Queen of the Pool (Guatemala)

Sophie Lu insisted on wearing her Strawberry Shortcake crown to the pool! On this particular day, there was a family adopting a sibling set of 5 there! (They have 14 children in all.) The kids were having splashing fights in the pool, and Sophie Lu (with Daddy holding her) joined right in! She was crazy with the splashing... even after they had called a truce and Sophie had gotten out of the pool, she walked by and dipped her hand in the water to splash a 10 yr old in the face! All the older kids thought she was so funny... silly little splashing queen!

Puppies & Doughnuts

Besides riding horses and being pulled by goat drawn carriages, Sophie Lu really enjoyed our Sunday walks to get doughnuts. First of all, they are the YUMMIEST doughnuts in the world (even better than Krispy Kreme). The name of the doughnut shop is "American Doughnuts", which I thought was pretty funny... Second of all, there were always lots of families selling puppies along the road (which is closed off to cars on Sundays). Sophie loved petting all the puppies, and of course, now she "wants one"! Ponies, puppies, oh my- if she had her way, we'd have a zoo!

The Two Ollie Babies! (3 weeks ago)

Here we with our two Ollie Babies!

Bringing Sophie's Ollie Baby with us to Guatemala was a great decision! She loves to be "Just like Mama"!

And yes, "Just like Daddy"!

Cute photo, huh? Well... see below! This is for everyone who thinks Sophie Lu never takes a bad photo!!!

Funny girl!

Sophie & the White Horse

Birthday Party #1: Guatemala

Sophie Lu had a great time at her 3rd Birthday Party here in Guatemala! We were joined by very special friends who will forever remain in our hearts, and we had enough cake (the yummiest cake ever) to share with the wonderful hotel staff and other guests by the pool! Sophie Lu had a particularly good time with her little guests Juan Marco, Juan Luis, and Timmy... yes- all boys at her party! I think she tried to kiss them all, too (see photos in slideshow below)!

Extreme Makeover: Hello Kitty!

So it's the night before Sophie Lu's 3rd birthday, and THIS (before) is what her special order "Hello Kitty" pinata turned out like! First of all, it's huge... and second of all, it looks nothing like Hello Kitty, huh? So, the crafy Mommy I am- I got some glue, scissors, and black construction paper and decided to rearrange poor Hello Kitty's face! Sophie Lu was a tad horrifed during the process, but she was very happy with the end result (which looks a lot more like Hello Kitty- don't you think?)

And because every Hello Kitty should carry an Hermes Kelly bag, I got a little crazy (tassel and all)....

So here she is, my precious little 2 yr old- about to turn 3! Of course, we will have a beautiful party for her when we get back to the States, but we also plan to celebrate tomorrow with some very special friends here in Guatemala....

May tomorrow be your happiest day ever, my sweet Sophie Lu!

Charmed by Sophie Lu

This is Julio and Cesar- and from day one, they've been completely charmed by Sophie Lu! They take very good care of us here, and they are even helping us plan her birthday party! (sidenote: All of these photos were taken on the same day... just so no one thinks we only brought her one dress to Guatemala... but then- you all probably know me better than that, right?) :)

Horse Ride in the Park

Sophie Lu was so excited to ride a real horse in the park! I think between this, the ice cream, and the goat-drawn carriage, this was probably one of the best days of her life!


Sophie wasn't scared, but I was! So I asked Danny to stay real close and to lead her very slowly....

But Sophie Lu had other ideas! Here she is yelling "Yee Haw! Giddy-up, faster, faster!!!"

Of course, it didn't help when we saw this little girl galloping on her BIG horse! Sophie Lu decided that "Blacky" wasn't at all fast enough- she told Danny, "Faster horse, pleeaaase!!!"

And she pretended to whip the horse like the little girl was doing- so I had to tell her to be gentle and loving instead...

Of course, being loving is something that comes so easy to Sophie Lu.

