Since Last I Wrote

So, it's been FIVE months since my last update here and Sonia has changed a lot. She has really grown into the most wonderful little girl you could ever ask for. Her vocabulary is excellent and having learned her alphabet, colors, shapes numbers and letter sounds months ago, she is excited about reading words and sentences now. I got her the "Letter Sounds" Rock n' Learn DVD, so I expect her to be reading chapter books next week. Haha....not really, but Sonia is all about learning and loves our trips to the library and times we sit down with books. She kicks the ball extremely well - maybe she'll be a soccer player someday. She loves to go on walks and can climb up monkey-bar-like contraptions at the part with ease and without fear (that doesn't account for MY fear, though). Sonia is polite (most of the time) saying thank you even to strangers that hold the door for us in public. She is not shy, rather introduces herself to new people quite freely with, "Hi, I'm Sonia and this is my sister (pointing to her sister). I'm 2 and my sister is 1." And Sonia LOVES to jump on the big trampaline at our babysitter, Ellie's house. She loves to goof around and laugh - I suppose that everyone says that about their kids, but I never knew how cute it was until I had Sonia. I am so lucky to have her. She always looks out for me, yes, even at this age. If I am sad, she says, "Mommy, it's ok. Don't be sad." and if I'm scared (such as when she's atop the monkey-bars), she says, "Mommy don't be scared. I'm ok. I will come down now, but don't be scared." ....And the "I love you sooooooo much" from her out of the blue yesterday....it made me smile inside sooo big.

Fish Bowl

I just thought these were funny...

Playful Sonia

Pictures of Sonia playing in a mesh clothes hamper...

Lovely Little Girl

Sonia is a great big sister who loves to give her little sister lots of hugs and kisses. She loves to run and play and read books and be held. She is such a wonderful girl and I am so lucky to be her mom. Her vocabulary has really expanded in the last couple of months. She is saying 3 and 4 word phrases consistently now. Her funniest phrases include, "Oh my GOODness!" and "Oh, dear!" and "Ohhh, baby..." (when baby starts to cry).

Words and Music

Some cute words that Sonia says:
"Bloom" instead of "Balloon"
"Do-Babies" instead of "Blueberries"
"A-P" instead of "Empty"

She can count to 14, sings along with most of the ABCs, knows all colors, is singing about half of the words in approximately 10 songs such as"Twinkle Twinkle" and "The Muffin Man." I work with her as much as I can on all of this stuff, so she really has fun with it.

She started a music class for toddlers at the local music store a few weeks ago. The teacher told me when I came in to be patient...that she may be shy for a few class periods and then, eventually start participating. About a minute later, she was fully participating in class. She loves it and she picked up on it right away. She understands that you need to watch the teacher for instructions. She loves walking/galloping/skipping in the circle to "Jimmy Crack Corn" and tapping on the floor tom drum that gets passed around the room so that each child can have a turn. It's a GREAT little "music and movement" program and I'm excited times ten to give her the opportunity to start fostering her love and talent for music at such an early age. She is around people who play music because of her daddy and I, but this gives her a chance to be with other kids her age. I just can't say enough about the program. I try and go over the songs with her at least three times a week at home listening along with the take-home CD.

I have also recently given her an old alarm clock so that she can play a little kids' songs CD all by herself without having to ask me to put it on for her. She loves her new-found freedom with this, but often gets mixed up with which buttons to push, so we have to help her. So cute. She's such a good little girl.

Videos of Christmas Morning

Christmas Post

It's been a month and a half since the last entry on this blog and Sonia has grown up so much since then. The biggest change has been in her vocabulary. It's exploded. Here's a funny example of it... This morning, Sonia was next to me when I yelled out to Don from another room, "Honey... Can you make a bottle for Myah?" Next thing I know, Sonia is tearing down the hallway calling, "Honey! Honey! Honey!" Now THAT was REALLY cute.

Sonia is a GREAT big sister. She gets down in Myah's face and makes her laugh and the two of them giggling together is enough to make even a grinch's heart do little happy somersaults.

For Christmas, Sonia got a rocking horse, a mini grand piano, a shopping cart with fake food, two dolls, a beautiful handmade blanket, a new outfit, a movie and other smaller yet very fun items. When we heard her wake up on Christmas morning, we went into her room to say "hello" and get her ready to open her presents. While she was on the changing table, I asked her, "Do you have any idea what might be in any of the presents?" And I got the cutest answer... She got a big, big smile on her face and said in her oh-so-adorable voice... "stickers?" hehe... she would have been just fine with stickers. Her birthday is just around the corner and needless to say, I'm definately getting her some stickers. :-)

Here are some pictures all taken in December:

(For the record, she would NOT sit on Santa Claus's lap.)

Christmas Eve - I told her she could give her dolly a bath.

I go to check on her and...

Christmas Morning...