Sophie's 2 ... and about 2 months

I meant to write this around Sophie’s second birthday, but it’s been a bit of a crazy time. Thankfully, things are settling in and great things are to come.

Cheerio, London!

Before Sophie turned two, we took advantage of the fact she could still fly free as a lap child and went to London for Rosh Hashanah.

The reason we chose England was to see many of our great friends from our Singapore time who live there now. We stayed with Jeremy and Nivi and their two boys. What a fantastic feeling to fly across the pond, and yet feel like you’re staying with family. We split our holiday meals with them and with Alex and his new bride, Daniela. We weren’t able to attend their wedding in March, so this was a great way for us to celebrate with them. Of course, at all the meals, there was so much good food and conversation. 

As for services, it was fun attending synagogue there, especially taking Sophie to the kids service, where I swear Mary Poppins was leading the songs.

Before and after the holiday, we had a great time catching up with Andy, Sarah and Chloe. In our touristy time, we went to see the Changing of the Guard (Sophie enjoyed shouting, "Hi, Queen!"), walked through Hyde Park and Regent’s Park and took a walking tour around the city, seeing the Tower Bridge and Tower of London.

Sophie did extremely well on the trip. Amanda and I were both nervous about how she'd do with the time change, but she exceeded our expectations. From late meals to train rides, Sophie was a real treat.

It's Mines

Sweet Sophie can be super demanding sometimes. In addition to being possessive of certain items (shouting "It's mines), she goes into what we call “Pippa Junior” mode. This is where just like her Aunt Pippa, Sophie’s one track mind takes over.

It’s challenging when she is really determined. For example, she wanted a second helping of milk one night. I said no and then after she cried a bunch, I tried to give in by mixing some milk with water. She took a sip and declared, “No water, only milk!”

Hard to trick little Sophie “I want, I need” Rosenhouse (my dad used that middle name for me,so I guess what goes around comes around?).

Sophie’s Two Sweet
We had a full house for Sophie’s watermelon themed birthday party. I’m thankful for both sides of the family in helping turn Amanda’s vision into reality.

As this was Sophie’s first birthday where we lived in a house, it was cool having everyone stay in the house together. It was fun having everyone under the same roof.

Speaking of roofs, we also built a Sukkah for the first time. Was it it the most perfect structure ever? No, but we were happy with it and enjoyed eating in it.

Later that week, Evan, Susanne, Becca and Alex came in for the end of the holidays. The kids had a great time together. Sophie enjoyed our visits to Meyerland Minyan so much, she begged to go to “see-new-gawg” for the next week. We now use it as a motivating factor, saying if she’s a good girl all week, we can go to synagogue.

Scary Cute Cheerleader

Right before Halloween, we spent the weekend in Dallas for our friend Daniel’s wedding. It was a cool high school reunion of sorts. Plus, Sophie got to spend the night with the Lowenbergs and then have brunch with the family.

For Halloween, Sophie enjoyed trick or treating in the Dallas Cowboys cheer leading costume Cousin Sheri gave her. Some people gave us a little flack for cheering for Dallas, but I was (and am) unapologetic for it. 

Red Lollipop and Red Meat 

We just got back from an excellent weekend in New Braunfels/San Antonio.  We spent Friday and Saturday with two other couples in an Air BnB in the Hill Country.  We all had a fun, relaxing weekend in a cool place. Then on Sunday, the group drove to San Antonio for the Texas Kosher BBQ Championship.

  
It's a great event, similar to a chili cook off, but instead of chili, each booth lets you sample beans, brisket, chicken and salmon.  Sophie loved the brisket, but the red lollipop she got from a youth group was definitely her favorite part (Side note: this was my second barbeque trip of the fall, having had an awesome time with my cousin Zack in Lockhart, TX).

Part of the reason it took so long to write this was because of my job search. It’s been a tough couple of months, but seeing Sophie, Amanda and Bali has proven to be the best motivation. I’m thankful to so many people who have helped me by making calls, setting up introductions, all of it. I’m fortunate to say, it's working out. More to come on that later :)

Sophie Do It

A friend asked me the other day, "When do you stop saying Sophie's age in months?" I think the best answer is once she's two years old. So, in about two months from now, we’ll need another blog.

