Snow on Cedars (or anything)

Ok, so there are no cedars here (edit apparently the shingle on our house are), and I didn't care much for the book, and this has nothing to do with that anyway.

Tomorrow I will be playing in the snow until my fingers are blue and my girl's cheeks are florescent. I envision a day of snow-cat building, sledding and maybe even ice skating. We will see. And later, to warm up, a cup of hot cocoa and some popcorn. (I better run out and get more cocoa.)

I do wish I were 4 again, so I can really appreciate the fun of snow. For a little while tomorrow, I will be 4, until my knees start to hurt and my cheeks sting. That will take about 15 minutes...and she will want to be out for 2 hours. Layers, natch.

Sofia was so cute tonight, it was snowing hard and she was so excited by the snow. She ran crazy circles in the yard and fell giggling in the snow to make a snow angel...over and over, and over again. She just stood there, with her tongue hanging out, a look of pure happiness on her face as she was trying to catch a snowflake. (easy enough, if you open your mouth out there at this time, you would get a cup of snow flakes.)

We came in for hot cocoa and soup. I want to be 4, to feel what she feels and love it.

daddy's girl, indeed

Re: Michelle's earlier post: It's not the first time that Sofia has predicted that she was going to marry me.

The first time was during our big trip south, to Ocean City MD. We were at the General Patterson Rest Area, after getting sandwiches from the world's grumpiest sandwich maker, when Sofia started talking about the fact that she was going to marry me.

Now, I understand that little girls go through this stage and it's completely innocent. But it still kind of threw me for a loop to hear that. So I attempted to explain a few things.

"Uh, sweetie, Daddy's already kind of married to mama."

Silence. Then her smile turned upside down, her face turned red and tears flew out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"What about meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?" she wailed.

I wanted to hide under the table or shrink down small enough so I could crawl into the salt shaker. What had I done? You EEEEEEdiot!

Happily, some chocolate chip cookies saved the day.

More recently, she again predicted wedding bells. This time I gave a more neutral answer .. "That's sweet of you, dear. But you know, you can marry anyone you want."

Then she came up with another idea that included other options.

"When I grow up, I'm going to find an empty house next to yours and I'm going to live next to you."

That's my girl, all right. Daddy's girl.

Daddy, you are off the hook...

Sofia recently said that she wanted to marry her daddy when she grew up, but I guess a girl has a right to change her mind.

This morning when I woke up Sofia, she sat straight up in bed and announced "I am going to marry the cat!"

Instead of explaining that society generally frowns upon interspecies relationships, I asked her if Sammy (our cat in residence) knew about this. She said she hasn't told him yet, but she's waiting for him to come on bended knee, err, paw, to pop the question. (I think she's gonna be waiting a while)

Ahh love. Purr purr purr.

That's a wrap

At 4:45 the door opened and a gaggle of grinning little girls in matching leotards and tights rushed out to greet their parents. I guess class was a success.

Sofia was happy, too,. She showed us some of her moves -- quite excellent. She had a good time. I had worried about whether she was ready for "serious" dance class, but I think this is goign to work out just fine. Great, even.

And that brings our exclusive live blog coverage of dance class to an end.

Oh Say Can You See?

Snake eyes!

Went outside and there's a curtain up on the doors and windows. To see in, one would need:
_ the ability to climb trees.
_ binoculars or a telescope.
_ confidence that the cops won't see the above and send you to jail without passing go or collecting 200 bucks.

I tried peeking in and realized that any passerby, seeing a middle-aged man peering in on little girls in ballet class, would call 911 immediately. I would. That was the end of that.

So much for seeing her dance. Boo...

ears looking at you kid

There's no window here in the waiting room so I have to rely on my ears. I can hear the sound of gentle piano music and the voice of the teacher. but I can only imagine what she looks like. I thought once I heard the teacher say "good Sofia" - but I can't swear to it.
I will have to go outside and see if there's a window...

Live blogging from dance class

And we're off!
Sofia and seven or eight little girls, all in matching black leotards and pink tights, filed into the studio with their teacher, who greeted them warmly.
Before class started, Some stretched and jumped off their toes, full of ballet energy. Others clung nervously to their parents' legs.  Sofia sat on my lap and said "daddy, you're my best friend."
And off she went. Our little ballerina.

