The Adventures of Sophia & Juliet

Christmas Day Presents

2011-12-26T12:44:00.002-06:00

HIGH TECH

(Santa gave me an ipad)

LOW TECH
(Santa gave the girls "Lets Go Fishing")

NO TECH

(We all received the present of a beautiful sunny day to go for a jog around Lake Harriet!)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T21:05:00.004-06:00

What a great Christmas Eve:

New Christmas dresses.

40 degree weather.

35 minute church service with great singing.

Cute little niece Whitney loving her second Christmas.

Good food and great family at the in-laws, with Scott learning to play the jaw-harp.

Brave Sophia!

2011-12-18T20:33:00.003-06:00

Sophia was invited to a "climbing" birthday party last weekend. She told me over and over again that she was not going to climb. She changed her mind. I cannot even count the number of times she climbed those walls. Each time, she got a little higher. I also tried to climb and only got two feet off of the ground. I later learned that you have to push with your legs and not pull with your arms. Sophia wants to go again soon--maybe I will try again, too!

Juliet's Religious Symbolism Dream

2011-11-07T22:37:00.002-06:00

Juliet has been sick and had a fever last night. This morning, she came into our room wanting to tell us about her dream that may have been made more vivid by her fever. There is so much religious symbolism in her dream:

Sophia and I were walking in the woods. We heard thump sounds. Snakes that eat people were trying to get us! Mommy and daddy were there, too. We saw a church in the woods and went inside to be safe from the snakes. The snakes wanted to get inside. I asked the snakes if they wanted to be friends. I told them that they could not eat us. The snakes became my friends and I gave them a boost get them into the church window.

I am not exactly sure what it means. We do not go to church very often, but went to church a week ago with Adam's parents. Maybe that precipitated the dream.

Little Witches

2011-11-01T22:02:00.002-05:00

Halloween is one of the girls' favorite holidays. They cannot believe that they get to dress up, stay up late, get free candy from strangers, and eats lots o' sugar. My mom made their adorable costumes. They told people that they were "bad witches." It was a fun night!

Silly, silly, girls

2011-09-06T21:45:00.005-05:00

These girls can be silly, and I mean really silly. There are two stories that happened this summer that made me laugh so hard, that I have to share them now.

1. One night, as I was finishing reading books to the girls in my bed, Adam came into the room. Juliet jumped in his arms and Adam started leading her out of the bedroom. As she was leaving, she turned to Sophia and me and said, "See ya next time, ya booty-stinks!" I have no idea where that came from, but it made me laugh so hard.

2. The second funny thing happened while we were in Door County. One night the girls were just wild and would not settle down. I was getting frustrated and gave them time-outs in two separate, but adjoining chairs. During their time-out, they were whispering secretly to each other. When I told that they could get out of time-out, they both jumped up out of their respective chairs, began to dance, and chanted, "Cha-cha, cha-cha, cha-cha, we do not like ma-ma," at which point they fell on the floor in fits of hysterical laughter. Needless to say, I heard that chant oft repeated for the rest of the weekend in Door County.

Sophia's First Day of First Grade

2011-09-06T21:35:00.003-05:00

Sophia officially started first grade at Countryside today. She really was not too nervous about it. At the end of the day, she said that she had a "great" day. Juliet, however, told me that she was "unhappy" because she missed Sophia today.

I tried to get Sophia to tell me about her day, but she gave very little information. Here is what I know:

She got to play on the playground 4 times.

She enjoyed her snack and ate it all.

The lunchroom was noisy and she sat in the wrong spot, but it was no big deal.

She went to music class, which has a big computer.

She made two friends, but she can't remember their names.

She likes her teacher.

She was cold in the morning, but was fine for the rest of the day.

Her "pod" of desks is the "green crayon" pod.

She was quiet for most of the day, but talked to some friends.

She wrote one thing that said, "School is fun because I love my friends" (written phonetically).

My guess is that we will have more random facts after tomorrow!

Juliet's 1st Day of Preschool

2011-09-04T09:12:00.004-05:00

Juliet had orientation for preschool on Tuesday and her first official day at school on Friday. She did not cry when I dropped her off, but she did give me an extra long hug. I, however, got a little chocked-up. Juliet's preschool is where Sophia went to kindergarten last year. We love SW Montessori and are looking forward to a great year!

What a difference a week and a half makes!

2011-09-03T16:44:00.003-05:00

Sophia officially has no front teeth! She lost the right top one last night. Juliet bonked her in the face and it fell out. In fact, that is how three out of four of her teeth have fallen out! She looks adorable, but is having a bit of a hard time eating.

What a difference a few hours can make!

2011-08-17T22:23:00.003-05:00

5:00 pm: one loose tooth

8:00 pm: one missing tooth!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sophia: Part III

2011-08-17T21:53:00.008-05:00

Sophia reading Jackson's birthday card

Grier and Charlotte helping Sophia with her present

Kate and Andie opening their presents with Sophia

Sophia does not like cake. Instead, she asked for brownies. So, I made homemade brownies and Sophia loved them. In fact, all of the kids loved them and many asked for seconds!

These are Sophia's good friends from school: Clara and Lucy

Happy 6th Birthday, Sweet Sophia: Part II

2011-08-07T22:38:00.005-05:00

These kids are so darn cute!

Sophia walking the balance beam and Juliet patiently waiting her turn.

Juliet making her big leap!

Sophia and the girls doing their flips.

The big parachute!

Waiting for the "air track" to blow up so that they can jump, jump, jump!

Happy 6th Birthday, Sweet Sophia: Part I

2011-08-06T22:32:00.003-05:00

Sophia could barely sleep last night because she was so excited for her birthday. She got up bright and early. First we opened presents.

Juliet gave Sophia an otter stuffed animal (one of the few stuffed animal friends that she does not own). I gave her a gold necklace for her locket that auntie Katie gave her for her baptism (and I wanted to give her gold on her golden birthday). Adam gave her a pop-up fairy book.

Sophia waiting to enter "The Little Gym" for her kid birthday party. The door says, "Welcome! Happy Birthday, Sophia!"

My six year old and me.

The Heffelbower Family

Sophia has been talking about her birthday for months! She went to lots of birthday parties this year at school and had to patiently wait until her own summer birthday arrived. She frequently exclaimed that today was "the best day of her life."

Ballet Recital

2011-05-21T23:20:00.002-05:00

The little chickens pecking with their beaks.

Teacher Laura put Sophia as the leader of all of the dances.

Juliet the kangaroo!

Sophia the kangaroo!

The girls had their recital for their dance class this morning at the Linden Hills Community Center. It was so darling. They did a chicken dance, kangaroo dance, and a unicorn dance. There were costumes for each dance. Sophia was one of the older kids, and the teacher put her as the leader of all of the dances. I tried to take videos, but I am not very good at doing it and they did not turn out. Sophia had been complaining about going to dance class for the last few weeks, but said that she really liked the recital today. She may just need to learn that it takes a lot of hard work before you get to have the enjoyment of the recital! We are taking a break from all organized activities in the summer, and we will see if we continue dance in the fall. I personally love it and hope that they want to continue.

Kindergarten Graduation: Part III

2011-05-21T23:02:00.003-05:00

Sophia, Kate, and Juliet petting the animals.

Sophia riding on the pony.

Juliet having fun on the pony.

Juliet loves the pony ride.

Juliet petting the pony.
Mrs. Lisa had pony rides and a few farm animals at the park for the kids. Juliet was so excited about the pony rides. For days before the graduation she would talk about the pony rides. She told us that her pony was going to be named "rainbow" and would be "rainbow colored." The pony would be "two years old" and she was going to "race the pony." I was a little worried that she was going to be disappointed with a grey pony named "Frosty" who was not a race horse, but she was not disappointed. She didn't even notice that he wasn't rainbow-colored.

Immediately after the graduation, she starting running up the hill saying that she thought she saw the pony and wanted the pony ride right away. She was the first kid there and got the very first pony ride. She pet the pony for awhile before she rode it. She was so happy. Sophia rode the pony, too, but was not as excited about it.

