Saturday ramblings...

It's been a thoroughly exhausting day here today. Little Sophie is not feeling well. The runny nose started up again Thursday, and then Friday morning she had her 18 month exam. It went well; the doctor is amazed at her developmental progress, especially her vocabulary (maybe 30-40 words) and her ability to follow instructions ("put this in the trash" or "bring me another book"). However, she did need three shots, and that did her in. She went back to daycare afterward, but they called K around 4:15 and said she had a fever and was fussy so he went to pick her up early.

This morning, we were supposed to have an Easter portrait taken of the girls. But Sophie woke up feeling very warm and was still fussy, so we decided to opt out today. She had a few meltdowns today. Full-blown tantrums and she's not even two yet! But she was expressing her independence a bit. I expect (hope) that things are back to normal when she's feeling better.

She only napped for an hour today, so she almost collapsed in my arms at bedtime tonight. She really enjoys going to bed. As soon as you mention it, she runs to find dolly and heads for the stairs. As soon as she gets to her room, she grabs a book and crawls up in the rocking chair. Very sweet. After she gets in her crib, she ALWAYS stands up and needs to look at several of the stuffed animals on top of the bookshelves on the wall. Annoying, but it only lasts a few minutes and then she can lay back down again.

One of her new favorite toys is a toy bed that EJ has for her Build-a-Bear pets. It's pink satin with white fur trim. She drags it around the house to find a suitable spot (usually under my feet as I'm cooking dinner), and then crawls in like it's her throne. In fact, EJ usually announces "All hail Queen Sophie!" Nah, she won't grow up with a complex or anything....

One night this week, we had steamed veggies, rice, and dumplings (of course) for dinner. Sophie tried out her new training chopsticks that Santa left in her stocking. She decided her fingers did the job much quicker, but she did get kudos for trying.

And finally, this photo is for Dad H. When he was here for the holidays, he and K started to build some shelves for above the desk in the family room to help "declutter" the desk a bit. Well, they're FINALLY up. The printer and the charging valet (one of K's Christmas gifts, to charge all the phones, iPods, and cameras) fit on the lower shelf, and we decided to put some books on the upper shelf to help declutter the other bookshelf in the room. This other "bookshelf" is really an old hutch, but the four open shelves on the top hold my cookbook collection and some pottery. The cabinet underneath holds puzzles and board games. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the result, Dad. You guys do good work. Now, let me start the project list for your next visit...

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to tackle a bit more decluttering...in EJ's room! We moved her desk around to create a little reading area for her chair and bookshelf. I got through most of the desk tonight while she was in the shower, but I can't really make some of the other things disappear until she's not around. I'm hoping that K can take her to the movies tomorrow after lunch while Sophie is sleeping. I just need another 1-2 hours to get through the stuffed animals and the closet.

One final note, it appears that Overwhelmed With Joy hasn't updated her blog since last week's recipe swap, so I'll wait until next week to post another recipe. Next week's swap is the Easter foods edition. Hmmm...what recipe to share? K is going to make his world famous sticky buns for Easter morning, but that's a LONG recipe. I'll have to see what else I can find.