Two years and 7,247 diaper changes later

OK, maybe not that many.

I woke up to the sound of Sofia singing to herself in her crib this morning. We've since eaten French toast, watched the garbage truck, and drawn on the newspaper with crayons all with Raffi playing in the background. I think we will build a fort soon. Is there any better way to begin your second year of life? I think not.

As any mom would probably say, birthdays are a little bittersweet. I'm so proud of our Sof-a-lof, but wow, is it all flying by so fast. Today I'm also kicking myself for not staying on top of this blog a little better. All these precious little memories are so fleeting, and I know I will truly value being able to read about them ten years from now.

Sofia's latest joys include playdough, bugs and tunnels. Everything is a tunnel now. We drive under a bridge - "Tunnel!" She puts her head under the bottom of my shirt - "Tunnel!" We get on the bed and pull the covers over our head - "Tunnel!" You can only imagine her joy when we actually drive through a real tunnel.

And speaking of bugs, we had a little incident with a tiny mouse in the dining room the other night. You would've thought this was the funniest thing in the world, according to Sofia - "Big bug! Big bug!" I'm sure seeing Mommy running around squealing and Daddy flailing around with the broom added to the amusement factor.

Music, singing and dancing are also clearly becoming more and more fun for Sofia. Every day she requests "Boom Boom" by Raffi. We have lots of sessions on the piano, either solo work or duets, and the child just adores to dance. See for yourself:



But the best things about Sofia are the sweet, quiet moments. She has taken to holding my face in her hands, stroking my cheek and saying "Love you." If she finds that I'm paying inappropriate attention to her, she'll gently turn my face towards her own, give me a big smile and a bright cheerful "Hi!"

She is also learning how to work situations to her advantage. The other day she came inside with a bunch of teeny tiny prickers in her hand. I went to work with the tweezers, which apparently fascinated her. Now whenever I need to distract her, I hand her the tweezers and tell her to take the prickers out of her hands, my hands, and Daddy's hands. However, she also now knows that she can come up to me waving her hand and whining about prickers, and it will generally get my attention, regardless of whether or not the prickers actually exist. A real trickster, this one.

Even through the worst ear infections, tantrums, and little spurts of mischief, this little child never ceases to warm my heart and make me smile. Remind me of that when she comes home with real tattoos...



Happy second birthday, my sweet Sofia!