Sophia’s 24 month Update
Sophia,
The biggest development these past three months is your language. You’re constantly repeating what we say, even when you don’t know what it means. You’re stringing multiple words together to make a short sentence, and you can also now say your whole name, instead of just “Fia.”
The day after you turned 21 months (October 9th), we flew to Utah and left Jericho and our newly acquired plants behind, in good hands of course. We spent a few days with daddy’s family, before daddy and I headed out on our “2nd honeymoon” vacation. We went to an all-inclusive resort (like we did for our 1st honeymoon). in the Dominican Republic. Daddy and I ate lots of good food, drank delicious drinks, and RESTED! I was even able to take multiple afternoon naps.
The resort was spectacular! Our favorite things included the activities (fitness classes, bike riding, the shows) and the drinks (there were many different bars, a coffee shop, and even a juice bar, which we frequented often). We loved getting familiar with the staff and seeing them around the resort.
This trip felt the most “normal” since pre-covid. We weren’t required to wear masks, and the staff all loosely wore the clear masks so you can see their face. It was so nice being able to take a “covid break” and just enjoy our time without constantly hearing about the latest thing.
You had so much fun seeing both sets of your grandparents and they said you were perfect. You slept well, ate well, and didn’t misbehave. You even acted better with them than you do for us! I’ve probably said this before, but for how much I hate having a ton of stuffed animals, you’re the complete opposite, and love every single one. Grandma Karen has lots of stuffed animals and you know each one by name. My favorite is how you call the kitty cat, Bella, after Grandma and Grandpa’s cat (also named Bella). By God’s grace we weren’t sick on our trip. Sophia and I got a cold the week before we left and we all got colds the day after we returned, but all of us were in good health for our whole trip. Thank you Jesus for keeping us healthy.
Gone are the days where your dad and I can just slide right by daylight savings time without even noticing. Now that you’re here, we have to be extra mindful of your sleep, because if you don’t sleep well, we don’t sleep well. This time we followed Taking Cara Babies’ advice and adjusted the time you went to bed and took your nap for a few nights and it worked like a charm!
You can count from 1-10 and also love singing songs. You know the entire alphabet and for a while you would always forget the letter “X”, but you’ve got it now. You finish the song up by saying “know my, know my, abcs” (now I know my abcs). Sometimes I’ll ask you what song you want to sing and you’ll name one. Your favorite are: ABCs, Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle, Joy Joy (Down in my Heart), Jesus Loves Me, and Jingle Bells. You pick up songs so fast; it amazes me!
For a full week you kept saying “dough-gie" and then making a “ckkkkk" sound. We had no idea what this meant but found it hilarious! A few weeks later, we figured out that you’re saying “cozy,” but we still don’t understand why cozy makes that sound.
You’re now learning that you can say no and not do the things we ask of you. You’ve been refusing diaper changes, getting dressed, putting your shoes on, and being buckled in your car seat. It is exhausting, but the parenting course “Big Little Feelings” has helped us tremendously!
You think it is so funny when we wrap you up in a blanket like a burrito and call you “baby burrito.” You have mommy and daddy get under the blanket and your stuffed animals too. Ranch is probably your favorite condiment and you really like spicy foods. While in the bathtub, you’ve discovered how to lay all the way back with your ears covered, without being afraid. This will be great for your upcoming swimming lessons.
One day I told you I was really tired, and ever since then, you’ll bring me to your reading corner, make me lie down, and say “mama tired.” You are so thoughtful. Occasionally, you’ll bring me all your stuffed animals to snuggle and put a blanket (or a bunch of clothes) on me to keep me warm.
On the house front, we had our electrician come back and fix the circuit we boke (your bedroom has lights again and we can use our living room outlets, hooray!); install our side door deadbolt lock; and install our ceiling fans. We finished replacing the living room outlets with updated ones, got rid of excess furniture, installed door stoppers, and purchased a few rugs.
We had lots of playdates with our friends. We went to OMSI, once with Poppie, and once with Nyla; a different day we went to Nyla’s house; had Rafa over for dinner; and had Poppie over for morning snacks; decorated cookies at Popie’s house; and played with a new friend, Daniel.
One of The Groves’ traditions is having Corn Meal Mush and Bloody Mary’s for Thanksgiving and Christmas breakfast. We had James over for breakfast and then later hosted Thanksgiving for our friends, the Alpizars and the Nazarchucks, complete with our first ever home-cooked turkey. It was a success!
We did our best to take full advantage of the holiday season, by painting/coloring holiday themed items, reading Thanksgiving and Christmas library books, and drinking hot chocolate / apple cider. The day after Thanksgiving we decorated our home and set up our christmas tree. I was really hoping you’d love decorating the tree, but you just wanted to play with the ornaments. Maybe next year. ;) Every morning you ask to have the Christmas tree lights turned on, and we happily oblige.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Nazarchucks took us on the Mount Hood Christmas Train, and you loved it, mostly for the hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies. You weren’t too sure about Santa.
During the holiday season, we watched Christmas movies, decorated a gingerbread house, and listened to lots of Christmas music.
Grandma and Grandpa Groves arrived on December 21st to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home! We had a fun-packed week seeing Christmas lights at Peacock Lane, visiting the science museum, opening new pajamas on Christmas Eve, and celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus!
Your favorite toys were the play kitchen, pop-it, and science museum membership.
January 4th, Grammy Penny and Grandpa Jim came to visit to celebrate your birthday. We had a week packed with fun: celebrating Christmas together, eating at McMenamins, showing them the science muscume (OMSI), and celebrating your 2nd birthday with a Minnie Mouse themed party. In our baby-free time, Dad and Grandpa worked on some house projects and mom and Grammy did two puzzles while watching Netflix.
Up next, on January 9th, we will be starting to potty train you! We have high hopes that you’ll catch on quickly as you’re obsessed with all things pee, poop, and potty.
Sophia, these past two years have flown by. You’ve brought up more joy than we could have ever imaged and we are excited to see you grow into the girl God has created you to be. Now that you’re two, this is the last update I will be doing until we have a second baby. Speaking of a second baby…WE’RE PREGNANT! Baby G2 coming July 2022!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
