Princesses and Fairies

I just love princesses and fairies. Lately, I have been wearing my new tutu on all of our errands. Today we went to Target and I wore my tutu. Sometimes, I will wear my tutu and my crown and my wand. People will look at me and say, "I love your tutu. Are you a princess?" I will say, "No. (long pause) I am a fairy." Duh. At gymnastics on Saturday morning, we had an "under the ocean" theme. The teacher said, "Sophia, what things do you think we could find in the ocean." I replied, "Princesses." I am going to be a fairy princess for Halloween this year.

Lost and Found

Overheard at our house on Saturday afternoon:

Mommy: Where did I put the tape? I just had it a minute ago. Sophia, have you seen the tape?

Me: Maybe the tape is up your butt.

Total Goofball

I can be pretty silly. In fact, in this picture, I am being super silly. Juliet had just finished eating her breakfast in this very highchair. I then climbed into the highchair and told mommy that I wanted to finish my breakfast there. I even put on Juliet's bib all by myself! Juliet is so lucky that she gets to do baby things. Another silly thing I do is make-up words. On a walk, I may tell mommy and daddy that a particular tree is called a treegabogoblah tree and another is called a trobobedewahwe tree and another is a gobodedogolawahoo tree. It is silly making-up words.

Montessori Play

Mommy recently introduced me to Montessori play. In these pictures, I am doing a pouring activity with water, glass containers, a funnel, and a little sponge. I think that it is great. I love pouring water, splashing in puddles, doing dishes in the sink, and playing in the rain with my umbrella.

P.S. Yes, I am wearing my princess dress, which was my Halloween costume last year and will likely be my Halloween costume again this year.

It's Play Time

Juliet has her own big bin of toys. A few days ago, we had fun getting out all of the toys from the bin and playing with them. Most of the toys are from when I was a little baby.

Juliet continues to do new things nearly every day. She just started pulling herself up onto furniture. She is so pleased and proud when she does it! Once she is up on a piece of furniture, she cruises around and will sometimes even let go and momentarily stand on her own. When she wants to sit again, she simply lets go and lands on her butt with a thud. Juliet also picks up everything with her little pincher grasp. She can find the teeny-tiniest little piece of anything on the floor, pick it up, and quick-as-a-flash put it in her mouth. We keep a close eye on her. Through all of Juliet's changes, she still remains a super happy and super smiley girl. We just cannot believe how easy it is to make Juliettie smile. It brightens our whole day!

Down on the Farm

We went to an organic farm on Saturday afternoon. It is called "Gardens of Eagan." The farm is owned by our organic co-op grocery store in Minneapolis called "The Wedge." Because we are members of the co-op, we were invited to go on a school bus ride to the farm for the co-op's annual meeting. We did not really know what to expect. What we found was a magical experience that I will not soon forget.

First, we boarded the school bus for the 45 minute drive to the farm. I thought that was pretty great. I see all of the big kids in my neighborhood riding their school buses and I got to try it out too. Then, a dad and two kids boarded the bus and sat down next to us. They were really friendly. Pretty soon, I had switched seats so that I could sit closer to them. By the time the bus arrived at the farm, I had become friends with Glorianna (10) and Adam (4). From that point on, we were inseparable.

At the farm, we boarded a little cart pulled by a tractor. The tractor first stopped at the cauliflower and tomato patches on the farm. We got out and started eating the vegetables right off of the plants. I never knew that fresh cauliflower could taste so good. Adam and I had fun smooshing all of the tomatoes with our little feet that had fallen on the ground. It was so great wandering through the rows and rows of plants, sampling the vegetables along the way.

Back at the main part of the farm, the Wedge was having its annual meeting. Glorianna, Adam, and I just played and ran around the fields. We then asked if we could go wandering through the red pepper fields. Mommy and Daddy took us over there, and we picked lots of red peppers to take home.

After the meeting was done, we ate dinner at the farm. It was delicious. Glorianna and Adam are vegans, so they could not eat all of the same foods that I could eat. Then it was 7:00 and it was time to board the bus. Glorianna, Adam and I all squeezed into one bus seat. We talked, laughed, sang, and played the entire way home. At one point, Adam asked me if we could have a play date sometime and that maybe I could sleep over. I told him that he could come over and borrow one of my stuffed animals.

When we returned to the Wedge, I had to say good-bye. I gave the kids hugs and the daddies exchanged telephone numbers so that we could all play together again. Just thinking about the whole experience makes me feel so happy!

Mommy and me on the school bus.

I am in the picture in the background. I am leaning over my seat to talk to Adam and Glorianna.

At the farm, I was allowed to use the camera later in the evening. First, I looked down. Dirt.

Then, I looked up. Beautiful night sky.

Here are the three inseparable kids walking through the pepper patch.

Yum.

Me and Adam with our freshly picked peppers.

Me and Glorianna checking out the tractor.

Juliet is 8 Months Old!

Here is a picture of Grandma and Juliet when Juliet was about one day old. Grandma and I visited mommy, daddy and baby Juliet at the hospital and this is when that picture was taken. It is hard to believe that our big baby Juliettie was so little!

