Keddiebears

This year's Christmas card

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 19:06:00 +0000

So this year's Christmas card marks a major shift for us -- we've decided that our kids are way cuter than we are, so the front of our card features just them. Plus, it's significantly easier to get a cute portrait of them than it is to do a remote/timer shot of all four of us at once... ;) I did manage to eke one out this fall, so the back of our card has a black and white photo of all four of us. Which is one of literally only two photos I have of all four of us together this year... Any photographers in central NJ want to do a family photo swap sometime next year? :)

Joshua and Sophia were actually kind of happy and excited about photos this crisp late fall morning when I dressed them up for Christmas photos. Joshua thought it was hilarious, sitting on the leaves -- he kept asking Sophia if she saw the leaves, and laughing when she would try to eat some. :) And Sophia was just excited to be outside, giggling when the wind blew and content to sit and smile at the world around her.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

Our 2013 special ornament

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 01:57:00 +0000

So far, we've managed to continue our little family tradition of having a special annual Christmas ornament to commemorate the year... This marks our eighth year of doing this! Pretty soon, I'll have to find a different way to display these ornaments... :)

2013 was a big year of change and growth for our family. Both David and I have had exciting new challenges professionally -- me with my new job ventures, David with his ever-evolving responsibilities in campus ministry. Sophia continues to grow and change in leaps and bounds every day, adding new words and new motor skills seemingly by the minute.

But perhaps the biggest, most obvious change to our family rhythms this year was the introduction of formal school for Joshua. Starting preschool has brought so many exciting and wonderful changes in our little guy's life. He's grown so much in vocabulary and art skills and other immediately obvious "learning" skills. But it's also been amazing to watch him grow in understanding in so many different ways -- from complex sentence structures, to empathy for other children, to remembering what he's done during the day and being excited to relate extended stories about what he did, it's all been such a joy to watch!

And having Joshua in school three mornings a week has opened up a lot of time for the rest of us. It *is* a bit of a scramble on school mornings to get Joshua fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:15. But once he's there, I've had some really sweet one-on-one times with Sophia. And when she's taking her morning nap, I suddenly have decent stretches of time to catch up on life. :)

So we thought that it would be fitting to get a little school-themed ornament this year, to remember the beginning of this new season in our family's life. We're so thankful that Joshua's first experiences of school have been predominantly positive, and we pray that he'll continue to enjoy his time learning and exploring and growing through his entire school career!

Some fun kiddo updates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 04:39:00 +0000

Earlier this fall, Joshua taught Sophia how to play a version of hide and seek. It starts with all three of us sitting on the floor of the living room. Joshua then asks me, "can the two children go away from you, Mama?" Which is my cue to tell him, "yes, let's see if Sophia can find you!" He then crawls quickly away, over to the kitchen, and calls Sophia's name. About half the time, Sophia will take her cue and start crawling over to the kitchen to look for Joshua. Even though he's always, always in exactly the same place, she'll look under the dining table, in the bathroom, and then make her way to the kitchen. When she comes into view, they both start squealing with glee. Cutest hide and seek ever!!

*****

Joshua has started learning how to take pictures with my cell phone camera. He'll hold the phone, compose a shot, tap the shutter button, and then immediately hit the camera roll to see the photo he took. And then get distracted by scrolling through the other pictures and then ask if he can find Thomas (i.e., watch YouTube videos). :) But in that brief moment of focus, he's actually got a pretty good eye! Here's his first photographic attempt, an image he's titled "Purple Cadillac Needs Help."

*****

Words that Sophia definitely knows how to say now and uses regularly in the right context:

- hi
- please ("peesss")
- thank you ("hmm-ooo" with a glottal stop in the middle)
- no
- no touch (usually said when she's trying to touch something she knows she shouldn't!)
- no hit (usually said indignantly to her big brother)
- bye-bye
- dada
- mama
- yum yum
- cheese
- bless you

*****

We had our first snow last week, and Joshua woke up super excited to see it falling. He came into our bedroom and glued himself to the window to watch the snow. Sophia was still asleep at first, so it was just the three of us and the snowfall. Then Sophia started stirring, which drew Joshua's attention to the video monitor on my nightstand. He immediately picked up the monitor, and following the principle of "if I can see you, you can see me," he pressed the monitor to the window, saying earnestly, "Sophia! Look at the snow!!"
*****

More snowy fun: when David goes out to clear the car, Joshua insists on getting his boots, coat, and mittens "just like Papa," so he can "wipe the snow" alongside him. :)

*****

(This was posted verbatim on FB, but it's too good not to share here!)

Sophia: *indeterminate screaming*
Me: *holding her, rocking her, walking her around*
S: *more indeterminate screaming*
Me: Sweetheart, what do you need?
S: *deep breath* Chzzz.
Me: Cheese? OK, we can get you cheese!
S: Peessss ["please"].
Me: *handing her cheese*
S: Hmm-ooh ["thank you"] *happy and quiet snacking*

Communication, y'all. It works wonders!

*****

The kiddos' favorite part of Stone Hill Church? The food!

Stone Hill Church of Princeton

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:38:00 +0000

One other thing that's kept me busy this fall? I've started a new part time job!

The legal recruiting gig that I started back in January has been great in terms of its flexibility, and I can see how it could be a wonderful work-from-home income generator. But in this season of our family's life, with two very young children at home, I just haven't been able to carve out the hours that the job really would require. I've had some promising opportunities (and one that may still work out this year), but after taking a hard look at our finances and our needs, we decided in late October that I should probably start looking for something that would be a better fit.

