Our snuggle bunny

"I didn't have a good day at school today. Can we have lots and lots of snuggles at home?"

So said Sophie on the drive home after daycare today. The poor thing sounded miserable and I asked her why she didn't have a good day (even though I had already gotten most of the story from her teacher at pick-up).

Incident #1: "I had an accident. I fell off the swing when it didn't stop."

One of Sophie's favorite things at school is a round net swing that she loves to lie on. Apparently, she decided she was all done with it and launched herself off before her friend who was pushing stopped.

Incident #2: "I bumped my head on something."

The thing about Sophie is that she doesn't really walk or run. She scampers. That's her default mode of getting from one place to the next. And she's also sort of easily distracted. Which means en route from one place to the next, it is not unusual for her to knock into something because she got sidetracked by something else in her line of vision. And apparently, that's what happened today with a certain concrete pillar.

Incident #3: "I was afraid to go potty and I cried and cried and cried."

This happens occasionally when Sophie only wants to go potty at home. It's not related to cleanliness (because this has happened even when we're at nice, clean bathrooms) but more about familiarity and comfort, I suspect. And today was one of those days, when she just refused to go potty even though she needed to. Holding your pee for 6 hours couldn't have been comfortable but apparently, every time her teacher asked if she needed to go potty, she would just whine and cry.

According to her teacher, she also didn't take a good nap (probably related to #3) and was sort of fussy and out of sorts for most of the afternoon.

Incident #4: "I got a bloody nose."

Sophie's pretty much recovered from whatever bug was ailing her over the weekend but there was still some residual runny nose this morning. So it seems Sophie was probably blowing it too hard or poking around in it with her finger so much so that it started to bleed.

So really, it was such an (im)perfect storm of a whole host of unfortunate things happening all in the same day...

"I wanted Mama and Dada."

Fundamentally, I think this was the issue, that after having spent four straight days at home with us because she was sick, it was just a little tough going back to the routine of school. She missed the snuggles and hugs and our constant attention, which I guess is really kind of wonderful if you think about it :) Like my friend Adelene commented, at least she could verbalize how sad she was feeling and knows what she needs to be soothed and comforted.

Which we gave her plenty off this evening- there was a lolly for finally going potty after almost 8 hours, videos with Jude while I got dinner ready, an extended post-dinner fruit-for-dessert chit chat on the couch (together with a talk about how she could  have a better day at school tomorrow, sans boo-boos), 7 books instead of the usual 3 before bedtime, and lots of hugs and snuggles in between. And so our snuggle bunny went to bed happy as a lark and looking forward to school in the morning.

Let's hope tomorrow will be a better day for her :)

Random daycare daily report #31

Showing us the painting she made for us 

This morning, Sophie made you a beautiful work of art (although for now, it's hanging on our wall). She was making a sponge painting and saying, "I'm making this for my Mama and Dada." Wesley asked, "Why?" and Sophie replied, "Because they always love what I make." :)

Sparkle

"Mama, can you wear the sparkly shoes to your office today, please?"

She asked so nicely, I couldn't say no.

Are you smiling?

How about now? :)

What is Dada good at?

At Oval Beach, Saugatuck

This afternoon, as I was changing Sophie's diaper, she suddenly declared, "Dada is good at changing my diaper." It was a funny moment- I wasn't sure if she was trying to make a statement about what now appears to be my less than stellar diapering skills or if it was just an observation about the things Jude is good at. So I asked her, "Sophie, what else is Dada good at?" And what did she come up with?

Poking my nose.

Shaving his pokey chin.

Rockabye baby (Sometimes, she still asks Jude to carry her like a baby in his arms.)

Do the dishes.

and my favorite...

Hugging Mama.

Bye bye Sophie the Giraffe

Over breakfast this morning, we introduced Sophie to Julianne by going through all the Flickr photos my brother-in-law has been posting. Sophie has known about Baby Julianne for as long as she could see my sister's growing belly and was so excited to finally see her cousin- "I want to see Baby Julianne on the compooter, Mama!". Sophie was of course adoring of Julianne-- "Oh Baby Julianne shooooooo cute!"-- and we're really looking forward to the two cousins "hanging out" more when we go home for Christmas.

Later, on the way to daycare, Jude asked her if she would pick out a toy as a gift to Julianne- not something new but something that belongs to her so that it would be special.

Jude: Sophie, when we get home tonight, can you choose one of your toys so that we can give it to Julianne as a present?
Sophie: Errr, ok.
Me: Pick one. Something that you play with.
Sophie: And then we can surprise Baby Julianne!
Jude: That's right, we can surprise Baby Julianne. What will you pick? Which toy?
Sophie: (after thinking about it for a while). Squeaky giraffe. I give my squeaky giraffe to Baby Julianne so that she can surprise. Yah, I can give squeaky giraffe.
Me: Are you sure you want to give Julianne your squeaky giraffe?
Sophie: Yah. I think she will like it.

At that point, I couldn't have been more proud of our sweet, thoughtful Sophie :) Not only did she not balk at the prospect of giving away one of her toys (although whether she will *really* give it up is still questionable, but still...), she chose one of her most beloved ones.

Sophie at 4 months with her Sophie the Giraffe

My mom bought Sophie her Sophie the Giraffe chew toy when she was 6 weeks old (we've actually never called the giraffe Sophie just because it would have been too confusing) and it has always been one of her favorites. The giraffe played a huge part in helping Sophie develop her grabbing skills, it was always available for her to gnaw, chew, and suckle during those dastardly teething months, and even now as she's outgrown it somewhat, Sophie the Giraffe is still a constant fixture in Sophie's play repertoire. Just yesterday, she set up a picnic with her dolls, stuffed animals, and Sophie the Giraffe and thoughtfully fed it a hunk of pretend steak. I didn't have the heart to tell her that giraffes are herbivores.

