A Fig in Sweden Portland

taking root

After months of not knowing how much longer we'd be calling Portland home, I'm absolutely ecstatic to say that we're staying. And we plan to be here for a while. Lewis started a new job on Monday, so I've registered Sophie for kindergarten, and I'm getting my Oregon driver's license. No more risk of jinxing anything.

It's been an absolutely beautiful spring here, starting with Easter. We've made trips to the coast, watched the cherry blossoms bloom out front, opened up the patio for dinner, watched Sophie's neighborhood "coronation ceremony" (Allie and Ripley crowned her a princess, complete with invites, a homemade dress and Tang), played A LOT of golf and helped Sophie rake in the dough at her first lemonade stand.

We love you, Portland life.

happy doesn't even begin to describe it

Sophie, you were so adorable on the day you turned 5. Every time people sang Happy Birthday to you -- your classmates on Friday, us at dinner Friday night and your friends at your party on Saturday -- you just giggled and giggled. Teacher Cindy said it was one of the best reactions she's ever seen, and it is her favorite "Sophie moment."

You are such a joy, and you are so loved.

(P.S. That's Sophie's "prince," Henry, in the 7th picture from the top. Aren't they cute?)

Oh Christmas Tree? More like, oh hell.

We live in the Pacific Northwest, which pretty much means only lame-os get their Christmas tree from the grocery store like we did last year. 

Let's start a tradition, I thought. Make it a little more magical. Involve hot cider or cocoa or something. And definitely a saw. 

The weather was our coin toss. Sunny — we go to Sauvie Island Farms. Rainy — we hit the grocery store. A sunny excursion to the tree farm, it was. They handed us a tree cart and a saw, and even Santa was there. With Mathis asleep in the Ergo, we set out for our Noble fir. It was a beautiful morning to be out on Sauvie Island. But, er, maybe I'm not laid-back Portland enough for the selection of straggly trees we had to choose from. 

We enjoyed the sunshine a little longer; Sophie told Santa what she wanted (pink mermaid, Belle dress, Rapunzel dress, Rapunzel hair, Rapunzel shoes); and then we made a bee-line for Fred Meyers. We found our tree, ate some of their free donuts, said hi to another Santa and did our grocery shopping, too. Win-win-win-win! 

The next few hours were so nice. All of us sitting in the living room, listening to Christmas tunes on Pandora, decorating the tree. Definitely my favorite moment of the holidays so far.

But if you think that's the end of the Christmas tree post, you would be wrong.

Because after decorating the tree on Saturday afternoon, it wasn't until Tuesday morning that I realized I had not refilled the tree stand at all. You know, with water. And, as you might imagine, it was dry as a bone. I frantically filled it, hoping it would be drinking by the time Lewis came home from work. But it never did. Google told me the tree was probably toast unless we cut the bottom off again. While it was tempting to relive the magic of decorating the tree, it totally wasn't. UGH! So we tried an alternative form of surgery — drilling 4-6 holes beneath the water line. I pulled the tree out of the tree stand while Lewis drilled. 

The tree is drinking about a sippy cup worth of water every day now. Christmas was saved. And Lewis' case for an artificial tree just got the tiniest bit stronger. The tiniest bit.

sibling revelry

The most wonderful sound is hearing them play together. Laughing together.

P.S. I also love that Sophie calls pins and needles "crinkles"

once upon a halloween

Starring (in order of appearance):

Sophie .....Cinderella
Mathis ....Gus Gus
Lewis ......Prince Charming
Ginny ......Fairy Godmother 

The weather worked its own sort of magic for us. After days straight of rain, it stopped at 5 p.m. on Halloween, giving us a warm, umbrella-free night of trick-or-treating. Proof that Sophie has achieved "big girl" status: halfway through the night, she started telling us to wait at the sidewalk so she could walk up to the door by herself. Or perhaps our costumes just didn't measure up to the ones in the fairy tale. She had the real deal, thanks to Target, while I handmade the rest of our costumes (thanks to Jo-Ann's). It was the first time I've ever made a Halloween costume from scratch, and I made three! It was fun to dress up as a family and give Sophie the fairy tale Halloween she had been talking about for months.

It was a fun night until we stumbled on a few houses with super scary decorations. Cinderella went running home well before midnight.

not so fast

I feel you seducing me, fall. But, summer, I'm not done with you yet.