Just when we came to this conclusion, our senior pastor called and asked if I would consider taking an executive position at our church. Totally out of the blue, perfect timing -- God saw our need and opened a door that I never would have considered a possibility. And the job is such a wonderful fit for me, and for us! Officially, I'm the Executive Associate to the Senior Pastor. We're all still working out exactly what that means, but essentially, I'm here to provide logistical and executive support to Pastor Matt and, secondarily, the other pastoral staff. I'm in charge of church public relations, I'm coordinating special events, I'm working out feasibility analyses for Pastor Matt and Pastor Tracy (both of whom are big idea guys, so my detail-oriented persnickettiness is actually of use!), and I'm taking basic executive functions of their plates so they can better focus on ministry work. And I'm loving it all!

It's been a critical season of work for the church these last few months, too -- because after over 25 years of trying, planning, and praying, Westerly Road Church has finally built a new church building, and transitioned into being Stone Hill Church of Princeton this month!

"When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.' The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad." (Ps. 126)

I took some photos of the old Westerly Road Church building on our last Sunday in that space. Small though it may have been (see the odd L-shaped sanctuary, where an office wing was repurposed to make more room for the congregation?), it was well-loved!

And then I had the pure joy of taking some photos at the first worship service at the new Stone Hill Church. The name was chosen in part as a nod to the geographic location -- the building sits on a very rocky piece of land, on a bit of a ridge, near the township of Rocky Hill. But there are also deeper theological shades of meaning to the name. The "stone" could reference Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the church, and all the members of the body as living stones out of which God builds His church. And the "hill" evokes, among other things, the city on a hill, with the light of the gospel shining forth in the darkness.

After so many years of praying and hoping, it was such a JOY to worship together in such a beautiful space!

The Atrium is a truly lovely space, and for the first time, we now have the ability to stay and talk and actually see other members of the church, rather than being quickly forced outside due to space limitations!

Joshua and Sophia loved the Atrium, too. :)

What a beautiful space, and what a joyous occasion! As Pastor Matt preached and prayed on Sunday, may the gospel come in power in this place!

Thanksgiving 2013 in North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 04:37:00 +0000

This year, for Thanksgiving, we made the drive all the way down to North Carolina to spend a few days with my parents and brothers. It was a long drive, with lots of crazy holiday traffic, but it was definitely worth the effort to make this visit!

Sophia is old enough now to be beyond most of the worst of her stranger anxiety, so she deigned to allow her grandparents and uncles to hold her and play with her. And Joshua is old enough to really play with others and appreciate all manner of fun games!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, got to meet my brother Eric's girlfriend Heajin, went to see "Catching Fire" while my parents watched the kids, and generally had a lovely time.

Next time we visit, I'll have to bring my proper camera. :)

Thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Joshua's first school picture!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 04:26:00 +0000

One of the preschool rites of passage that I was most looking forward to was seeing Joshua's first school pictures. You can never tell whether it'll be hilarious or cringeworthy, but with Joshua, I knew either way, it would be super cute. :)

On picture day, we spent the morning before school talking about photographers and cameras and how super happy fun exciting it would all be. One of the "Thomas the Tank Engine" episodes Joshua loves to watch includes a segment with a photographer taking pictures of the trains, so he had a fun point of reference for the whole experience. (Read: more fun than the times mama forces him to sit next to Sophia and smile and look at her annoying camera!)

When I picked him up from school that morning, I asked him about the photographer, and he was full of fun stories. "There was a 'tographer at Joshua's school! I liked the 'tographer. I sit down in a chair! TWO kids sat on the table. One kid was sad. I was sad, Mama, I was sad. The 'tographer took my picture! And I was sad! I liked the 'tographer."

So, um, I really wasn't sure whether the photo captured him in a happy frame of mind, liking the chair, or if he would be sympathy screaming with another kid...

The photos came in a few weeks later, and oh my goodness, y'all, look at this cuteness!

When I get a chance, I really need to scan in the photo, but this cell phone shot will do for now! I'm so very, ridiculously pleased with this first school picture. So impressed that the photographer caught a genuine smile from our handsome little man!

Random Instagrammy goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 04:10:00 +0000

Just some fun Instagram shots from this fall, to record these memories for posterity. :)

I can't get over how cute Sophia is when she plays peekaboo! Her chubby wee hands are juuuust barely big enough to cover her eyes!

He asked me to build a tower with his cars. I told him it wasn't possible, and tried to steer him to other toys. Minutes later, I see this.

Fifi's first pigtail!

"I make a big tower! And now I make a big smile!"

A lazy Saturday morning playing in the window seat.

Joshua's first field trip -- to a farm! With a bus, and a hayride!

Sophia loves wiping up, and will try to help clean any time you give her a napkin or cloth.

With Shaddai on Ms. Angela's birthday, at small group.

Sophia's pumpkin butt sleeping position (deeply asleep on a Monday morning, just before I have to wake her so we can pick Joshua up from school...)

Playing with friends' water bottles during Wednesday small group!

Halloween 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 01:27:00 +0000

One of Joshua's favorite books this year has been "The Story of Ferdinand," so we decided together that he would be Ferdinand for Halloween this year. And since Ferdinand loves to "sit just quietly and smell the flowers," we thought it would be appropriate for Sophia to be a little pink flower!

And Joshua is old enough this year to get into the acting part of being in a costume -- I asked him to smell the flower like Ferdinand does, and he fully complied!

We had two Halloween-related parties with Joshua's preschool class this year. The first was a fun little gathering at Thomas' house, where the kids dressed up in their costumes and had lots of fun unstructured playtime and Halloween treats. (For days afterward, Joshua asked if we could go back to Thomas' house so he could have lollipops!)

And then there was a costume parade and celebration at Joshua's school. The kids went one by one across a low balance beam, stopped in the middle, and announced to the crowd of parents what they were for Halloween. Joshua marched out happily when it was his turn, and proudly shouted out "Ferdinand!!" I was so proud!

The kids finished up by singing some fall-themed songs and gleefully showing all of us parents their favorite hand motions.

