Christmas Joy

The Kaul- Golter family is happy to report that we had a relaxing and fun Christmas. We continued our annual tradition of spending Christmas Eve at the Buddington house. The girls had a great time playing with Nate and Quinn, and Yale and I enjoyed having great adult conversation with good friends. We topped the night off with some delicious chocolate fondue!

We enjoyed Christmas day with just the 4 of us. Olivia woke us all up, eager to see what she got from Santa and open her presents. Olivia asked a bunch of questions about just HOW Santa manages to get down the chimney, deliver presents all around the world in one day, etc. I realized after she asked me if Santa sneaked into my room to get gift bags for their presents, that she recognized the bags from a previous Christmas. I have a feeling if she continues to believe in Santa much longer it will be out of pure will and not do to a lack of understanding.

Several hours after opening presents, Sophia, out of the blue, said, " I really like all my new stuff." She especially likes her Mermaid Dora friend and her candy cane filled with "M a M's". Olivia adores her new stuffed globe, which she calls her Earth friend.

We started building a gingerbread house and should finish decorating it today. A highlight for everyone was driving around that night looking at people's Christmas lights. The girls were really cracking Yale and me up with their reactions. Sophia kept saying, "I can't believe mine eyes!" They both decided that we were in "Rainbow Light Land". Olivia was convince that she kept seeing Santa's house, or so she said. It's so nice to see the girls get so much pleasure out of something so simple.

Bird Helpers

A few nights ago while we were driving around downtown Denver looking at all of the Christmas lights, we were all wondering how people get the lights all over the skyscrapers. Sophia astutely suggested, "Maybe the birds put them up there."

A couple of days after that while I was taking Sophia to school, as she was looking out the car window, she said, "Mommy, I wish I was on a bird. Then I could fly to Grandma's house. "

Maybe we have a future ornithologist on our hands.

Abra Cadabra?

Yale and I have been really working to get Sophia to ask for things nicely, which as times can be quite challenging. Th other day she wanted me to help her with something, but was not using her best manners while asking. Even though I don't use this phrase very often, I asked her what the magic word is. With a very bewildered look on her face, she questioned, "Abra cadabra?"

I've had two parents who have worked in Olivia's classroom at school comment about how coordinated and athletic Olivia is. If you know me very well, you know this makes me VERY happy! I have dreams of me playing in doubles volleyball tournaments with one or both of my girls at some point in my life. If either one decides they want to play volleyball, hopefully they'll get good enough before I need a cane to get around the court.

Both girls handled selling their leftover Halloween candy to the dentist like champs. I was impressed. In return for their goodies, they each got a dollar (a first for both of them), a new toothbrush and a little toy that they got to pick out. I think the Halloween Candy Buy Back program is a great idea. Not only for the sake of the girls, but also so that Yale and I don't have to spend twice as much time at the gym trying to lose those Halloween candy pounds.

Butterflies after a Snow Storm

The girls had a delightful time dressing up as butterflies this year for Halloween. Grandma Kaul kindly made them sparkly pink tutus that the girls adore! Fancy butterfly wings, glittery antenna and a butterfly wand made the outfit complete. Olivia's class party was postponed for several days because we had a huge snow storm and school was canceled on the day her party was originally scheduled. Fortunately, her teacher realized how disappointed those 17 five-year-olds would be if they didn't get to wear their costumes to school and have a party! Her favorite part of the party seemed to be showing her friends her beautiful costume and getting tons of holiday trinkets. Sophia goes to school on different days than Olivia and she got to have her class party as planned. She loved decorating a Halloween cookie and getting to wear sparkly make-up on her face.

On the night before Halloween Yale took the girls to the Wheat Ridge Pumpkin Glow where they got to see lots of carved pumpkins, play games and dance. I missed the fun because I had some work to do, but it sounded like they all had a great time.

For the first time ever, we took the girls trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood. Despite the snow storm, the evening was nice enough for the girls to still wear their butterfly wings over a light jacket and fortunately all of the snow had melted off of the sidewalks. Yale and I were both pleased with how polite the girls were while visiting the neighbors' houses. We decided it was time to go home when the girls' bag were full and all of our pockets were overflowing with candy. All of our neighbors were more than generous!

I thought both girls were going to cry when I told them that I wanted them to give most of their candy to the Halloween Candy Buy Back program where participating dentists will pay kids $1 per pound of Halloween candy. The candy then gets sent to the U.S. soldiers serving overseas. I think it's a great idea, and I think now both of the girls are warming up to the idea. Today, Olivia hesitated before eating a piece of candy because she was concerned that the soldiers wouldn't get enough candy. She still ate it, but I thought it was sweet thought. Sophia is just excited because she wants to see what a dentist office looks like. She hasn't been to one yet. I'll let you know how the actual exchange goes. Hopefully they'll still be feeling generous when we hand over the goods.

Hug-o, Clap, Clap, and Coughsez

Sophia has this new habit of adding "o" to the end of everything she says. Today at breakfast after she tasted the apple raisin oatmeal bake, she said, "Yuck-O!" She used to say, "Huggie" when she wanted a hug, but now it's "Hug-O!" Other words that she alters include: hurt-o, toe-o, head-o. I think you get the pattern.

