The other night, after dinner, I escaped to the Y (which is, thankfully, right down the street) for a quick 30-minute workout while Andy had his own 30-minute workout playing tickle monster with the kids. This arrangement has worked out perfectly for us. I’m able to exercise regularly and I’m also able to get out [...]
In that time a substantial amount of dry rice was spilled all over the kitchen floor. Sophie then decided to “skate” on the rice, using the boys’ diapers as ice skates. The boys thought this was hilarious. “Figure skating is a mixture of art and sport.” —Katarina Witt
Sophie asked Santa for a scooter. We thought that would be her favorite. I bought her her first doll—the kind that has hair you can brush, and eyes that can open and close. We thought that would be her favorite. She got a princess dress from her grandma, a handmade doll from Nini, Candy Land [...]
Early December Andy and Sophie played scientists in our kitchen. Andy had stumbled upon this video on YouTube and decided to try the experiment at home with Sophie. It’s so simple—and so cool. Sophie loved it. Here’s what you need: • a dinner-size plate (we used a reusable plastic one) • about a cup of milk • food [...]
Me: “Sophie, at preschool your teacher said you’re learning about winter celebrations and traditions, like Los Posados, St. Lucia Day, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.” Sophie: “Uh huh.” Me: “Tell me about them! What’s Kwanzaa?” Sophie, scrunching up her face: “A planet?” Sophie: “Daddy, is it cold out today?” Andy: “Yes.” Sophie: “On that case, I will [...]
It took me a good 30 minutes to get all three kids dressed to go outside for just a small bit of snow. The boys had never worn boots before, and it was a struggle to shove their feet into them. (I was so thankful for the boots though, hand-me-downs—as are many of the things [...]
Dear Sophie, I dreamt of days like these, before you were born. Days when gummy candy was served on fine china underneath a homemade fort with your favorite stuffed baby lamb as a guest. Days when my childhood bear (made by my mom, your nini), was dressed in a dress you had outgrown and crowned [...]
We tried to visit Santa earlier in December, but the wait was too long. So we left.We didn’t get back to Santa until December 23—when the wait was three hours. Thankfully we were able to give Santa’s elves our cell phone number. So we spent three hours lunching at Dewey’s, visiting Joseph-Beth Booksellers and shopping at [...]