So, so absurdly cute. :) And so much fun, now that Joshua is getting old enough to really enjoy holiday traditions like this!

Going pro

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:44:00 +0000

One of the things that's kept me so very busy this fall is my growing little photography business.

...And I'm pretty sure that's the first mention of Christina Keddie Photography I've made on this here blog. Which is a little absurd, since I've been legally in business since May 2012! So let's backtrack just a bit, shall we?

When I left my last law firm job, a dear friend of ours, who is himself a photographer and also works at the University communications office, mentioned that he might be able to throw some freelance photography work my way, as a small way of supplementing our family income. So I went through the process of making myself a legal small business owner, thinking I would take the occasional job from the University but not do much more than that. I registered myself with the state and filled out all the appropriate forms, did a little bit of market research to figure out a fair quote for freelance event work, and slapped together a portfolio. Which was thankfully pretty diverse and full of Princeton-related event photos already, thanks to being the unofficial PEF photographer for so many years!

I got to do a few paid gigs for the Princeton Alumni Weekly and the Ivy League Christian Observer, and had such a blast doing them. I found, to my surprise, that not only did I enjoy the photographing and post-processing work, but I also really liked thinking about the business side of things and being an entrepreneur. Slowly, I started diving into the world of running a business -- writing up a basic business plan, learning how to market myself, painstakingly figuring out a good and sustainable pricing model, drafting contracts (for myself, not for a corporate client!)... I found myself voraciously reading everything I could get my hands on about pricing, client relations, photography business structures, and following all kinds of rabbit trails through this exciting new world -- usually while I was up late at night nursing Sophia. ;)

So last October, I officially launched my business Facebook page. I ran my first mini-sessions special, and started putting myself out there to attract portrait and wedding clients. This past April, I shot my first wedding as the primary photographer. And over the summer and fall, I've had a steady trickle of bookings -- referrals from friends of mine, and, excitingly, people who just found me via a Google search and decided to hire me!

I'm consciously keeping this a part-time venture for now (you know, while I have another part-time job and two very young kiddos at home!). My goal is to have an average of two portrait sessions per month and two to three weddings per year. And this fall, during the photography busy season (October into November), I'm booked solid!

So I just wanted to share a few of my favorites from this year. I feel like sharing them here makes it even more real that I am, in fact, a professional photographer. ;) I'm so thankful for work that I love and that fits well with our family's needs in this season of life!

Joshua's first day of preschool!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 00:20:00 +0000

(This is coming three months after the fact, so I'm backdating like crazy, but I'm determined to get some posts and photos up to cover what we've been up to this fall! So here we go...)

Joshua had his very first day of school on September 9! Giving him a new routine mantra definitely helped, though in retrospect, I should have added "...and then just Joshua will be at Joshua's school..." in the middle of the schedule rundown. He was very happy to go in the blue car with me, talking about how *we* were going to his school, and then he got a bit upset when I started to say goodbye to him in the classroom. So I stayed a few minutes longer, and one of the other little boys in the classroom offered him a firetruck, and that kind gesture (plus the panoply of new and different trucks!) helped Joshua decide that this school thing might not be so bad after all. :)

He didn't have much to say when I picked him up that first morning. But on Wednesday, on our ride back home, he started telling me all kinds of stories about what he did, what he saw, how many trucks he played with, and how his teacher told him it was "time for the trucks to take a rest" and then they sang songs and ate a SNACK!! This is huge for him -- up until that point, he had never really been one for relaying what he's done after the fact. So this was the first time I got to hear directly from him what he did and what he liked -- and I confess, I teared up a bit hearing how excited he was.

We're so thankful for what he's already learned from this wonderful little school environment! We have friends who have sent their kids to this nursery school, so we knew that the teachers were fantastic and that the program was excellent, but we're doubly thankful that the other boys and girls in Joshua's class are such a great little bunch. The teachers have commented on how everyone plays together so well, and it's exciting to hear Joshua name specific kids in his daily narratives. He does tend to need a little space, and a little time to get used to new environments, so it's encouraging to watch him embrace this new normal.

And of course, I took some "formal" first day of school photos of our big boy. :) I had all these visions of getting him to pose cooperatively while holding a special "first day of preschool" sign, but, well, he was a little too excited by all the events of the day, and very curious about what was on the frame I wanted him to hold...

This one was the very best of the lot:

Look at how grown up our little guy has gotten! So thankful that this transition has been going so well, and can't wait to see how much more he learns and grows this year!

On the eve of preschool...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 00:02:00 +0000

Tomorrow is Joshua's first day of preschool.

We've ironed name labels on all his clothes, given him a fun new firetruck backpack to carry to school, met his teachers, taken him to visit his classroom, and given him a rundown of the schedule for tomorrow, which he's been repeating to himself occasionally over the last few days: "On Monday, just Mama and Joshua will go in the blue car, and go to Joshua's school, and Mama will stay for a little bit, and then we'll say bye-bye to Mama, and then play with the trucks and toys and new friends, and then go to the playground, and then Mama will pick me up!"

I have no idea where he gets his need for controlled expectations. ;)

I've been making lists and detailed plans for myself as well. Though the kids typically wake up before 7, they sometimes sleep in as late as 8, so I'm setting an alarm for myself for the morning, just in case. I've got breakfast planned out. David has no scheduled activities for the morning, so he's on Sophia duty. I've printed out a super cute "first day of preschool" sign and I'm hoping Joshua will be cool with me taking some photos of him holding it tomorrow morning. Then I'll put him in the car, drive over while continuing to talk up how exciting and fun preschool will be, park in the designated section as close to the school as possible, walk in with Joshua (probably holding his backpack for him, since he's still got an irrational aversion to actually wearing the thing, much though he loves it), sign in on the attendance form, stay in the room for a few minutes to try to get him acclimated, and then walk out.