I'm the only dad here. Just like when she was 6 months old at the Crane library in Quincy in the parent-child program, it's me and the moms.

More later...

This is a test

This is a test of the mobile blogging system.

I'm a rock star. I have cool moves.

And I have cool songs.

"I like spending time with you daddy."

"We do father and daughter stuff " ...."and mama stuff too."

I love hearing her talk

Well, sometimes it gets tiring because she can revert to silliness and nonsense words, but when she's coherent, she's amazing.

Two weeks ago, we went camping (in the rain), and her Aunt Kim gave Sofia and her cousin Alyssa these little animals that grow ten times their size in water. They cleaned out some soda bottles and added water and the animals, the girls were so excited, they talked about how big the animals would grow. Alyssa had a pink cat and Sofia had a yellow ducky. They started about 3/4 of an inch tall. By the time we had left the campsite 2 days later, the animals had almost doubled in size in their watery environs.

Sofia was so excited about her duck and it's growth, she wanted to bring it to Show and Tell that Friday (5 days away) to show her classmates. By Friday the duck was at the biggest I thought it could get, a full 3 inches tall with it's sides almost touching the bottle sides. It was impressive.

After school was over, we brought the bottle home, but neglected to take it out of the car. So it sat for 4 days in the hot car....I picked the bottle up from iunder the front seat where it had rolled and I swear that duck grew another inch! It easily took up half the bottle. Sofia was so excited!

This is where her logic comes in: I suggested that we should empty the bottle to see if the duck would shrink back to it's original size. She ran with that idea, "We need a plan, so this is our plan: We, I mean, I can dump the water in the sink, the baffroom sink, no! Outside on the grass! The grass needs water where daddy planted the seeds! Yeah, that's the plan! hey can I touch the duck? What does it feel like? Is it soft? Can we take it out of the bottle? Mama, can you take it out? I bet you can? Do you have a plan for taking it out?"

I told her my plan for taking it out was to let it shrink so it would fit out the mouth of the bottle. She didn't like my plan very much, but was excited to dump the water once we got home. She had to find the perfect spot to dump the water on the newly seeded lawn.

"Is it shrinking yet Mama?"
"Not yet, do you want to touch it?"

I turned the bottle upside down an let her touch the top of the duck's head.

We brought it inside so it could shrink. She kept checking it throughout the night to see if it got smaller.

Pics to come.

a really, really big shew

Just before story time tonight, I had to duck into the bathroom for a minute. "Pick out some books and I'll be right in," I said.

Well, about a minute later, I hear Sofia in her room, by herself, announcing our upcoming story time like the ringmaster at a three-ring circus:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's time for the story show!"

we've been everywhere, man...

It’s been a busy week for Sofia.

A week ago, we hit the road for Maine, where our friends Cora and Uri were getting married. She was excited about this trip and about the wedding -- she didn’t get to attend the last one Michelle and I went to -- and she had a great time.

The night before we stayed over at Uncle Carl's house, where Sofia joined her dad playing drums. Here's the beginner lesson...




now Sofia takes the snare and we're picking up steam. No, I don't plan to turn her into Buddy Rich ... well, not the obnoxious perfectionist part, at least.




With basic lessons over, Little Lars Jr. and I take on "Seek and Destroy" with Uncle Josh...




Is there a drum set in Sofia's future? Very possibly.

The next day we headed up to the wedding in Old Orchard BEach




As you can tell, the idea of being in a pretty dress at a big party appeals. So much for getting her to blow off the prom.

And oh yes, she enjoyed hanging out with the bride. Who felt the same way.







Cora, being the thoughtful friend that she is, ordered chicken fingers for the young’uns in attendance. And they all sequestered in their own area to eat. She liked that enough that about 20 minutes later, when I came around to ask if she wanted to join her mom and I at our table, she said “no, I’ll stay here.”

Shot down by a four-year-old!

And of course, what would a wedding be without cake (note crumbs, which were all that remained)…




And dancing!





Here's Sofia's "I'm a tired ballerina at the wedding" interpretive dance, and it's tremendous ... what an artiste!




As we packed up to head home, thunder boomed in the distance (happily the rain that had threatened all afternoon waited until after Cora’s wedding was about over).