By the way, the crown Juliet is wearing in these photos is an accessory that Juliet wears almost every day. She wears it like a headband and wears it everywhere --school, the park, the grocery store, lounging around at home. I guess that every moment of every day is a good time to wear a crown!

Kindergarten Graduation: Part II

2011-05-21T22:53:00.003-05:00

Juliet having fun at the park. She wants to be a SW Montessori kid, too. When the kids sat on the long rope in the grass to start their singing, Juliet tried to sit there too. She could not hide her disappointment when she had to sit with the moms and dads and siblings of the SW Montessori kids instead.

Sophia and Liv.

Goofy.

Waiting in line for a balloon animal.

Having too much fun with her girlfriends.

Kindergarten Graduation: Part I

2011-05-21T22:35:00.004-05:00

Sophia, Mrs. Heather, and Kate banging on the drums.

Mrs. Lisa presenting Sophia with her diploma and cap.

Inspecting her diploma.

Proud Sophia.

Sophia had a great year at SW Montessori. She made so many friends and learned so many new things. Sophia could read going into Kindergarten, but now she excels at it. She also has done really well on her spelling tests and has learned math and science skills . She really enjoyed going to school everyday. Sophia had seven kids in her graduation class, among the about 35 kids in her school. The big end of the year party was last Thursday night at a park in Minneapolis. The kids sang songs, played on the park equipment and had pony rides! We are so proud of Sophia. Next year, Sophia is off to First Grade in the public schools. But, we still get to be a part of SW Montessori because Juliet will go in the Fall!

Julietisms

2011-05-03T12:19:00.004-05:00

Adam: "Juliet, can you please put your books away?"

Juliet: "Nokay."

Adam: "Thank you."

Juliet: "No! I said 'nokay.' "

Adam: "What does 'nokay' mean?"

Juliet: "It means 'no, I don't want to do that.' "

*****

Juliet: "Mommy, I got hurt when I fell off the swing."

Chris: "Did you cry?"

Juliet: "I did a 'dry cry.' "

Chris: "What is a 'dry cry?' "

Juliet: "It is when you cry with no tears. You do that when you get hurt only a little bit."

*****

At a family outing to Bachmans:

Juliet: "Mommy, those flowers smell like chocolate! Those flowers smell like grapes! Those flowers smell like butt!"

*****

Juliet has several names for me including the traditional "Mama" and "Mommy." But, she also like to call me "Mama-sha-cong-a." I cannot really remember how it started.

****

Juliet: "Pee-pee...pee-pee...pee-pee."

Chris: "Juliet, no potty talk."

Juliet. "It's not potty talk! I am saying the letter P."

Flower Show

2011-03-29T22:32:00.003-05:00

Every year we go to the flower show at Macy's in Downtown Minneapolis. This year, we thought we were being smart by getting there right at noon on the opening day to beat the crowds. It turns out that we were not that smart and that people had been lining up before the store even opened to go to the flower show. So, we decided to grab a bite to eat and stock up on some candy for the long line. It ended up that the line, while very long, only took about 25 minutes. The kids were fully sugared-up to enjoy the colorful experience at the flower show.

Dancing at the flower show.

Notice that Sophia has her around Juliet's shoulder and Juliet is grabbing her hand. They really do love each other a lot.

Another little snuggle party.

A sample of the amazing flowers at the show.

The three musketeers.

I Heart Sophia

2011-03-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

Three boys at Sophia's school have expressed their sincere love for her. This means that in the first 7 months of Sophia's Kindergarten experience, more boys have expressed their love for her than in my entire 36 years of living. I think we may be in trouble. First, it was Aruel (5 yrs old) who told Sophia that he was going to marry her. Sophia promptly started to cry and told her teacher that she did not want marry Aruel. Mrs. Lisa informed Sophia that she could marry whomever she wanted, but that she should not worry about this because she had a long, long time before she needed to chose. Second, Sophia came home from school one day and said that Sam (3 yrs old) told her that he loved her. This time, she seemed unfazed by the profession of love and did not elaborate further. Then, Sophia came home recently with the following items from school. The bottom picture is a work of art that she and Grier (5) worked on together. One would draw one thing, and then the other drew the next, until they created the drawing together. We had just had a discussion with Sophia the night before about what "BFF" means (Best Friends Forever) because the letters were written on her new pair of slippers. She informed Grier what that meant, and they incorporated it into their drawing. Then, Grier put into her drawer the next drawing that he did on his own: a big heart with a arrow through it and "BFF" on top. Apparently, just to make sure there was no question about it, Grier put little cut-outs in Sophia's drawer, shown in the top photo. One says, "I love you." Another, "BFF: Sophia, Grier." Another: "BFF Club." And another appears to be a boat with the initials "S and G" on it. I think it is so cute that I can hardly stand it!

A few (unexpected) new things

2011-03-27T21:59:00.002-05:00

New Thing Number 1: A New Car

On February 28th, Juliet and I were in a car accident. As I was entering an intersection on a green light, a driver did not see me and took a left turn directly in front of me. I smashed into his passenger side door. Juliet screamed and initially complained that her shoulders hurt, but she is okay. I was able to drive my little Corolla home, but it was ultimately totaled by the insurance company because of significant frame damage. Luckily, the driver's insurance company has taken full responsibility and, after a bit of haggling, the company compensated me fairly for my car. So, we had to go car shopping and we opted for a bigger (and brighter) car.

Adam and I did some car shopping together, but he picked out the car for me. He told me that it was "blue," but failed to mention that the color actually is called "electric blue." I often lose my car in big parking lots, so the color will come in handy. The color has taken a bit of getting used to, but I like my Ford Escape! The only problem is that I prided myself on my ability to parallel park with ease, but I am nervous to try with the big Escape. I think I will practice this Spring.

Having never been in a semi-serious car accident, I did not realize that whip-lash takes a few days to really set in. While I had initially thought that my most serious injuries were to my knees, which hit the dash board, the whip lash quickly became very painful. My parents were kind enough to interrupt their wintering in Arizona to take care of me and the girls for week shortly after the accident. I am receiving therapy and and will, hopefully, get better over the next few months.

A few days after the accident I was resting in bed and Juliet snuggled up next to me and read me some books. At one point, she looked me and said, "I forgive him." I said, "Who do you forgive?" She said, "I forgive that boy who hit us in the car crash." I thought that was so sweet and unexpected for her to say!

New Thing Number 2: Carpeting in our Bedroom:

We when first moved into our house 9 years ago we put new carpeting in our bedroom. I had it in my head that I wanted color, so we decided on light green carpeting and peach walls. I liked it for a long time, but then we decided to sell our house. So, we repainted the walls white, but kept the green carpeting. Then, on Monday Juliet accidentally knocked over the iron and it landed on the light green carpeting. She was okay, but it burned the carpeting. It did not look good. We finally decided it was time for some new stuff. Thus, the green has been replaced with a dark cream and looks great.

We are hoping for some good luck in the next month, because our pocket-book is feeling the pinch from all of our accidents!

Animal Friends

2011-02-26T22:13:00.003-06:00

Sophia and a small portion of her stuffed animals.

Sophia and Juliet pretending to be puppies; Adam is taking them for a walk.

Sophia and her animals "on the train."

Juliet and her animals "on the train."

The girls love their stuffed animals and they love to pretend to be animals. Here are a few pictures to prove it.

Sleeping Beauties

2011-02-26T22:01:00.002-06:00

Juliet with her puppies: Woofie and Fetch

Sophia with her bunnies: Bunny Bun and Baby Bunny Bun

Sophia and Juliet share a room, and they love it. On most nights, they talk and giggle themselves to sleep. I love to listen to them. I also think they look like little angels when they sleep.

Conversation with Juliet

2011-02-14T21:11:00.002-06:00

Juliet (getting out of the car): Oh, look! The moon followed us home. I didn't even realize that!