But now, she has decided that it's her cousin's turn to play with the giraffe and tonight, we'll put Sophie the Giraffe aside, give it a good scrub down, and put it in a bag for Julianne. My sister already has a brand new Sophie the Giraffe but maybe that Sophie will appreciate having a companion giraffe from real Sophie and Julianne will have double the grabbing, chewing fun :)

And because she's just that gorgeous, here's another photo of Julianne fresh off my sister's Flickr feed :)

Hush little baby

[Sophie the Giraffe got its own article in Slate earlier this year. Read it here.]

In case I ever forget

After her bath tonight, Sophie threw herself into my arms and gave me a hug. And as she nuzzled into my neck, she said, "I'm happy, Mama. I'm happy."

I asked her why.

"Because Mama is hugging me."

Highlight of my day

Time: Evening
Soundtrack: The Weepies
Activity: "Look at me, Mama! I'm twirling. I'm twirling, Mama!"
Mood: Much in love

My Valentines

If you were a wink, I'd be a nod
If you were a seed, well I'd be a pod.
If you were the floor, I'd wanna be the rug
And if you were a kiss, I know I'd be a hug.

- Barry Louis Polisar, "All I Want Is You"

How you make me smile? Let me count the ways

Sophie makes me smile everyday. She makes me laugh. She makes me incandescently happy (to quote the Americanized version of Pride and Prejudice). Which is why I love the weekends because I am made happy all day long. It's only 2.30 in the afternoon and there have already been so many moments of delightful Sophieness:

- She's lying in bed with us after she wakes up and we take turns reading/playing with her so the other can get a couple more minutes of sleep; but our daughter will have none of it, shoving and barking "Get up!" whenever she catches one of us with our eyes closed.

- We sing along to the Firetruck Song and she knows exactly when in the song (around 0:56) to shout "Wheeeeeeee!" Cracks us up every time...

- At various points of the morning, Jude and I sneezed. And after both times, Sophie knows to say, "bless you." We've been making it a point to teach her the special words like "please", "thank you", and "bless you" so this was especially awesome to hear :)

- As I prepare her mid-morning milk, I turn around to see quietly reading to her Elmo doll. She even sits him on her lap exactly the way she sits on ours.

- While we're playing outside in the snow at the play structure, she says to the big kids around her, "careful..." I'm not sure if she means for them to be careful not to fall on the slippery snow, or to be careful not to knock into her.

- This. 'Nuff said...

Animal cracker love

Sophie loves animal crackers. Loves. And specifically, she loves the animal crackers from Trader Joe's. They're not too sweet for her (with just a hint of lemon) and so I like them too and don't mind even if she has one too many for snack.

And so we were in her play-yard yesterday afternoon having a little late afternoon snack picnic-- milk and animal crackers for Sophie, a Nutella sandwich for me-- when out of the blue, she picked two of her animal crackers up, put them sort of nose-to-nose, and then nonchalantly said, "kiss!", as if she (or maybe the animal crackers) have been doing this everyday her/their whole lives :) It was so sweet and funny and I think I laughed so hard I might have startled her.

I was hoping she would do it again so I could take a photo but she ended up gobbling them both (and then some) up, effectively ending that short-lived animal cracker love affair...

Animal crackers, and cocoa to drink
That is the finest of suppers, I think
When I'm grown up and can have what I please,
I think I shall always insist upon these
-Christopher Morley

Sophie phones Jude

OK, so not really. She was actually playing with the toy phone that's attached to her play-yard. We had just dropped Jude off in school after a fun morning at the farmers' market together. I guess she was missing her Daddy and so she picked up the phone and said, "Hi Dada. I woo oo. Home."

:)

I had a great day full of friends and play
But my favorite part is always coming home to you, Daddy-O
Did so many things, where do I start
Gonna tell you everything and not leave out a single part

D-A-D-D-D-Y, oh how I love ya
Oh, how I love ya
D-A-D-D-D-Y, oh how I love ya
Oh, how I love ya

Riding our bikes through the park
Camping in the summertime
Walking to the waterfalls, Daddy-O
You teach me things without saying a word
The time we spend together is worth more than all the silver and gold

D-A-D-D-D-Y, oh how I love ya
Oh, how I love ya
D-A-D-D-D-Y, oh how I love ya
Oh, how I love ya

-"Daddy-O", Frances England

I woo ooo.

That's how Sophie says "I love you." :) I think she might have started saying it back to us a couple of weeks back but we didn't quite figure out that that was what she was saying till sometime this week. She says it at the most unexpected moments, like in the car on the way home from daycare or when she's in the grocery cart at the store. Or today during bath-time. There I was soaping her and rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, and the next moment, she clings on to me, snuggles into the crook of my neck and says "I woo ooo" over and over again while patting my back softly with those chubby little palms of hers. At that moment, nothing else mattered- we could be destitute, living in squalor, jobless, homeless, and inflicted with some morbid permanently debilitating disease and it wouldn't matter a whit. My daughter was telling me she loves me.
1. Our sweet Sophie, 2. Bunny ears, 3. Channeling Pebbles Flintstones, 4. Lunch laughter

I woo ooo too, our little one.