“That’s thunder,” I said.

“That’s not good,” Sofia replied.

The next day, because a full day of driving wasn’t nearly enough, we headed off to Ocean City, Maryland, to visit our friends Beth and Don at a condo owned by one of their relatives.


On the road, we saw this….the Meow Mix Mobile. This is on the New Jersey Turnpike, somewhere between exits 10 and 7 southbound…




I saw the tail and ears coming up on the right, woke up Michelle, told her to get the camera and slowed up to get a picture. I could not make it up if I tried.

Sofia handled the driving really well ... er, she handled ME driving really well ... and we arrived after about seven hours. But there wasn’t much time for resting … not when the Ocean City boardwalk was calling!




Don told us for weeks about all the rides for the small set on the boardwalk -- rides that he had been on when he was Sofia’s age. He was not kidding about that. Among the star attractions is the 1902 Herschell-Spillman wooden roller coaster, which has been operating in the same location since it arrived from the factory in North Tonawanda.

Sofia had a blast. She rode the rides, all right -- just about every single one built for someone of her age and height. She dragged us from one to the next, eagerly sat down, smiled for the camera at each one, then repeated the process.




And there was ice cream, of course.




Somehow, she stayed awake until way past her bedtime o’clock -- like, say, 11. And still, she was ready for more the next day -- Assateague Island and its pristine beaches and wild horses. We did not come up with any close encounters with feral equines (too bad), but we did have a tremendous time on the beach.




It’s been a few days since we returned and I’m still tired. Need a vacation to recover from the vacation. More photos and stories to come…

quality time

We just came from outside where we were planting grass on some bare spots near the driveway.

Someone thought it would be funny to hit her dad with the hose ... but she didn't know daddy would get her back with the hose when she wasn't looking, either! We laughed a lot about that. She did a very good job helping me with the chores ....

Later: "Daddy, you're on my team because we both like Brak." (The Space Ghost Coast to Coast/Cartoon Planet character.) Don't ask.

Then, in the bathroom, while I was getting her bath going, she needed to use the potty, and the following ensued after she ascended the throne:

"Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too Sofia."

And then, an earnest request:

"Please, can I have some privacy?"

Which is why I'm out here typing this.

capping a perfect father's day

After the pork tenderloin and key lime pie from Trader Joe's -- the product of my latest shopping adventure there -- I did what I sometimes (and very annoyingly) do after accomplishing something good: Asked Michelle "who's the man?"

Usually she sighs and gives a resigned "you are, dear," to which I say "awwwwww yeahhhh" (like Barry and Levon from "The State") and start lifting my hands over my shoulders. (Yes, it's totally lame.)

Except this time, Sofia chimes in and very matter-of-factly says, "That's how we raise the roof."

That meal was the perfect end to a perfect day...

- Sofia woke us up at about 7:30 (relatively late for her) and wanted me to get because she wanted to play with me. It's always nice to be wanted.

- After the smoked salmon and bagels (again, trader joe's -- it's ridiculous how little they charge for their salmony treats) Sofia and I went to the Y together and had some "just you and me time" while mama snoozed (it was humid here last night and sleep was hard to come by).

- Then, after the ladies came back from shopping, Sofia insisted that we play soccer in the back yard. when that got less interesting, we ventured out front and replanted a shady swath of the front lawn where grass has not been growing of late .. and my little helper loosened up the soil, spread grass seed and watered afterwards.

- After all that, I was sitting on the steps, getting ready to light the grill, when my shadow joined me there.

"Ever get the feeling you're being followed?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"You're following me a lot today," I noted.

"I like to follow you when I love you."

good luck with the unlearning

Sofia has picked up a few things in her four years. Some of those things are catchy marketing phrases and slogans that she has seen on TV or heard on the radio ... or that she has heard her dad repeating.

In five years in Boston, I heard a lot of radio jingles -- my job required me to have news radio on all the time, and they play a lot of ads on news and talk radio in Boston. (Those of you who listen to the Red Sox radio network can attest to this -- I'm betting all of you can sing the 1-800-54-GIANT Giant Glass song. Once, at a Newport Gulls NECBL game, a foul ball hit a windshield on the street behind the stadium and I could not stop myself from belting out "WHO DO YOU CALL WHEN YOUR WINDSHIELD'S BUSTED!?!?")