Adam: Oh, that's great! Juliet, I love hearing you talk.

Juliet: Thanks. I do have a beautiful voice.

Happy Vietnamese New Year!

2011-02-05T20:25:00.003-06:00

I occasionally go to a nail salon near our house called "Nails Only." It is nice, inexpensive, and owned by a Vietnamese couple. I am on their mailing list. This year we received an invitation from the owner to attend a Vietnamese New Year's celebration at a restaurant, Lucky Dragon, for a small fee. I thought it sounded great. So we went. It lived up to my expectations. It was a large event with almost 500 people in attendance (we were 4 of about 20 non-Asian people). At first there was several speeches, including one from guest speaker Senator Amy Klobuchar (who I shook hands with!). There was also traditional and modern Vietnamese music.

Then there was the dragon dance, which was as fabulous as it sounds. Sophia and Juliet were absolutely mesmerized. At one point, a red dragon came close to us; Juliet hugged Adam tight and exclaimed, "Daddy! Hide! Hide!" Once she understood that the dragons were just kids in a costume, she became obsessed. Over and over again she asked if she could wear the dragon costume. Finally, Adam told her they could try to make one at home. I do not know exactly how that is going to happen!

After the dragon dance, our seven course meal began. The girls tried the first few courses and then were too full. I sat next to an interesting women named Phuc (pronounced fu), who is a librarian at the Richfield library near our house. I am going to email her tomorrow, because she plans all of the fun Asian cultural activities at the library and wants to include us! Sophia and Juliet sat very patiently during the three hour dinner, and said they had a great time.

Course #2: Potstickers. Yum!

The Dragon Dance

Juliet ate a lot of her seafood soup. Sophia tried one bite, but only because I made her!

Dragon Sophia. She made the mask at school when they were talking about the Chinese new year.

More of the Dragon dance. Sophia stayed on the chair and kept her distance.

Waiting for dinner. I purchased my Vietnamese dress over ten years ago when I was in a Vietnamese wedding of one of Adam's friends. In the past, I wore it all of the time. I dusted it off, and lo and behold, it still fit!

Juliet Can Write Her Name!

2011-02-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

Adam has been helping her learn to write (I have been helping her learn her letters and sounds). Juliet has been doing a great job learning her letters. Now, she can write her name! She has been able to write her name at home for the last few weeks. But when we got this picture from school with Juliet's name written on it, we knew that she REALLY knew how to write her name! It really is so rewarding being able to teach your kids. Their little brains really want to learn.

Birthdays!

2011-02-01T20:44:00.004-06:00

On January 29, Juliet turned 3 and Adam turned 38 (Sophia was telling the teachers at school that he was turning 48). It is hard to believe that lil' Miss Juliet is now three years old! On Saturday, we had a little birthday party for her at build-a-bear at the Mall of America. The mall was unusually crazy and crowded, but it was fun. Juliet's friends Maxwell and Jackson joined in the fun, too. The next day, we had brunch with the Heffelbower gang at Uptown Cafeteria. It was so much fun. And as you will see from the pictures, the cotton candy given to the birthday crew made it extra fun.

Juliet enjoying her cotton candy at the Uptown Cafeteria. I can only assume that her mouth is wide open behind this puff of cotton candy.

The Heffelbower gang.

Juliet quickly became a sticky mess.

Lindsay and baby Whitney, who slept the entire time.

Juliet in a birthday outfit from Jada, Jon, Jackson and Maxwell.

This picture is not staged. It looks like their entire heads have been eaten by cotton candy.

Yum!

Sophia and Juliet playing with their new American Girl doll outfits from Green Bay Grandma and Grandpa.

Sophia was so, so, so excited to give Juliet the birthday present that she picked out herself: a little brown beagle puppy, which Juliet named "Fetch."

Sophia also made Juliet a card at school. She drew a picture of Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall. I am not sure who was more excited about Juliet's birthday--Juliet or Sophia!

Sophia on Video!

2011-01-22T22:09:00.001-06:00

Sophia's Music Program

2011-01-22T19:44:00.003-06:00

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

2011-01-19T21:37:00.003-06:00

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

2011-01-18T22:04:00.003-06:00

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

2011-01-15T21:00:00.004-06:00

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

2011-01-09T21:21:00.005-06:00

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.

Christmas In Green Bay

2010-12-30T20:50:00.000-06:00

Our little Santa Juliet. She was ho ho ho'ing the entire week before we left for Green Bay.

Always silly Sophia.

The sisters at church.

In their Christmas jammies on Christmas morning, waiting to open presents.

Playing with their new pillow pets in their new ballet outfits.

Grandma playing with the girls and their new American Girl Dolls from Grandma and Grandpa.

Opening the American Girls Dolls. Juliet has Elizabeth and Sophia has Felicity.

Breakfast with Grandpa. They let Adam and me sleep in.

Grandpa the wild horse. We haven't asked if he has needed to go to the chiropractor.

Work Holiday Party

2010-12-16T19:09:00.002-06:00

From left to right is Adam, me, my good friend Carrie and her husband, Shari and her husband Bruce. Bruce is the head of the litigation department, and I have been working for him for 10 years.

There are so few photos of Adam and me. Here is one!

I like my job, which I is why I continue to do it. It would be very difficult for me to work if I did not like my job, because my job takes me away from the girls. I am lucky that I have a flexible part time schedule and interesting work. The work party was fun, albeit a little crazy because it was snowing pretty hard before, during, and after.

Too cute

2010-12-15T21:27:00.002-06:00

This blog is great for remembering the cute things the girls say:

At Sophia's school, they were talking about peace. They asked all of the kids to think of a time they felt peaceful, write it down, and draw a picture. Sophia wrote "running with Juliet" and drew a picture of them running together. It made me so happy to look at it.

*************

Adam, Sophia, and Juliet were snuggled on a chair watching the Vikings game together. I sat down near them on the couch. A minute later Juliet said, "Mama, you don't have anybody." She crawled off of Adam's chair and snuggled on my lap on the couch, presumably, so that I would "have somebody."

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-14T21:05:00.001-06:00

We are a little obsessed with our Christmas tree this year. We have lived in our house nine years and this is only the second time we have had a tree. When we were young and career-focused, we had no time for a tree. Then, we had little kids and became safety focused, and a tree in our little house was not in the cards. But, this year the stars aligned, and we got a tree. We decided to get the smallest tree we could find a Bachmans. This one is about 6 feet tall and totally perfect in every way. The girls had so much fun putting on the ornaments and still have fun rearranging them on the tree. We love our little tree!

Adam's Little Helper

2010-12-13T21:21:00.000-06:00

Sophia helped Adam paint the hallway during the storm. She was a great helper. And, yes, that is princess underwear on her head. Adam improvised a "hat" to keep the paint off of her hair (she did not want to ruin one of her good hats). She looks mad in this picture because she was bugged that I had interrupted her painting.

Here is Adam looking very happy doing his painting. In reality, he was getting frustrated with the high ceiling in the stairway. It is still a work in progress.

Snowed-In

2010-12-12T21:07:00.002-06:00

Post-storm checking out the snow piles

Cold, but having fun.

From the girls' bedroom window. It looks more impressive in real life.

Mid-storm

The airport was closed; the city buses stopped running; the snow plows couldn't operate; and the roof of the metrodome fell in! It was quite the storm! 17 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. All the neighbors helped each other out. Diane helped snow-plow out our cars. Adam helped Tom push his car out of the street and Jessie plowed the sidewalk. What a weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T21:48:00.003-06:00

At school, both Juliet and Sophia were asked what they were thankful for. Here is what they said:

Juliet
I am thankful for...Mama.

Sophia
I am thankful for...my family because my sister and me can jump on the bed while we're waiting for the bath!

Adam and I are thankful for two sweet little girls.