Olivia has decided that clapping after she asks someone to do something will some how make them more likely to act or maybe act faster. She'll say to Sophia, "Get the cups!" followed with a clap, clap, clap. Or she'll say to me, "More toast!" clap, clap. I've tried to explain to her that this isn't the most effective way to get what you want and that it sounds bossy, but she just doesn't see it, yet.

Sophia has developed another interesting speech pattern. I can't think of the name of the rule that she is over-generalizing, but it has to do with making words plural. Instead of saying "ghosts", she says "ghostez". "Coughs" is "coughsez". To plural the word "leaf", she says, "Leafsez." I'll be sad when this phase ends.

So far this Halloween season has proven to be quite fun with the girls. They are so excited for the festivities that they can hardly contain themselves. Their Grandma Kaul kindly made them sparkly tutus for their butterfly costumes this year. Needless to say, the girls were THRILLED when they came in the mail! Today, we bought fancy butterfly wings, wands and necklaces to add to their costumes. On the way home from the costume store, Olivia kept saying, "Sophia is going to just LOVE her new wings!" I think this may have been her way of saying that she, too, loved her new wings.

Two nights ago we discovered a Trick or Treat bag filled with goodies hanging from the doorknob of our front door. Along with the candy was a note explaining that we'd been BOO'd, and we would need to carrying on the surprise by hanging a bag of candy on someone elses door, ringing their doorbell and running. You would have thought we were planning a trip to Disneyland. They thought this was very cool! Thank you to whomever BOO'd us first. This brought a lot of joy to our house!

Photos and an update will hopefully be posted soon after Halloween so that you can see the girls all decked out in their butterfly regalia.

Fabulous Rewards

So, last night Olivia says, "Mom, we need to start using our CD cases!" After I asked why, she responded with, "Because if you open a CD, you earn points and get fabulous rewards!"

I think she's been watching bank commercials.

This week while we were getting ready for school, Sophia said, "Mommy, I don't like the ants."
To this I asked, "What ants."
"The ants in my body," she said.
"There are ants in your body?" I inquired.
"Yeah, they're in my nose." she told me.

A Couple of Short Stories

A couple of days ago, while riding in the car, Olivia said she was thirsty, but the water in her water bottle was warm. She emphatically told me that she doesn't like warm water and wanted fresh, cold water when we got home. Sophia interjected that she likes warm water. In fact, she said, "Cold water freaks me out!"

I took the girls to the doctor for the yearly exam. Our doctor not only focuses on the physical, but also inquires about the girls' mental and emotional progress. While she was examining Olivia, Dr. Bacon asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up. Olivia, following in her father's footsteps, said, "An ice cream maker." When it was Sophia's turn and the doctor asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up. Sophia replied, "A bee." Now I've told them girls that they can be whatever they want to be, but I'm not so sure about that one.

The other day the girls where getting ready to watch some TV while I made some phone calls. Olivia said she wanted to watch the news. I wasn't sure about this, but I thought it was worth a try. After she was done watching TV, she said, "Mommy, there's going to be a thunderstorm tonight, and Montana is having some problems." I guess she was paying attention. Maybe she'll be a ice cream maker/news anchor??

pocksissle

Cute pronunciation of the week: pocksissle (popsicle)
Submitted by Sophia

Coronary on High

I was on the roof a couple of days ago cleaning out the gutters. Yale was on the ground and had just handed me the hose when I turned around and was absolutely SHOCKED to see little Sophia standing about 10 feet from me ON THE ROOF! She emphatically stated, "Look, Mommy, I'm on the roof!" I gasped and as calmly as I could, asked her to sit down. She replied, "But I'm not scared, Mommy!" After a bit of coaxing, I got her to sit down, told her I was glad that she wasn't scared, but that getting on the roof will have to wait until she's older. While I was talking with her, Yale climbed up the ladder and Sophia and I carefully scooted over to him so that he could help her down. She was quite upset that he didn't let her climb down the ladder by herself. She didn't want help! So the lesson learned here is that kids will try things that you never imagined, so in the future I will try to imagine it and be more mindful!

Advice from the Doctor

I will often rely on the power of doctor authority to get the girls to do something they don't want to do. If the girls don't want to eat any protein for dinner, I'll say, "Dr. Bacon says you should eat protein at every meal." And, yes, our pediatrician's name is Dr. Bacon. Or if one of the girls doesn't want to let me help them brush their teeth I'll say, "Dr. Strange says Mom or Dad should help you brush your teeth once a day." And, yes, our pediatric dentist's name is Dr. Strange. Anyway, Sophia has started using my own strategy on me. If I say it's bed time, she'll say, "Dr. Seuss says that I should play now." Or if I tell her she can't want TV, she responds with, "Dr. Seuss says I need to watch TV." It's kind of nice that she thinks Dr. Seuss is in her corner.