................................................Ewwwwww!!!!

.................Yes, Sophie Lu sure loves her goats and horses!!!

Ice Cream Everywhere!

Part of our daily routine here in Guatemala involves a visit to one of the many ice cream stores near our hotel. Ice cream is everywhere here- and it's some of the best we've ever had...

................................ Sophie always orders "purple" !

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Cheers, Mama!

I love the way she licks her ice cream cone- she makes the cutest faces!

And she's pretty good about eating every last crumb!

Princess Lu in her Goat Drawn Carriage!

Sophie Lu is having a blast here in Guatemala! There is a lovely park near our hotel where they have goat drawn carriage rides and ponies on the weekends!

She was so excited for her turn to parade around the park, but she was very serious about the experience... I don't think she smiled once (but I know she enjoyed it because when it ended, she asked, "More?"...

.................. At one point, she pretended to "drive" the goat...

and then she decided it might be nice to pull the goat's tail (of course I dropped my camera when she did)!!!

Though Sophie didn't smile, Michael and I were cracking up at this scene... a goat-drawn carriage? Too funny!

Afterward, Sophie thanked Kevin and gave the goat an appreciative rub between his horns... I think he enjoyed it too!

We have Oliver!

www.olivermichael.blogspot.com

Ollie News!

We are in Guatemala, and Oliver will be arriving in a couple of hours!!! Sophie Lu is SO excited! www.olivermichael.blogspot.com

Dear Sophie Lu

My Darling Sophie Lu,

As I'm watching you play in your little pool on this sunny spring day, I just can't believe how fast time has passed.... you will be three years old in a few short weeks.

You've almost been home with us now for 2 whole years, yet somehow every minute with you feels so new and still so magical. There are just countless things I love about you- here are just a few...

I love the way you still wake me up with kisses each morning
and when you hear the birds chirping, you say "Birdies... so happy, Mommy!"

I love the way you always find the moon before anyone else can
and the way you marvel at it's brightness
and you always tell him "Goodnight"

I love that you named your little wind-up toy whale "Pepper"
and how you pretend to feed him water from the pool

I love the way you pet the kitties with your feet
and how you lay your head on them like they are your pillows

I love the way you study my face for emotion
and if you're not sure, you ask me "Are you happy, Mama?"
and of course I am, because I am with you

I love the way you never complain if I give you a broken popsicle
and you look up at me with a smile and say, "Look, Mama! Two popsicles!"

I love the way you insist on wearing your plastic princess shoes
and you dance around the house calling yourself a "Rina"
and what a beautiful little ballerina you are

I love the way you use the egg slicer as a harp or the funnel as a horn
and when I ask you what you're doing, you answer, "Making music, Mommy"

I love it when I ask you what you want to be when you grow up
and you say "A doctor
and a soccer player
and a princess
oh, and play the flute"

I love the way you bake batches of pretend cookies at the beach
and when I ask you what flavor they are
you answer "Sand!"

I love what you say every time you see another mommy with her baby
"Look Mommy... like you! Like me!"

I love the way you laugh when I tickle you
and you try to get away, but when I stop
you ask me to tickle you some more

I love your hugs and the way you snuggle
and how you still ask me to rock you

I love the way you love me and Daddy
I love our family
I love you

You may be turning three, Sophie Lu... but you will always be my sweet baby girl... my sweet, beautiful baby girl...

With love always,
Mommy

Jr. Fire Marshall Sophie Lu!

There was a lot of excitement in our neighborhood last week- and apparently, I slept right through it: the fire engines, the helicopters, the police sirens and all! Our neighbor's house caught on fire! You know... the neighbor who abandoned sweet Pumpkin Kitty? Yeah- that one. Nobody got hurt though, so that's good! Anyway, the next day, the Fire Fighters came back to collect some of their equipment- and I got to see their big red Fire Truck up close!

I learned that it is a Fire Truck (and not an engine). Isn't it beautiful?