Sophia's Deep Thoughts

2010-11-21T20:09:00.004-06:00

Sophia has a lot of deep thoughts:

The other day, I was talking to Sophia about a trip we took to Arizona when she was six months old. She asked if Juliet went on the trip, too. I said, "No, Juliet was not born yet." She replied, "She was in your tummy, right?" I said, "No. Juliet was not in my tummy." Totally perplexed, Sophia asked, "Then where WAS she?" I did not know how to answer. But, really, where WAS Juliet before she was born? I still think about it.

At school, Sophia has a geography lesson every week. She likes to talk to us about places and the earth. The other day she eagerly asked Adam and me, "Do you know who owns the earth?" We said that we didn't. She said, "No one owns the earth! Or, maybe the sky owns the earth!"

Sophia keeps us thinking!

Sophia's Kindergarten Experience

2010-11-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

Sophia has a "drawer" at school. Everyday, she pulls out all of the things she did in school. The other day she brought this home. It is sheet of paper where she sounded out and and wrote all of our names:

Adaum

Cras

Sophia

Juliet

She did the same thing for this exercise. They were talking about "action" words in her Kindergarten class. Here is what she wrote:

I can...

1. Syam (swim)

2. run

3. red (read)

4. Dro (draw)

5. Play

She also drew a picture of herself swimming at the lake. I told Sophia that she is learning more than I did in Kindergarten. She responded, "You should have gone to Montessori."

Juliet the Artist

2010-11-06T21:47:00.002-05:00

Juliet likes to draw. She likes to draw people and draws the cutest little faces. She will draw a face and say, "That's Mommy, or that's Daddy, or that's Sophia."

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T19:50:00.003-05:00

The two little princesses in dresses made by Green Bay Grandma

Having way too much fun!

Getting candy with the neighbor kids

And they are off!

The loot.

Adam went trick or treating with the girls this year, and I stayed behind to hand out treats. The girls were so excited to get and eat candy. They started trick or treating with some of their favorite neighborhood kids (the Bitneys). Juliet's little winter boots, which she insisted on wearing, made her fall a few times. Adam asked if there was anything he could do to help her. She relied, "When I fall, just say 'whoa.'"

Tooth Fairy Tonight

2010-10-26T21:00:00.004-05:00

Sophia lost her tooth today at school. She noticed her loose tooth a few weeks ago and was so excited about it. Everyday she would ask when her tooth was going to fall out, and everyday we would tell her in a few weeks. Well...today her tooth was hanging by a thread. Here is the synopsis of her story about losing her tooth today:

"I was sitting at a table with Lucy. We were drawing pictures of pumpkins. I was moving my tooth back and forth with my tongue. Suddenly, it just popped right out of my mouth! (gesturing with her finger showing an arc leading from her mouth to the table) It landed on the table right between Lucy and me. She was shocked! I picked up the tooth and showed Mrs. Margie, who told me to get a drink of water. I showed Ava and Johnny my tooth, too. Mrs. Margie then put my tooth in an envelope."

What a great story! I wonder what the tooth fairy will bring...

A few cute pictures and cute stories

2010-10-19T21:59:00.002-05:00

Those were the cute pictures. Here are the cute stories.

Over the last few weeks, things at work have been really busy and I have had to work more than I would have liked. I had to go into work one Saturday and was feeling a little sad about it. Sophia was feeling a little sad that I would not be a part of "family day," too. So, I explained to Sophia that sometimes I had to work even when I did not want to because when I worked, I made money. I told her that the money I made paid for things like our house, new clothes and new toys. As I was leaving, Sophia came running after me outside shouting, "Goodbye, Mommy. Make lots of money!" That made me laugh.

The other day, Adam took the girls to pick up a pizza at Papa Murphys. Sophia only likes peperoni pizza. If you try to give her a pizza with vegetables or spices on it, she'll say, "Yuck. There's grass on it," and refuse to eat it. So, Adam decided to play a little joke on them, hoping that that Papa Murphy's clerk would go along with it. He walked up to the counter and said, "I would like to order one large POOPeroni pizza." At this point, the kids start frantically shouting, "No, Daddy! We want peperoni! Not pooperoni!" Adam turns to the clerk and says, "I am sorry, we would like a peperoni pizza; not a pooperoni pizza." This story is mostly funny because I cannot believe that Adam did this. It just goes to show what he will do to get a good laugh from the kids!

Summer Recap Part III -- Sophia Turns 5!

2010-10-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

On August 6, 2010, Sophia turned five. Turning five seems like a milestone to me. My fifth birthday is the first birthday that I can remember. I remember waking up and coming downstairs to find a brand new pink bike and a chocolate cake with the number five written in m&m's. We recreated the cake for Sophia's birthday. We had big family party for Sophia. We served a traditional Vietnamese bbq that Adam and I had several times at parties of his Vietnamese friends. The beef, noodles, egg rolls and watermelon were delicious! Sophia loved opening presents, and got so many presents. We later had a kid party for her. She loved that, too. We had a "treasure hunt" where the kids had to find little wooden boxes that had a little special rock inside. The kids loved it, but a party of 8 kids was a little crazy.

Summer Recap Part II -- Butterflies

2010-10-14T22:08:00.000-05:00

My mom finds monarch butterfly eggs, raises them to butterflies, and sets them free. We were in Green Bay when a few Chrysalises opened and butterflies emerged. The girls loved having the monarchs rest on their hands and shirts as the butterflies wings dried. Later, my mom gave us our very own chrysalis. If you have not seen a monarch chrysalis, you should. They are amazingly beautiful and look like a little piece of jewelry. We lucked-out and happened to be looking at the chrysalis at the very moment our butterfly emerged. Sophia and Juliet named it "Butterpeep," which is a combination of Sophia's suggestion for a name (Buttercup) and Juliet's suggestion (peep). Now, every time they see a monarch they point and say, "Its Butterpeep!"

Summer Recap Part I -- Katie's Wedding

2010-10-13T21:54:00.001-05:00

Sophia trying out Katie's veil.

The Heffs. Juliet was sick and Sophia was worn-out from all of the pictures.

The happy couple

We had a busy summer; it was so busy that I barely had time to blog! Now that it is Fall, I decided to do a little recap of some highlights of this summer. One big event was Katie and Darin's wedding in Chicago in June. It was a stunningly beautiful event. The church was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, and the view of Lake Michigan was beautiful. But, the thing I may remember most was the school bus. My parents rented a big yellow school bus, and Aunt Monica decorated the outside with "just married" signs. We all rode the bus from the hotel to the church and then to the reception. We sang, laughed and just generally had a wonderful time.

Sophia --- Renaissance Girl

2010-10-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

Sophia does a lot of things well. She is a good artist. In the top picture, she drew "a volcano shooting out of the ocean." She also loves to read, and she is getting really good at it. Sophia continues to do well at school: she has a lot friends, and teacher Lisa said that Sophia is a "very good student."

Our Little Juliet

2010-10-11T21:17:00.005-05:00

Juliet is growing, growing, growing. She suddenly seems like a "big kid." She loves to tell people that she is "two and a half." She tells everyone that she has a big sister named "Fophia" (she can't say the 's'). She loves to jump in the leaves, run barefoot, snuggle with the kitty (a little too hard), and talk, talk, talk. We love our Juliet!

Juliet's New Trick

2010-09-12T21:38:00.002-05:00

Juliet learned how to climb out of her crib yesterday. Here's what happened. Adam tucked Juliet in for her nap and went outside to mow the lawn. Sophia and I left to run some errands. After a little while, Adam came inside to check on Juliet to make sure that she wasn't crying. She wasn't. Instead, she was wandering around downstairs. She said that she had a poopy diaper. Adam asked how she climbed out of the crib. She said that she just slid down. Later, she and Sophia demonstrated for us:

This is a picture of the girls getting into the crib--head first! Juliet calls it "dunking." It is also a new trick.

Here Juliet is demonstrating how to get out of her crib. First, she pulls herself up at the corner, using her arm strength.

Second, she flips around and slowly slides herself down the crib.

Third, she elegantly steps down.

Finally, a big "ta-da!"

I am proud of her for being so strong, innovative and confident. But, I am feeling a little sad for me because I am foreshadowing the end of Juliet's naps!