Leaving my big boy in his first classroom.

Thankfully, I have more tasks that will immediately need to get done -- I have to get a prox card for the building, turn in this month's tuition check, and then come home and make some work phone calls.

But ack, I'm feeling all nervous and weepy and nostalgic.

Funnily enough, David doesn't feel that way at all. We talked about that some this morning -- David is really excited about Joshua's school, and his bent is more towards anticipation for the next stages of Joshua's life. Which of course I share, but right now, any thoughts of the future beyond tomorrow morning make me even weepier -- before we know it, we'll be moving Joshua into his college dorm room and he'll be leaving home and, and, and...

We laugh about how I'm being the stereotypical clingy mother here, but yeah, it's really true.

I'm really hoping that Joshua will love his new school. And I'm also hoping that I'll be able to make this transition gracefully and well!

But in the spirit of nostalgia and clinginess -- the kids and I enjoyed one final summer hurrah the other day, by playing outside in swimsuits. :) It's September, and the pools are closed, and it's already too chilly for playing with water toys, but I hadn't had a chance to get pictures of them in their cute swimsuits all summer, so I dressed them up anyways!

Looking for Joshua, who's off in the distance picking his beloved "teeny tiny pinecones":

How big is Sophia? SO BIG!!

I wanted to get a shot of the two of them together, but Joshua was too busy running back and forth. So this is the only one I got:

And Sophia thought her hooded coverup was hilarious:

(Or maybe she just thought I was hilarious -- check out the reflection of me all sprawled out in her eyes!)

I'm going to miss having both kids home with me all the time. But it's obviously a good thing that they're growing and thriving, and we really are looking forward to this new stage of our lives. (Three mornings a week, it'll be just me and Fifi! And with her weaned and Joshua going to school, I'll actually have time for myself, for work and rest and non-kid-related endeavors...)

Just, please pray for us as we make this transition. Hopefully I'll have a chipper update up here on the blog sometime soon!

Video update: Party tricks with the Keddie kiddies!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 18:25:00 +0000

Just a few snippets of the fun and funny things Joshua and Sophia are doing these days!

Some video footage of the hide and seek game they were playing during Sophia's 12-month photos:

Sophia demonstrating her ability to say "yes" in response to her very favorite question:

Sophia just chilling, standing like a boss:

Cascading giggles in the car. I just wish I could have reached around to get a glimpse of Sophia's face!

A longer video, of Joshua "reading" one of his favorite books, "Flap Your Wings":

Reading together. Or at least, next to each other.

Joshua, my assistant videographer, narrating a video of his baby sister:

And a short one, showing off Sophia's latest trick -- "how big is Sophia?"

Trip to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 02:44:00 +0000

Earlier this month, right after Sophia's birthday, we drove out to Indianapolis to visit David's parents for about a week and a half. We love visiting Indy -- the kids love hanging out with their grandparents, the grandparents love taking care of us, and David and I get to relax and be refreshed!

We've made the long drive out to Indy often enough now that Joshua knows he gets to go through a bunch of tunnels on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house. :) So even though the drive is long and the kids do get antsy at several points along the way, it's becoming slightly easier to make the trip, with Sophia being weaned and old enough to make it longer between stops, and Joshua waiting eagerly for the super fun dark tunnels! I tried to get some of Joshua's eager anticipation on video -- he's a bit self-conscious here since he knows I have the phone out, so just multiply this glee by about a thousand to imagine what he was like for all the other tunnels we drove through. :)

And when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, even though we arrived after 11pm, Joshua made a beeline for the toys (he remembered the "big airplanes" and "different trucks" and had been requesting them for days before the trip), and Sophia was actually okay with being held by her grandparents. The kids really do know and love their grandparents, and we all had such fun being taken care of by them!

Halfway through our time in Indy, David and I actually got away for a couple days, leaving the kids with their grandparents. We were only about half an hour away, in downtown Indianapolis, but it was our first overnight trip away together since Joshua was born, so we figured we'd start small. We stayed in a lovely hotel in the heart of the downtown area, ate out at nice restaurants, and generally relived our yuppy DINK youth. ;) Though we kept saying the whole time that we have no idea how we spent our time before the kids arrived...

It really was a win-win-win -- Joshua and Sophia had a blast with their grandparents (who took them to the zoo! And gave them focused attention!), the grandparents really loved having the opportunity to spend so much time with the kids, and we had a lovely couple days away. We hope to do this every year!

One of the other reasons why we made this trip when we did is because there was a family reunion in mid-August -- David's grandmother turned 90, so everyone was gathering in Pittsburgh to celebrate. It was so wonderful to see everyone, especially now that there are more babies! :)

Sophia really got a kick out of our hotel room bed... I got her ready first and then gave her Cheerios to keep her occupied while the rest of us got ready. And then promptly got distracted by how cute she looked in her pretty little dress, and took a ton of pictures!

And just a few of the photos from the birthday gathering, which was held in the community room at the Reformed Presbyterian home, where Great-Grandma relocated earlier this year. I'm afraid the pictures I took are very kid-centric -- but what can I say, the four youngest family members are undoubtedly the cutest, so there you have it. :)

And this one just because I love the suspicious side-eye Sophia's giving her second cousin, Adrienne. :)

And a big family group photo!

(With just one outtake: I got Joshua to look at the camera and smile by telling him to look for the blinking yellow light, but it backfired when he decided to run straight for it!)

We're so thankful we had the chance to spend time with so many loved ones on this trip. Our kids can't wait for the next family vacation!