Well, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Consider this example from one of my recent backyard barbecue expeditions.

One of the ads I used to hear a lot was for Tommy Floramo's in Everett, which is apparently famous for its ribs. Their phrase that pays? "The meat falls off the bone." And in one spot, an opera singer memorably warbles that phrase at the end.

I guess over the ensuing years, I must have repeated that line a few times. Because there I was this spring, turning chicken legs on the grill, when out of nowhere Sofia crowed, "The meat falls off the bone!!!!"

So every time I grill chicken legs, we have a little singalong.

fancy feet

Sofia has taken up a new sport -- Soccer.



Sofia and Josh play in the back yard.

For her birthday two years ago, Uncle Mike got Sofia a kid-sized World Cup soccer ball. She showed some interest in playing with it over the last two summers, but not that much. The concept of what it was for was a little lost on her, and other games were more interesting.

This summer, she took right to it. Don't know if it was the other sports classes she's been taking at the Y or if it's just a case of her growing (and it's probably both), but sofia has suddenly gotten good at dribbling a soccer ball. Whenever I get home from work, she wants to play in the back yard.

Like any parent who dreams of college scholarships, I tried getting her to pass the ball back and forth (improving) and dribbling the ball around and through a line of lawn chairs (not bad). Thing is, these are not things she wants to do.

"Daddy, I want to play the real soccer now," she says.

The real soccer, by the way, is her kicking the ball and trying to keep away from me -- or me trying to keep the ball away from her. Which is fine, if you're in decent physical shape. I'm still getting there...

So the real test will come this summer, when Sofia goes to day soccer camp at the Y. It's a good first step, we think -- given that it's the Y, the emphasis will likely be on learning, improving and having fun, rather than drills, instruction and the win-at-all-costs mentality that has infected youth sports. There will be plenty of time for that later, I'm afraid. Soccer is pretty competitive in this town and I bet there are not many players on the boys or girls team who are not also playing travel team club soccer in the summer.

For now, it's all about fun .. and I like that.

let's go racing!

Monday, we went to Lime Rock Park with our friends Carl and Josh to take in a day of racing under blue, sunny skies. It was a postcard day -- warm but not too hot and breezy -- and we had a great time.

I describe Lime Rock as the Tanglewood of motorsports -- there are no seats, just green hills and trees. Except instead of strings and horns, you hear the thunder of finely-tuned racing engines and the squeal of tires. I had not been in 10 years and Michelle had not been since she was a girl, so we were both looking forward to attending.

As for Sofia: She has a need for speed. Don't know if that's just the way she is or if I taught her that by watching racing on TV and pushing the shopping cart at the supermarket like I was Steve McQueen, but at any rate, one day last year I was at the computer when she came in from the living room and said "daddy, the race is on."




So when she saw me watching youtube footage of cars taking laps at Lime Rock, she was immediately curious. So we packed the earplugs along with a picnic and headed out to the track.

Sofia got to be friends pretty quickly with Josh and Carl, who came down Sunday night.



In fact, after Josh, Carl and I went over to the paddock to check out all the internal combustion-fired goodness, we happened upon Michelle and Sofia on the way back ... they had come over to find us because, as Michelle explained, Sofia wanted to know "Where did those boys go?"

(That phrase will be the death of me in 10 years.)

Sofia also picked a favorite car out of the pack. And she did it the way any 4-year-old would: by color. Here she is with her favorite ride, the No. 90 Automatic Racing BMW M3:


They finished 29th out of a field of 35. But their teammates won the race!

All in all, a great day. I got to drive Carl's BMW (woohoo!), we saw some great racing, Sofia enjoyed herself immensely and we enjoyed the company of our friends.

All that excitement kept Sofia awake until 9 p.m. We'll see how tonight goes...

awwwwww, man!!!!!

Like eight zillion other children, Sofia likes watching Dora The Explorer.
We have limited her exposure to all TV ... but when she does watch, she sure is fond of that football-headed girl, her monkey Boots, her ubiquitous backpack and the adventures they get into. (And what the heck, Sofia can count to five in Spanish.)

