Ringing It In

Sophia slept right through the ball drop in NYC on TV. Happy New Year!

Holiday decorations

I didn't take a real picture of our house decorations this year before
we took them down. (Yes, we actually decided that in 2010..."Valentine
Santa" or "Easter Stockings" weren't happening!)
Here is a cellphone quick shot. The squirrels ate some of the lights
this year off of my tree. Entire sections went out, which made it less
spectacular. The very bright glow atop the house is Steve's
contribution, Grandma Kennedy's 4 ft plastic Santa. It was a fabulous
surprise for Sophia and me. Santa was a becon for blocks...and I'm not
kidding. Soso pointed up at him every night and made a comment.
We definitely made the neighborhood festive...Kennedy style!

Tea Time

Soso likes to play with her new Princess and the Frog tea set, a gift
from Grandma & Grandpa. She can sit at her table(Thank you Aunt Amy)
now without falling over...

Christmas Gift

Sophia loves the chandelier in our dining room area.

She will stop in her tracks on a high speed run

through to stare up at it.

She also loves to carefully touch the crystals.

I wanted to get one for her room.

One made of acrylic(plastic) parts that

are still flashy, but safer than glass.

I also wanted it to be vulgar.

I shopped around, no luck for the price.

So...I decided to make one.

How hard could it be...fixture with some beads...

maybe some paint.

Here is the lamp I bought for a whooping $3.88

($4.20 with tax)

at a thrift store in Birmingham, AL.

UGLY, but I could see the potential...

the lion in the marble.

There would be a whole lot of chipping to do.

Practice run on the beading...before I completely took

apart every piece and spray painted it white.

I'm not sure how much time and money I spent...

Most of the larger pieces are Target Christmas bulk decorations.

Hit Michael's two for $5 bead sale for most of the beads and wire.

Installation was today.
Sophia wasn't too sure what Daddy was doing,
but from the look on her face, she's coming to tell on him!
He's making a mess in her room!!
When Steve came up the stairs from flipping the breaker,
we turned the new light on.
Sophia was impressed!
We got "Oohs and Ahhs"
She pointed at it for us to look up!
She even clapped...
Checking it out still.

Daddy and Soso with the cool star view
from underneath it...

which goes so well with the room!

(I'm tempted to say that I planned it that way.
BUT really I just kinda threw them on there

in a way that felt pretty...and it was a star!)

The view from underneath...
very cool star pattern.

Magical.

I had a great time figuring out how to make Sophia's Chandelier.

Of course, I didn't do it entirely on my own.

Steve fixed the wires and even added a ground.

Steve also smiled, kept commentary to himself,

and helped show me how to drill holes

in brass...which FYI melts dremel bits left and right.

(Thank you honey bunny for helping me see this through!

And for putting up with my mad scientist moments...

running through with beads and pliers, babbling incoherently.

Which really is most days anyway...)

Real Photo Reactions to Mickey

Here are the photos from my camera.

They crack me up, so I thought I'd share.

When I saw Mark get Mickey out of the car...

I RAN inside to get my camera to catch her face.

Sophia was busy working on coloring when

I called her to the door.
Notice the pad and crayon start to drop..
big eyes!

Here's where she makes a noise.

Still surprised!

Going in for the hugs!

So excited!

Mark moved him into Sophia's room
so she could play with Mickey on the floor.

She loves her newest HUGE Mickey Mouse.

She kept trying to sit on his lap.

Early Present

Uncle Mark stopped by tonight after getting home from his Orlando
trip. He brought Soso her gift...a HUGE Mickey Mouse. I'll try to post
first reation photos. She was thrilled! Hate to tell her that won't
fit in the crib tonight!

Window Shopping

Sophia takes in the latest style of shoes through the window. She
loves to go look and see!

Bedtime

Snoopy in hug, pacifier, blanket... Now Sophia can go to sleep. She
rubs her ear as she falls asleep.

Brush Is A Brush

We are once again buying paint...I picked up a paint brush. Handed it
to the cart items organization manager, told her to hold the paint
brush. She proceeded to brush her hair! Cute!

Truck Ride

A little giggle to share...

Last One...gimme a "D"

Look for Rory and her defense skills!
We were yelling for Rory...the entire reason she was playing...so
"Momma could cheer for her like she cheers for Gabe". I was about to
cry I was laughing so hard! Sophia, who was in my lap, even got in a
cheer too.

#3

Watch number 3...the one with a perfect white bow in her hair. Hard to
believe...she's only three years old!

RoRo Game

We went tonight to see my goddaughter play in her very first
basketball game! It was so cute to watch...and I think she was
amazing. Clearly understands defensive moves. Those clips will be
above. Here she runs up and down the court...and a teammate busts butt
trying to slap the net.

Looks

While pausing during play, Soso looked so cute sitting on the rocks.
She gave me a daddy face when I took the photo! She's carrying a "roly
poly" flashcard...don't ask.

Still Favorite

Ceiling fans are still cool...no pun intended!

Bling Baby, Bling

For Christmas, I am making Sophia a chandelier for her room.

She loves the one in our dining room.

I found the perfect fixture at a thrift store for $4.00...

Little bit of sweat equity...
I'm adding a few crystals to it.

