This Saturday our little girl turned 2 years old! Chris & Gerry came to visit from Wenatchee in order to share this special day with us. I spent so much time preparing for the visit (mostly cleaning & organizing for their arrival), I was utterly exhausted. It was a good thing my husband & the kids were still visiting Korean grandma in the morning because Chris & I were able to spend a few relaxing hours at the amazing Olympus Spa to celebrate belated Mother's Day soaking in various pools, getting full body scrubs & having a tasty lunch. :-)
Sophia's birthday celebration took place in the afternoon. Chris & Gerry brought multiple branches of lilac from Wenatchee & the air in the house was permeated with wonderful lilac fragrance. Despite my busy schedule, I managed to pick up a fresh strawberry birthday cake that same morning (thanks to the recently discovered French Bakery at the Crossroads).
After dinner, Sophia opened her presents. She seemed to be more interested in ripping paper than opening presents, but Gerritt was very excited & did all the work for her. Our girl received several gifts including the pink Corolle doll stroller for her Corolle baby that she got at Christmas, Melissa & Doug's Birthday Party Birthday Cake, a couple of puzzles & a few cute outfits including a dress from Korea. Kids spent the rest of the evening playing with the toys. Gerritt fell in love with the stroller & wanted to it all to himself (not to do a leisurely park stroll, but to mostly crash it into various furniture pieces in our living room) & had to be gently reminded that it was Sophia's birthday present. :-)
Sophia has really transformed from a baby into a true little lady. She is corteous, polite & proper. She loves to say "thank you" & "you're welcome." She learned to jump with both feet about a month ago, so she has been jumping everywhere like a little froggie.
Her new love is counting. She counts everything - flowers outside, raisins on her plate, cars in Gerritt's toy box, little memory game cards & various pictures in her books. She's been able to count perfectly from 1 to 10 in English AND Spanish. It's so funny, she doesn't speak much Russian or Korean, but can count in Spanish. We probably have Dora the Explorer to thank for that. Sophia also loves to read books. If one of us is not available, you will often find her in the library pointing at pictures & talking to herself.
Running away from Mommy, again...
Sophia's favorite words are "Mine!" & "No!" She insists on doing as much as she can for herself & doesn't want any help. Where she didn't care in the past whether Gerritt took one of her toys, she now defends her ownership loudly & with physical force if necessary. Due to his size, Gerritt wins most of the time, but Sophia doesn't go down without a fight, so a loud temper tantrum with laying on the floor & kicking of the legs usually follows.
Sophia LOVES to eat broccoli! I usually steam it until it's very soft & cut it up into small pieces. She also likes fresh cucumbers & tomatoes. Considering that Gerritt hates anything green, it makes me very happy to have a child who loves green vegetables. Every time Sophia sees broccoli she says, "Mmmmm, yummy broccoli!"
She is still afraid of strangers, especially men with loud voices. Sophia spent a good hour of her birthday party holding on for dear life & hiding behind my neck every time Gerry tried to talk to her. When she's afraid she usually shuts her eyes as if pretending she is not there. Magical toddler thinking - perhaps she thinks if she can't see someone, they can't see her either?
Sophia is finally sleeping through the night without any bottles. Once in a while she'll wake up, but go right back to sleep as long as Daddy reassures her he's there. Of course, she must have her "goat" (really a soft white lamb), kitty (a stuffed white cat), sippy cup & her Princess blanket (Daddy bought it for her online recently).
Sophia loves to smell flowers!
She had her 2-year check up recently & it was quite an adventure (I am glad I had enough sense to bring my husband with me for support). She hasn't been in for her well-child check-ups since the fall of 2009 so it took both my husband & I & a nurse to hold her down so that the doctor could take a look inside her ears & measure her head. She had to receive 3 different shots & that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The reason I haven't taken her to the doctor sooner was because her last check-up was almost the same - utterly exhausting with lots of tears, fighting & screaming. Since she stays at home with her brother & nanny full time, she is at low risk for acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases. Plus I wanted to wait until she was older to immunize her fully to decrease the risk of any potential vaccine-related side effects. That's why Sophia's 2-year check-up turned into a vaccination catch-up from the age of 6 months. Gerritt had his 3-year check up on the same day & was the picture of a perfect patient. He did everything he was told & even allowed the lab tech to poke his finger to draw a drop of blood. When Dr. Yam gave him his hepatitis B shot in the arm, he just said "Ouch!," but didn't cry. I can say at least one of my kids enjoys his doctor's visits. :-)
With grandma Chris
Happy birthday, Sophia! Wishing you many more happy birthdays to come.
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