The songs and bits are ripe for parody and application to our daily lives. For example, there's my impression of The Map, explaining how to get to Dunkies: "High school, horse farm, donut store! Say it with me! High school, horse farm, donut store!"

And then there's Swiper.


When Swiper shows up on the scene to do his swiping thing, Sofia gets a little skittish. Hides her head. Doesn't want to watch.

Over time, we've tried to get her to understand that Swiper is a cartoon character -- you know, pretend -- and that he never "wins." (He is perhaps the most incompetent cartoon villian this side of the snow monster from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.)

Sofia has been completely unswayed by this argument.

So the other day, Sofia and I are watching Dora trying to deliver a magic flute or something, and Swiper is about to show up.

Before I can say a word, Sofia speaks up. And how.

"I know he's only a cartoon fox, but I don't want to see him, OK?" she says, beating me to the punch.

Well, then. The lady has spoken!

Again: She's FOUR!!!

Later, I asked her why she does not like Swiper. "Because he takes things. He's mean," she said.

Oh, kid. I wish the meanest thing in this world was a cartoon fox that regularly proves himself the most inept thief since "Dog Day Afternoon." And I hate to break that to you ... please grow up slowly.

An Early Mother's Day Present

Have a look at what Sofia made her mama for Mother's Day. This card accompanied a geranium in a pink flower pot. And yes, she wrote it HERSELF (though I suppose she copied the words -- as if that matters, she still wrote it).


Here's the inside:


She was so proud!

Michelle, of course, melted, teary-eyed. As did I.

Just another sign that our little girl is not so little any more (she recently proclaimed herself a "medium-sized girl") and rapidly growing up.

Wow.

sofia's b-day party

While we're catching up -- and there's a lot of catching up to do .. here's a quick look at Sofia's birthday party, held last month at J. Foster Ice Cream in Avon.



First, a word about our hosts and partners in high-calorie crime. J. Foster makes ice cream too good for words, so I'll make one up: yummilicious. And they're an independent, locally-owned small business -- now that's a difference you can sink your spoon into.

Now, do four-year-olds appreciate the difference? The off-the-charts butterfat content? The perfectly-churned goodness? Not sure. But they appreciate chocolate.

So Sofia and 10 of her closest pals descended on their lovely showroom and a good time was had by all. What a great place for a party it turned out to be.

Here's a game of Simon Says that turned into a happy birthday singalong. Not sure why Sofia keeps tugging at her dress, other than perhaps she was nerved by all the attention (and you'll hear mom pleading for propriety if you watch this clip) but it's fun.

Warning: On a 1-to-10 cuteness factor, this is about a 37.


And then there was the ice cream....


Did I say ice cream?


Poor cousin Amanda. She made the trip from greater Boston and was fresh off a nap when she arrived ... and wanting to deal with the world on her terms. So she did. And ate her ice cream with her eyes closed. Kids, don't try this at home:


And of course, there were prezzies. That's Jake's older sister on the left (she served as secretary .. many thanks!) and Marah on the right.


Later that afternoon we had family and friends who traveled from out of town over for a light lunch. It was a great afternoon -- maybe her best birthday party yet aside from her very first. But then again, anything featuring premium ice cream is by definition a success.

Happy Birthday, Sofia

April 17, 2008

Dear Sofia,

Tomorrow you’re going to be four years old. Four! If I wasn’t here for the whole thing, I would scarcely believe it. But here you are, in preschool, growing smarter and taller and more precious by the day.

And although four years have truly flown by -- I can still, very clearly, remember your first moments in our realm and the milestones in your first year of life -- I cannot imagine a time when I didn’t know you. When I didn’t cherish the time we spent time together playing and having “just you and me” time and adventures at the YMCA or the supermarket. When I didn’t miss you during the day at work and worry about you when you went away on trips with mom or stayed over with grandma.. When I wasn’t completely melted when you said “I love you daddy” or called me your best friend in the whole world and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Two years ago, you still needed to be pushed around in your little plastic car (the one that made you plaintively shout “my carrrrr!!!!!” when we took you out of it). A year ago you were just figuring out how to coordinate your legs to try to pedal a tricycle. Now you’re moving onto a bike with training wheels (and you'll need a biggger one, it turns out), and the plastic car and tricycle went out to the curb last week for other little boys and girls somewhere to use.