 

i scream, you scream, mathis screams for sophie

Putting Mathis to bed for the past week has been brutal. Endless screaming. Night after night of WTF moments for me and Lewis. 

But not tonight. 

Because after a week of letting Sophie stay up late to watch Olympic gymnastics, she went to bed at her usual bedtime tonight. In the room she shares with Mathis. 

And he was happy as a clam.

making memories. not blog posts.

Here's why you haven't heard from me in a while!

more of this

Hooray for Mondays off and small outings that involve baby's first ever swing, a chocolate milkshake at dinner (plus a wonderful Hammerhead Ale for mommy) and zero drama. #totallyrelaxed

little mismatch

Every girl should have "a thing." Mismatched socks is hers. 

it's smilier in south carolina

... and lazier in Portland, because apparently it now takes me a pathetic 3 weeks to post vacation pictures. 

We spent Easter in South Carolina at my parents', with my sister, brother, brother in law, niece and nephews. 

The cousins had a blast. Within 10 seconds, Sophie just folded into the crew, and they were off and running for the week. Well, until Sophie was sidelined by a fever that knocked her out for half the trip. I felt so bad for her. She didn't even want to hunt for Easter eggs or visit with the Easter bunny. 

The weather was pretty great. But my favorite moment of the trip came when we were rained on at the beach and had to make an early departure. Once home, the kids each grabbed a horse and were playing some interactive, imaginitive game. It was just so nice to see Sophie, Will, Sam and Drew playing together like that. Like kids. Not toddlers. Nobody ganged up on anyone. Nobody needed a time-out. It was pouring rain outside but they could not have cared less. While I'm glad the stormy weather was short-lived, I could have lived in that moment for a while. If only Sophie was able to see her cousins more than once a year.

This year, Mathis was definitely the VIP of the reunion. His cousins were so sweet to him and completely captivated by him. No doubt he'll be chasing after them next year.

artichokes, quinoa and kale, oh my

News alert: Sophie has shed her World's Pickiest Eater title. (Like most things in siblingdom, it has been passed down to Mathis.)

Today, I pulled out the double-wide stroller and hightailed it to the grocery store because artichokes were on sale. Because artichokes are her very favoritest food EVER. If I buy the package of 4 chokes at Trader Joes, Sophie gets two while Lewis and I each get one. And then Lewis usually ends up giving her his heart, too. (Awwww, daddy.)

It's the same with roasted kale chips. We're lucky to get *any* before she devours the whole bowl. 

And tonight she ate her quinoa; she even knows how to pronounce it. 

I sure am liking this new open-minded phase she is in. I just hope it can rub off on Mathis in the eating department, because he is not having ANY of it. But if anyone can influence him, she can. She sure is numero uno in his book. 

mouse in peace, harley

On Saturday, we went from having a cat who wasn't feeling well to no longer having a cat. Lewis took her to the vet at 9 a.m., and by 10 a.m. he called to tell me that her kidneys were failing and that we needed to put her down. I got the kids dressed, tried to explain to Sophie what was going on, and we all went to say goodbye to Harley. 

I haven't said much about Harley on this blog. That's because Harley and I weren't close. Harley was rescued from an alley as a kitten and never really shed her wild alley-catness. This came to a head several years ago when she bit me pretty bad (actually very bad) on my hand. She was in attack mode because another cat was in our front yard, and my hand was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a non-cat person to begin with, I didn't really trust her from that moment on. 

Sophie also learned to keep her distance from Harley. Her latest scratch came just a couple of weeks ago. 

She was a great mouser when we lived in Sweden, but not a cuddler. 

She was the bully of the house. Just ask Tilly.

And, yet, despite all this, I'm feeling very sad about her departure from our lives. 

It's funny, I used to curse about how much noise she made in the house at night (on the wood floors above our room). A few weeks ago, I could have killed her for dumping a huge vase of flowers  — and water — onto my laptop at 2 in the morning. 

Now the house feels too quiet. She was a tiny cat. And, at almost 14 years old, she pretty much just chilled out during the day. But we can feel that she's gone. And it's not a good feeling.

The transition from life to death is freaking me out. The uncertainty of life is freaking me out ... that our lives changed in the span of a couple of hours. The coldness of saying goodbye in a vet office. It's all freaking me out.

But perhaps what's freaking me out the most is how much I miss her.

