Sweet & Sour Sophia

Tonight we experienced what every single parent across the universe experiences: tantrums. Awesome to say the least. Sophia spent a day of pure bliss at my mother's (Nana) house. Luckily giving my poor mother in law, Patricia (aka "mom"/"abuelita") a break! Of course, since it was a change in Sophia's usual routine, it was like a vacation for her. She was having so much fun at Nana's (ahem, even sitting on the potty chair watching Noggin for 45mins...not moving a muscle - nor going potty as she claimed she had to!) to want to come home. She happily noshed on grapes en route home & then it was like a switch was flipped. So convenient. We battled over everything - juice or no juice, sit or stand, giggle or cry, etc, etc. Both Rod & I are tired from working all day & only ever want peace in our house for just one evening after work...did we do something so terribly wrong during our childhoods to deserve this behavior day after day? Well, maybe neither of us should really dwell on that very hypothetical question! Nonetheless, Rod tackled Sour Sophia into the tub & subsequently into the kitchen to search for the infamous green 'bus' t-shirt to wear for bed. Oh, & the twice-a-day headliner fight to get her hair brushed in which it's Sour Sophia vs. Mommy...that one is my fave fight. Not really. After more tears & cries of "no ponytail mommy", I waved my white flag & begged Rod for a glass of wine. To go with my already heaping helping of "whine". We were able to get her into her seat at the dinner table to "enjoy" dinner as a family - HA! She opted for Cheerios (as she's not been feeling very good lately, lots of congestion, etc. Yay for summer colds) & Rod & I dined on a chicken/rice/teryaki dish of sorts (sorry Brendan & Monica, it wasn't he famous Crimi Teryaki!). Anyone who knows Sophia knows she will not get fooled into drinking a drop of milk, but will gobble up cereal & cheese like it's going out of style - so Cheerios in milk seemed like a healthy winner if she was hungry for a meal at all. Everyone seemed to be 'happily' - & I used this term loosely - eating their respected 'dinners' until disaster struck in the form of a 2 1/2 yr olds hand coming down onto the table to make her point (about what, we've forgotten) in a passionately-told story. The cereal bowl flipped onto it's side, spilling a luxurious silken river of milk (it's a disaster, let's make the re-telling of it at least pleasant!) on to poor unsuspecting Sophia, & then cascading onto the chair & floor. I drank more wine. Then we sprang up into serious disaster relief. Sophia burst into tears wailing, "Sophia okay! Sophia okay!" It's quite funny how she refers to herself in the 3rd person & is so dramatic about these situations. Finally all cleaned, changed & a new PASTA course in front of her, she was quite delighted with herself. So, after a refill of wine, Rod handwashing some dishes (b/c our dishwasher is a real piece...of what I will not say, but a piece nonetheless) Sophia happily shoveled in forkfuls of pasta. Praise God! Then, she blurted out a pure gem: "Sophia not make a mess - Lucy (our sleeping beagle) make the mess. Not Sophia. Sophia a good girl"....WHAAAA??? That might be the most hilarious thing that's ever come out of my daughter's mouth!! So, with a happier child, & dutiful husband, I was able to snap some great photos. In addition to them, I've selected some other cute photos from way back & put them into a little slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Tonight's disaster is the ones with her in the bib (some are black & white)...some are clear back as last fall (2008). Going through all those photos made me realize that she truly is a Sweet & Sour Sophia that we just couldn't love any more than we already do!