So, there we were on Friday morning with matching – no, coordinating – polka dot outfits all set for a second try at the sibling pictures. This time we put Sophia in pants to avoid any unnecessary suffering that dresses cause for her. Hailey, of course, was in a dress to avoid any unnecessary suffering that pants cause her.

Anyway, I woke the girls up, and as is our routine, I went to put Sophia on the potty. However, this morning she did not want to be put on the potty. She wanted to get on by herself. I told her that she could have her milk as soon as she sat on the potty.

Have I mentioned that she’s a milk addict? Think of this SAT-like analogy: Warm milk is to Sophia as Coffee is to a Folgers-addicted, sleep-deprived college student in the morning. No warm milk = serious crankiness.

But, I had the milk. It was sitting a foot away on the counter. I told her she could have it when she sat on the potty. It was right there. Yet, she monkeyed around the potty, refusing to sit on it. Finally, I let Hailey use the potty first since she had to go.

Oh, you would have thought that I had decapitated Sophia’s favorite doll (not the best analogy since she doesn’t like dolls). Regardless, you get my drift. All hell broke lose, and there was much screaming and tantruming (yes, that word deserves to be a verb in this case).

So, I very calmly told her that she could have her milk when she was finished crying and sat on the potty. You can probably guess what comes next – right, the peepee on the floor moment. Yup, during her tantrum she peed all over the floor.

Again, I was very calm and brought her in a rag. I told her that it was ok that she had an accident, but she needed to clean it up just like when she spills water on the floor. Then, I sprayed some disinfectant down. That exchange reignited the entire tantrum so I just let her continue with several reminders to calm down and clean up.

Finally, it was getting quite late, and I decided to make an unprecedented move. I told her that since she had decided not to sit on the potty, to pee on the floor, and not to clean it up, that there would be no milk that morning. AHHH! The worst punishment EVER!!! She was beside herself, but shockingly pliable while I dressed her.

I felt a little bad for Grandma who was on driving to school duty. Apparently, she cried most of the way to school, but none of that is the worst part of the story. The worst part is Hailey telling Grandma what a mean Mommy she has. “My Mommy is so mean to Sophia.” Then, Hailey had to tell Sophia’s teachers all about how Mommy would not give Sophia any milk.

All of this is an incredibly long winded way of saying – no sibling pictures this spring.

Anyway, this morning, I tricked Sophia into wearing a white dress (yes, I was living on the edge). Hailey also wore a white dress. I did both of their hair all pretty, which is really difficult to do. Wiped their faces down and got everything set for these (damn) pictures. Then, I waited in line at school for 20 minutes. When we finally got in there, Sophia would not sit next to her sister. WOULD NOT. I would try to sit her down, and she would become a plank. It was like playing that game light as a feather, stiff as a board. Does anyone else remember that game? It never worked, and it didn’t work for Sophia either.

So, there may be no sibling pictures for Mommy. I’ll be lucky if I get any pictures of the little one. I’m just going to call these spring pictures a wash…or maybe I’ll give it one more go tomorrow. I’m living on the edge these days.

What business do you have turning two? You were just my little baby yesterday, and now you are two. Where did the time go?

Now, you are a little person who is full of personality. Your tantrums are epic, your laughter contagious, and your vocabulary ever expanding.

I’m sorry that we did not have a huge party for you this year, but I hope you understand how much we love you. In fact, I’m glad I didn’t have to share you with anyone today. I’m glad that we spent the whole day together, and I look forward to spending another amazing year watching you grow.

Easter was a blast this year (aside from the fact that Sophia is getting 2 molars which makes her incredibly cranky). The girls enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt in the neighborhood on Saturday and then another one at the house on Sunday morning.

