Halloween-Coila this one's for you!

Here's the little Sophsters clowning around. We had such a great Halloween together. Coila-Rachel told me you check my blog which was totally flattering...so I dedicate this blog to you. :)

A Post, at last!

Here are some pictures from Sophia's Alice in Wonderland Birthday party. She had such a fun time and it is so hard to believe that we have a 4 year old now!

French Song #2

I was singing the english words to this melody when Sophia informed me that it was incorrect...I suppose she picked this one up at school too. Stinker.

Germany/Spring

Here are some recent photos---the picturesque village is the town of Trier in western Germany. The one of Sophia coloring is funny because this is her "coloring stance"...notice the kneeling. The others are just some photos I have taken recently of her. The photo of her in the green sweater was taken inside a Roman gate built in 2 A.C. (this also in the town of Trier). I just loved her smile in this one. Enjoy!

Word Wall

Here is Sophia playing her word wall game---she of course didn't have the patience I would have liked for the camera.

Song, Shimy Shake take 2

Well I am playing catch up with our video camera footage. Here you get a triple feature. The first is a song Sophia was learning in primary (come to find out they sang through it twice), the second is an updated shimy shake and the last is Sophia and her Word Wall. Enjoy!

So Sophia is a little different...

I asked Sophia to put the shoes in a line by the stairs for me. I guess I should have clarified that I meant a straight line. Strange. Very strange.

Haircut trauma and more

I thought I would post some pictures of Sophia's haircut---as you can tell she was not a fan. We only had an inch trimmed off the bottom but it was quite traumatic. I have also included a pictured I edited on my Corel Photo Shop (a Christmas present which I love) and some recent ones of Sophia.

Brussels Carousel

Playing Catch Up

You'll notice a bunch of random shots. The one of Sophia and I is on the train to Brussels....the food is a Belgian traditional meal that we had on Christmas Eve (a grill/wok style of cooking) you may be able to see the cheese melting underneath the grill with the meat/vegatables. The cheese here is delicious. The other pictures are of Sophia's first bowling experience. John made sure I included the shot of the scoreboard after a few frames...yes, Sophia was beating me, but I blame the bumpers :) I came out beating her in the end :) (Thank goodness).

Sophia's Christmas Show

So the theme of her Christmas show was a little unclear. We think she was supposed to be like an angel in a music box...we were very proud that she remembered her part (to step up on the platform and spin)...I think you'll enjoy her dizzy spell. She took her role very seriously as you'll observe. The funniest part was that most of the kid's dances were to belgian techno music (not the normal christmas show in the states). Anyway, here it goes. By the way I am in the process of editing the grinch video...I guess it was too long for blogspot.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

I have discovered how much children enjoy Dr. Seuss. When my uncle was here I wanted Sophia to read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"---knowing that she could recite the first three or so lines. I got my camera out to record it and well we got six minutes worth. She almost had every line in that book. We could not believe it. Somewhere in the fifth minute she does the hysterical shimy shake featured in her earlier debut:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI2LrVyFvKU

Christmas Market In Lille

These were taken at a Christmas Market in Lille, France on Saturday. All the major cities and even some smaller ones in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and especially Germany put on these huge markets where vendors sell a myriad of things and the town spends a fortune decorating. I love the Europeans will ride a Ferris wheel in December! You can see the raindrops in one of these photos...

Sophia's French Songs

She was not totally cooperative, but here are some French tunes she's been learning---notice the risque dance moves in the latter...

An Overnight in Germany

We went to Germany over our break and stayed near the town Bernkastel-Kues. It was a picturesque drive and a idyllic German town. They had the most delicious pastries and hot chocolate. Sophia enjoyed the park on the way out. Here are a couple photos from our trip.

Costume #2

Well so much for my creative costume. Sometime between when I dropped Sophia off at school and when we picked her up her costume ripped beyond repair. This meant we had to think fast. Our dear friends that came to visit us last year brought Sophia a fairy dress-up outfit and we took that idea and ran with it. I've included pictures of the prepping to pictures of Sophia with her costume in our garden (thought it would be appropriate given that she was afterall a fairy). HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Fall has arrived

Today was a half-day at school to kick-off the week long recess we have coming up on Monday. John and I thought it would be a perfect day to get outside and take Sophia to Park Paradisio (a cross between a zoo and a ropes course--I know, it sounds strange). Belgium is no where near as pretty as autumn in NY, but we couldn't resist taking some pictures by trees that reminded us of home. I've included some pictures...including some more of Sophia's Halloween costume. I had my first official mother of a student duty today: Halloween party cupcake making...and yes, I loved every minute of it!

Halloween Costume

So as many of you know---I really don't sew (much to my mother's chagrin). This makes a creative Halloween costume a difficult task. Let me tell you however that I have managed my way around it so far---a scarecrow, a chef and this year a Jack-
Lantern. There is nothing a glue gun,some spray paint and an exercise ball can't fix. We were invited to a great Halloween Party at a teacher's home and here are some shots of my little Jack-O-Lantern.

Mom's Makeup

I suppose it was inevitable. Sophia got into my massive collection of make-up. When I asked her why she put it on she quickly responded, "Well I had to get ready to go!" (I can't imagine where she got this from). I've also included a couple photos from the park. The camera shifted in my hand when I was taking the close-up and I am so annoyed because it could have been such a great shot of her, so I included it anyway. I think in that photo in particular you can see just how grown up she is getting.

She's a Sweetie--sometimes

 


So Sophia is something else. She and Grandma Debbie came to the classroom where I am student teaching to observe one class period---this period happened to be a kindergarten class which was perfect. Sophia sat with the kids around the carpet as we worked on each child saying their name on two pitches, first a low pitch and then singing the next syllables on a high pitch. *Can you hear the tones in your head---imagine a C for "So" and a G for "phia". We tried to get her to sing it at school, but of course she would not. I mentioned it a few times later in the day (the eager music freak mom) and still she wouldn't sing (even though I was very aware she could). That afternoon she was testing my last nerve---I mean, I was really frustrated with her and she knew it...right in the middle of telling her how disappointed I was in her behavior she turned her little frame toward me, put her hand horizontally (palm down) in front of her and sang "So-phia" moving her arm up higher as she changed pitches. I was sooo much more annoyed and shocked at her ability to push every one of my buttons--even the "Yes you think I'm adorable button"-- But alas, I love her.