Sophia Turns 3

We celebrated Sophia's 3rd birthday a couple of weeks ago. All in all, it ended up being about a week long celebration. On Saturday, April 18th, we had a party for her at our house. I invited several of her friends and their families thinking not everyone would be able to make it, but everyone except for Aunt Beckie and Uncle Sam were able to come. Our friend the Clarks came with their kids Ellen and Hugh, Izzi and Aiden came with their mom, Megan. Our new neighbor JoAnn brought her daughters, Sarah and Marita, Zaza, of course was here, and The Buddington's with Quinn and Nathan came. We got hit with a big snow storm the day before, so we weren't able to go outside and play; so we had a full house. Unfortunately, I don't think Sophia had a very good time at her party. I learned that maybe she isn't a party-kind-of-girl, or maybe it's just a stage because she was quite unhappy for most of the party. It wasn't until I finally gave in and let her watch TV by herself that she seemed happy. Each time the doorbell rang, she said, "Not again!" She hid when we sang Happy Birthday to her, and she insisted that I hold her for most of the part. Due to the weather we ended up letting the kids swing away at the pinata in our living room while Yale and I held it up with a broom stick. In retrospect, I'm surprised that no one got their front teeth knocked out, but the kids seemed to have fun. The darn pinata was very sturdily built. After each kid had taken several turns whacking at it, I took a turn, and put a bit of a dent in it. Then several more kids took turns. I just ended up ripping it open to get it over with. After about 10 minutes of kids swinging at it, Sophia decided she'd try it and swung at it twice. Finally, when the candy was scattered all over the floor and kids were diving wildly to get their fair share, Soph cried until she got the one piece of pink candy that she'd wanted. I do think Sophia liked the present-getting part of the party. She got all sorts of fun things: a flower night light, a bunch of sand toys and a bubble gun, dress up clothes, a stroller, and a Betsy-made hooded towel. Yale and I gave her a leotard, tights and ballet skirt for when she starts dance classes. She's wanted to take dance classes for a very long time, but now with the new outfit, she can hardly stand waiting to start.

Number Brainiac

Check out the number pattern that Olivia said completely out of the blue the the other day. 1 3 2 5 4 7 6 9 8 11 10 13 12 I'm telling you the girls is BRILLIANT! And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother. Okay, maybe that might have something to do with it.

Memorable Lyrics

Sophia's favorite song to sing these days is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It sounds something like this...(be sure to imagine this sung in an adorable almost-3-year-old voice) Twinko twinko widdo tar How I wonduh what you ahr Up a buhbuh ky so high Wike a diamuhn in da ky

It's Potty Party Time!!!

I'm VERY happy to report that Miss Sophia appears to be potty trained! I was all prepared to spend a full day having a "Potty Party" with her. In the morning we were going to train a doll (one that really pees) to use the potty rewarding the doll with stickers and treats, and the afternoon we would focus on getting Sophia to use the potty with the same treats and stickers. I bought the peeing doll, drinks, treats, several fun cups, balloons, a princess outfit, stickers, and checked out potty training videos and books from the library. But Super Sophia beat me to it and decided she was ready to give up diapers before we had a chance to have the potty-training day. I had been talking up the party day, which Olivia caught onto more than Sophia. So, last night we had our friends, the Buddingtons, over for dinner and a mini party to make up for the missed official potty party. I've been very proud of Sophia. She's sleeping through the night in underwear and initiates going to the bathroom on her own. She's only had 2 accidents all week! I can't get over how cute she looks in her little Dora undies pulled all the way up to her bellybutton. My little girl is growing up! No more crib, diapers, or high chair!

Little Sophia

Sophia is at the age where just about everything that comes out of her mouth is adorable. Except of course, when she's screaming her demands at me or make sure just how much she means NO! I know I've mentioned this before, but I want to make sure I have a record of how cute it is when she leaves off the beginning letter in blends at the beginnings of worda. For example, snowman is "noman" and snack is "nack". This just melts my heart, so I have to list all of them that I can think of: poon (spoon) mell (smell) nake (snake) neak (sneak) neeze (sneeze) Another adorable thing Sophia does is pretend that her hands are spiders. She been doing this for a few months now. Sometimes one hand is the baby spider and the other is the mama. Sometimes the spider is feeding her, or it swims in the bath tub with her. It's pretty clever because this way she always has a friend with her and always something to do. She used to pretend her fingers were members of a family. One finger was the dad, another the mom, and the other were children and babies. Creativity at it's best. I love it when I can hear Sophia in another room singing to her self. Her favorite songs include "The Eensy, Weensy Pider " (which fits both themes mentioned above), the ABC's (which she knows quite well), and "Twinkle Twinkle". A few times Sophia has "read" "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" to me. As you can imagine, I find this irresistibly cute. I've tried to get her to read it to me more times, but she seems to be saving it up for special occasions. She doesn't have the entire book memorized, meaning she often has to turn the page to see what animal is next, but she definitely remembers the pattern. I've also mentioned before that Sophia is very loving. She LOVES to gives hugs! She'll often run up to me and wrap her arms around my legs. When I get her out of bed in the morning, she'll rest her little head on my shoulder and hug me while I carry her down to the kitchen. Occasionally, I'll get a sweet little kiss from her.. She takes her time, and puts the tiniest peck on my cheek. Really, even if I weren't her mother, I would think this was darling. Can you tell that I am one proud mama?