Sophia Watch: Twelve Months

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 03:23:00 +0000

We did it! We made it through twelve months of Sophia Watch! Hurray! Sophia's pretty psyched about it, too. :)

I can't believe our sweet little girl is already a full year old... She's getting to be such a big girl, too! It's just as well that I'm so late in posting this month's Sophia Watch, because she's really starting to hit so many milestones now -- so this will be a mix of Sophia's 12th and 13th months. :)

While she's still not crawling, she *has* figured out a really cute squat/scoot combo that gets her around in a haphazard way. :) If you put her down on her belly, she immediately puts her legs out in a froggy split, and then pushes herself up into a sitting position. I keep trying to get it on video, but she's so darn fast! She's also discovered that by reversing that move and scooting her bottom over a bit, she can slowly maneuver herself around on the floor -- she goes from sitting, to froggy split on her belly, scoots herself backwards a bit, and then pushes herself back into a sitting position. It's not the fastest or most precise method of locomotion, but it's incredibly cute. Especially given her shrieks of triumph when she manages to get close enough to grab another toy!

Sophia has also started saying a few more words this month! She reliably announces our names whenever we come into view, and she's added a floppy little hand wave and "hiiiii!" The best is when we're driving somewhere, and then I come around to get her our of her carseat when we've arrived -- because she's rear-facing, she doesn't see me during the whole of the drive, and then gets super excited when she sees me again. She starts vigorously waving both her arms, tilts her head at me, grins, and shouts "hiiiiii! Mamamamama!"

Other words she says: milk (which she pronounced perfectly once earlier this week, but usually says more like "meh" while reaching insistently for her cup), yes (typically in response to me asking if she wants more food), no. I, um, may have taught her that last one -- she's been in a food-throwing phase lately, and I said "no!" to her very sternly, which seems to have made a big impression on her. Now she babbles to herself "no, no, no, no" -- as she throws her food. Here's hoping she learns to not actually throw her food!

And Sophia and Joshua are really starting to play *with* each other more these days. Joshua has learned that if Sophia has a toy he wants, the easiest way to get it back from her is to hold out his hand in front of her and wait. She loves sharing with us, even more than actually playing with an object herself, and Joshua is learning to take advantage of that. Which is much better than him grabbing things out of her hands! They also love dancing together, particularly at the table -- Sophia will start rocking back and forth in her booster seat, and Joshua will laugh and start rocking his own chair. They make each other laugh so hard!

And some more sweet photos from our little 12-month photo shoot -- I did at least take these right on Sophia's birthday. :)

Big brother wanted to help, but then he got bored and started hiding under the blanket off to the side. Which Sophia thought was absolutely hilarious!

Then Joshua wanted in on the sticker-wearing photoshoot fun. He didn't want to sit nicely next to his sister, but I think this sequence is a sweeter representation of their relationship! (Please excuse his jammies and Thomas underwear... Again, a more faithful representation of how he prefers to present himself these days!)

Happy birthday, sweet Sophia! We love you, and are so thankful for your presence in our little family!

Sophia's flower garden first birthday party!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 02:13:00 +0000

I just can't believe our baby girl is a whole year old! We decided to go with a super girly flower garden theme for her birthday party, and invited pretty much all our friends to come and celebrate our sweet Sophia!

As I've mentioned before, we had a really fun themed photoshoot for her party invitation. And I think it came out super cute! As is becoming par for the course for me, I found a designer on Etsy to put together the party decorations for me -- and just look at the beautiful invitation she created!

The rest of the party decor was in pinks and greens, playing off the colors in the invitation. I tried my hand at a cake I found on Pinterest, complete with little fondant daisies (my first attempt at working with fondant), and put together more pink and green desserts and snacks (pink frosted sugar cookie bars, caramel-dipped green grapes, pink liners for muffins and cupcakes). And I strung up some pink and green streamers to hide the messiness of our dining room shelving. ;)

So many friends came over to celebrate Sophia's birthday with us! I had hoped to have some overflow space out our back door, but it was gloomy and rainy that morning, so we ended up being a bit, um, cozy indoors. :) But I think everyone had a good time hanging out -- and Sophia enjoyed seeing everyone! Once she woke up, that is. :)

And of course, the best part of a first birthday party: baby's first taste of CAKE!!

What a fun party! Happy birthday to our sweet little girl!

Paupac Vacation!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 01:37:00 +0000

So David and I aren't exactly the adventurous type. Left to our own devices, our family would just stay home, relaxing with our books and toys and electronic devices, and maaaaaybe go outside for a walk every once in a while. Maybe. ;) It's not that we dislike the great outdoors or going on excursions -- it's just so much easier, especially with little kids, to stay in our normal routines...

So it's a really good thing we have friends to shake things up for us every once in a while! Lucy and John, whose daughters Anna and Elly are almost exactly the same age as Joshua and Sophia, proposed that we take a joint vacation up in the Poconos, renting a mountain home together for a week. We invited our friend Anna M. to come along as well, and we all had such a blast!

The house we rented was perched right on Lake Paupac, with a great series of walking trails that wound around the lake. And much to the kids' delight, there were great patches of blueberries in easy (toddler) walking distance. Joshua and Anna loved helping to pick berries -- we could generally get them to stay on task for a few handfuls before they set in to eat as many berries as they picked. :)

It was really lovely going on vacation with such good friends. And it actually worked out really well to have slightly different interests and goals for the week -- David and I relaxed in the cozy house reading and just hanging out during the kids' naps, while Lucy, John, and Anna went for canoe rides and hikes. And after the kids went to bed, the grownups got to relive our college days, staying up late having great conversations (plus gourmet s'mores!).

We're so very thankful for friends and vacation time!

Our very girly almost one-year-old girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 02:27:00 +0000

Let me state once more for the record: I love putting together train- and car- and animal-themed parties for Joshua. And I do enjoy building tracks and pretending to be an airplane with both our kids. And it's really fun teaching Joshua to share his cars with his sister, and watching him teach Sophia how to hook trains together.

