious

At bedtime, we always read bedtime stories. One of the favorite stories is a book called "Pinkalicious." In that book, a little girl loves pink so much, and she eats so many pink cupcakes, she turns pink. Sophia and Juliet know the story almost by heart. Thus, I often pause at places in the book and one of them provides the next word in the story.

In the story, after the little girl turned pink, her mother took her straight to the doctor. The doctor looked at the girl and said, "You have a very rare and acute case of ......" At this point, I paused in book, expecting Juliet to fill-in the correct word, which is "pinkatitis." Instead, she says, "diarrhea." So the line went, "You have a very rare and acute case of....diarrhea." I could not stop laughing. Sophia then chimes in and says, "Just call me 'stinkerella.'" In the book, the correct line is "Just call me pinkerella." I was laughing so hard that I was crying and the girls actually became a little concerned.