Kindergarten: Day Four

2010-09-07T21:54:00.002-05:00

This is Sophia with a pillow over her head. We had to wake her up at 7:45 am so that she could be at school by 8:30. She put a pillow over her head to, presumably, try to get a little more sleep. Luckily, school is only 5 minutes from our house. She was really tired and did not want to get up. I am not an early riser either, and she has definitely inherited that trait from me. School continues to go well. She is making new friends and enjoying the Montessori materials.

On the First Day of Kindergarten...

2010-09-01T21:09:00.003-05:00

...wear a sparkly skirt,

....and a sparkly shirt.

...be your goofy self,

...and bring a backpack full of your favorite stuffed animals!

Sophia had a great day on her first day of kindergarten. As I was leaving, she said, "I think I am going to like school." She made new friends, played, drew and had an all-around good day. She did say that there were a few times that she thought about me and she wanted to cry, but she didn't. She said she told herself "don't cry, don't cry" and it worked it. That made me feel a little sad, but I am so proud of her (and feel glad that I am missed!).

Quote of the Day

2010-07-29T22:10:00.003-05:00

"God, thank you for getting born so many great people."

Sophia Heffelbower (sitting at the table eating dinner and having a deep thought)

Sophiaisms

2010-06-17T11:03:00.004-05:00

Here are a few things overheard at our house yesterday:

We were at the rose gardens. The girls were running around the grassy hills. When it was time to leave, Sophia was walking really, really slowly. There was a point where Juliet and I walked far ahead of her, and Sophia could not see us. When Sophia caught up with us, this is what she said:

Sophia: "When I was walking, and I could not see you, I was daydreaming. I was daydreaming that I was lost. Then, all of the animals came to help me find the way back to you. All of the animals came around me to help me: the squirrels, the birds and raccoons, but not the bugs."

Sophia has quite the imagination!

*****************

Adam had a bit of a frustrating time last night getting the girls to listen when they were in the bath and getting ready for bed. As Adam was putting Sophia to sleep, he told Sophia, "I was not a very good dad today." Here was Sophia's response:

Sophia: "No, you weren't. You wanted to be a good daddy, and you tried your best, but it just didn't work out."

Better luck next time, Adam.

******************
I was downstairs doing the dishes and the girls were coming down the stairs. Suddenly, I hear a "thud, thud, thud," and Sophia crying. I saw Sophia on the landing clutching her leg. I asked her what had happened. Here was her response:

Sophia: "I bounced down the stairs like a ball!"

Poor, Sophia. She quickly recovered with a small bruise on her leg.

There is never a dull moment (or conversation) with little Miss Sophia in the house.

Julietisms

2010-05-31T18:50:00.000-05:00

Here are a few things overheard at our house these days:

Me: "You need to get into your carseat. We are going to the library!"

Juliet (mad about getting into her carseat): "Mommy, I don't like you! Go to work!"

***********

Juliet (in her crib at nap time): "Mommy, I having problems! Mommy, I having problems!"

Me: "Juliet, what is wrong?"

Juliet: "I having problems. There are MONSTERS in my crib!"

Well, I guess that is a problem!

***********
Juliet: "Mommy, I love you so much. As much as an alligator!"

***********

The Pug (and nanny Megan)

2010-03-22T20:41:00.003-05:00

Megan comes over to our house on Mondays to watch the girls while I go to work. Megan loves to take the girls outside, read books, and talk about her pug named Agnes. Juliet was particularly fascinated by Agnes and has named many of her stuffed animals Agnes (or Aggie) as well. Before Megan left for a month-long internship in Mexico, she brought Agnes to our house for a little visit. The girls walked Agnes around the house and had a great time with her!

A reminder of not so long ago....

2010-03-22T20:32:00.002-05:00

I would be remiss in not posting a few of our outdoor adventures this winter. We had a lot of snow this winter that stayed for a long time. The girls could only handle about a 1/2 hour in the snow before their gloves were so wet that they were freezing. So, we would come inside for some yummy hot chocolate and get toasty warm again. Hopefully, all of that is behind us. Today it was 50 degrees, and there is no snow on the ground. We love Spring!

Sisters

2010-03-01T21:57:00.002-06:00

These two sisters love each other so much. They love spending time together and playing together. They share a room. If they have been separated for any length of time, they will run and give each other big hugs. Because they spend a lot of time together, they also have little fights quite often.

Today, Sophia was bugged that Juliet was not giving her what she perceived as enough room on the couch. Sophia chose to remedy this situation by kicking her legs at Juliet, which resulted in an immediate consequence. I then talked (okay, lectured) to Sophia about the importance of being kind to her sister.

I said, "Sophia, you will never regret being kind to your little sister. You need to be gentle with her because she is so little."

Sophia then immediately turned to Juliet and started chanting in a whisper, "grow..grow..grow.."

I laughed so hard, and both of girls soon joined in.

Happy 2nd and 37th Birthdays!

2010-01-31T22:07:00.006-06:00

It is birthday party craziness around here at the end of January! Adam and Juliet were both born on January 29th. Adam thinks it is fantastic that he and Juliet share the same birthday. He feels like that fact alone will bond them together forever!

It is still hard to believe that Ms. Juliet is now two. I think that two-year olds are great. We can see Juliet's personality really blossoming. She loves her sister most of all, her little doggie Woofie, drawing, saying her ABC's, snuggling, reading books, and watching "Wonder Pets."

She says the funniest things. The other day she was brushing my hair and I asked her if it looked pretty. She responded, "No. Not yet."

She is also pretty easy-going. I know that this is hard to believe, but she potty-trained herself. Since she has been about one she has been asking to use the potty. (She saw big sis doing it, so she wanted to do it, too). Two weeks ago, we decided it was ridiculous that we were continuing to have her wear diapers because she always told us when she had to go potty. And, just like that, Juliet was potty trained---all on her own!

We had a little family party on the 29th with cake and pizza. The next night, we went to Pepitos for dinner with the Heffelbowers and came back to our house for cake and presents. We are hoping for another great year!

Yummy chocolate cake!

Actually, really, really yummy chocolate cake!

We gave Juliet a new book for her present.

The birthday Heffelbowers and Sophia. (Juliet sneaking more cake!)

Party #2 and cake #2. Homemade white cake with pink butter creme frosting.

My little ballerina is so, so adorable!

Partying with the Heff's.

Juliet loved opening her presents.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T21:35:00.004-06:00

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Adam's parents house. Despite the blizzard, we made it there! The food, company, and presents were worth the drive. Also, the Heffelbowers are famous for their practical joke gifts. Adam gave his brother Scott a nicely wrapped box filled with 10 little cards that were "Good for one free hug." Adam later gave Scott his real present. Scott and Jeremy both brought little boxes of edible bugs. Juliet was so curious about them, and even licked one (video to follow soon). As a non-gag, but really great gift, Scott gave Jeremy an assortment of fancy cheeses. One cheese was $60 per pound! Some of the cheeses were good, but others smelled so terrible we could not eat them.

Today, we woke up in the morning with the blizzard continuing. After the kids opened the presents from their stockings, we put on our snow gear and made a wonderful snow-man! After Juliet's nap, we headed over to Great Grandpa Quenten's (aka Ahcoon's) house for another party. It was a wonderful Christmas.

There is just no room for a Christmas tree in our little house. So, Santa leaves presents in the Christmas stockings. These stockings were presents from great grandma and grandpa Frigo.

Opening presents in our jammies.

Homemade gingerbread cookies (which taste nothing like the store-bought kind).

The "snow king."

Our radiator serves as a coat rack during the winter months. Everything gets so dry and toasty!

Holiday Switching

2009-12-22T22:30:00.004-06:00

Ever since we had kids, we "switch" holidays every year between our parents. This year, thanksgiving was in Green Bay with my parents, and Christmas will be in White Bear Lake with Adam's family. The next year, it will be the opposite. So far, it has worked really well.