She's a Talker

Since the last blog, Sophie's vocabulary has definitely expanded.  The first time we noticed she could put two words together is when she said to Bali, "Not nice."  It's a phrase used at her school plenty, and Sophie picked it up.

She has colors mastered, and she's started singing songs.  Her first song was "You are my Sunshine." It’s fun to hear which parts she knows and which ones she doesn’t.

 

Sophie’s favorite phrase has to be, “Sophie do it.” Yes, she’s become quite the independent young lady and doesn’t want things just handed to her. That means some meals are a bit messier, getting dressed can take longer, but in the end, isn’t this what you want? She’s figuring out how to do things and that’s important.  

Dessert Delights 

Sophie’s favorite food is still fruit, specifically watermelon. This summer, the watermelons we’ve been getting have been particularly good. 

Besides fruit, Sophie enjoys chicken, the occasional brisket and turkey. However, she’s also like many kids, enjoying cheese, pasta and snacks. 

On Shabbat, it’s super cute to hear her ask for challah (which, she’s never shy about asking for). It also puts a huge smile on our faces when she says, “Shabbat Shalom!” Although, now we’re starting to wonder if she knows what that means. Sometimes she says Shabbat Shalom when she knows we’re about to leave a place. 

And this will be a shocker, she likes cookies, cakes and popsicles. We tried to avoid giving her that kind of thing for a while, but it crept in at the daycare and going to birthday parties. You know what though? She’s a kid. Amanda and I decided she should be able to enjoy that kind of thing now. Hopefully, we’re able to balance that type of thing with good choices as she starts to know what’s going on. 

Activities with Soph-a-loaf

Sophie likes to walk, run, investigate, fiddle, play and be a kid. She likes to put things in buckets and go “swimming” in the ball pit. 

On Sunday mornings, we’ve started taking her to a gym class at the JCC. She is able to hang from bars for a decent amount of time. It’s fun watching her attempt the different things and jump on the trampoline. 

Sophie is fairly good at playing on her own. As she talks more, it sounds like she’s explaining to herself what she wants while playing. She has a little shopping cart, and she runs all around the house picking things up and then rolling along. 

When it comes to going on walks at night, sometimes she likes the stroller, sometimes not. When she doesn’t want it, the walks are much shorter. 

Now that she’s almost two, Sophie likes having some responsibility. So, her task everyday is to fill up the food bowl for Bali. She loves using the scoop to get out the food and then carries it carefully to put it down. 

Travel Log 

We went to Austin back in April for a quick visit.  Sophie got to meet her cousin Hale, while also getting to see many of Mommy and Daddy’s friends. 

In early June, we went to Dallas on back to back weekends. Although the trips were quick, they were really nice. We visited both of Sophie’s uncles and their families, while also getting to see many cousins. Plus, there was a surprise visit with cousin Pammy. We’d just finished our Whole30 diet, so it was nice to be able to have freedom over what we ate. The long term fun of this trip is Sophie enjoys saying the names of her cousins now! The one negative of the trip during Father's Day was Sophie suffering something called "Nursemaid's Elbow." Basically, she'd popped her elbow out. Long story short, with the help of a FaceTime session with our pediatrician, I was able to pop it back into place (one of the scariest moments of parenthood for sure)!

We’re just getting back from Sophie’s fourth visit to Los Angeles. This was our first chance getting to stay in the house Gram, Gramp, Aunt Pippa and Jamie bought. It’s very nice, and it’ll be fun to see how they transform it. Aunt Boop Boop came in from San Diego and watched Sophie enjoy the splash pad at Universal Studios. Two other highlights from the trip are lunch with our high school friend, Matt, and our cousin, Jon. The other was going to Laguna Beach to meet up with Jacob, Megan and their baby, Elliott. Sophie really enjoyed the beach and for the first time, she put her feet in ocean water. 

I’m aiming to do another blog when she’s fully two years old. Who knows what we’ll be talking about then, perhaps potty training???