Juliet's latest trick is to play peek-a-boo. Whenever Juliet finds a blanket or towel, she grabs it with both hands and lifts it over her face. She holds it there for several seconds while we say, "Where is Juliet? Where could she be?" Juliet then drops the blanket with a huge smile on her face. We all laugh and say "peek-a-boo", which prompts several repeat performances by Juliet. It is pretty adorable.

I Love to Help

I love to help. Whatever chore mommy or daddy is doing, I want to do it, too. Last week, mommy put Juliet in the baby bjorn and mowed the lawn. I cut black-eyed susans with my scissors. After I got bored with that, I asked mommy if I could mow. It was a lot of work pushing our little mower, but it was great fun! Look at how hard I worked. Nothing was going to stop me from mowing the lawn.

I got a "Bob"

I love my short new hairdo! Everyone tells me it looks so cute, and I enthusiastically tell them "thank you!"

Cheerios

Cheerios may be one of the greatest foods ever invented. Juliet just started eating "chunky" foods. Cheerios tops her list as one of her favorite chunky foods. I had forgotten how much I love Cheerios, too. Mommy needed to get some work done in the kitchen, so she put a place mat on the floor and put Cheerios on it. Juliet and I loved it.

Grandpa's Birthday & Four Generations of Women Weekend

We celebrated Grandpa's 58th Birthday in Green Bay this weekend. We had a great time visiting. Grandma played play dough with me and Grandpa played running games around the house with me. Everyone loved watching Juliet crawl around on the floor and hear her make her latest vocals. We went the park, visited the Obama headquarters in Green Bay, ate cherry cheese cake, and played with toys. Here are some pictures of our fun weekend. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Just hanging-out with a few bears. Some of the stuffed animals at Grandma and Grandpa's house originally belonged to my mommy and to auntie Katie.

Juliet liked the bears, too.

Whenever Juliet picks-up a stuffed animal, she immediately inspects its nose with her little fingers to determine if it is the proper shape for sucking. This bear made the cut.

Oh happy day!

Mommy and daddy found this fun toy at a garage sale while going for a jog on Saturday morning. P.S. This is our first official "matching outfit."

The four generations of women. (Frances, Maureen, Chris Marie, Sophia Marie and Juliet Frances)

The girls always have fun!

So sweet.

"Great Day"

Yesterday is what I call a "great day." At the end of the day I told mommy, "I had a great day with you." Here are a few pictures of our great day. I played the piano while mommy danced around the living room. I also sang and Juliet chimed in, too. In the bottom two pictures, Juliet played "monster baby." Juliet likes to play with the little people that go in the house. Mommy and I set-up all of the little people in the plastic house and Juliet (monster baby) comes and knocks them all down and puts them in her mouth. Juliet will also peer through the windows of the little house and try to topple the whole thing over. She also makes her growling noise that she loves to make while she is doing all of this. Juliet looks like a big giant "monster baby" during this game.

Updates

Here are a few updates on our life.

1. Mommy went back to work (sort of). Mommy is working in the office at the law firm one day per week. Daddy stays home in the morning with us, and then works late that day. Auntie Lindsay comes in the afternoon and stays until Mommy comes home. I have to say, I hardly notice she is gone! It is such a crazy and fun day!

2. Juliet continues to amaze us with her vocals. If I start to sing, Juliet will sing. If I start to shout, guess who shouts, too! She also also started to say, "dadadadadadadadadadad" and "bwahh...bwahh...bwahhh...bwahh..." Her words do not mean anything, but they are fun to hear!

3. I started gymnastics again. In the past, mommy, daddy & Juliet would stay and play with me in the gymnastics studio. Now, I graduated to the big kid class and I go in all by myself. The rest of the family gets to watch me from the windows in the lobby. It is great fun. In fact, I only acknowledged mommy and daddy one time during the entire hour long class.

4. What can say about daddy?!? He recently introduced me to Shel Silverstein's poems. We read them together nearly every night. I love all of the silly poems, but there are a few that are too scary for me.

Big Kid Bed

For my birthday, I got a big kid bed. It is pretty fantastic. Mommy and daddy finally kicked me out of the crib and now Juliet uses it. It really was no big deal. I started sleeping in big kid beds when we went on trips this summer. At first I made someone sleep in bed with me until I fell asleep, but not any more. Every night, daddy snuggles in bed with me. We play a few video games on the gameboy, read stories, talk about our day, say prayers and sing songs. Daddy leaves and I snuggle with Bunny Bun, look at my poster on the ceiling and fall asleep.

We knew she would leave home someday...

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

Congratulations on learning to crawl, Juliet!

Love,

Sophia, daddy & mommy

The State Fair Extravaganza

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

"Ahhh. So relaxed." ---Juliet

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

"What a great day." --Juliet

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

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

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

I loved sliding down the slide.

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

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

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

Running around with Lindsay-Linds

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

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

Such a cute little ducky.

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

Looking cute with daddy.

Me and my piggy ears.

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