We had a great time over thanksgiving. Katie was there, along with her fiance Darin, and his two twin daughters, Mya and Madison. Sophia and Juliet thought Mya and Madison were great. They played make believe games for hours. When they got tired of that, they would snuggle on the couch and watch a movie or coerce Adam into playing video games with them.

My parents also came into town a few weekends ago to celebrate Christmas with us. The girls loved their new penguin jammies and other gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma, Grandpa, and the girls in their matching penguin jammies at the "Mulloy" Christmas.

Hanging out and playing game boy at Thanksgiving.

Mya, Madison, & Sophia snuggled together.

The girls decided to eat thanksgiving dinner together at the little table, even though there was room for them at the big table.

Juliet is ready to eat!

Cutie Pie

2009-11-23T22:01:00.002-06:00

This picture is not staged. On very rare occasions, Juliet asks to have a book in her crib at nap time. Typically, she sleeps with her stuffed animals "Woofie" and "Baa-bie" and her blanket. She must have fallen asleep reading the book, and I could not resist taking a picture!

After several tries, I finally got Juliet to give me a cute smile (rather than a silly one).

Today, the girls and I went to "Once Upon A Child" to find a few "new" toys for the car-ride to Green Bay this weekend. We did not find too many toys, but the girls discovered the ball pit that they have there. It is a very small ball pit created by half-walls built into a small square and filled with balls. The girls played in there for an hour, and I had to drag them out of there. (Yes, I know that the ball pit was probably H1N1 hot-zone central, but how could I deny them that fun????).

I also found some adorable dresses for Christmas. The girls insisted on wearing them all afternoon, pretending to be princesses. They spent hours twirling around the house and fluffing their fancy gowns. It was a good day.

Moments Like These...

2009-11-03T23:44:00.002-06:00

I was making dinner in the kitchen and peeked around the corner to see what the girls were up to. I had heard Sophia reading books out-loud. She loves to pretend to be the "teacher" and face the book outward. Usually, her "students" are her stuffed animals or her mommy and daddy. Today, however, I saw this sweet scene of Sophia telling Juliet the book while she quietly listened. Moments like these I wish I could bottle-up forever.

"Big Smile for Mommy"

2009-10-31T21:20:00.005-05:00

I told Juliet that I wanted"a big smile" and this is what the goof-ball gave me! She cracks me up! Sometimes, we will be hanging-out and Juliet will get-up and put on the "Juliettie Show." She dances, runs, pretends to fall, walks backwards, and performs a whole variety of other entertainment. Sophia thinks it's fantastic and will frequently pee her pants because she is laughing so hard.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2009-10-31T21:00:00.007-05:00

Pre Trick-or-Treating Bath

All dressed-up as Princess Snow White (notice the bluebird perched on her shoulder)

Little Princess Juliet (who did not particularly enjoy dressing up)

Trick-or-Treating with Mommy and the neighborhood kids

Post Trick-or-Treating loot

Chatty Ms. Juliet

2009-10-29T10:08:00.002-05:00

Juliet has become very chatty. She is learning new words every day. Her most used word is "Gee-a" for Sophia. She can also say her teacher's name "Mom-ii" (Mollie). She can say her own name perfectly. A few other favorites are backpack, scary, hungry, milk, woof-woof, draw, tv, out, sit, mine, me and many more. We sometimes cannot understand some words. For example, "scary" and "carry" sound nearly identical, which causes some confusion. We are loving our little talkative girl!

New Friends

2009-09-24T21:49:00.002-05:00

These are just a few random photos over the summer. Aren't the girls darling????

The past few weeks with pre-school have had their ups and downs. Juliet still screams every time that I drop her off, but quickly recovers. (Teacher Mollie texts me when Juliet stops crying, which is usually before I reach the car).

Sophia has had a hard time with transitions during the day. Teacher Laurie tells me that she gets upset when her friend, Veda, leaves at 12:30, and again when Sophia has to go into the Chameleons room at the end of the day on Thursdays (Sophia is a Platypus).

I had the brilliant idea to get Sophia a darling little stuffed animal deer for her transition to the Chameleons. So far, it is has worked.

Sophia talks about her new friend, Veda, a lot. They both go to school only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One of their games is to hide rocks in the playground one day, and then go on a treasure hunt to find them the next day. Sophia talks about Veda's special little animal friend that is similar to Bunny Bun. However, Sophia also told me that Veda sometimes tells her that she needs some alone time; and Sophia has said that she likes to follow Veda around. This got me a little worried about whether Sophia's friendship with Veda was entirely mutual.

My fears were all laid to rest today. Sophia has been sick with croup (yuck!) this week and has not been to school. Today, however, we dropped Juliet off for school in the morning. That's when we saw Veda's mom. Sophia said, "Mommy, mommy, mommy! That Veda's mommy!" I said, "Hi, Veda's mommy." Veda's mommy said that Veda had been so sad Sophia had not been at school on Tuesday. Veda's mom said that she was considering extending Veda's day so that she and Sophia could spend more time together!

As for Juliet, she loves her teacher, and says her name often. Drop offs are still rough, but hopefully they will get better. I am sure that there will be more pre-school stories as we continue on this new adventure.

Calvin and Sophia

2009-09-15T23:21:00.003-05:00

Adam has been reading "Calvin and Hobbes" at night with Sophia. As everyone knows, Calvin does some crazy things. Last night, they read about how Calvin locked the babysitter out of the house.

Flash forward to this afternoon. My neighbor (Mya) and her kids were over, and we were all playing nicely in the background. Suddenly, the three oldest (Jude, Chloe and Sophia) ran to the front yard. We hear a door slam. Then, dead silence. Mya and I waited a minute or two. Then I went to the front yard to find them. They were not there. I tried the front door. Locked. I went to the back door. Locked.

Luckily, Mya and I are both good-natured, but we were mad. We rang the doorbell, yelled through the window, promised treats, and then made threats, but no one would open the door. Finally, Mya must have threatened the right thing and Jude (7) came down stairs and unlocked the door.

The kids thought it was hilarious. They were hiding in the closet upstairs. Mya and I made the kids sit on the patio furniture. The kids had TWO moms reprimanding them. Sophia told me, "Mommy, nothing bad happened. There wasn't a fire in the house or anything." Oy Vey!

A Lot of "Firsts" Today

2009-09-01T21:03:00.002-05:00

We had a lot of "firsts" today. Sophia and Juliet started pre-school this morning. Until now, we have had a nanny coming to our house to watch our girls while I worked two or three days per week. We have been so lucky that we had two great nannies this past year. But, nanny Katie moved to Seattle, and nanny Megan went back to school this fall. So, we decided to have the girls start preschool this fall.

They are attending Fraser school two days per week. Fraser is a pre-school that specializes in putting regularly developing kids with kids with special needs, particularly autism. It is a great program for my kids because they receive the benefits of some of the special services for the kids with special needs, such as music therapy, high teacher-child ratios, and awesome indoor and outdoor "large muscle" playgrounds. Plus, a lot of the neighborhood kids go there as well.

Even though we knew Fraser was a great program, I was still nervous about sending the girls off into the world. But, I should not have been worried. They did great! We started-off doing just a 1/2 day.

Sophia was a bit nervous when she walked into her room, but quickly put her backpack down and sat at a table and started drawing. I kissed her goodbye, and she was fine. I, however, was choking back tears and could hardly say goodbye.

Next, we went to Juliet's room where they were heading outside. I walked outside with the teachers and kids. Juliet loves playing outside, so this was fortunate. As expected, when I was telling Juliet goodbye, she was hysterical. It was so hard to leave. Teacher Mollie said that I should call her room in an hour to see how Juliet was doing. I did call, and Juliet was doing great!

When I went to Fraser to pick-up Juliet after lunch, they were playing in the indoor playground. At first, I could not find Juliet. Finally, I looked inside the play structure and there she was having the time of her life. She told me over and over, "Weee!!!! Weeee!!!!" I asked if she wanted to come out, and she shook her head no. I started to walk to get her backpack and things and then she started calling for me and finally did come out. Mollie said Juliet had a terrific day!