But for Sophia's first birthday party, I'm totally throwing myself into stereotypical pink girliness, and I'm loving it!! :)

We're doing a flower garden theme for her party, and I had so much fun planning the photoshoot for her birthday party invitation! I made a pink tutu and long string of pink pearls, both of which absolutely fascinated Sophia. I dressed her up right after breakfast one morning and took her outside to take advantage of some lovely morning light. And we got so many fun photos! Below are just a few (okay, a ton) of my favorites...

Sophia Watch: Eleven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:37:00 +0000

Our little Sophia is closing in on a year old! It's hard to believe that it's already been almost a year since she was born... Our wee Fifi is growing up so fast!!

This month, she's added a little to her confirmed vocabulary -- she babbles constantly, and there are lots of times where it seems that she's parroting words back at us or where she makes noises that could conceivably be intelligible words, but it's absolutely clear that she knows how to say Joshua ("Ja-dah"), Mama, and Dada. The best moment for me was when I came home from Tae's baby shower, and as soon as I walked in the door, Sophia looked up at me, grinned, and very clearly shouted "Mama!" A close runner-up moment was when she was sitting on the floor in our living room and noticed David sitting on the couch behind the coffee table -- she had to crane her neck way back to see him, so she started playing peekaboo: sitting straight up, then craning way back and saying "Dada!," then sitting back up, and repeating over and over and over again. :)

Sophia's also gotten much, much better at feeding herself this month. We started with puffs, then torn up bits of bread, and then steamed peas and carrots. She's very trusting, I think, and willing to try just about anything I put in front of her! And while she's still pretty slow in feeding herself, it's vastly easier than having to actively spoonfeed her every bite. She continues marching towards greater independence every day!

Oh, and it seems that Sophia is already a positive influence on her big brother. :) My efforts at cheering Sophia on when she first started feeding herself steamed veggies led to Joshua insisting on having his very own bowl of peas and carrots -- and then he demanded that "Mama watch Joshua eat? Say 'good job, Joshua'?" And then proceeded to finish off an entire large bowl of veggies. He loves doing things with her (and he also wants me to pay the same attention to him as I do to her) -- and it's nice that those impulses can be channeled towards good!

And we're still working on encouraging Sophia to develop those gross motor skills. She's much more wriggly and lunge-y these days, but still no scooting or crawling or anything... She pretty consistently practices civil disobedience when I try to get her to stand, too. She'll fix me with a baleful stare, start huffing her annoyance, and then do crazy splits in the air to prevent me from getting her to put her weight on her legs. It's absurdly cute, her little acts of defiance. :) So far, I can outlast her and get her to practice standing, but I foresee another stubborn KeddieCub toddler...

It's a good thing she's so adorable. :) (And is it just me, or does she look SO MUCH like Joshua in these photos??)

Joshua wanted in, but then fixedly refused to look at the camera. I think he was going for a studied nonchalance? (Don't tell him that his Reunions t-shirt sans pants kind of takes away from the effect...) Sophia tried to match his GQ look, but was too excited to see her beloved "Ja-dah" to hold the model's stare for long. :)

Happy eleven months, sweet girl! We love you so much!

Day Out with Thomas!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 01:38:00 +0000

Anyone who spends even just a few minutes with Joshua will discover that the kid is obsessed with trains. And cars, and trucks, and tractors, and planes... But mostly trains, and mostly Thomas trains. He has a steadily growing collection of Thomas engines, and he *has* to bring four of them with him to nap and bedtime -- always Thomas and Percy in his right hand and Skarloey and the bus in his left hand. And while he's getting better about sharing toys with his little sister, he's still very possessive about his precious trains, so we often hear "No, Sophia, no! That's Joshua's Thomas!!"

All of that to say -- we were pretty sure he would really enjoy himself at a Thomas-themed excursion. :) Apparently, there's a traveling exhibit that goes around to various railroads around the country every year with a full-sized engine built to look like Thomas. And they came up to Phillipsburg, NJ over the July 4th weekend! We bought our tickets a month ago, and started talking it all up to Joshua a couple days before we went. It was about an hour's drive up, and the whole way there, Joshua would exclaim, "We're going to see Thomas, and Sir Topham Hatt, and maybe Percy and maybe Gordon!!"

It was an incredibly hot day -- mid to high 90s with high humidity. And unfortunately, nothing was air-conditioned. So our kiddos were sweaty and a little out of sorts by the time we made it from the parking lot over to the train... But once we sat down in the passenger car and I broke out the water and snacks, they were both in a much more receptive mood. And once the train started moving, Joshua was transfixed!

The one blurry photo I have as evidence that Sophia and I were there, too:

And the best shot I have of Joshua with Thomas:

After the train ride, we were on a mission to find juice for the wee emperor. I thought nothing would be able to distract him from this purpose, but I underestimated the siren call of the model train displays...

And then we wandered around a bit and finally found him some juice. :)

All in all, it was such a fun day! Joshua enjoyed himself, though we think he's still maybe just a touch too young to fully appreciate it all... I think David may have had the most fun of all of us. :) It was so sweet to see father and son sharing in their excitement over trains. Both David and Joshua want to go back again next year, so we'll have to make this an annual family trip!

2013: Adding Sophia to the Father's Day mix!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:13:00 +0000

Every year since he was born, Joshua has taken part in my little Father's Day tradition for David -- my attempt to get a cute little triptych of photos with letters spelling out DAD. By now, Joshua is somewhat used to the drill, and he got really excited about playing with the big D and A when I brought them out this year.

And thankfully, his sister isn't nearly as persnickety as he was. :) (Remember Father's Day 2010 and 2011?) It did take a little doing, but we managed to get some really sweet photos for this year's collage!