Then, I got to meet Fire Fighter Tony! He said he'd like me to be a Jr. Fire Marshall! He asked me if I wanted to wear a badge like his!!!

Do I want a badge like yours? Oh yeah, I do!!! Thanks, Fire Fighter Tony!

..................And here we are- Tony and me! Aren't we cute?

Tony explained that since I was now a Jr. Fire Marshall, I should probably get familiar with the Fire Truck. It was so neat inside!

Here I am with Tony and the other firemen on his team: Firefighter John and Firefighter Peter!

Thank you Fire Fighters John, Tony, & Peter! Thanks for protecting our neighborhood and for making me a Jr. Fire Marshall. It's especially meaningful to me because my Grandpa Elliot is a retired Fire Captain- he's going to be SO proud of me! I promise to continue to learn about fire safetly and to take my responsibilites very seriously.... so next time there is a fire, I will be ready! :)

Sophie Lu Flies a Kite!

Sophie Lu loves Strawberry Shortcake, so you can imagine how excited she was to find a Strawberry Shortcake kite in her Easter basket! Of course she wanted to fly it right away, but we had to explain that she had to wait for a windy day... so every day, Sophie would look outside for wind. Finally, one morning Sophie started screaming, "Mommy, wind! Mommy, wind!" So Daddy and I dropped what we were doing and went outside to help Sophie Lu could fly her kite! And fly it, she did! So sweet...

My apologies- I didn't realize what it was

Regarding the photo (that was supposed to be funny) I posted earlier with Sophie Lu riding a bull (cut & paste)...

I was horrified to realize that what I thought was a decorative scarf was actually blood from the bull... Thank you to Stacy T. for pointing that out. Several people had seen the photo and hadn't realized what it was either- still I feel so dumb not to have known.

I am an animal lover, and I am very much against bull fighting or any other "pastime" that causes harm to animals.

Hoping too many people didn't see it and those that did failed to realize what it was...

Shana

Fun with Family at Grandpa's Work

I had such a fun day at Grandpa Elliots work! He is a stage manager at The Culver Studios. They have filmed lots of movies there- like King Kong, Batman, Spiderman, and Gone with the Wind (Mommy was excited to learn about that one) plus lots of others. Right now, they are busy filming Las Vegas, Deal or no Deal, and other shows. We had fun touring the studios, but the best part was getting to drive around in this cool golf- cart! Here I am with my cousins Braden (w/ the lollipop) and Ian! I think Braden is extra special because he showed me how to make hand shadows in the spotlight. He made a bunny! I made something too. Everyone asked me what it was, and I was a little disappointed that they couldn't recognize it.... Like they've never seen a drawbridge hand shadow before? Geesh!

Auntie Emily, Ian, Grandpa (Pappy), Braden, Mommy, and me!

We had so much fun on the set of Las Vegas! Look at all the money we won gambling in the casino! Thanks for letting us visit you at work, Pappy! I love you!

Watching the "Big Girls" Skate

Kylie, Sophie Lu, Cami

Grace (GLQ) and Sophie Lu (SLY)

We recently attended Cami & Kylie's ice skating competition- both girls skated beautifully! Sophie's China Sister Grace was also there. It was so fun watching our two 2 yr olds watching the big girls skate! And based on some pretty funny Sophie Lu antics in the following days, I think she will be hitting me up for figure skating lessons very soon (video to follow)!

Giddy-up, Auntie Lisa!!!

We had a fun night with Auntie Lisa, her daddy Ralph, Uncle Chuck, Taylor (who wouldn't let mommy take a picture), Jamie, and my Grandpa Elliot! Auntie Lisa is lots of fun! (She is Mommy's best friend, and Mommy says she was extra fun when they were "young"!) She gave me and Jamie horsey rides! Giddy-up, Auntie Lisa!

Auntie Lisa & Mommy with their dads!

(Lisa, Ralph, Shana, Elliot)