We then picked-up Sophia. Sophia had just finished eating and was reading a book with the teacher. She ran to me and gave me a hug. We grabbed her backpack, and as we were leaving a few little girls waived and said, "Bye, Sophia!" It was so sweet. I got very little information from Sophia about her day, but she said that she "loves" preschool. Yay!

Sophia and her "my little pony" backpack ready for her first day of school.

Juliet and her "hello kitty" backpack. But, she was more interested in taking the camera from me.

Then, this afternoon, the girls got haircuts. Neither one likes getting their hair washed and Juliet still absolutely refuses to let me do anything with hair. Thus, we keep their hair as simple as possible. Sophia got a nice chin-length bob. Juliet got her first haircut! Juliet's hair had grown into a curly mullet that covered her eyes. It was time for the first haircut. She handled it great! She loved eating her sucker and watching cartoons. The same hair dresser that cut Sophia's first hair cut (Delores) also gave Juliet her first hairdo.

"No big deal. Just getting my haircut."

"Look at my pretty eyes without my hair in my face!"

"So pretty."

Pictures from Florida

2009-08-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

We made it home from Florida with our gazillion bags of luggage, pack 'n' play, and stroller! Sanibel was beautiful, and it was wonderful to spend a whole week together as a family. But, it is always nice to come home, too.

Playing in the kiddie pool. This is where Sophia learned to dunk her whole head and swim a few feet under water. This is also the pool where Juliet picked-up a drowning bee, and got strung, which she still talks about---when she sees a bee she looks at her hand and says "Ow."

One of the "pelican trees," where the birds liked to relax.

Our condo.

Juliet enjoying a snack on the porch.

Sophia goofing around with daddy on the porch.

We are at Sanibel Island!

2009-08-25T22:00:00.002-05:00

At the last minute, we decided to go on vacation to Sanibel Island. I am usually a planner, so this was unusual for me. I had the week off from work because we are in-between the nanny leaving for college and pre-school, which starts next week. Adam has been bugging me for a long time to go on a real family vacation, so here we are! I have such great memories of coming here once with my family as a kid and wanted to share that experience with my girls, too.

Here are the great things about being on vacation on Sanibel:

The beautiful white sand beaches.
The crazy birds that we have never seen before--including the pelicans that perch by the dozens in the trees outside the condo.
Watching Sophia see a rainbow for the first time.
Catching Juliet over and over and over again as she jumps into the pool.
Helping Sophia learn how to swim in the kiddie pool. She now can fully dunk her head under water and swim about five feet under water. She was so scared to do that when we first arrived!
Looking at all of the seashells on the beach.
Learning about and seeing the little crabs that clean the mongrave trees.
The gloriously hot pools and ocean.
Virgin pina-coladas

Here are the not-so-good things about vacationing on Sanibel:

Who knew it would be so, so, so, hot in August in Florida?
The constant slathering of the sunscreen on slippery kids.
Sand flies.
Injuries at the airport (Sophia fell really hard on the moving walkway at the Mpls. airport and banged-up her knee, nose and forehead. Juliet fell really hard on the ground at the Fort Meyers airport, causing a lot of bleeding from her nose/mouth, which caused a panicked airline employee to call 911, which necessitated waiting for the ambulance and a lot of paperwork to be told that she was fine--which we knew).
Getting the kids to sleep when they are in an unfamiliar place.

We have decided that we will definitely come back to Sanibel, but probably during the winter months, instead.

A Few More Birthday Pics.

2009-08-24T20:22:00.003-05:00

For birthdays, we usually have lots of parties. This year, we had a big family party at our house. It was a really hot day, so we ordered pizzas, ate homemade cake, and Sophia wore her snow white outfit. We had lots of family come who gave lots of presents, that Sophia loves. Here are a few more pictures of her family party!

Happy 4th Birthday!

2009-08-06T22:04:00.001-05:00

Our darling Sophia turned 4 today. She woke up this morning to find balloons, presents and cupcakes waiting for her at the dining room table. She got a leash for her little stuffed puppy, Lucy; some fancy dress up shoes; and a crown, wand and earrings. She was pretty happy. When she saw all of the birthday stuff at the table, she said, "Mommy, how old was I when I went to bed last night?" "You were 3." "Mommy," she said, "How old was I when I woke up this morning?" "You are 4." Then, she got a big smile on her face. Adam tied a birthday balloon to her stroller and took the girls for a walk. So many people wished her a happy birthday. It was a great day.

Puppy Love

2009-07-27T23:29:00.003-05:00

White Bear Lake Grandma and Grandpa got a new little puppy named Stella last week. She is nine weeks old and totally adorable. Sophia is a bit obsessed. She spent hours with Stella last Wednesday and talked about how Stella napped on her "for like an hour." Stella is the sweetest little sheltie. She tolerated Juliet running after her and giving her big hugs. And, I think that Stella may love Sophia as much as Sophia loves her.

The Summer Is Just Flying By

2009-07-20T22:46:00.003-05:00

Summer is just flying by. We have been taking pictures all summer, but I have not had a single moment to post them. We have been spending a lot of time outside. Almost everyday, we go to the park or the beach or the pool or the zoo or some other outdoor activity. Despite drenching ourselves in sunscreen we are still getting a tan.

Today we went to the Como zoo. I briefly lost Juliet at the zoo and nearly had a heart attack. I had visions of her swinging from the monkey cages. I had forgotten just how crazy 18 month toddlers are. She runs, jumps, climbs, teeters, and ditches me as if she had nine lives. At the zoo today, Sophia, Juliet and I went to the bathroom. I was helping Sophia wash her hands and I turned around and Juliet had vanished from the very crowded bathroom. I ran around the bathroom and then out the bathroom and could not find her. At that point, I started saying frantically, "I lost my baby." One mom started searching with me and another helped Sophia finish washing her hands. We found Juliet outside of the bathroom, around the corner, playing by the picnic tables. Oh my.

Juliet is also still my little sweetie-pie snuggler. Until a few days ago, she called me "Mama." Now, I am "Mom-me."

Sophia today told me that I had to see her "habitat." She then showed me the little private space she made under Juliet's crib. She had toys and books and stuffed animals (and the packing tape I had been looking for) in her habitat. This afternoon, she crawled in her habitat and took a little nap while Juliet and I read books. This is quiet amazing, since she has not taken a nap in years! Our house is small, so I am glad she found a little space for herself.

Ten Years!

2009-07-17T12:34:00.003-05:00

Adam and I got married on July 17, 1999, ten years ago today. I am so lucky to have married a wonderful husband and a fantastic father to our little girls. I love you, honey!

Juliet Frances

2009-06-07T21:54:00.004-05:00

When I was pregnant with Juliet, we found out that she was going to be a girl at the 20 week ultrasound. We were really excited that Sophia would have a sister to play with. I loved having a younger sister to share my childhood with. But, I could not envision what kind of little girl she would be. I could only imagine her being a little copy of Sophia. When she was born, however, we knew instantly that she was definitely her own little person.

One of my favorite things about Juliet is that she loves to snuggle. When she was a tiny baby, I carried her everywhere in a soft fleece sling. Even my mom carried her around the house in the sling when she visited! Now, Juliet continues to be so snugly. If I get on my knees and open-up my arms, Juliet comes walking right into my arms and gives me a huge hug. When Juliet wants some extra snuggles, she grabs a book and backs herself into a warm lap and quietly listens to the book.

Juliet is also our little "yes" girl. She is the only toddler that I know that learned to say "yes" before she learned to say "no." She nods her head down and says, "yes" when she wants something. She still does not say "no," instead shaking her head back and forth saying "ah-uh." I think that her learning to "yes" so early may be an indication of her current pleasant disposition and a predication of her future positive outlook on life.

