Our busy busy lives in St. Louis

Dear Sofia,

You are TWO!! It happened almost three months ago (but is technically still accurate), and I'm sorry I haven't updated this before now. Things in the States have been pretty crazy since we got back. We stayed with Ama (Grandma) and Mister Day (Dave) for a few weeks until I found a job and we found our very own apartment. We looked at about a hundred (apartments, not jobs; there are no jobs) but this one was perfect. It has exposed brick and hardwood floors and I've only seen a mouse one time and it was on my birthday so I'm pretty sure it was your Papa Skip saying hello. But don't mention anything about that to Grandma, k?

You are talking up a storm now, and we can even understand most of what you're trying to say. You get really ticked off when we can't, and you just keep repeating the same thing like a Small Town American trying to communicate with a foreigner. In our defense, some of your words (coche, mas, ten, leche) are still in Spanish so the combination throws us off a bit. Right now you're obsessed with two, so you have to have two of everything. It's slightly awkward when you show up at daycare wearing two panties, two sweaters, and two pairs of pants, but it seriously works in your favor when it's time for a treat. You say "please" so sweetly that it's pretty much impossible to resist. Let's hope it doesn't lead to childhood obesity.

You can sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," although you sort of ad lib some of the words, which is completely hereditary.

On Tuesdays, Ama picks you up from school early and takes you to her house. As far as I can tell, you spend your time there trying on her shoes, folding her dish towels, and eating all kinds of special treats that I'm not supposed to know about.

Since we've been in St. Louis, you've been to Grant's Farm, the Botanical Garden, the Zoo, the Tower Grove Farmers' Market, a pumpkin patch, and the wineries.

You love Uncle Bri Bri and Aunt Lauren, and you have a babysitter named Erin who can actually get you to stop crying in five minutes and get you to bed in ten. She's amazing.


After school each day you like to tell me who you played with. For a while there it was an alarmingly all-male cast, but since Christina started you two have been best buddies. Her mom is from India, and she just got back from a visit. I'm thinking your talks of international travel and American verses Continental have bonded you for life.

Papa came for a visit last month. After a long night of trick-or-treating, you were asleep in your stroller when he came through the gate. When he said your name, you opened your eyes but clearly thought you were dreaming. Then he picked you up and you said "Papa?" like it was a question. There wasn't a dry eye in the B gates. He carried you all over that airport like he'd never let you down. And he won't. He's a great daddy, and he's coming to see you again in three weeks. Remind me to stock up the fridge.

About that, I'm well aware of the fact that someday you're going to have all kinds of questions about why Mom and Dad don't live together. I'm hoping this happens before the premenstrual mood swings kick in, but regardless I will tell you this --- I don't think any kid on the planet has ever been more adored by so many people. Please take this piece of information and hold it tight for the rest of your life.

Your favorite things now are playing with legos in the bathtub, practicing your salsa with Papa, taking Lucy for a walk, and putting your babies to bed. Your least favorite things are washing your hair, washing your face, and putting yourself to bed. You still think crackers are cookies, which is awesome. You love to throw heavy objects at Mommy's head, which isn't. The offspring of a former Rams linebacker is in your pre-school class. I'm sure that's his fault.

Mommy's teaching high school now, and we get up super early. Sometimes you shoot out of bed babbling about playing with kids. Other times I get your dressed while you're still snoring. On bad days you throw a fit and Mommy gets to take the morning off to hang out with you. I love those days.

And I love you, pea pot.

xoxo,
Mom

Mia

Hi Sof,

You have a new buddy. Her name is Mia, and she's about six weeks old and very furry. Your dad and I got her when we had a mouse problem, not realizing that "Ralph" was probably bigger than the kitten. You were a bit jealous at first (understatement of the decade) and regularly threw things at her and squeezed her too hard. But now you wake up in the morning and, instead of "mama" or "papa," you ask for the kitty cat. You still enjoy pulling on her fur, but it's getting better.

You seem to learn something new every second. Your vocabulary now includes jugo, agua, Elmo, mio/mia/mine (hence the cat's name) and cracker. You roar like a lion upon request, and every time you see an elephant you point to your bum. We aren't sure what that's about.... Your favorite book is one about zoo animals, and you can identify most in Spanish and English. The ostrich and koala bears confuse you a little, but what 20-month-old knows what they are?! Before bed, when I tell you "One more story" you pick out the biggest book you can find. Sometimes it's Mother Goose, other times it's a photo album filled with pictures of yourself.

Organization is your dominant personality trait at the minute (if you don't count tantrums). When we get home from the grocery store and I race to the kitchen to fix your lunch (usually soup or pasta. mom's not very creative) you take all the things and lay them out on the living room floor. I'm not sure what your strategy is, exactly, but it's incredible watching your brain work. It gets tricky when you try to shuffle the eggs around, but so far we have no reported cases of salmonella.

