Pee-pee In Da Potty!

Okay there was no pee-pee, but Sophia did want to show off her NEW little potty or as she calls it "my toilet!" I know many of you are reading this and saying...What? Potty training? We are just taking it slow and following Sophia's lead because the past couple weeks she has been wanting a turn sitting on the big potty. She has also been telling us that she is poopy and that she wants her diaper changed. I figured that is a good sign that she does not like it in her diaper. So yesterday we went to TARGET and got the simple and cheapest potty chair. It will connect to the big toilet and the bottom is steps to walk up to the toilet.

Here is Sophia right after I got it out of the box. She couldn't wait to sit on it...

I explained to her that her potty stays in the bathroom because I can just see her walking around carrying it...uh..gross! So off went the diaper to give it a try. We were in the bathroom for a good 20 minutes. She would stand up, put the seat lid down, lift it back up and say "more," then sit back down. We really killed some time in there and she cried when I told her we were all done for now.
To take the process even further I gave her some toilet paper and she wiped and put it in her potty.

Once again there was no pee. I tried teasing her with running water, etc but it didn't work. Like I said we are just introducing it now because she is excited about it. We'll see how long that lasts. Any potty training tips???

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

WATCH OUT...THIS IS ONE SCARY GIRL! (Sophia has been into scaring people by growling like a tiger or lion. Her growl makes us laugh!)

Seattle Duck Tour

TJ's parents invited us to go on the "Ride the Duck" tour in Seattle with them and a group of friends. I thought I've done all the touristy things in Seattle, but the Duck ride was a first! Our captains name was "Bask-in-da-sun" and was cheesy the whole way through which fit perfectly with the tour. He asked us where we were from and we all started laughing and said "Bremerton!" He then said, "Wow that is quite foreign." The ride was an 1 1/2 hours and Captain Baskindasun said they do about 70 tours a day in the summer. You could also purchase "quacker" whistles to join in the fun. We toured the city first and passed at least 15 Starbucks. Every time we passed one we had to respond with a "cha-ching!" Then we went into the water. That was my favorite part:) Here is a list of things we learned about Seattle:

DID YOU KNOW???

1. United airlines was established on Lake Union.

2. The Space Needle was originally orange.

3. The Space Needle was built for the world fair.

4. The Monorail was suppose to be temporary.

5. Mr. "Nordstrum" came to America with only $5 in his pocket (that quickly changed).

(Okay there was more, but I can't remember right now)

Check out that ride!!! I called window seat. Many people wave to you from the streets and dance to the music of the "Duck"

Love this place:)

Here is another Duck in the water...They just slowly go down the boat ramp and "wa-la" we're floating!

Space Needle

Gas Works Park

The "Sleepless in Seattle" house

TJ and Sophia posing next to the Captains chair

It's always fun to do something new. We're glad we went and had a fun time with TJ's family...quack, quack!

Love Saturdays

I have always enjoyed Saturdays, but now I understand how excited stay at home moms get about Saturdays...We got to spend an entire day with TJ (daddy)! Earlier this week TJ pulled my parent's boat out of the garage and got it nice and sparkly, ready to use. So after a couple errands, my dad took us all out on the boat. You can tell that Sophia enjoyed it:)! That's my girl!

She even wanted to go in the tube (with me of course). We were set ready to go...
UNTIL the slack was let out and UNDER the front of the tube went. I was leaning back but it was too late. In the water we went...

With my life guarding skills I kept Sophia as high out of the water as I could and put her back into the tube. She got a little nervous but recovered super quick. I was very impressed. We tried it again and once again we ended up in the water, but she still wanted to go.

Then TJ came in with us for more weight (he will love that comment) and we were off. During our ride I kept asking Sophia if she was having fun and she would say "yes" with her little face squished from the life jacket. WEEEEEE! Isn't she a natural?

It must have been a relaxing ride because she fell asleep in her Aunt "Teens" arms when TJ and I took another turn on the tube!

What a fun day! Thanks Dad!

