Making friends at the zoo

This past Sunday, we took advantage of the idyllic weather (high 70's, no humidity, partly cloudy) to take The Great Sosini to the Brookfield Zoo to visit a few animals.  We had fun taking advantage of all the silly photo ops around the zoo.

There's something a little "Frank the bunny" (from Donnie Darko) about this kangaroo, but Sonia thought it was hilarious hanging out in her pouch!

Sosi was pretending this turtle was Crush from "Finding Nemo".

Hey, ma-- this fish says I should climb in his mouth to play.  Do you think he'll eat me?

Mr. Fishy, don't you go eating me, now!

Help!  I think I'm being digested!

Sonia loves big frogs!

She would not stop hugging this handsome froggy....

Sosini loves the zoo!!

Crazy little lady bug girl

This past Friday, our playgroup visited the Phillips Park Zoo, and we had a blast!  Not only is the zoo free, but it has a bunch of very cool animals, beautiful grounds, tons of picnic tables, and some of the best playground equipment we've seen all summer.  We can't wait to go back again!

The Great Sosini was wearing the gorgeous lady bug dress that Greatest Aunt Janet made for Charlotte (which was then handed down), and she was being extra photogenic that day.  Before we left for the PPZ, I asked if she would  like to wear a bow in her hair, and she asked me for piggy tails.  I happily obliged, and I think those pigtails plus the cute dress inspired Sosini to be in an extremely cuckoo mood for the entire morning.  The photographic evidence is overwhelming:

Oh, my.  No wonder she slept an extra half-hour that afternoon.

One step closer

We finally got a headboard for Sonia's bed!

Now we actually have to hang some stuff on the walls.  Andrew and I are putting together this room slower than molasses going uphill in January....

Haircut!

Up until today, Sonia had never had a real hair cut....  I had trimmed the back of her hair a couple of times in an attempt to avoid a mullet situation (so cruel how some baby/toddler hair grows in!), but the front and sides had never been touched.  In the past 3 months, Sosini's hair has grown a lot, and it was looking quite ratty at the ends.  Time to call in the professionals!

I knew I wanted to hold Sonia on my lap, and that would leave no one to take pictures (Andrew was at work), so I begged the fabulous Emma to meet us at the Hair Cuttery to act as the photographer.  Thank you so much, Emma!!

While waiting for her turn in the chair, Sonia was quite suspicious of what was about to happen.  But Emma was able to coax a tiny smile out of her while we were taking "before" pictures.

Look at this fabulous mullet!

Let the haircut begin!  Penguin cape + sucker + sitting on Mommy's lap = happy toddler.

 
And, voila!  We have an official haircut!  Too bad the sides of her hair are still too thin to make it look more exciting than this, but it looks loads better.

My new favorite picture:

One of these days, Sosi will start looking more like me, right?  Right?  Maybe not.  Oh well.

The Budding Chef, continued

Sonia (whilst wearing an unmatching toddler-chosen outfit, can you tell?) begged to help me shred carrots the other day.  Don't worry-- I watched her closely and made sure she didn't grate her knuckles!

Random pictures and thoughts

Look!  Sonia let me to put pigtails in her hair!  Speaking of the kid's hair, she desperately needs a haircut-- not to make it shorter, but to make it look less like rats have been nibbling at the ends.

Sonia and Sami participated in some more hand-holding cuteness with their new buddy, Adalberto, last week!

Sonia's new favorite thing is to take showers.  At age 2!  Weird kid.  After I turn off the water, she lays on the floor of the shower for a long time until she finally gets bored and lets me dry her off.  I haven't given her a bath in several weeks, and I don't miss it.  Showers are much easier!

The Great Sosini's other new favorite thing is to play in the trunk of Daddy's car.  She begged me to get in with her, and then we closed and opened the trunk several times.  Toddlers are so bizarre!

Sonia's new 15-year-old babysitter is closer in age to Sonia than to me & Andrew.  Realizing that made me feel older than I have any right to feel at age 34!

The other day, Sosini was wandering around the kitchen, eating a banana, when she tripped and accidentally stuck the banana in her eye.  My first thought was that I was glad she wasn't carrying something more nefarious than a piece of fruit, and then my next thought was that life with a toddler in the house is a lot like an episode of Looney Tunes.

Digger Kids

This is what happens when a daddy (in this case, Ike's) comes along to the park....  When the kids see some abandoned construction equipment and run gleefully over to it, the daddy will lift them up into it for a bit of playing and some photo ops.  Oh, my.

I took these pictures with my cell phone, so I apologize for the poor quality....

I can't possibly tell you how excited the kids were to get to play on this digger....

Da Girlz

These three girls (from right to left: Sami, Johanna, and The Great Sosini) are so stinkin' cute.  And how adorable is it that all three of them wanted to hold hands?

