The Comings and Goings of The Whitfield Three

This winter has proved to be busy for us. I'm sorry for the lapses in frequent blog updates. Even when the three of us are all at home, there isn't much down time with a little girl calling the shots. We've also got a few home improvement projects occurring (photos to come later). Once Sophie goes to bed in the evening, Doug and I usually collapse!

OO-phie (as she calls herself) continues to learn new words, but the greatest development is her made up language. She "speaks" in continuous sentences of made up jargon. She opens books and "reads" them to herself. She will grab a piece of paper, scan it, and then make eye contact with me while "talking". Doug says it sounds like Farsi...

During my mid-winter break, Sophie and I headed to snowy Spokane for some major playtime with Grandma and Papa. I was too busy relaxing (!) to take a lot of photos, but here are some snowy highlights.

Catching snowflakes on her tongue as the snow started to fall...

Seriously contemplating the amount of snow that fell so quickly...

All bundled up with Grandma...

And, as stated in our last blog post, Sophie doesn't like to get dressed after bathtime. Last night, she found the flashlight which provided just the after-bath-entertainment that she craved...

Miss Independent

Rest assured...Sophie has preferences and a sassy attitude. She cares about which shoes or which fleece coat she wears. She insists on walking to the playground and park rather than sitting in her stroller. If I even suggest she hop back into the stroller or let me hold her hand, a tantrum ensues. She also has definite opinions on what she eats. Meal time has been taken to a whole new level as she shakes her head, wags her index finger, and says "no" to almost everything that we serve. One day she loves what I serve, and the next day she is throwing it on the ground. On a daily basis, she commands "up-pa" (two syllable word for "up") and repeats up-pa until I allow her to sit on the chair, the stool, or even the table.

One night this week, Sophie did not want to put on her jammies after her bath. She only wanted her "boos" (shoes). Finally, I secured a diaper and documented her hysterical antics.

At one point (after agreeing to wear a shirt), she figured out how to empty the vacuum's contents on the newly vacuumed rug.

Gotta love her!!

Go Away Germs!

A nasty family of germs has invaded our house over the past couple weeks, and they've attacked anybody who has come to visit us, too! (Apologies to both my mom and Doug's mom!)

For the second time this winter, our sweet baby girl has croup. As horrible as croup can be, it does provide some benefits for Sophie--she gets to spend daytime hours with her "bie" (short for binkie/pacifier) and she gets to watch "t.b." (television as opposed to the disease). I benefit because she wants to be cuddled, snuggled, and smothered with kisses.

Sophie isn't feeing too photogenic these days. This first photo shows her hiding under the blanket rather than pose for the camera.

When she emerged, this was the best face she'd give me.

Sick Sophie refuses to sit in her high chair for any meals. I tried to get a photo of her eating in the big chair, but I only upset her more...

Here's hoping for a healthy week for all 3 Whitfields!

Go! Go! Go!

Life has been busy in the Whitfield household, and I've got the photos to prove it!

Sophie's vocabulary grows daily. I didn't know that she understood the concept of "go" until we were at the pediatrician's office this week for her 15-month appointment and vaccines. Sophie knows the routine: the nurse takes the initial measurements, our doctor pokes and prodes, and then the nurse returns for those dreaded shots. This time, after the doctor left the exam room, Sophie gathered her clothes and shoes, clutched them to her chest and literally ran to the closed door. Dressed only in a diaper and holding on to her clothes with a death grip, she knocked on the door and said "O-pee, O-pee" (open). When that didn't work, she turned to look at me and with a total sense of urgency said "Go! Go! Go!" Sophie wanted to escape without the vaccines. It was hysterical!

We took Sophie for a little art project. Imagine that Doug's eyes were open in this next photo...

Our final product:

Erica, (my amazing friend who nannies for us while I'm at work), texted me this photo of Sophie and Connor, her son, holding hands. Apparently, love can happen at any age...

We had a wonderful visit with D's mum. Sophie loved her time with her MB and showed it by showering MB with kisses all week; they read lots of books, made every animal sounds you could think of, watched airplanes and helicopters outside, and laughed a lot! Cathy was a huge help to me, too, by taking care of odds and ends around the house and enabling Doug and me to sneak out a couple nights for some dates with friends!

In a post entitled "Go, Go, Go", I'd be remiss if I didn't document Doug's adventures in skiing. After a successful trip to Mt. Hood two weeks ago, Doug headed to Utah this week for the World Championships. Although I stayed home with Sophie, Doug's mum joined him and sent me some of these photos. Sophie and I are so proud of this handsome and talented man in our lives!

This last photo is awesome. It documents Doug's phone call home to reassure me that he was in one piece. I had watched his run LIVE online, so I saw his massive crash at the end of the run. The broadcast commentators kept replaying the crash and repeating their concern about its intensity. Needless to say, I loved to hear his voice moments later. He is laughing in this photo, because I was relaying to him what the commentators had to say about his crash...

(isn't he cute?!!)

More "Go! Go! Go!" in the coming weeks...but we are enjoying the reprieve from rain which has allowed us to make trips to the playground! Happy February!