Your First Holy Communion Day was a beautiful one. Sunny, but a bit windy. Sophie Rose, YOU were radiant! You worked so hard on your online classes with me to learn all about the beauty of the Sacrament you were receiving and your sweet heart was overflowing with joy.
A wonderful friend gifted us your veil at the last minute which was such a God thing. Praise Him!
We were able to venerate the relic of St. Therese of Lisieux which was just perfect.
I'm sorry I caught you blinking, but these amazing friends got to come and they brought you beautiful flowers too! Thank you, Hjelmstads!
with your sisters and bro
you guys are so silly
The parish gifts you a lovely purse and rosary and prayer book
Sophie, never ever let Jesus in the Eucharist go. HE is with you, He is real, He is present, and He is SO FULL of LOVE for YOU! You were a beautiful little bride of Christ on this special day and I pray it stays in your heart forever.
As usual I cried.
so much joy in my heart that another little one of mine had the honor and privilege of receiving Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
Trying to put all the stuff down
We love you, sweet girl
I wish the whole world and all our family and friends could have been there to celebrate, but YOU were there and JESUS was there. He is enough. He is everything.
working on her final draft for a Tall Tale school story
I found a bunch of dance videos from the girls' little mini showcase at Christmastime.
Sophie took a class that was a ballet, tap, and jazz (plus a little tumbling) combo intro class. She totally loved it (until Covid and we had to start doing Zoom dance which she was less thrilled about).
These next couple are Elise and Ava's tap class. Ava is wearing the black leotard with a skirt on the left at the beginning of the video and Elise is pony tail, black leotard no skirt on the far right. Sadly our seats weren't so great for seeing Elise as much, but she's in there so watch for her too even though we had a better camera angle for Ava.
Kayla took both ballet and tap last year, so she has two dances.
In both it should be fairly obvious which one she is especially the second where I start the video focused right on her. In the first, if you have trouble, she's the one with the black leggings under her pink skirt.
Hope you enjoyed the show! More Christmas in August just before August turns into September.
Happy Birthday, sweet Sophie Rose! You are my Giggly Girl!
You have a spirit of adventure and are SO ready for your first camping trip (which, since I'm so late posting this birthday post) is next week!! You've got your sleeping bag ready and your ear-to-ear grin too! I can't wait to hear about your fun adventure with Daddy when you guys return!
And though you are a champion hiker and adventurer, you are also a little girly princess. You are totally into Barbies and play them ALL THE TIME with your big sisters. You also love dance parties and cute skirts.
Just a few months before you turned 5, you started dance class. It's the sweetest introduction class which gives kiddos a taste of ballet, tap, and jazz. Sophie, you are a little dancing princess. You listen carefully to your teacher, you watch her closely and do just what she does, and your little "I'm concentrating" look that turns into a bright smile when you look up and find me watching is my very favorite!
You love books. You love to look at them, you love to have them read to you. Your favorites lately have been the search and find type. We have some fun animal ones, and have checked out many cool ones of varying types from the library that you just LOVE! Your favorite is probably Where's Waldo, and at least part of the reason is because it's the one you like to persuade Daddy to look at with you. You guys lay on your tummies on the floor and peer at the pages together and it's adorable to hear your little voice excitedly proclaim that you've found a character.
You are a great snuggler. You are the kid who wakes up most still during the night and when you do, you always want to climb into bed with me and snuggle. And when you get woken up early by a little brother in the morning, you want to lay on the couch and snuggle with (also tired) Mommy. I love your sweet kisses and the way you snuggle right into my arms and heart.
Your smile is infectious. Your giggle even more so, Giggly Girl! I love that when you get excited and tell a story, your smile and voice get so animated and you just trip right over yourself and often make yourself laugh. Then you try again and usually end up laughing some more. Eventually the story gets told, but with many giggle breaks. It's completely adorable and we all have to laugh with you.
You are learning your alphabet and you have letters you can't get your tongue around yet. It's the cutest thing to hear you talk. It has been a joy watching you learn to write your name, recognize letters, and practice numbers and counting, both on your own and with your brother.
My favorite is coloring with you. You are so detailed and so good at staying in the lines and using many different colors. And you especially love to make others smile with your pictures. You always want to give them to someone to make their day.
For your 5th birthday, we had a little gathering with friends. You were so shy and sweet, rather embarrassed to be the CENTER of attention, but your tentative smile was so full of joy as we celebrated YOU!
Nobody look at me! I'm so shy. I'm so cute. It's MY birthday.
Close-up! I mean, is this not the most adorable thing?
The kids all request ice cream cakes from Dad for their birthdays. He made one and we're all hooked and never going back. Here's Sophie helping him crush up oreos for one of the layers!
This was her ACTUAL birthDAY with just the family. It's hard to tell from the photo, but Chris made an oreo snowman on top!
If my memory serves me, Kolbe blew out her candle and we had to relight it. Meanwhile she had a little pity party on the couch and we all had a laugh because her PJ pants always show a little booty. They just never quite stay up. hahahaha.
Blowing out her candle!!!
