harvest party - three year old style!

pumpkins, hay bales and scarecrows oh my!

a pumpkin for each of her friends to decorate and take home

filled up with their goody bags too!

kids table











so hard to get a "normal" picture of my three year old!!





daddy's girl



some of sophia's buddies

Sophia handed out a pumpkin for each of her friends



let the decorating begin!



so focused on her art!

waiting patiently for present time!



thanking cathie for her lovely present!

















3 candles!!!



make a wish birthday girl!


what a fun day!

i still can't believe sophia is three!
it was a party to remember. filled with games and treats and friends.
we played pin the tail on the raccoon, drop the pin in the bottle and decorated pumpkins!
we ate candy corn, pigs in a blanket, grapes, cheese and crackers and of course cupcakes!!
we celebrated with our friends jake,adrian,lily,julia,paige,elysia and makenna.

happy third birthday sophia grace!!

 

glorious october

sophia was supposed to be born on november 22nd. i had all these idyllic visions of her birth date. it seemed like the perfect date to me. all warm and cozy. the date appealed to my senses. when i realized that in fact she was coming early. the first thing that ran though my head was "what day is this?" i realized the date was october 13th. ohhh nooooooo i thought. this is so wrong. I wished she could wait one day or have come one day earlier. i just really didn't like the 13th in october. i have often felt guilty for secretly not liking her birth date. i am so wierd. i only told my mom and sisters how i actually felt. so ridiculous to get hung up on that. believe me i know. i just have some random quirks. i should just be rejoicing that i was given this amazing girl. which i am. but i would have liked to receive her one day later. see? issues.


but this year on her upcoming third birthday i am coming to grips with it. (i love how i am talking like this is such a big life shattering deal)


i was talking with my mom the other day about just how much i adore fall. everything about it is awesome. then it hit me. duh! october is glorious and sophia is so lucky that she gets to celebrate her birthday in the best month ever!! none of this november stuff. it is all about october!! as for the 13th? i will get there. baby steps people.


so to start the month off right we headed to our local pumpkin patch. which honestly is the best patch ever!! when we lived in calgary they didn't even have a pumpkin patch (gasp, the horrors!) perhaps that's why this year i was reminded about how glorious and beautiful october is. because in calgary it went from summer to winter without any autumn. im sorry my fellow calgarians for having to endure that. such a shame.


get ready for a massive influx of pumpkin patch pictures!! seriously dudes this isn't even half of them. also my camera died just as we were about to enter the actual "patch". who takes 307 pictures in a pumpkin patch?? apparently i do! thank god for the digital era!!

... and now i am wiped out from uploading so many pictures ;) like i said my camera died so you don't get to see the pumpkins we chose. chris got a big ol' pumpkin, sophia chose two little ones and i got a white pumpkin (i always wanted a white one, it makes me happy!!). apparantly i was lucky to get one as only a few grew this year. see the early bird does get the worm!!

first week wrap up

day two of pre school was a success!

she was a little nervous in the morning but once we got her settled into class she was all smiles and gave me a big kiss and we said our goodbyes.

when i picked her up she was still playing near the teacher instead of on the playground but she was very relaxed and all smiles. did my heart good!

grampa set up a bonfire tonight in our backyard so sophia could have her first campfire and smores experience. let me tell you someone was excited!!

so was mommy ;)













the sugar high has hit!!




while we roasted our marshmallows i kept enjoying our amazing yard. it was raining and the yard looked so lush and beautiful (we had our bonfire in the gazebo).




so we made it through her first week of preschool. we had some bumps and bruises along the way and we are still adjusting. sophia has just been out of sorts all week. she has been full of attitude and defiance with me. it's been a long week to say the least. i am hoping she will be back to her old self and that it is just an adjustment period and not...dare i say it what three is going to be like, gulp!! speaking of the big three. my mom and i have come up with a very fun birthday idea for the little miss! i am excited and i will share it with you soon. for now take a moment and visit grama's blog to see what else we have been up to this week

big day

she did it!!

we woke up bright and early and started our day.

first up we had blueberry pancakes. sophia made a special request for them the night before. she ate, she got ready in her special new outfit then it was picture time!





i brought her to her class. we met a few new friends as we waited outside the classroom waiting to be let in. we were early birds.

it was busy. so many kids. so many parents. all excited and nervous. we found her little hook and cubby. we put away her backpack and switched her into her indoor shoes. next we lined up to wash her hands. we then found her name tag and found a spot at the coloring table. i told her i loved her and i would see her after class (just like we practiced). she was cool. she said "ok mom" and we hugged and off I went holding down the lump in my throat that was dying to come out.