The best part of the Easter experience this year was having Hailey be totally aware of everything that was going on. She was so excited about the egg hunt. Of course, as all of the children were cracking their plastic eggs open and gorging themselves on the sugar filled candies, Hailey was quietly opening each egg, checking the inside spoils, closing it back up, and moving on to the next egg. She probably only had 2 pieces of candy the entire day which was fine by me. Now, if there was ice cream in those eggs, she would have been stealing them from all of the other kids. Luckily, candy isn’t really her thing.

There are tons more pictures on Flickr. We got a little camera happy this year (how could we not?!?!?). Enjoy.

Sophia’s First Steps from luke hamilton on Vimeo.

Mark it in the record books – February 26th Sophia Hamilton took her first unassisted steps.  This development is a few months earlier than it was for Hailey, but it brings up an important point which is EVERYTHING IS FASTER with number 2.  Of course, time moves faster because you’re constantly chasing two little critters around, and then you’ve got critter number 2 (in this case, Sophia) who thinks that she should be able to do everything that her sister does.  It’s like she has no internal off switch.  Or even a warning switch.  She just throws it into high gear.

Note to Readers:  That’s a Fast and Furious reference b/c Luke is watching one of those ridiculous movies while I write this.  In fact, you should thank him for this blog because I never would have motivated myself off of the comfy couch to write this for you if it wasn’t for how horrendous this movie is.  I mean, seriously?!?!?!  He drives under a flying gasoline tanker that’s on fire.  Really!?!?!?  Some things go beyond the suspension of disbelief and that is just one of them.

But I digress.  Back to Sophia.  She is a character.  When Hailey was a baby, she was very cautious.  If she was about to do something that could potentially be dangerous, she would look at me for permission.  If I gave her a little frown, she would cease and desist her dangerous behavior.  Sophia just puts her head down and goes.  No looking.  No permission.  This kid is going to break bones.  Multiple bones.  There’s no doubt in my mind about that.  We better up that insurance policy because she’s going to need it.

1) Here Hold This – During this game Sophia hands you something to hold for an indeterminent amount of time.  Sometimes you are expected to hold said object for infinity.  Other times you need to give it back to her immediately or face punishment by screeching.  Also, when I say “object” I’m sure you are thinking something adorable like a stuffed animal or baby toy.  However, there are times when Here Hold This requires you to hold something less than appealing like an HCC (half chewed Cheerio) or a slimy piece of banana that she’s been sitting on during dinner. First person to cringe and refuse to take said object loses.

2) Capture the Cat – Sophia will chase poor little Anubis all around the bedroom and can sometimes even pin him down.  I usually have to intervene when the cat claws start to threaten the baby face.  Still, it’s all about the chase, and boy does she love it.  The cat, of course, has an advantage because he can jump onto the bed or a high shelf to get away.  Yet, Sophia doesn’t give up; she just stands next to the cat’s perch, yells, and starts pulling stuff off of the shelf or bed until she scares the cat down.  She’s nothing if not persistent.

3) Rock a Bye – This game involves rocking herself in Hailey’s rocking chair and then sliding from the back down to the seat and down to the floor.  It’s a fun game until she whacks her head on the wall while rocking.

Oh, I have to go.  She’s just invented a new game – trying to climb the bunk bed ladder.

Ok. Maybe just one…yesterday Sophia realized that she could walk by herself pushing her little walker. She was so proud of herself. Then, Hailey wanted to help her, which turned into Hailey laying on the floor as a roadblock.I’m not sure how that happened, but they both thought it was so funny when Sophia ran her walker into the sister obstacle. You can see it at the end of the clip.

Sophia Walks, Hailey Helps from luke hamilton on Vimeo.

Untitled from luke hamilton on Vimeo.

I really don’t remember Hailey being this…umm…what’s the nice way to say it…advanced?  I said to Luke the other day “Why are they turning out so differently?”  His reply, “Ummm…because they are different people.”  But it’s the same gene pool!!!

What gene pool does lip smackin’ come from?  

Lip Smackin’ Sophia from luke hamilton on Vimeo.