First swim lesson!

Sophia was ecstatic to start swimming lessons and put on her swim suit first thing when she woke up. 

She'll be a little fish in no time.

Lunch break.

Between us both working, going to school, and alternating watching Sophia- life can get busy.

So we squeeze in family time wherever we can. And that includes at work lunch dates. 

I love Sophia coming to visit me at work. She loves seeing the hospital and gets so excited about it, and says she wants to work here with me when she's bigger. 

Mostly because of the toys here I'm guessing.

Kirkland, Ohio

We took a day trip down to Kirkland, Ohio and saw the historic Kirkland Temple there.

It was beautiful place, and cool to hear about the history that both of our family's were a part of.

We got to tour the building and sit in the rooms where so much early LDS history took place. 

It was very touching and beautiful.

The natural light built in to the building was just breathtaking. 

Directly across the street was the old cemetery.

Symbolic juxtaposition of death and the ideas of eternal life represented in the temple.

And we got to see some of Rick's ancestors gravesite.

Sophia picked some dandelions and placed them on her ancestors grave too.

I want her to know about where she came from, and this was a  wonderful opportunity to focus on that.

In the Newel K Whitney store

And the school of the prophets room.

And we got to visit some of our friends currently serving in Kirkland

We topped off a great day with a stop for dinner in Cleveland.

What smells so good? Cleveland.

Pure. Joy.

The magic of Spring...

The smells, feelings, and sounds of Spring on a farm is just magical.

My favorite part is seeing all the new born baby animals.

This new litter of piglets were so cute.

And these one day old kids were just heart melting.

Magical.

Happy Day, Earth!

Earth Day is for {feeding} the birds.

Happy Earth Day!

Skills.

Self taught.

Greenfield Village!!!

Spring is starting to appear, and that means Greenfield Village is back!

What a wonderful and warm day we had!

Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter filled with lots of eggs, candy, and friends.

Sophia is my favorite little bunny.

And it was even warm enough to paint eggs outside!

Happy Easter!

Rainy day at the DIA

We had a rainy day, and this was the first place Sophia asked to go.

Love her.

Young For A Night

We went on a date to a trampoline gym, and it was SO much fun!

It was like being a kid again!

Although we were both a bit sore the next day.

Wheee!

Sophia loves going down slides, but she's so light that she flies out the bottom.

It's hilarious and cute.

little butterfly

We went to the open house for Sophia's preschool, and they had cookies and face painting for the kids.

Needless to say, she is very excited to start school in the Fall.

Easter Egg Hunt

We got to go to a fun Easter egg hunt with MOMS Club, and the Spring weather couldn't have been more perfect!

Sophia had SO much fun- this is the first year she really understood the idea of the egg hunt I think.

Her and her little buddies.

On the chase!

She does have a problem with opening her eggs while still hunting- we need to work on patience I guess?

And it cracked me up that she wanted to wear these bunny ears ALL day, when for the last two years she's hated me putting them on her. 

Such a fun morning!

And of course, checking out the goods with friends.

Something to celebrate!

We're celebrating over here because Rick got into medical school!

What better way to celebrate than ice cream?!

We innocently ordered a banana split at this old time-y ice cream parlor, and received the BIGGEST buck-o-ice cream I've ever eaten. Oh man, so good.

Good thing Rick's going to be a doctor, because I think we may have diabetes after eating this.

Soccer Star!

So soccer for 3 year olds is kind of like watching ants when it starts to rain- chaos everywhere. But at least this little ant had a ton of fun! Super soccer star!

For the birds...

A gloomy morning seemed to justify making bird feeders to user in Spring.

It's also a great way to get rid of these nasty fruit loops ;D

Sophia: March Recap

I had stopped doing the monthly updates, but then things came up that Sophia was saying and doing that I didn't know where else to put, and I don't want to forget any of them! So I'm at it again.

Fun things about Sophia lately:

1) In the story: every night Sophia asks for a story about herself. It usually includes her and her friends going somewhere and doing something where they are very tired and go to sleep at the end (can you tell I have ulterior motives?)

2) How do you spell? Sophia loves asking how to spell this or that- all about words. When you ask her how to spell something (like Daddy) her response always comes back the same "S-O-P-H-I-A".

3) Letters: she also is getting really good at sounding out letters in words and figuring out what they start with, and is starting to trace letters very scratchily. 

4) NPR requests: some of my proudest moments are in the car when Sophia requests "Wait, wait don't tell me" and "The Diane Rehm Show" by name- she loves it and laughs and claps along. We'll have her donating to the fall fund drive before you know it!

5) Monsters in the closet: lately Sophia has been referring to monsters being in her closet (thanks Monsters Inc.), but she'll make up a story about her being a superhero and fighting them off. That's my girl.

6) 1, 2, 3: She loves to put things in order of how she can get things done. Like taking a nap: "First I have to go potty, second I have read a story, and third I'll take a nap!" It's super cute.

We're mostly just so excited for the weather to be warming up and being outside! 

Here are some pictures from playing on the swing in the backyard.