I now know why some animals eat their young

They probably acted like this:


Or gave a face like this:

When their mommy, who worked all day, tried taking their picture for THEIR birthday announcement! And I even tried bribing her!!

On an interesting note. Little Bit wore big girl undies for the 1st time at day care today. Her teacher is old school and doesn't believe in pull-ups. Says that most kids just treat 'em like a diaper. Let me tell you, I drove mach 3 to get home this evening. Luckily, there were no traffic accidents so we made it home accident free.

Have suitcase, will travel

When I was young, I couldn't count the number of times I heard that phrase. I was all about going places. And even today, I get ubber excited at the thought of going somewhere and getting to stay in a hotel. Little Bit hasn't been able to travel too much, just to the beach, Grammy and PapPap's, and countless nights with GiGi and Papa. But now thanks to Papaw Rocky and Marilyn, she's all set with her personalized luggage set! I think that the look of her face pretty much answers the question, "Does she like it?" That would be a big affirmative! It came with an adorable backpack and duffle bag too. So now we just need to go on vacation.

Notice Sparkey in the background. Sophie just didn't understand the concept of an outside dog. Which is funny, because growing up, I didn't understand the concept of an inside dog!

Our New Addition

Taking it out of the box was sort of like taking Sophie B. out of her car seat when we brought her home from the hospital. I didn't think it was possible, but somehow, these folks manage to make even Styrofoam look fabulous. I'm gonna have to take a picture of just the packaging! People, I'm dead serious when I say that it just got a few degrees cooler in the Carr household.

Although I am somewhat bummed. I thought all Apples came equipped with a version of "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego." At least they did back in 1987. Until I get a Mac version of photoshop, I'll still be plugging away on my Commodore 64 down here in the basement, freezing, and alone. So postings may be down some.

Our Little Mama

There's absolutely, positively, no end to her mommy instincts. Of course Elmo needs a diaper, he has a red furry naked butt doesn't he? Steven and I always laugh and say that she'd make a FABULOUS big sister. But in the words of Mick Jagger, "you can't always get what you want." It's never to early to learn that little life lesson Little Bit. Get use to it.

Otherwise Know as "Bean"

This weekend we finally got to meet cousin Finn. They live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland so we don't get to see them very much. We were pumped to learn that Finn would me making the trip to Pennsylvania this past weekend too. And he is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! He's 19 months. Now mind you that's only 3 1/2 months younger than Little Bit. BUT she felt that it was her solemn duty to take care of Finn. Like cleaning off his mouth, feeding him food, you name it. Finn actually put up with her antics! What a gentleman. But for some reason, she decided to call him "Bean" all weekend. She does have some issues with pronouncing the letter F sometimes. But "Bean?" Well he's the cutest Bean I've ever seen!

23 Months

Dear Sophia,

Ok so I'm a day late this month. We were out of town this weekend so I'm just now getting a chance to write. So today you are 23 months and one day. The countdown is on girlfriend, in less than a month you'll be 2. Watch out world!But before we jump a month ahead, here's what month 23 had in store for us!

NON STOP TALKING! I seriously could stop right there but I'll delve a little deeper. We've concluded that you'll talk to the walls if no one is around to listen. And we've witnessed you doing this. But the best part about you talking non stop is that we get to hear fabulous sentences like "I love you mama and/or daddy." And now when your daddy comes home from work you scream "mama, daddy's home!" And you love to answer your own questions. For example, you walk down the hall at day care yelling "Brenda, where are you? "I don't know." At least you give everyone a laugh because we hear the other teachers say "that must be Sophie, who else would be chatting up a storm like that."

Last month I had mentioned that we'd leave the potty training to Ms. PJ. Well mama just might have to eat her words on that one because if things keep going the way they are going, you are gonna be potty trained sooner rather than later. All of the sudden, peeing and doing #2 in the potty makes for good times. But it's wearing me out! I find myself asking you if you have to go to the potty every 5 minutes!

Let's see, we finally perfected the art of teeth brushing this month. I think the key to solving that horrific nightly event was a $4 Dora the Explorer Spin Brush. Our nightly routine also now consists of reading no less than 6 books. It sounds like a lot but I have to admit something. I'm a notorious page skipper. I figure that I might as well take advantage of it while I can. Pretty soon I'm sure you'll be busting me in the act.

So that my dear Sophia is 23 months in a nutshell. Oh and if I had to describe you in one word, without a doubt it would have to be spunky. Spunky with a little bit of a mean streak mixed in. But that's just the way we us Steele's roll. Everyday that I look at you I realize how blessed I am to have you as my one and only. Because a daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend.

And how sweet do you look trying to hold your cousin Tyler. It melts my heart to see how much you love him and how much you want to take care of him all by yourself.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope all of you had a very special day today. We were pretty low key here and had a romantic dinner from the pizza joint. Life as we know it with a 2 year old. Sophie got a few Valentine goodies. Including a poodle purse from GiGi and a hippo looking creature with wings that plays music from her daddy. My sweety hooked me up with a giant box of Godiva. Can you say "swan dive off the diet wagon"! Ah but it's such a sweet fall from grace.

Little Bit and I will be taking a road trip tomorrow to PA to visit with Grammy, PapPap, and the rest of the Carr gang. So we'll talk to you bloggers on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

And Sock Monkey wanted to wish you guys a Happy Valentine's day. I found this monkey on an Etsy shop and the woman does AWESOME work! Check her out!

