Sofia's New Hat

This past weekend, my sister, Jessie, and her husband, Chris, had Sofia and Emma stay at her house. On Saturday they went to the Rheault Farm Fall Festival. Apparently, one of the craft projects they had the kiddos work on were these paper bag hats. Sofia is pretty proud of it, and I have to say it is quite stylish.

Labor Day Weekend

I've finally figured out an easier way to transfer pics from my desktop to laptop, so hopefully these posts will occur more frequently. Now just to find the spare time, eh? :)

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to take a mini-vacation, so we booked a room at the Holiday Inn in Fargo and headed up there that Friday night. We took advantage of their pool and Pirate Ship water park. Sofia really likes the water, but is scared of it too. So, it was mostly splashing in the kiddie pool for her, refusing to go down the slides, and hanging on me or Lee like a spider monkey when we were in the main pool. Looks like swimming lessons will be on the agenda next summer.

Saturday afternoon, we went to Thunder Mountain to ride the go-karts, which Sofia absolutely loved! She loves anything to do with racecars. While we were there the first time, we took advantage of the arcade games. After Sofia's nap at the motel, we went back for some mini-golf.

The next day, we swam some more before checking out. It was a great family weekend of swimming, eating, and enjoying each other's company. Hopefully we can do it again soon.

Emma's 3rd Birthday Party

On August 1st, my brother and his wife had a birthday party for Emma, who turned 3 at the end of July. Aside from the weather, which was hot and humid, the day was great. They had wonderful food, and Emma received a lot of awesome gifts, including a 4-wheeler from Katie's side of the family. She was one excited little girl and willing to give rides to anyone who wanted one. :) Happy 3rd Birthday Emma! We love you! Thanks again Katie and Jeremy!

3-Year Wellness Check

At the end of July, Sofia had her 3-year wellness check. So, we headed up to Fargo to show the doctor how big Sofia had gotten in the last year. They weighed and measured her like usual. She is now 38.1 inches (3 feet 2 inches) tall which is the 71st percentile, and she weighed 32 pounds and almost 4 ounces which is the 62nd percentile. According to the doctor, she's still maintaining the same growth pattern as before, which is good. During her checkup, the doctor asked her to do numerous things like say her ABC's or count. Now, these are things that Sofia can do easily, but she decided that she wanted to be stubborn instead. Such a little stinker! However, the doctor did believe me when I told that Sofia knew her ABC's, numbers up to about 13, her colors, so many words, and everything else she can do. It was a great checkup until we were informed that she would need a vaccination during this visit, which was a surprise. Sofia wasn't too pleased with the nurse who took her by surprise with the needle poke either. The look of betrayal on her face was pretty heartbreaking. Sofia doesn't cry easily, so when the tears started falling, I felt horrible. After a few minutes and a sticker, she forgot all about it, and we were on our way. All in all, a good checkup minus the shot. :(

Sacked out after her big day in Fargo

Storybook Land

The week after 4th of July, we went camping at Silver Lake. We decided Tuesday that we would take a trip down to Aberdeen to visit Storybook Land. It was both Sofia's and my first trip there. It was really cool! I don't know how to really describe it except that there are statues of nursery rhyme, storybook, and Wizard of Oz characters throughout the park. I know I could give a better explanation, but you just have to see it for yourself. Bonus: free admission! Everything is paid for by donations. And there was a train that took you around the whole park. Sofia was thrilled with that since she loves trains! We had a great time!

The wishing well in front of the Visitor Center




A blurred family picture (compliments of the camera, not the photographer)


An even blurrier one


Sofia, in one of the cutouts


The Little Engine that Could (Sofia was thrilled: Another Train!)






So Happy!


Sitting on the Lion and the Mouse


One of the Three Little Kittens


I don't remember if this was Little Bo Peep or Mary and her Little Lamb

3 Years Old!!

On Sofia's actual birthday, she opened up a few gifts from us. It was a pretty low-key day since we had done so much celebrating the previous weekend. She was pretty happy with all of her gifts, but she's usually pretty easy to please.

And, for my own memory, she finally achieved being fully potty trained about a week later. Yay!!! I finally just decided to do away with diapers and pull-ups and just have her in underwear. It didn't take her long to get the idea that being wet or dirty in underwear was kind of gross (well being wet or dirty in a diaper is gross too, but I digress). And, she's been doing great ever since. I wish I had tried it sooner, it might have saved me weeks of frustration. :) We've had a few accidents during naptime and bedtime, but it's pretty infrequent. I am so proud of my big girl!! Way to go Sofia!!