Christmas with Gramps

Sophie brought her "stink face" to play time by the tree. Then, she brought all of her bath toys into the forts...and then returned them to the bathroom. And then, she brought them back to the boxes...

Doug's Dad/Gramps visited for an early and wonderful Christmas celebration. We ate delicious meals, read stories, visited the zoo, and opened presents. Sophie, the charmer, had her Gramps wrapped around her little finger.

CHEERS!

PRESENT TIME!

I love this photo because it documents Sophie's serious approach to literacy:

Thanks, Gramps! We love you!

Santa Ships and Mistletoe

This Christmas season has been the busiest yet with holiday parties, visits to the Botanical Garden festival of lights and Snowflake Lane, cookie and ornament exchanges, etc, etc!! I've always loved Christmas, but this season with Sophie has been the best! Last night, we joined our friends, Jolie, Ben, and Levi on her parent's boat. Boats are decked out with Christmas lights and parade around the lake as Christmas carols blare. Jolie's parents were fabulous hosts on the boat, and Sophie did well considering it was 2 hours past her bedtime! (Jolie's dad did have a beard and silver hair, so Sophie associated him with Santa and cried every time he came near her...).

Jolie and Ben's son, Levi, is almost 4 months old. Sophie loved to wave hi to the "baby" and gently pat his head or hold his hand. In 22 years, when these two wed, I'll show them these photos that document Sophie's first move...

I've always said she is an independent, confident, and sassy girl...ooh, la, la...

Sophie didn't even need mistletoe as an excuse to kiss her favorite boy. And Levi couldn't resist the allure of a bald, older woman.

Merry Christmas, friends and family!!

HAP-PY

In honor of Doug's birthday, Sophie has learned the word "hap-py." Anytime, she hears me say "Happy Birthday, Daddy", she will say "hap-py." Her distinction of the two syllabus is very exaggerated, but I LOVE that she knows this wonderful word. Last night, as she was taking a bath and splashing around, she kept repeating the word "hap-py." Then, as we were all eating dinner together, she looked around and said "hap-py." It's extremely sweet!

Today, on D's birthday, we went on the Santa Train! Sophie was very hap-py that Doug and I didn't make her actually see Santa; instead, we avoided Santa (see prior blog post!), played with the toy trains, and ate oatmeal cookies. We also braved the monsoon-like weather and ate lunch at the Chew-Chew cafe near the train depot. The cafe had a giant, stuffed bear (called "bay" by Sophie) who received lots of hugs and kisses.

Birthday Boy and his hap-py daughter on the train:

Sophie braving the elements:

Hap-py Birthday, Daddy!! We love you!

You better watch out...

You better not cry...

You better not pout, I'm telling you why.....

(H)O-(H)O-(H)O

According to Sophie, Santa says "O-O-O." Our talkative little girl loves the Christmas season! We're having so much fun this month with lots of festive excursions and celebrations.

Auntie Pip came to visit for a night and joined us to get our Christmas tree. She even bought Sophie her own tree and ornaments for her room! Sophie loves her Auntie Pippy, and it was the best night ever as we all got into the Christmas spirit.

The next three photos are hysterical. In each photo, one of the 3 Whitfields is definitely looking excited for Christmastime...

Later in the week, we joined Jason, Kate, and Maggie DeMotts for dinner and more Christmas-y excitement! The girls loved it.

Lastly, Sophie has been taking great care of her babies this week. Sophie hugs and kisses and rocks them. I think her sweet and nurturing actions are a last minute attempt to bribe Santa for more prezzies....(and it's working).