Sophie, you have a temper. When you are hurt or sad or angry or feeling left out or you get in trouble for being a little naughty, you pretty have the same reaction. You cry, yell some things, and run upstairs to your room and slam the door. If it doesn't slam hard enough, you open it again and slam it really hard. Then you jump on your bed, hide your head in your pillow, and cry, waiting for someone to come chat it out with you.
Being the stay-at-home parent, it's generally me. I head up the stairs, knock on the door (because you've locked it) and wait for you to run and unlock it. I then hear the patter of your footsteps as you run to jump back on the bed and pretend that you don't want anyone to bother you because you're just so mad, sad, lonely, embarrassed....
I come in and usually lay down next to you and tell you I love you. I ask what is bothering you and eventually you turn, sobbing, to me and tell me and hug me. If YOU did something naughty you usually are sorry and we talk about your consequence. If someone else upset you, we talk about how we can handle the situation with love and kindness and forgiveness. And then we walk back down the stairs together holding hands.
I don't love that you ever have to feel yucky, but I know it's a part of life, and I hope you always know I'll be there to listen and forgive and hold your hand and listen some more when life is confusing and mean and hurts your heart.
A local Catholic bookstore has a shelf with FREE stuff. It's usually little medals or small prayer books or even a little statue sometimes that someone donated. When you and Kolbe go to daily Mass with me, we sometimes stop in and check out the free shelf. One week you picked a big gold miraculous medal and proclaimed, "Mommy, it's like yours! Now we're twins!"
The picture above shows you wearing your necklace and also showing off your balloon flower that a sweet (and talented) teenager at the library gave you.
That Sophie smile is one of my favorites. It reaches to your eyes and makes them sparkle and dance.
You're always up for a craft especially if it's a baking "craft". You love to help pour in all the ingredients. You love to try your hand at mixing. And what's helping if you don't get to lick some beaters? You love to decorate cookies and, of course, you love to help eat them too. As soon as I start to bake I can count on you running to grab a chair, pushing it over, and asking if you can help.
Sophie, you are a joy. You're our Sophie-pants, Sohbs, Bohbs, Sohbsey, Bohbsey, Sophie-sister, Sophie-daughter, Giggly Girl, Soph, Sophs, SOPHIE! We are so blessed by your sweet little life and are beyond grateful that God sent you to us. You are a sparkly, sensitive, sweet slice of sunshine in our lives. God knew exactly when we needed to meet you for the very first time. He knows all the many ways you have and will continue to touch our lives and make us better people who look for the good, find joy in the present, and giggle often.
Full of spunk and joy and yes, sometimes defiance. You are a strong-willed, strong-hearted little one and we love you so much.
You love to run to us with new discoveries--whether it's a new book, a flower you found, a picture you carefully colored, or some beauty in nature that you want to point out.
Born on the feast of St. Lucy, you were awakened by your biggest sister carrying out our annual St. Lucy's Day tradition--cinnamon rolls with candles, signifying bringing the light of Christ to others.
Kayla wanted you to get to blow out the candles since it was your birthday, but you were only a tiny percentage awake at that point, so Kolbe gladly took on the task for you.
Later, Mommy made your special request dinner (mad and cheese) and Daddy made your special request cake--chocolate ice cream cake with whipped cream frosting.
We sang to you and you blew those candles out just fine.
At 4 years old, you still take naps for me, though the doctor suggested shortening them since you have been pushing bedtime farther back with your antics and craziness.
You love playing dolls with your sisters and yearn for an American Girl doll of your own (or a knockoff, ha, as long as it's the size that fits all the special doll clothes). Sometimes your sisters let you take a turn with theirs and it's the sweetest. You get so excited.
You also enjoy playing with your baby doll and taking care of her. The other day when friends (with a 5 month old baby) came over, you proclaimed, "I want a baby to have, Mommy!"
You simply adore your big sisters.
The look on your face that Bernadette caught shows it all.
Of course that doesn't mean you don't get exasperated with them and that they always let you play. But you don't quietly sulk in a corner or come cry to Mommy when they leave you out. No, you take matters into your own hands. You scream, you throw things, you punch them, you stomp, you slam doors. And then you slam them once more just to get the point across a little more.
You are decidedly a passionate, spunky, obstinate, strong 4 year old.
Watch out, world.
We'll have to work on the delivery, but the heart is good, and we need people who will fight for what is right and stand up to those who treat us or others poorly
You love to be tickled.
Your laugh is contagious.
Your giggle tickles all our insides and we have to laugh too.
At night, you wake up multiple times and sneak into my bed to snuggle with me. Often I let you for a bit before bringing you back to your bed because it's just so sweet and I can't bear the thought of losing these precious moments where you need and want snuggles and hugs and kisses.
Sophie Rose, the joy you bring to our family is unquenchable. The love you give is passionate and strong. The hope you bring is sweet and magical. The smiles you bring are life and wonder.
You've been mostly a Mommy's girl, but recently you have let Daddy do a few more things at times which lights up his life all the more. He loves when you run to him for hugs and when you let him tuck you in or help you pick out your Sunday dress.
You long for the day when you can join your sisters for ballet, but you adore putting on tights, leotard, and ballet slippers and "practicing" with them or "performing" recitals in the living room. You are graceful and sweet.
But with the right groove, you're also a spinning, swinging, tapping, boogieing performer. Sophie, you have music in your head, and toes, and soul.
