Baby Juliet is here!

My new baby sister:

Juliet Frances Heffelbower

January 29, 2008

7 pounds 7 ounces

20 inches

I visited mommy and daddy in the hospital with White Bear Lake Grandma the day after Juliet was born. I insisted on wearing one boot and one shoe for this momentous occasion. I came into the hospital room with a smile on face, looked at mommy holding Juliet and said with my arms out-reached, "I want her. I want her." I sat in a chair and got to hold my little sister for the first time. I love her already.

My Last Day of Gymnastics

Today was my last day of gymnastics for the semester. On the last day we have an awards ceremony. All of the parents bring their cameras and it is a fun event. Notice that there are no pictures of me for the awards ceremony. Read on and you will find out why.

Here is the scene. We are in the gymnasium. About 12 parents and their kids are sitting on the big red mat looking at the "stage." The stage is a thick mat about three feet high and three feet wide with little stairs going up each side. In the background there is majestic, Olympic-type music playing.

Teacher Allie begins calling each kid by name to come up the stairs, receive their medal around their neck, and raise their arms in triumph. I anxiously await my turn. A few times, I start to stand up to run to get my medal, only to realize that it was not yet my turn. Some of the kids are too shy to come forward, so their moms have to come with them. Most kids run up the stairs as their proud parents take pictures.

Then, Teacher Allie called my name. I jumped up and ran up the stairs. I had a huge smile on my face. Teacher Allie put the medal on my neck and I raised my arms in the air and smiled even bigger. I was looking at mommy and she was smiling so big, too. I ran down the stairs, ran up to mommy and said, "Mommy! Take a picture!" That was when I found out that the batteries had died in the camera mommy brought with her. Oh, well. Mommy says that some memories will just have to live-on in our minds. I know that I won't forget this!

The New Baby is Coming Soon!

The new baby is coming really soon. Mommy and Daddy have been busy rearranging their bedroom so that the new baby can sleep in the pack 'n' play in their bedroom. I am enjoying trying out all of the new baby's things, including the bed. Often, I pretend that I am the baby. Today, I asked to be put in the baby's bed. I then insisted on having my dollie's bottle, a blankie put on me and to snuggle with Bunny Bun. I then cried like this, "Wah, wah, wah, I need a bottle," or "Wah, wah, wah, I need a diaper change." It was great fun.

I try to image what it will be like to have a little baby in the house. I often say, "The new baby can't eat soup" or "the new baby can't talk" or "the new baby can't play with toys" or "the new baby will cry" or "the new baby will drink milk from Mommy's boob." I am getting pretty excited.

Markers

We all know that markers are for drawing. But did you know that marker caps look great on your fingers? I figured out this trick and I think that it is fantastic. Unfortunately, I get a little messy in the process. All of the marker ink gets on my hands, shirt, face, etc., but it is worth it to have those little colorful caps on your fingers.

I know I have been posting a lot of pictures of Daddy lately and not many of Mommy. As you probably know, Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy. The baby is scheduled to be born in exactly three weeks. Mommy has a big round belly and has not been in too many pictures for the last few weeks. I am certain we will have many pictures of her and the new baby once she is born.

Happy Little Mommy

I few months ago I started drawing faces. At first, I was not very good. I continued to practice and practice, and now I can make really great faces. I love to draw them. I made this face on my easel. When I was done, I said that I drew "Happy Little Mommy!" In the drawing you can see the head, eyes, eyebrows, forehead, nose and mouth. I think that my drawing looks just like my happy little mommy.

Making Music

I enjoy music. I listen to music, dance to music, sing to music, and I make my own music. One of my favorite ways to make music is with chopsticks. I take my little red chair and pull it up to our silverware drawer. I open the drawer, find the chopsticks and start banging. Sometimes, I tell mommy and daddy to dance while I make the music.

The Nutcracker at Macys

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

Then we saw the "Nutcracker" show.

I am mesmerized by the Nutcracker story.

The dancing sugar plum fairies and marzipan pigs were magical.

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

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

A Few Christmas Photos

Grandpa and me at Bachmans.

Grandma and me snuggling one morning.

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

Merry Christmas 2007!

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

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

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

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

Mommy (quietly): Sophia, "shhhhshhhh."

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Turtle

Daddy and me doing "Mr. Turtle."

First Real Haircut

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

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

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

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

Fun Games

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

Snowy Day

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

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

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

Those are my latest bedtime battle stories. More later.

Happy Girl

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

Halloween Pictures

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

Lindsay and Jeremey's Wedding

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

Happy 2nd Birthday to Me

Mommy's homemade chocolate birthday cake is so yummy.

Here is the cake before we all polished it off.

Grandpa and daddy grilling the hamburgers on the deck.

The Wilenskys having fun (as usual).

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

I blew out all of the candles on my cake!

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