11:30 arrived and i promptly greeted sophia out on the play ground. as i was walking up to the play area i could see lots of kids playing and running about. i looked and looked but i couldn't see sophia. hmmm i thought. she must be inside the playhouse. as i got closer the teacher stepped aside and wouldn't you know it sophia was standing right there next to her. she was just standing there and playing with the rocks. i gave her the biggest hug i could but she was just kinda being cranky and furrow browed. I eventually got the smiles from her and giggles and all was well again. i asked her teacher ms. barbara how she did. she said she was very good and that she was always right behind her. she said that every time she turned around sophia was right there. "Oh" i said "she was your shadow for the day (welcome to my world!)" the teacher laughed and said "yes, i kept calling her my silhouette". we said goodbye and got all her things.


here is her classroom (ms. barbara is kneeling at the table)



on our way out sophia showed me the class gerbil. not sure what his name is yet.



we said goodbye to the schoolbus that she really wants to ride on





the funny thing with preschool is you don't get a play by play from the teachers. you dont get much. what you do get is cryptic bits and pieces from your child. i learned that she got two tinkerbell stamps on her hands for listening. they read an alligator book and got to touch a real alligator (it was a toy but this is sophia's version). she ate her snack. and that's about all i got.

as the day went on i got a little more info. she made a friend named sarah.

it wasn't until bedtime that i got the real deal. and it made my heart a bit sad.

she told me that she was sad because she missed me. she said when she was coloring she cried because i wasn't there. (heartbreaking). i told her how proud i was of her and that she did it without me and that it will get easier every time.

she then told me she didn't want to play on the playground. she wanted to play on the grass. i said well im sure that would be ok if she wanted to do that. sophia told me "no, the teacher said i couldn't". "ohhhh" i said. it all came clear in my head...that was why she was out of sorts when i picked her up. she said "i was just standing on the rocks and i was bored, i didn't talk to anyone" (had to hold back my tears and the urge to promptly pull her out of preschool and keep her home safe with me). i told her that it was ok she didn't want to play on the playground but she should try and that she might like it. i let her know that she was a good girl for listening to her teacher and following the rules.

day one. we already learned a life lesson. she will get stronger from it all. she will get braver. i know she will. she is not the type that will just run off and play and mingle. it intimidates her and she gets very shy. i just have to trust that the teachers are sensitive to her and that they will help her grow more comfortable with the big group environment.

i just hope she is still excited about going again on thursday. it might be harder the second time around you never know. fingers crossed!!

and if you were wondering what i did while she was at school?? i went to my new/old favorite place. value village. that's right. i am addicted to thrift shopping again. most of sophia's clothes are second hand these days. you can get the best stuff for so cheap. love it. i also went grocery shopping for our chicken, apples and peanut butter dinner. but we ate it at lunch ;) i also made monkey bread. so dangerous and so good!!!

the eve of pre-school

twas the night before pre-school, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

the backpack was packed by the door with care,
in hopes that the school bus would soon be there.

sophia was nestled all snug in her bed,
while visions of school books danced in her head.
and mama with her handkerchief had just settled her brain
to realize her baby girl is GOING TO PRE-SCHOOL!!!!!


back in the day (feels like yesterday, where did my baby go? seriously holding back tears over here) when she would let me pose her in pretty fall sweaters! Sophia at 8 months



now this is what i get....



and this...



(the above pictures were taken last thursday when we went for sophia's orientation. she got to meet her teachers ms. barbara and ms. linda and see her classroom)

she better pose for me tomorrow...in her new outfit!! thank you auntie sara for the early birthday present!! i am going to make sophia wear that vest every day of her life. (i found those cute ankle booties at walmart, holla!)



she is all set with her new lunch box and backpack!! the lunch box came all the way from europe! thank you grama and grampa! the backpack is from sophia's friend alex in calgary! he knows how much sophia loves strawberry shortcake :)



thumbs up for pre-school!!



too excited to sleeeeeeeeep!



pretending to sleep. she told me to make the picture dark and take a picture of her "sleeping". she is a very good actress. we had a lot of fun tonight before bed talking about the next day. we took a million silly pictures. we laughed so hard because every picture we took her eyes are ALWAYS closed. the only two where her eyes are open i posted.



yesterday i asked her what she would like as a special first day of pre school dinner. i told her she could choose anything she wanted. she replied that she would like "apples, chicken and peanut butter".


i love you sophia grace. tomorrow is a big day for both of us.
not gonna lie i am looking forward to the two hours of "me time" but at the same time it is really really hard letting you go. it means you are no longer in any way my little baby. that is hard for this momma to deal with. i have never left you somewhere other than a family members house. this is it. you are now in the world of learning to fend for yourself. momma won't be there to run to if you are nervous or scared or intimidated. there will be 17 other kids in your class. gulp. i hope you won't get lost in the shuffle. in groups you get so quiet. you tend to shy away and let other kids get their way. i want you to be brave and confident. i want your teachers and new friends to see what a sweet, creative, unique little girl you are! i know they will. how could they not. you are amazing. i am so blessed to be your momma!