I took the kids out for our first attempt early in the morning, in order to take advantage of the lovely morning light pouring into our backyard. It was already really hot outside, and we were running really close to Sophia's nap time, so I was a bit concerned as we headed out -- but the light was just so perfect that I had to at least give it a try.

I put out a blanket for the kids to sit on, and tried to speed up the process by giving them each a letter to play with, figuring I'd be able to merge or split photos as needed in post. And then I made the grave tactical error of trying to get them to switch letters. Joshua was very, very upset that I wouldn't let him hold both letters at once, and then he got even more upset that I wanted him to let Sophia hold the D. And then poor patient Sophia, having endured several minutes of sweaty heat plus a big brother trying to steal the fun new toys away from her, finally reached the end of her rope and clearly just wanted to go to bed. So I gave up for the morning -- I'd taken a bunch of photos, but wasn't convinced that I really had anything worth keeping.

So I tried again later in the afternoon. The light was decent, and the kids were in better moods, so I had high hopes! I also did a lot of prep work with Joshua beforehand, which I should have known would be necessary -- I told him that we were going to play with "just one letter at a time," and that he could play with them both once we were back inside. He dutifully repeated the "just one at a time" mantra over and over again during this second afternoon session. :) And I caught some really playful moments between Joshua and Sophia this time around!

Later that evening, I looked at the photos on the computer monitor. And I actually really loved a number of the shots we got during *both* sessions! What can I say, our kids are super adorable and photogenic even under difficult conditions... :)

So I put together two different triptychs for David. He ended up choosing the morning set as his favorite, so that's the one I'm having printed out for him, but I wanted to share both, just because of how stinkin' adorable our kiddos are!

And just because I get super weepy when I look at the whole progression (look how LITTLE Joshua used to be!), here are links to all of the Father's Day posts: 2010, 2011, 2012.

Hope you all had a lovely Father's Day, celebrating the wonderful men in your lives!

Sophia Watch: Ten Months

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:13:00 +0000

Wee Fifi is ten months old! Without a doubt, the time is flying by even faster for her than it did for Joshua... I can't believe she's so close to a year old already! (And, um, I may have already started actively planning her birthday party...)

Sophia sprouted two more teeth this month, and she's been working on at least two more, so in most of her official bunny-comparison shots, she's either chewing on her fingers or sucking furiously at her lips... But it's a faithful capture of what she looks like these days. :) And she really is the cutest wee teether in the world!

The biggest and most exciting milestone we reached this month was Sophia's first word! She was sitting in her high chair eating her dinner, and Joshua was playing nearby. He came up to the chair with a large white blanket over his head, and started playing peekaboo with her. He would throw the blanket over his face, wait for me to ask who was under the blanket, and then fling the blanket gleefully off his head, shouting "it's Joshua!!" Sophia was startled at first, and then started giggling at each reveal. And then after about the 15th time, Sophia's babbling started resolving into "Aht-jah! Jah-tah jah-tah jah-tah!" And she continues to say something similar these days, every once in a while, but always while looking at and/or trying to grab Joshua. So it's clear to us that our little girl's first word is her beloved big brother's name. *melt*

Sophia also continues to grow more and more interactive every day. She's still not much for moving, but she's begun to lunge and reeeeeach for toys that are just outside her grasp. So while she's placid and content as a baseline, it's becoming clear that she's also a very determined wee girlie. So far, she'll reach and reach until her arm gets tired and then squawk until I give her the toy she wants... But I do think mobility is on the horizon! I just need to stop being such a softie and spoiling her... ;)

But I'm going to try to take advantage of her immobility while it lasts to get some pretty pictures of her!

Happy ten months, sweet little girl!

Reunions 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:19:00 +0000

I can't believe it's been ten years since I graduated from Princeton... David is fond of reminding me that I've gotten an advanced degree and had two babies and so much more, but still -- can it really have been ten years already??

The great class of 2003 came back in full force for Reunions this year! And for the first time, I actually registered for official Reunions events -- we're normally so busy with PEF events that it's not really worth it to pay for the class events, but we decided to splurge for my tenth. In large part because I wanted to wear the class costume. :) But also because I was really looking forward to seeing people I hadn't seen in years!

David took on kid duty on the Friday night so I could go to the dinner at the tents, footloose and fancy-free. :) It was so good running into so many old friends, many of whom I hadn't seen since graduation, many more of whom had little kidlets of their own...

Then on Saturday, we kicked things off at the PEF pre-P-rade luncheon. It was Sophia's first experience of Reunions, and I think she was mostly just confused by it all. :) But Joshua is old enough now to really enjoy himself -- he particularly loved the juice boxes and grapes. And the kids' table!

(Oh, yeah, and our class theme was "Around the turn," which is apparently a golf reference to the 10th hole. Lots of black and orange argyle and polos, complete with kicky golf caps and long black knee socks. Most of us weren't wearing the knee socks because, hello, 95-degree heat, but you can see a couple of the guys above who went all in with the full getup!)

Then we attempted to take the kids to the P-rade. It was sooooo hot, though, and way too crowded to push a stroller around... So David took Joshua in the stroller to hang out in a shady area and I braved the crowds with Sophia strapped to my front, running into people and marveling at the madness that is the Princeton P-rade. Here's what Sophia thought of it all:

We finally retreated to Frist for the air conditioning. And ran into so many more friends! Joshua loved playing with Claire and Jonathan and their respective parents and grandparents, and we had such a good time catching up with everyone.

I'm always so thankful at Reunions that we still live in Princeton, and that everyone comes back here to the best ol' place of all. Can't wait until our 15th -- but definitely hope to see all of you again before then!

Sophia Watch: Nine Months

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:05:00 +0000

I submit to you that there is nothing cuter than a little girl in a ruffled skirt and leggings. Especially when that little girl is our NINE-month-old Sophia!!

