Vocal Vocabulary
Sophie is very chatty! She loves to talk and puts together sentences quite well. Of course, when she’s upset, that all goes out the door as she "cry talks." One of the funniest things is when she “parrots” us, and her phrasing sounds just like something Amanda or I would say.
"No Dad, you're ... you're not listening. Just please do this."
Another quirky thing is “speaking Spanish.” Ultimately, it’s a bunch of made up words, but hopefully one day she will want to learn the language. She also makes up random names. Who knows what’s going on inside that beautiful mind?!?!
Leslie and Llama Llama
We introduced some tv shows to Sophie, because I was tired of her just watching kids open up presents and playing with play dough on YouTube. On Netflix, she watches the animated version of one of her favorite book series, “Llama Llama.” In the morning, she would watch “Parks and Recreation” with me, but she’d only call it “Leslie” because of Amy Poehler’s character. After we finished that, we moved on to “The Good Place.” I enjoy watching comedies with her, as long as they’re not too inappropriate!
We watched our first movie together a week and a half ago, and boy, did we set the bar high with the original “Lion King!” I hadn’t seen it in 23 years and had loved the idea of waiting to see it again with my kid. Sophie loved Simba, but was confused about how he magically grew up just by crossing a log hahaha. It was cool seeing how she understood Mufasa was the father and Scar was “not nice.”
Fun Moments
As far as holidays, Sophie enjoyed having matzah pizza and tam tam crackers during Passover. For Purim, she dressed up as a fairy one night and a tiger the next.
We took a weekend trip to Dallas in early May for Traci’s wedding. Sophie loved having Malaysian food with Zaide, yogurt with Becca and Alex, and Shabbat lunch with Aaron and Rachel Malka! Then, she got to sleep at the Lowenberg’s. So basically, it was a pretty perfect Sophie trip. One memory will be having to pull over on the side of the road so she could use the mini potty!
We all enjoyed Aunt Boop Boop coming in for a weekend. It’s clear Sophie and she have a special connection, and we’re so happy about that.
At the beginning of June, Amanda and I spent a night at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Houston. We had a really nice time going in the Texas shaped lazy river, eating an excellent Tex-Mex dinner, and watching “Always Be My Maybe.” While we were having fun, Sophie had a blast with her first sleepover at her friend Chloe’s house!
Big Girl Bed
Speaking of sleeping, Memorial Day weekend we went to IKEA and got Sophie a big girl bed! While we expect baby boy will sleep In the bassinet at first, we wanted to have the crib ready when it was time for him to go there.
I was super impressed with Sophie’s transition! When the light on her tot clock turns yellow (at 7 am), she gets out of bed on her own and comes to wake me up.
New School
Sophie started going to the JCC's Bertha Alyce School at the beginning of June. This was a very tough decision for Amanda and me, because she really had been happy and doing well at the other school. Ultimately, things came together and we decided to make the switch. She's the oldest kid in her class, which was a bit concerning to me at first, but I do believe the teachers try to challenge her differently. Also, there are so many activity centers at the J, and I know she's having fun.
More Fun Times
Sophie likes to watch as we cook and prep dinner, as well as wash dishes. This is of course nerve wrecking because we have to make sure her hands are out of the way!
She enjoys drawing and figuring out letters. "That's S for Sophie," she'll point out. She also seems to know M for Mommy.
This summer, Sophie has already been much more excited about the pool than last year. She's gone swimming a couple times and has been loving splash days at school!
Mother's Day and Father's Day went well for both of us. Sophie made us cute cards at school and we each enjoyed fairly relaxing days. Amanda got a pair of socks with Sophie and Bali's face on them. I got a homemade Cowboys themed serving dish.
I can truly say I love my family and am happy to see what baby boy brings!