Her greatest joy in her life is her big sister, Sophia. She is constantly by Sophia's side. Sophia does not mind one bit. She enjoys Juliet just as much and eggs-her-on to play fun and silly games with her. Their latest game is to crawl around on the floor chasing each other and laughing hysterically.

Juliet is our little climber. A few weeks ago she learned to climb the ladder on the slide on the swing-set. As brave as that is, she then sits on top of the slide waiting for assistance to go down. She loves to climb stairs, often pointing at stairs saying, "Uh? Uh? Uh? (Up? Up? Up?)." I have to watch her at all times because, while she can climb stairs with ease, she thinks she can down them just as well (she cannot!).

Juliet loves ducks. Her passion for ducks originated on Easter when White Bear Lake Grandma gave her a tiny little brown duck that quacks when you push its tummy. Juliet was smitten, and our search to find her a lovey has ended. Juliet sleeps with "Duck Duck" every night and drags him on many outings. When we are at Lake Harriet and Juliet sees a duck, she become almost hysterical, exclaiming, "Duck! duck! duck!" and pointing wildly.

We love our little Juliettie so much and cannot image our life without her.

Music

2009-06-02T21:37:00.002-05:00

Oh dear.

2009-05-28T23:09:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-27T21:42:00.006-05:00

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

2009-05-21T22:34:00.003-05:00

"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)

2009-05-21T22:25:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-19T22:58:00.002-05:00

First Corn of the Season

2009-05-19T22:55:00.000-05:00

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

Bye Nanny Katie!

2009-05-17T22:08:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-05-06T22:34:00.006-05:00

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

2009-05-06T22:34:00.005-05:00

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

2009-05-03T22:57:00.004-05:00

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!

Yum.

2009-04-26T21:57:00.002-05:00

WHAT?!?!

"Yo (gurt), baby."

Juliet is a good eater. She tries lots of food and generally, eats well. However, she wants to eat on her own these days. She wants to try to eat with a spoon and fork, but mostly with her hands. We want to encourage her, but things do get messy. Often, dinner time ends with a bath for Juliet! She also has a particular love for sweets. In these photos, we had frozen yogurt, whip cream and sprinkles for dessert. Juliet gleefully ate hers up. Even Sophia was shocked at the mess!

Flower Show

2009-04-26T00:02:00.002-05:00

We have a spring tradition of going to the Macy's flower show every year. The downtown Macy's store turns its 8th floor auditorium into a magical flower land. The girls loved smelling all of the beautiful flowers. Afterward, we did a little shopping (where Sophia and Juliet found some glass wall decorations to wedge themselves into--see pictures above) and had a little lunch. It was a lovely time!

Mommy and the Girls Go Shopping

2009-04-20T21:24:00.003-05:00

We went shopping today. Sophia desperately needed new clothes for Spring. But, Sophia is very particular about what she wears. She wants clothes that feel a certain way and look a certain way. She likes clothes that "have a lot going on" (her words). She also likes clothes that are soft with no itchy seams, tight sleeves or waistbands. She loves dresses.

Luckily, a few years ago we discovered the Hannah Andersson brand, whose clothes generally meet all of her requirements. The clothes are colorful, soft, and not itchy. They also make beautiful dresses, which Sophia calls her "princess dresses." We have also fallen in love with their super soft jammies, that do not seem to stain, despite daily breakfast disasters. The only problem is that the clothes are really expensive.

Then, we discovered the Hannah Andersson Outlet in Albertville about 45 minutes from Minneapolis. So, today Sophia, Juliet and I made the trek to the Outlet mall. I carefully planned the entire trip so that I could maximize on shopping and minimize on kid meltdowns. I packed lots of snacks, we only went to three stores, stayed one hour, ate a picnic lunch and ran-around, and then headed home. It was a total success! The kids were great. Sophia and I picked out some super cute clothes, we got some new jammies for Juliet, and everyone had fun.

Family Resemblance?

2009-04-19T22:23:00.002-05:00

Juliet Heffelbower---March 2009

Lindsay (Heffelbower) Finneman---September 1983

Lindsay is Juliet's aunt and godmother. We all think that these early pictures of Lindsay show a huge family resemblance between the two! We will post more photos of when Lindsay was little as we dig through Ann's old photos.

Easter Party!

2009-04-19T22:05:00.006-05:00

My parents drove from Green Bay to celebrate Easter with us. They brought a giant stuffed animal bunny for Sophia (which she named "Sparkle") and a giant stuffed animal duck for Juliet (which she is kind of afraid of). Sophia carried the bunny everywhere with her, and still often insists on bringing him for car rides, outside to be pushed in the swing, etc. Sophia and Grandma frosted the little lamby cake. Juliet loves sheep and lambs because she knows how to say, "Baa Baa," so she adored the cake.

Juliet immediately snuggled with Grandpa and became his constant companion for the weekend. On Saturday, we went to an Easter egg hunt and made crafts at church.

Unfortunately, by Sunday Juliet and I had come down with ear infections, which necessitated trips to the ER. Luckily, my parents were around to take care of the sickies while Sophia and Adam went to the Easter party at Adam parents. All-in-all we made the best of the weekend and still had a fun Easter.

Is our house a death trap?

2009-03-28T13:46:00.004-05:00

At the risk of sounding a bit old-fashioned, we have only one tv in the house. And, this tv is 12 years old. We were perfectly happy with our tv until two days ago when it nearly fell and crushed our little Juliettie. Old tv's, like ours, are very thick and front-heavy. We have ours sitting on top of a wooden chest with doors. Two days ago, the girls opened the doors of the chest, when Sophia leaned on one of the doors. This small act caused the entire chest, including the tv, to tip forward. The chest managed to right itself, but the front-heavy tv continued its fall forward. Super-hero Adam, seeing what was about to happen, jumped in-between the tv and Juliet who was standing directly in front of it. The tv hit Adam's shoulder and bounced to the floor. Adam has a cut and bruise on his shoulder, the tv is fine, and Juliet has no idea what could have happened.

Thus, despite our "extreme budget makeover," we have decided to dip into our savings and purchase a small LCD tv. But, this all makes me wonder, is our house a death trap? Will super-hero Adam be there the next time?

Juliet at (almost) 14 months

2009-03-26T22:06:00.005-05:00

A few funny stories about Juliet:

Juliet loves the bath. Every night Sophia and Juliet take a bath together. They splash around, and Juliet will even sometimes put her face in the water and look-up with a bit of a shocked look on her face. Sophia usually plays a make-believe game about being a mermaid, frog, princess, etc.

Two nights ago, we had a little Juliet bath surprise: Juliet pooped in the bath! This has never happened to us before, and it really is quite shocking to see a big brown turd floating in the water. Sophia immediately notified us of the situation, "Juliet pooped! Get me out! Get me out!", which we promptly did. I was on "cleaning up the baby" duty and Adam got "cleaning up the bath" duty. We are hoping that this was a first (and last) of this kind of bath tub surprise.

Now onto more pleasant things. We have been struggling with finding a "lovey" for Juliet.
By the time Sophia was about six or seven months old, she was already 100% attached to Bunny Bun. Juliet has been much pickier. We have tried various animals and blankets to no avail. But, we may have recently hit upon something:

Juliet loves a particular book and has been snuggling with it for the past few nights. This is no ordinary book. It is a book that I made when Sophia was about six months old of photographs of me, Adam and Sophia. Juliet is obsessed. We will see if this obsession lasts!

New Blog Format!

2009-03-26T21:57:00.002-05:00

We have decided to go with a new blog format. Until now, our little Miss Sophia was the voice behind the blog (with a little help from me, her mommy). However, this format has become a bit awkward now that we are blogging about both of our daughters and Juliet does not have a "voice" in the blog. Also, Sophia truly does have her own voice now, and it no longer feels right "speaking" on her behalf, even if it is just pretending.

Thus, we are introducing our new blog! I will be writing the posts as myself, sharing the wonderful adventures that we have raising our two girls.

Enjoy!

Happy Spring!

2009-03-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

Yes, we're obsessed

2009-02-22T21:39:00.004-06:00