 

keep on rockin, sophie

Sweet, Sweet Sophie,

I loved seeing how happy you were when each of your 11 little friends showed up today at your 4th birthday party. I loved seeing how gracious you were when they each handed you their gift. And I really loved seeing how excited you were to give your friends their "goody bag" presents when it was over — even handing them the prizes you had picked out for yourself.

Just like you're always being kind to Mathis. 

We're so proud of you, peanut.

_____

4th birthday party held at Sound Roots School of Modern Music in Portland, Oregon; performed by the very awesome Mo Phillips. I think he must be related to Jack Black. 

 

S.I.F.C.U. 01/19/12

Sh*t I find cleaning up. Ariel's bikini top as pig goggles.

laughing my head off

Background: Sophie got a set of small plastic princess dolls for Christmas that she *adores.* As with most toys made in China, they are not built to last. On the way home from the science museum last week, Ariel's head came off. Sophie was upset but I assured her that I could pop that little sucker back on. It was tough, but I managed to do it. I told her to be careful with Ariel's head, and it just became common knowledge that Ariel had a fragile neck. But daddy didn't get the memo and knocked Ariel's head off this weekend. I was called back into surgery, but there was just one problem: we couldn't find Ariel's head (and still can't).

Today: Sophie starts humming Ariel's song from the Little Mermaid. Then she looks at me and says, "I hear Ariel's head!"

 

dear family diary, 1/14/12

Tonight we let Sophie stay up late. The Planet Earth marathon was on, and we were all captivated by it. I didn't have to say anything to Lewis ... he was right there with me on the whole screw-bedtime plan that was unfolding. It was educational and cozy and just a special everyday moment.

Until an Arctic fox killed a snow gosling.

Sophie erupted in utter sadness before Lewis and I even realized what was happening. Then when I did realize what was happening I just held her as tight as I could, both of us trying to convince her that the geese babies were OK. "See them swimming with their mommy?"

I'm so sorry, sweet pea. After all this talk about growing up, we inadvertently let you grow up a little too fast tonight.

the magical age of besties

Ever since Christmas break at preschool, I've noticed something different when I drop Sophie off at school. A little girl named Ella comes running up to Sophie as soon as we walk in the door. The two show off whatever cool dress or toy they have that day to the other and then run off to play (sometimes leaving mommy in the dust.)

It's OK, because I walk back to the car beaming. 

Ella appears to be Sophie's very first little girl bestie (after having lots of little boy besties beginning with French Mathis in Sweden). My friend Amy articulated what I am feeling in a recent post on her blog: "She is one of the first people to discover my daughter, out in the world, with no familial obligation to think she’s the best. She could have chosen any number of the kids at dagis to like above all others, but she chose mine."

This is an extra big deal since several months ago, Sophie's teachers talked to me about her language development and how many of the other kids didn't understand her. It seems that speaking Swedish fluently during the day at school up until she was 2 1/2 sort of got in the way of her English. We've been trying to work on her English, and I think we are starting to get somewhere.

Today, Sophie spent the morning on a playdate with another little school friend. Joey, short for Josephine, told her mom that she wanted to have Sophie over this week. So, for the very first time, I dropped Sophie off at a friend's house and drove away. It felt very strange going grocery shopping as a family of three. Lewis turned to me and said," It's going to be really weird when the kids grow up and move out." Needless to say, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. But it definitely feels like she has made an enormous leap since Mathis was born.

I thought it only seemed like she suddenly aged a few years when Mathis was born. Turns out she really has been growing up right before our eyes.

And, on that note, I am going to head back to my sewing machine. My not-so-little girl wants a unicorn dress for her 4th birthday.

 

dear family diary, 12/9/11

This morning, as I was in the kitchen making my coffee, Sophie was in the dining room "playing" with Mathis. He was sitting in his bouncy seat, and she was asking him what toy he wanted to play with. "Do you want to play with the star or this one," she said, referring to a soft spirally toy. "This one? OK." And then I looked over just in time to see her toss it at him, as if to say, "Here, catch." 

Luckily it did not hit him in the face. 

He laughed.

And then I laughed.

I think this kid is going to learn how to catch, crawl, walk, run, etc., real fast!

P.S. Tonight is his first night sharing his sister's room (and our first night not having a baby in the room in 4.5 months)

they could be twins

Sophie at 8 months; Mathis at 3. At about the same height and weight (!!!).