Just a few.

I have a huge bowl on the counter of (plastic) crystals.

The other day, I hung a pair over her ears

in front of the bathroom mirror.

(She loves to see my earrings)

Now she points to them for me to put them on her!

I was laughing for the first two...sorry fuzzy.

She was walking around with them
swinging back and forth.

Laughing.
Really excited and amused that she had them on.

I used the flash and she was suddenly
aware of the camera.
She's becoming painfully camera shy like her daddy.

She's holding an extra one in her hand.

Cracked me up...
I think Steve is in trouble if that's
the size diamond earrings she wants!

Yes, I'm taking more photos.

She likes to look at the screen to see

herself on the back of the camera...

She wore them through dinner!

Pink...Stuff

SK walks the toy department with Soso. I don't think he could have
imagined this moment...lots of pink girly fabulous stuff!

Movie Update

For her first time watching a movie, Sophia did well. She caused a
little bit of a ruckus during the previews. The girl chipmunk's sang "Single Ladies" in the new "squeakqual" preview...well, that's on Soso fabulous' playlist.
She jumped up in her chair(thank goodness Steve & I were holding it
down with our legs), and danced like crazy! I think most of the rows
behind us were laughing or commenting on her skills.

She watched all the previews without blinking. I had her in a fleece
outfit...so, she eventually she got hot. (That's the first time in
YEARS of going to the movies, it's been hot. I always freeze!) Anyway,
she got hot and antsy. We took three trips out into the hallway to
walk it off. Once I figured out what was going on, I stripped her
clothes off. Then, we were good to go again!

Steve and I would eat the kernel part off the popcorn and give Sophia
just fluff part. She LOVED it. So much so that we eventually spilled the bag...I
didn't see the "more" sign clearly she was doing. Sophia went into the bag for her
own popcorn!

We had a blast. Hope to see another movie soon!

The movie story...a little heavy on the voodoo, which is very much a part of the New Orleans flavor, but I thought it had a great overall message. Cute characters! Steve said that he's met people out on the bayou and actually the lightning bug was well spoken for being from there! I think the shadows might scare some children. The shadows were creepy and were hunting the frogs. I would see it again...it has an alligator playing Jazz named Louis!

Game Over

All fun and games until your diaper is full...

Video of Hiding

Sophia laughs and gives herself away everytime! Also the foot sticking
out is easy to spot. She found a pacifier too...must be why she's
hiding!

Peeking

Soso's new thing this week is peeking. She started one morning with
running out of our room and peeking back around the corner...as if we
couldn't see her! Cracked us up.
Today, she found a great hiding spot between the wall and chest of
drawers...I walked into see half her face. Let the hide and seek games
begin!

First Movie

Sophia, Steve, and I are going to the movies on this rainy rainy
Saturday. It will be interesting to see if she likes to sit and
watch!! She loves the previews at home...fingers are crossed.
Update to follow...

Tall Enough

With a little help from a cushion, Soso can now see out our bedroom
window. She checks out the backyard action.

Wall Art

Just ask any of the great fresco painters. When paper is too small to
hold a master piece...one must turn to walls.
Sophia has drawn inspiration from the greats. She was coloring on
paper sitting on the floor next to the wall. I was cleaning up the
kitchen. Then, I heard the scratching of crayon ON the wall.
Oh well...I think it's fabulous! I agree with her-that wall and door
molding were way too boring before she added flair to it!
Here she points out her work of art!

Snack

The snack of choice-goldfish. Loves them!

Outside

Sophia points to an airplane...and then she waves hello to it.

Juice!

Dinner

Well, I'm a moron. I forgot to get a photo at dinner! We drove to
Sylacauga and met the Shorts for dinner. Good to see some fishing
folks, but always great to see Kerry and Kevin.
Sophia had a blast catching up as you can see...she zonked out before
we reached hwy 280!!

Lesson For Today

We've been climbing up the stairs for a while now. Steve taught Soso
how to climb down. We have a door blocking these stairs...but wanted
her to know how to go down FEET first.

Missing

We have photo magnets on our frig. Sophia had so much fun with Aunt
Amy and Cousin Catherine this past weekend! She's been walking around
with the photo pointing at it. In gibberish, she asks where they went.
Very cute! Then, she'll walk back to the guest bedroom where they
stayed...pointing. "They were right HERE."

Hanging Out

Sunday, we decorated the front yard. Here Catherine and Soso take a
break.

Snuggled In

We are sitting on the hillside watching the Auburn High Tigers! Soso
is in to watching the game...or band? :)

Game Tonight

Auburn High vs. Prattville

Oh Yes We Did

My brother Mark and I braved the chilling cold to hit the black Friday
sales! We met at 3:45AM. I got my annual snowglobe...& almost done
with Christmas list. Only 6:51, still hours left to shop!
Here's a photo of Mark in line, store opens in 8 minutes...
Line of the day(which we didn't stand in) goes to Target. It was
insane...from the Target front door to about Dick's sporting goods.
Not sure what they had, but there a ton of folks wanting it!

Parade

As she did for her first Thanksgiving, Soso watched the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade with Uncle Mark and parents. Only this year
she was walking and dancing with the marching bands!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!