From Sophie With Love

Tomorrow is the big Valentine shin-dig at daycare (why they are doing it on the 12th as opposed to the 14th I haven't the foggest). I was going to get creative and make custom valentines for all of the kids with Sophie's picture on them. But I scrapped that idea and opted for the Dora the Explorer "To" and "From" valentines. Hey, they worked for me when I was little. And Little Bit took scribbling all over them very serious. Just look at this picture as proof.

But I did manage to send out v-day cards to family. So I did get somewhat creative this Valentine's day.

10 Tidbits

Erin sometimes does a "10 on Tuesday" so I thought that I'd try the same thing, but obviously today just happens to be Thursday.

1. I've misplaced a $55 tube of Elidel (and that's after insurance paid 1/2) and I've torn my entire house up looking for it. I know that I put it in a great place where Oscar wouldn't be able to destroy it but for the life of me I can't remember where that great place is. And eczema is causing Sophie to start looking like a gremlin (after you get them wet!!)

2. Anne has agreed to take Sophie's 2 year old pics. YAY! Super excited about that but it's also kind of sad. In a few months she'll be moving back to the west coast. At least we have blogs to keep in touch!

3. I've lost 10 pounds with my Chub Club and I'm currently in 2nd place. YAY!

4. Speaking of work, I talked my boss into upgrading all of us to wireless mice and it's AMAZING what a difference a good mouse makes. (And do you say "mice" when speaking of more than one computer mouse?)

5. I found someone who is going to make Sophie's birthday cake, which is totoally gonna ROCK.

6. Steven is now wearing glasses and he looks great in them. He picked a cool frame which is sort of looks like the Verizon guy ( you know the, "Can you hear me now?" guy). I'll have to take a pic!

7. Our friends Joel and Shannon are expecting baby number 2. So they'll have 2 under 2 come August. And they are insane. Period. (I have another friend expecting too, but I"m not sure if I can call her out on the world wide web.)

8. The circus is coming to town in April and I have a 20% off coupon if you buy your tickets early. I love a good coupon! So Gracie and Sophie will be heading to the big top in April.

9. Did I mention is was Thursday. LOST baby! What will Jack and Sawyer be up to tonight?

10. Sophie loves watching Bindi the Jungle Girl. It a great show but I want to cry every time Steve Irwin comes on. You can tell just by watching him on tv how much he loved his family and Bindi was in total awe of her daddy. :(

And here is a photo of Sophie watching ole Bindi when we got home from work and school yesterday. With Oscar's head peeking out, begging for an animal cracker.

"Potty" Like a Rock Star

Yep, that would our Little Bit rockin' out on the potty. All of the sudden the girl has decided that using the potty is the coolest thing ever. And doing #2 in the potty is even cooler b/c you get to look at it in the toilet and marvel at the amazement of it all before you tell it goodbye and send it on its merry way. Really, it's the small things in life that bring people pure joy. And you'll notice that that's a pull up she has on too. Girl friend started sporting those today. Monday afternoon when I picked her up at day care she says to me "I a big girl" "I pee pee." Yes you are Little Bit. Yes you are. And although I will rejoyce when the day comes that I never have to buy another diaper and maybe then I can afford that macbook pro (which i probably could have bought 10 times over since we've had to pleasure of meeting but then again, I wouldn't need previously mentioned macbook pro if I didn't have thousands of pics of you, so we'll call it even), I will also be very sad. My Little Bit is getting a little bit bigger.

I personally like this one, undies are in the way.

Bored on the potty.

Bowl-o-rama

Move over Kingpin, here comes Sophie B. Saturday afternoon, some people from Steven's work were participating in a Big Brothers & Big Sisters charity event. So right towards the end we stopped by to say hi. Little Bit got to roll a few balls down the lanes. HOWEVER, as we were saying goodbye , she totally humiliated us. Apparently, she wasn't ready to go. So what does she do? Yeah, she hauls off and hits Steven square in the face, Muhammad Ali style. Right in front of EVERYONE in the tax department (and a few auditors), and their spouses NICE. What was especially nice was hearing a few people say "ooooo."Right then and there we both wanted to run for the door and perhaps leave Sophie stranded outside of said door. But I know none of them would have wanted her b/c they've seen her in action!I have absolutley NO idea what to do about her hitting us. Time out is not working. And someone told me that drop kicking her was not only illegal, but also uneffective. A straigt jacket? No seriously, as it is not a laughing matter, does anyone have any suggestions? She's such a loving, motherly little girl 98% of the time but there's that 2% when Beelzebub takes over her little body.

Girl Time

From now until April 15th, Soph and I will be flying solo on Saturdays. Steven will have to work every weekend from now until then. Big bummer. BUT that also means that us girls can do what WE want to do. So this Saturday, we hit the Clay Center and McDonalds with Gracie. And as always they had a blast playing together. I think they got the biggest kick out of riding in their carseats beside one another. That just doesn't happen every day you know! Little Bit did a few cannonballs into the ball bit (until I realized that she was 2mm a way from cracking her head open). And they both chowed down at McDonalds. Between the two of them they ate, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 things of nuggets, 2 packs of apples, and 2 ice cream cones. Of course Stephanie and I sat there drooling (we are both doing weight watchers)...and stole the occasional lick of the ice cream.