Baby Sophia

My niece Sophia came for a visit today, and Mara and Micah had a great time with their little cousin.

SophiaAndCousins 004

Isn’t she beautiful?! I adore her hair!!!

I’m realizing–I don’t think I have posted a picture of Sophia on my blog yet–and I can’t believe it! The first pictures I took of her, unfortunately, turned out rather blurry, and I have taken a few video clips, but haven’t posted videos on my blog yet. . . so finally, I’m introducing Baby Sophia!

It was fun to compare and contrast babies! Sophia has much more of the sweet, calm baby temperment that Mara had. She sits and smiles and coos and loves to be held and talked to and played with. Her cry is this teeny-tiny petite thing–that you have to listen for, or you might miss, above the two-toddler din. She is a slowww eater–enjoying her milk and her food just like Mara did (and still does, come to think of it). Which reminded me again what an unbelievably fast eater (and nurser!) Micah has been. While there are pros and cons to each personality, and while I completely love both of my children, part of me is really hoping our next baby is another sweet, calm one. 🙂

SophiaAndCousins 002

Mara loves babies. She doesn’t always know what to do with them. But she loves them.

SophiaAndCousins 007

Her conversation goes something like this (indefinitely): “Hi, Baby Sophia! Let’s play, Baby Sophia! Do you see the little girl, Baby Sophia? . . . Mommy, can I feed Baby Sophia? . . . Why is she sad? Maybe she wants her paci! Maybe she wants her blanket! . . . Can I feed her applesauce? . . .” She just delights in the baby, which makes me excited that she will be a great big helper in March when our next one comes along!

But the biggest surprise of the day (for me) was Micah’s response. He adored her as well! It was a huge surprise, because there seemed to be no jealousy issues whatsoever! (In the past when I hold other babies, he often would cry and hold out his arms to be picked up.)

In fact, he almost treated Sophia the way Mara treats him.

He wanted to show her how to brush her hair.

SophiaAndCousins Hair027

Which, conceivably, he may have thought she needed to brush her hair, given that she has 5 times the hair he has, and she’s 9 months younger! 🙂

He shared his police car with her, showing her how to turn on the lights and the siren.

SophiaAndCousins 018

And he used his Leapfrog toy to “teach” Sophia letters. 😉

SophiaAndCousins 038

Of course, Mara had to get in on the action too. . .

SophiaAndCousins 046

And before long, Sophia could do it all by herself!

SophiaAndCousins 049

But the best part was when I sat Micah and Sophia together on the couch. . .

SophiaAndCousins 009

He already has that uncomfortable look: “Mommmmmm!!!–she’s touching me!” but instead of overreacting (as my kids are prone to do), he just sat there, looking concerned.

SophiaAndCousins 010

Until she started tugging on his ear. Now he’s wincing.

By about the third tug on his ear, he’d had all he could take, and I was waiting to see how he would respond. My little boy who screams bloody murder anytime he feels slightly disenfranchised. (I was hoping he wouldn’t scare his sweet little cousin.)

And I was so pleased! Somehow he seemed to understand: she’s littler and requires more patience.

SophiaAndCousins 015

My little man gently took her hand off his ear and set it in her lap. 🙂 Ohhhhhhh. . . .Okay, so only his mom is touched.  😉

I think my kids wore her out. . . Little Sophia was sound asleep when Mommy and Daddy came to pick her up!

Mic on the Cell

Despite the fact that Micah is 15 months old and still does not say a single recognizable word, we see him imitating sounds and actions all the time, communicating in his own way.

Lately he has become a regular cell phone user, typically using his little yellow car for a phone.

Or pretending with just his hand on the side of his head.

MicCell2

Walking and talking.

MicCell1

Dialing someone’s number (usually Daddy, I guess, since all he ever says is ‘Da-da’).

MicCell3

Intense conversation.

MicCell4

Happy chatter.

MicCell5

My little Mic on his cell . . .

“Where’s Micah?”

I know the pic quality isn’t the best here (and please look past the pink designs on the stairs, which still need to be painted taupe to match the wall!). But this moment was too too funny!

Mara hid in Daddy’s shirt, which was hanging on the railing by the stairs.

WheresMara1

Micah was just laughing hysterically. He could hardly contain himself. He tried to “hide” first by covering his head with his hands.

Then he “hid” in Daddy’s shirt too. And he found himself to be just as funny as Mara was!

WheresMicah2

WheresMicah1

Micah’s laugh is sooo contagious!  I was just dying laughing too–but I couldn’t help thinking as I looked at these pictures: how true to human nature!

My 1yo believes he is “hiding.” But the only thing Mom and Dad can’t see is his face.

My 2yo believes she is “hiding.” But we can clearly see her feet and identify her there behind the shirt.

As we grow older, we find more sophisticated ways to “hide” who we really are or wrong things we are doing. We believe we are “hiding.” . . .  But it’s really no different than little Micah, with his face in the shirt: we aren’t fooling our Heavenly Father, who sees everything we do and knows us intimately.

I just couldn’t help being struck by those thoughts as I looked at these pictures.

The Dangers of Cooking with a Little Guy Underfoot

I was making a pot roast one night this week, and was browning the meat in the kitchen. When I went back to the dining room table, where I had laid out the carrots, celery, potatoes, and onions, I found this little guy, making off with a carrot!

MicahFindsACarrot

The camera was on the table and I just had to snap a picture! . . .

I guess he just pulled the carrot off the table and decided to see what it tasted like! Nothing is “out of reach” for him!