Our wee Fifi continues to grow -- at her nine-month appointment, she weighed 17 lbs., 9 oz. (50th percentile) and was 28 inches long (75th percentile). We had to fill out this fairly extensive Ages and Stages Questionnaire for this checkup (which I think is new -- our pediatric practice didn't require us to do this 2.5 years ago for Joshua), which was an interesting exercise in evaluating and challenging Sophia. She's right on track for communication, problem-solving, fine motor, and personal-social skills, but she's ever so slightly behind the curve on her gross motor skills. Which we've known, given her utter contentment with her immobility. :) Our pediatrician isn't particularly concerned, especially since there are no physiological reasons why Sophia isn't moving around much (no hip dysplasia, and her core muscles are certainly strong enough), so he's given us some ideas of games and exercises we can do with Sophia.

So I've started a bit of a baby bootcamp with her this week, encouraging her to stand while grabbing onto toys on the couch and doing more floor time with her. She's fine with it for maybe 1-2 minutes at a time, and then she'll start pouting and huffing with displeasure, craning her neck around to try to fix me with a baleful glare -- it's actually really funny and cute. And she's discovering civil disobedience as well -- she's figured out that she can just slump and refuse to put her weight on her legs... But the lure of rattles and toys (and sometimes, when I need to bring out the big guns, my phone) are generally enough to encourage her to stay on her feet for at least some of her awake time!

Oh! And she did manage to roll over from belly to back this month! Woot!

Perhaps the biggest change we've seen this month has been in her interactiveness. She's mastered the art of grabbing, and will happily amuse herself by gripping various toys or blankets or her own clothes. But what she loves more than anything is to try to grab our faces. :) She loves playing with my chin while I burp her, and she really, really loves grabbing whatever part of her brother is within range. As a result, Joshua has realized this month that Sophia is pretty much the coolest toy EVER. Sometimes, it's really wonderful to watch these new depths of interaction between the two of them -- Joshua loves giving Sophia small toys to grab and shake, and she laughs like crazy while she tries to grab hold of his arms or face. But other times, it seems Joshua still thinks of Sophia as more of a toy than a person, and it requires a lot of hands-on refereeing to make sure he doesn't, say, pile all the blankets on her face or treat her like a bobblehead doll... Thankfully, Sophia is still very patient with him, and he's learning that Sophia's frowns and cries are her version of saying "no, thank you."

And other milestones reached this month: her second tooth popped through (without tooooo much fuss, so hopefully she's getting more used to this process?), she fed herself puffs and Mum-Mums for the first time, and she grows more vocal every day. Including some precious "mamamama" sounds to break up the more usual chorus of "dadadadas." :)

And she discovered how very, very tasty the onesie stickers are this month...

She gave me that last face when I made her stop eating her sticker and sit up straight next to her bunny. :)

Happy nine months, sweetheart! We love you so much!

Sophia vs. the Mum-Mum

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:04:00 +0000

I started writing out silly captions, in the vein of Joshua's first encounter with cake, but really, I think the photos are funny and cute enough as a series on their own. :) So without further ado, I present: Sophia's first attempt to feed herself a Mum-Mum!

Epilogue: Mum-Mums come in packs of two. Guess what happened to the second one in this pack...

The English language is super confusing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:24:00 +0000

Just wanted to chronicle a few of the unintentionally hilarious moments of language acquisition happening around here of late. :) And because a post is always more interesting with photos, I'm also including a selection of my favorite recent Instagram pics of the wee boy!

We were reading through one of Joshua's illustrated Bibles, and we got to the story of Noah and the ark. Joshua has been on an identification kick lately, asking me all the time "who is that?" (Even when we're out at a store -- it's sweet how much faith he has in my omniscience!) There's a picture of Noah working on the ark with another younger man, so Joshua asked me to identify the characters:

J: "Mama, who is that?"
Me: "That's Noah."
J: "And who is that?"
Me: "I think that's Noah's son."
J, nodding sagely: "Yes, no sun. The sun is hiding. I think it's behind the clouds. But Mama," pointing again, more insistently, "who is that??"

I like blowing raspberries on Sophia's belly during playtime, because it always brings forth these cute little startled giggles. She was lying down on a blanket one morning while Joshua was playing nearby, and he looked up when I blew my first raspberry.

J: "Oh! Sophia laughs!"
Me: "Yes, I think she likes it when I give her raspberries!"
J: "Raspberry for Joshua? Joshua eat raspberries??"
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry, honey, not that kind of raspberry..."

Anticipating a toddler meltdown (Joshua loves raspberries, and we didn't have any berries of any kind in the house), I was about to explain the difference when Joshua surprised me by reaching over to Sophia's belly, plucking an imaginary berry, and pretending to eat it with great glee. So now, the word "raspberries" means it's time to harvest the imaginary crop growing out of Sophia's belly!

Joshua has a small soft fabric ball that he's allowed to throw around indoors. Usually, he plays nicely with it in the living room, but the other day, he followed me into the dining room area and threw the ball with great force at the table. I immediately took the ball away and tried to capitalize on a teaching moment.

Me: "Joshua, we do not throw balls at the table. See all the stuff on it that you could break? You could hit the computer, you could hit the glass..."
J, formulating the new rules in his head: "We don't hit the table."
Me, excited: "That's right!"
J, who still confuses you and I: "You don't hit the table. You can hit the computer, you can hit the glass, but not the table!!"

(This one I've shared on FB already, but it's too cute not to memorialize here!)

David and I were having a grown-up conversation in the living room, and Joshua desperately wanted to run fast with his papa.

J: "Papa, Papa, Papa -- no talking! No talking!"
Me: "Joshua, don't shout 'no talking.' What do you say when you want to get someone's attention?
J: "May I have no talking, please?"

The correct answer was "excuse me," but it's good to know our other lessons on basic manners are sinking in!