Hot Days!

If you are wondering how we have survived this week of hot, hot, and even hotter days...this is how...

My mom and dad's swimming pool Good purchase:) and

Lots and lots of ice cream
We love the warmth of the sunshine and are not complaining because we know that it only comes around once in awhile:)!

Our laugh for the day

This morning we were getting ready for church and cleaning up breakfast when I noticed that Sophia had a diaper stuck to her foot. I started laughing and asked her where she got a diaper. She is in the "huh?" stage, so that's how she responded..."huh?" I got down to look at the diaper to make sure it was a clean one and it was, so I was still wondering where she could have gotten a diaper upstairs.

Then I decided to check under her dress just to make sure and I touched a Bare booty! I started cracking up and yelled for TJ to come with the camera (sorry only a mom and dad could think that this was hilarious). Sophia has never taken off her diaper by herself before and thank goodness it was a clean diaper!!!! We started our morning with a good laugh. It's true what they say...It's never the same day twice when you have kids!
Here is our conversation:

Bike Ride

Need some exercise? Fresh air? Good scenic view? Today TJ, my brother Nate, and sis-n-law Christine, and I biked the Sequim to Port Angeles trail. We ended up doing 40 miles total (20 miles there/20 back) to get us ready for our tri-atholon. It is a beautiful trail with flat roads and varying hill heights. There were only 2 hills that were truly doosies that made us down shift...FEEL THE BURN! When we ended in Port Angeles they were having a sand castle building contest with lots of booths set up. The smell of fried food was very tempting, but we all settled for our scrumptious Powerbars...yum! Once we took a little rest we turned around to come back. As we all got back on our bikes we all said......"OOOUUUCCCHHH!" Yes, all our bootays were quite sore, but we made it! Coming back was much easier and we made better time. We want to go back and do it again soon, but next time I'll bring my camera! Any takers?

Boom, Boom, Boom

Sorry about the angle (you'll have to turn your head). Now I know that I cannot rotate a video. Sophia loves the ABC song, Itsy Bitsy Spider song, Wheels on the Bus song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Song, etc BUT she also loves the Blackeyed Pea Song "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!

Last Week

Highlights From Last Week...

We did a lot of playing, but blocks were a favorite. Sophia called this her "tall tower!" I built the bottom so it would be steady but she did the rest. Can you tell she's quite proud of herself?!

The joy of having a girl...PINK TOES!
TJ had a work BBQ at Kitsap Lake. We had fun dipping our feet in the water and throwing rocks. Too bad we didn't bring our swim suits.

We also met Nama Brown there too!

TJ had to show off their famous trick to his co-workers. It's hilarious to hear all the mom's gasp when he does that. Don't worry, they've been doing it since Sophia was a little baby and she loves it!

TJ also had a softball tournament at Fairgrounds, so we went to cheer him on and got to play at the park during his breaks.

TJ got to rest with us at the park while he waited for this next game. Check-out TJ's clown pants, haha! I guess they're cool because all the guys on his team have them, but I always laugh at them! After the softball tournament, we ended the week with going to Point No Point to have dinner, enjoy the water/sand, and enjoy the sunset!!!

18 Months Old

Our baby is 18 months old today! I woke up feeling good because today was the day that I was going to be able to listen and focus in church because Sophia was old enough to go to Nursery!!!! Little did I know those feelings would go away quickly and that I would not even make it to class to listen and focus. Sophia walked in the room nicely and was beginning to sit down, but got a little nervous when another little girl was having a hard day and was screaming at the table. This is Sophia's not too sure look:

Feeling a little bit more confident, she sat at the table to have a snack. TJ snuck out first. Sophia was looking comfortable so I made more and more distance from her and then excused myself. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."Mommy!" TJ and I were standing outside the door when the crying began. The teachers tried to console her, but it wasn't happening. TJ got caught by Sophia peeking in the little window on the door, so he went in with her while they got the toys out.
Once again, Sophia was playing with the cars and other toys, so TJ stepped out of the room. She noticed he was gone and started crying, then crying louder and louder. People in the hall just told us to walk away and that they would come get us if they needed us. "What?" "Walk away when our baby was having such a hard time?" ugghhh! I didn't think it would be so hard for TJ and I to leave her in nursery. We followed the people's advice and walked away. About 5 minutes later one of the teachers brought her to us. She was crying so hard she was doing the head shake and snot was flowin'. We cuddled a little bit until she calmed down and then I asked her if she was ready to go back and play. She said, "No want it!" I tried not to laugh. Sophia and I went back in. She sat on my lap for singing time, but then eventually went back to playing with toys. I moved farther away from her, but didn't leave this time. She would check for me and bring me toys to play with. The teacher ended with a little lesson and a coloring activity. Here is her necklace:

So...Will it get better? Will I ever be able to go to class and listen? We'll see how next week goes...

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday Ethan

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

We spent our 4th of July over at my parent's house because it was my nephew Ethan's 7th birthday. Here are the highlights of our day:

Sophia was festive in her red, white, and blue attire. Okay, it looked a little like a table cloth but it was still cute.

TJ and all the niece and nephews on the Uffens side (Nolan, Tyler, Ethan, and Lauren)
The weather was perfect for a little swim in the pool (good ol' 4ft pool)

Sophia calls this her boat

The famous 4th of July BBQ. Sophia always tries to eat corn on the cob, but always ends of spitting it out. This is the first time she actually eats it all. Maybe the corn holders excited her.

Ethan had a surprise soccer ball pinata. Sophia was excited about the bat, but not excited to hit the soccer ball. Instead she took a swing for her Aunt Christine's booty! Oops!

Happy Birthday Ethan! Lucky boy getting fireworks on his birthday. Can't believe he's 7 years old!

The Uffens gang is all here...waiting for it to get dark.

Sophia is a fan of fireworks! She would say "whoa!" when it was a loud one. My lap was taken, so she went back and forth from her chair to Aunt Christine and "Nama's" lap.

She looks mad here but she wasn't...She was clapping saying, "MORE!"

My lap was full with Ethan. Ethan has been my fireworks buddy since he was a baby. He would always have me cover his ears, but I guess when he turned 7, he didn't need that anymore. At least I still got him on my lap:)

Good ol' Mortars

I do not suggest this one..."Utter Chaos!" This one was neat when it was in the air, but not so neat when it came down and dented our car!

And that's all! Here's the damage...

Poulsbo Fireworks

Poulsbo fireworks is a tradition every year on the 3rd!

We always sit in the same spot right up close and down by the water, but this year there was a security guard standing watch and told us that the port said it was a "restricted area" this year. TJ's response to that was..."the port is retarded!" haha..I love my hubby:) Not wanting to cause any more trouble we walked away to find another spot. All the grassy spots were full so we made the best of it and sat in the parking lot in the back. I asked, "are we going to be able to see the fireworks? Will the trees be in the way?" Everyone seemed to believe that the fireworks would be higher than the trees so I went with the flow...

TJ bought all the kids their own bag of Swedish Fish candy to keep them entertained before the fireworks. I think Jackson was afraid that someone was going to take his away. He was stuffing them in as fast as he could, then went on the hunt for more:)
My best friend Kimberly Ann met up with us and Miles and Mollie wanted to join us in the picture. They made it that much cuter!

The group is all here and ready for the show! (Mollie, Hollie, Miles, Kevin, Jackson, TJ, Sophia, and I, Kim, Mark, and a few strangers)

3, 2, 1, FIREWORKS!!!! Can you see anything???? No that's right...the TREE is in the way...Ahem...I think someone said something about that earlier. We all laughed and moved to see them!

We had to stand during the show. Sophia was a little nervous which is why she was chewing on her fingers, but warmed up quickly. She said "pretty!" "cool!"

ooooooooooo, ahhhhhhhhh

When we got in the car to go home I asked what firework was her favorite. She said, "the blue one!" (everything is blue).