18 Months or In Other Words, A Year and a Half

My goal of blogging every three months didn’t work out this time, but that’s okay because a ton of stuff happened in between, starting with a very mobile Sophie Rosenhouse. 

Moving and Grooving 

Last time I blogged, Sophie was just starting to  stand on her own and showed the early signs of walking.

Now, she’s prepping for the Olympics with all the running she does. First came walking and then, she happily started running with that cute toddler wobble-hop. She also has become a big fan of climbing the couch, going up and down, up and down all by herself. 

Babbling Brilliance

Sophie is saying something, we just might not always know what it is! Her first word was "hi," and since then she’s moved on to many more. 

She knows many of the animal noises. She knows Mommy, Daddy and Bali. She also knows other family members, with Steve being “Mamp,” her attempt at Gramp.

For my dad, her Zaide is more like “Zayd.”  We’re working on learning colors, and it’s super cute when she says her go to color, “Buh-looo!”  As far as counting, she thinks the numbers go, “1, 2, 5, 6, 9, hooray!” A particular book we've loved is From Head to Toe. It's so much fun seeing how she recognizes which animal is supposed to do which action, specifically when she wiggles her hips like a crocodile!

Self-feeder

Sophie has become a much better eater, but by no means is she joining the Major League Eating circuit. Her favorite food is still watermelon. She pretty much loves all fruit, including oranges and grapes. As far as meat, her favorite is chicken. We know chicken nuggets aren’t the healthiest option, but for a kid that doesn’t eat much, we figure the protein is worth it. We also try to take off some of the breading. 

Turns out, Sophie is a big fan of soups. We found out after bringing some leftovers from an Olive Garden dinner to her school. We’re exploring more soups to feed her. 

She enjoys anything dairy it seems, including yogurt, cheese sticks, pizza and of course, milk. We've also started having her try to learn utensils. She's can use a spoon fairly well, but it does cause plenty of mess.

Missouri, Miami, Big D 

Back in October, we went to Mizzou for Homecoming.  It was the first time in about seven years Amanda and I had been back. Of course, it was Sophie’s first official college visit. It was so much fun staying with the Kranzbergs, hanging out with the Millners and seeing so many old friends.

Shakespeare’s was perfect - man, do I love that pizza! For any of those Tigers that haven’t been back since they rebuilt it, don’t worry, they preserved the feel of it so well. 

In December, we went to Miami for an amazing Singapore reunion, as well as family time. What a blessing to get to visit with David, Sarah and Aviya who traveled in from Israel. It was our first time getting to see them since we moved from Singapore. Tamar came in from Toronto and Kiersten from Washington DC. It’s truly amazing to know these lifelong friendships can pick up where they left off. It was also great getting to spend time with the Shlachtman crew. Being around that family is so easy and comforting. Pammy and I had an awesome time at the Orange Bowl, we loved watching “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with Mickey and Barbara, getting to watch Izadora take her first bicycle ride without training wheels and meeting Dara and Asher. 

In the last six months, we’ve also made four trips to Dallas. It was great coming in for Scott and Sabina’s wedding, Thanksgiving and then one random weekend. Unfortunately, the last time we came in was for Amanda’s grandmother’s funeral. I’m glad Sophie was able to provide the family some joy in a difficult time. 

A House for our Little Rosenhouse

The biggest news in this Rosenhouse family’s world is we now have our own house! Amanda has long dreamed of owning a house one day, and I’m so proud of how she made that dream a reality.

The decision to purchase a home was by far the toughest decision we’ve ever made. We ended up getting a house in the Meyerland area, but one that didn’t flood during Harvey (let’s pray it stays flood free). We hope this can be not just a house for us, but a home. It’s been such a difference already to see the way Sophie and Bali love to play in the backyard.

Owning a home is truly scary with the amount of tasks and ups and downs, but Amanda has made it doable. I’m so glad Sophie has this role model of an incredible woman. Amanda deserves all the credit for us being here, and I love her for that. (Side note: Marilyn and Melissa Rude became our first official house guests. They more than earned their keep, accomplishing many tasks to make it easier on us). 

That wraps up this blog. Sophie is incredibly fun to be around, except when she’s screaming her head off. The laugh and smile still get me every time.