I really, really hope that this sweet scene did not result in a mass contamination....  Sonia came down with a tummy bug just a few hours after the picture was taken.  Oops.  Stay healthy, girls!!!

City girl

Yesterday, Sonia and I had a lovely lunch downtown with two of my favorite people in the whole world, Jennifer and Michelle!  I was working with Jennifer and Michelle during both of my pregnancies, and I am certain that they are a huge part of the reason I was able to function as a human being (and an accountant) during the first few months after Andrew & I lost Zach.  Being home with Sosini is fabulous, but I desperately miss working with these two awesome women!

I got brave and asked a nice lady to take a picture of us while we ate at Chipotle:

Jennifer is on the left (closest to the camera) and Michelle is in the white sweater.  Doesn't Michelle look like she could be related to me & Niki?  I used to tell her she must be the long-lost Evans triplet.

Before we met up with Michelle & JLo, Sosini and I took in the sights of the big city.

 
After lunch, we stood outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, and Sonia had a bizzarely good time playing around this reflective post while we talked.  Wacko child!

Sosi did a great job dealing with the very unfamiliar sights and sounds of a big city-- I think she really liked all the action!  That's my city girl.

I miss seeing you every day, M & J!!!  I also really miss the rest of our peeps from ABN (especially Ruben, Lana, Jeff, Dan, and Jeanine).  It's really too bad we all got scattered to the four winds, but it was inevitable.  The only constant is change!

Potty training update

WARNING: This post contains a few potty-training details!

So, I don't want to jinx anything, but potty training is going really, really well!  The Great Sosini hasn't had a #1 accident in several days (actually, in 6 days if you don't count the one she had when she had her friend, Ike, over to play-- it's really hard for little kids to focus on bladder control when they're having so much fun!).  She's also doing great with #2-- just one or two accidents in the past week. 

Just like "they" say-- one day, something just clicked in her brain, and she's suddenly doing great.  The first week and a half were touch and go-- one day, I'd feel good about her progress, and the next day, I'd be ready to call it quits.  But once I gave myself permission to quit and put Sonia back in diapers, she suddenly started asking to go to the potty.  And now, the last week has been awesome.  She still doesn't necessarily tell me that she has to go potty, but I don't mind watching the clock (and her tell-tale body language) and reminding her to go.  I think I'll start pushing the "tell Mommy when you have to go pee-pee" issue in another week or two.  

For now, it's still making me giggle when I pick Sosini up and put my hand under her bottom-- I'm not used to feeling her little underwear-wearing booty without a diaper covering it!

I am really liking this travel potty that I bought Sosi at BuyBuyBaby....  We use it at the park and any other situations when there aren't any potties nearby.  It's really handy (she can carry it while we walk, and I should get a picture of that because it looks hilariously like she's carrying a briefcase on her way to an important meeting), and she seems to enjoy using it.

I also love this little frog potty that Sosini uses about half the time when we are home:

Even with a stool, she can't quite climb onto the toilet herself, and she enjoys being a bit more independent and sitting on the little one.  I still want her to use the big potty, though (there's no clean-up afterward!!), so she switches back and forth between the two.  When she uses the big toilet, she uses a potty topper like this:

Even though it grosses me out, I have to hold her, seated precariously on an adult-sized toilet, when she needs to pee in public restrooms.  She suddenly stopped liking this folding travel potty topper (which I would prefer her to use), probably because it kind of slides around:

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of trying out the latest and greatest baby gear!

Anyway, 2 1/2 weeks into the potty training process, Sonia and I are feeling pretty good about things.  She loves her Thomas, Cars, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Nemo underwear, and I love the feeling of making it through the day with only using 2 diapers (one for naptime and one for nighttime).  Thank you to all the people (especially Mrs. Morgan-- you gave me a kick in the butt when I needed it) who have given me potty training tips, advice, and support-- I am so grateful to be able to call on a vast network of parents when I need help.  And boy, did I need help.  Sonia is doing great, and Andrew & I are so proud of her!

My Baby

 

I took this picture with my cell phone camera (hence the sketchy quality), but I love it so much that I had to post it anyway.  Sosini and I had just finished painting our toenails a sparkly lilac color, and we were just chilling on a blanket, waiting for Andrew to come home from work.  All of the stress I have been putting on myself (and poor Sonia) during this potty training attempt just melts away when I look at this picture.  I can't decide if I like it with Sosi's face vertical (like I was looking at it as she lay next to me on the blanket-- that's how the picture is above this paragraph) or horizontal (so that the world is right-side-up-- see below).

At any rate, I wish I had taken the picture with a real camera, because I would probably be framing it if I had.