Two years ago you were just learning letters and singing the alphabet. Now you’re oh so close to learning to read .. and when that happens, there will be no stopping you -- even moreso than when you finally learned to walk, then run. At that moment your natural curiosity will take over and take you down any road you want to travel, any time you choose -- and then we’ll really have to watch (and marvel at) where you run next.

You’ve always been able to wow us with your dance moves. But now you’re taking dance classes and learning ballet and jazz movement -- and the gains in balance and confidence are noticeable. You’re getting better at throwing and kicking the soccer ball in the yard, running and jumping and even tackling me in the living room -- though you’re getting too big to do that. You can sled down the hill at the high school all by yourself and climb back up with some help. You can go for long walks around the block with us. You're setting the dinner table and insisting on doing more and more yourself ... you get upset (offended, even!) when I do something that you want to prove you can do on your own.

You've got friends at school and you're befriending your relatives .. especially those grandmas and uncles.

You’ve always liked horsing around and having us pick you and swing you around upside down. It was easier when you were two years old and smaller. Now you’re taking tumbling classes and learning how to do somersaults and hang upside down on the bars. And you’re just about too big for either of us to pick up. You used to stand on my chest or my shoulders and I’d hold your hands and sing the “So Big” song to the melody of Miles Davis’ “So What”:

Let me tell you ‘bout Sofia, So big!
She’s a very big girl, So big!
Every day she keeps growing, So big!
She grows and grows, So big!
But now you’re too big to do that. So we’ll have to invent new games, songs and dances.

I am continually amazed by the things you say and the things you can do. Words like “frustrated,” “reflection” and “appreciate” have come out of your mouth, in context -- that just knocks us over. You’re writing your own name -- first and last -- and learning how to spell words. You only talk to us in complete sentences … and your grammar, frankly, is better than mine. You’re polite and sweet and funny when we go out and you never fail to charm folks .. And make us super proud. Every single day.

It’s also becoming clearer how sensitive you are -- you care about being a good girl and living up to that standard, and you take it hard when we correct you. Your mom and dad were sensitive children, too, and well I’m still pretty easily hurt sometimes, too -- so sometimes I worry about that. I want to tell you what 40 years of life have taught your mom and me -- that so much of what upsets us, in the end, really isn’t that important after all. But I also know that you’ll grow up to be someone who cares about people and will think of others and not only of herself. And that’s a good thing.

But I am also thrilled that you got the same silly sense of humor your mom and dad do and that you revel in silliness, which I’m only too happy to share with you.

Sometimes you get frustrated at first when things don’t go right, and it makes you hesitant to try again. But you’re so proud when you’re finally able to do those things, too .. And you love to tell me all about what you’re going to do when you’re bigger. You say you’re going to “touch the sky” when you’re big. You look forward to going to school with the big kids, too. You even told me you can’t wait to drive a car. (Everything in time, friend.)

It’s been a whirlwind, these past four years. I very clearly remember your first days with us and how our lives changes so profoundly from that moment. Everything that has happened since then has been for you, about you and with you. And we haven’t minded that in the least; in fact we have embraced it as surely as we have embraced you. For you are the most beautiful thing in our world; you, the little girl we realized we had known all our lives from the moment we met you. You are not in our hearts as much as you are our hearts and we love you with all of it.

Every day when I turn on my computer at work I see your face on my screen and stop to think of you. And every night when I put you to bed, I kiss your head and finish our prayers with this: “And God bless Sofia, and keep her growing big and strong and happy and healthy and strong and safe.” And I close the door and walk downstairs and without fail tell mama “I love that girl so much.”

And as you start to hit your stride this year and really become a big girl, I hope you’ll remember that … and go into this world with the confidence that mom and dad are right behind you and think the world of you.

Love, Daddy

better late than ever

We've been really, really lame about updating this blog.
Months of inactivity. No new postings. No news, no asides, no pictures, nothing.
And you're wondering how Sofia's doing.
Well, we're back and relaunching SSW ... there have been so many changes in our girl's life, so much growing and learning and specialness, and it's high time we got back to sharing it.
Regularly.
So try, try again. More posts to come soon ... her highness needs to be put to bed.
- Greg