Cosette and Monet just had Chicken Pox. Daddy thought we should expose you, but I vetoed that idea. Hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt me in a couple of months when you and I are all by ourselves in St. Louis. Grandma is very excited for us to get there, but we're going to have to see if Mommy can get a job in this crazy economy. Hopefully things will turn around before you're in the job market.

Love you, pumpkin.

Mom

Futbol, Babies, and KittyCats

Hi Sof! We have had a busy few months, and you are learning new things at the speed of light. Just last night I taught you how to shell peas, and although we won't become millionaires based on quantity, you have proven to be a pretty sharp little cookie. You love "futbol" -- we took you to the Toluca/Puebla game on Sunday and you sat there the entire first half, staring at the field and silently criticizing the players. I could see it in your eyes -- you were just dying to yell "My GRANDMOTHER kicks better than that!"

Speaking of Grandma, we went to visit her for Easter. You tormented the kitty cat and fed the dog all kinds of special treats. "Wow wow" and "Kitty Cat" were therefore your third and fourth words, roughly, and you say "Kitty Cat" like a Russian chain smoker with flem in his throat. We are quite sure you are the sole reason behind Lucy's sudden weight gain, and Grandma is still vacuuming up cheerios three weeks later.

You are a sweet child and you love to take care of your "babies." You only have one, but because of Aunt Donna's twins, you seem to think they are always called by the plural. You held them, by the way, even though Jack is almost as big as you are! The other night Daddy and I were looking for your one baby, and found her in a box with a book and a sippy cup. You also like to change her diaper and pat her on the back after "feeding" her your milk. Good thing I'm such a great mom, or your mimicking could be difficult to watch! (Thank you God, for not making baby dolls that come with corkscrews!)

We are planning to move to St. Louis in July, so that Grandma Bennett and Mister Dave and Uncle Brian and Aunt Lauren all get to spend more time with you. Mommy is kind of hoping their eagerness at your return will translate into some Saturday night babysitting so she and Aunt Donna can go play Megatouch for a couple of hours before falling asleep at 11.

You and your cousin Luna Alexa are like two peas in a pod now, and are even starting to look a little more alike! You still look exactly like your Daddy, but I'm okay with it. I know you're my kid based on your obsessions with both sports and Salsa, although you're already a much better dancer than I am. You can even do the "basico" of Salsa, at 19 months old!

You are quite the hostess, and when we have company you make sure everyone gets enough of the chips you've already licked and put back in the bowl.

Next steps: Potty-training and horseback-riding. Mommy might need to stock up on the red wine for both of these adventures!

Pinatas!

Dear Sofia,

Happy 2010! You'll be two this year. And I'll be... Well, that's not important.

You now have eight teeth, three molars, two pinatas, one earring, and approximately 48 pairs of shoes. You are the Carrie Bradshaw of toddlers. In the mornings, you like to choose your shoes for the day. Usually, they match each other; sometimes, they don't. You like to waltz around the house with a purse on your arm. You aren't a big fan of hats, but you'll wear one if it's super-cold like it was in Vermont.

We had a great time visiting Nick and Liz and Elliott for New Year's, and you thoroughly enjoyed poking baby Elliott and flirting with Toby and Rashonda. There was lots of snow, and you rode on a sled, slowly with Elliott and really fast all by yourself. You made a snow angel for Daddy, which I don't think you appreciated very much. On New Year's Eve, we both fell asleep at 10:30 so we didn't get to see the ball drop. Aunt Liz and Uncle Nick had a great time playing with you, but I think you might have made them a little nervous about all the running around they'll be doing in a year!

A week before all that happened, we had a white Christmas in St. Louis with Grandma, Poppy George, Mr. Dave, Uncle Brian, Aunt Lauren and Aunt Donna. Even though she just had surgery, Grandma made sure Santa brought you all kinds of great presents and she chased you around the house sneaking you special treats. Your first sentence might very well be "Thank you, Grandma. I won't tell Mommy."

You met the twins -- Jack and Allie -- and we even let you hold them for a little while. They are troopers, those two.

You are currently obsessed with pinatas, kitty cats, socks and shoes. You are quite cooperative when it comes to putting things away, and you love your new Legos. The Tres Reyes brought you some in Mexico, along with your very own Dora chair. You still love her, but getting you to sit down for a video is completely impossible.

All of our friends and family in the U.S. now know the words to the pinata song, because every morning you would wake up and want us to sing it. Nobody there is quite sure what "dale, dale, dale" means, but I'm sure they'll have the song stuck in their heads for years to come.

In a nutshell, you are a hilarious, personable, creative, intelligent, endearing, flirtatious little person, and I love you with all my heart.