Our 2nd annual gingerbread house is complete and it’s fantastic!  Jenn and Addy were in the mood for some crafty goodness of the holiday variety, too, so we grabbed our gingerbread kit and headed over to their new house for some mama/kiddo fun.  Sophia and Addy did really well, both eagerly participating in the decorating.   (I can’t resist pointing out that Jenn bought a pre-fab gingerbread house!  I, on the other hand, framed our house from the plastic tray up!  LOL!)   

Sophia liked sticking the candy onto the frosting, decorating the little cookies and enjoyed using a mini candy cane as an all-purpose tool.  Between the two houses, not a candy was left unused (Addy made sure of that, frantically grabbing up Sophia’s leftover candy and sticking it on her house as we were wrapping things up).  Well, no candy remaining on the table was left unused –  I’m sure Jenn will be finding tiny candy balls on her floor for weeks to come!

Like many people I love Thanksgiving because it’s a relatively non-commercialized holiday.  It’s just about spending time with people you love, eating good food, watching a little footbal, reminiscing about years past.  It’s a simple holiday and it’s lovely for that reason.

We spent the day with my mom’s family in my hometown, as we normally do – it’s tradition!  My Grandma still cooks a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner every year.  This year was no exception.  Sophia was awesome and had a great time!  It was simple and sweet and perfect.

Seems sort of sacriligious, but we actually hit up a few of the open big-box stores on our way home.  Then we settled in for some play time before carrying out another Thanksgiving tradition — new holiday pj’s!  It’s a simple, but fun way to get into the holiday spirit…and of course I got a picture!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wasting wipes on her doll.  We are majorly obsessed with the doll that goes potty.  We are also doing really great at going potty on the potty, which I don’t think is a coincidence.

I broke down and got out the Christmas totes. What can I say, I was in the mood?  Sophia loved looking through things.  We’re saving the actual decorating for after Thanksgiving, but tonight we dug out her Christmas books (which I’d wisely put away), played with a Christmas music box that my mom had given me years ago and filled a basket with ornaments (below).

Free hair requires a different kind of sleep cap…a much bigger sleep cap.

Getting ready to read one of our favorite books before bedtime:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=9d5241934c8fa7831a0607&skin_id=701

Have to share her progress!!  She’s so anxious to stand and keeps trying so hard to do so!  Enjoy!

  As stated earlier in Sophia’s developement, a characteristic of the Down Syndrome is that all/most of the ligaments are extremely weak (yes, she is still as flexible as ever!).  This includes her ankle muscles.  Since she is in the beginning stages of walking and is spending more time on her feet it was recommended to us to get her into orthodics for her feet.  With her ankles being so weak and her feet being so flat-footed her ankles would tend to roll in when standing because of the lack of support that they were getting.  Now with the braces on she gets better support and builds better control for standing.

Now, this is not a “fix” of the weak ankle problem, in fact it even doesn’t help build support muscle at all.  This is something that helps support  her while she’s learning to walk.  Once she is walking (after talking with several people and doctors I’ve concluded to…) we will remove the braces more and more so she can build up strength in her ankles.  However, she will always have weak ankles and so when doing extensive walking/activity on her feet it is recommended she wears them to help prevent injury.  So as she grows the braces will always be a part of her life in someway, big or small, they are here to stay

We had a crafty playdate with Jenn and Addy tonight.  On the docket:  personalized garland.  It’s super cute if I do say so myself — a mix of fun holiday papers, photos, a bit of hand-coloring by Sophia and a little bit of sparkle.  It was an easy, inexpensive craft…and a good way to use snapshots you’ve got laying around.  Hard to capture it’s cuteness out of context, but here’s a sneak peak…can’t wait to see how it looks on the tree!

Sophia and Addy did their own craft, thanks to Jenn.  Why not thanks to me?  Well, because I probably wouldn’t have bought the non-washable adult craft paints.  But, hey, they had fun and the mess wasn’t too bad.  And, yes, that is a blob of red paint on Sophia’s upper lip.  I thought she was trying to eat the paint at first, but it ended up that she was smelling it.  Yes, you read that right…she was sniffing paint at Jenn’s house.  Sigh…

First off, a Thanksgiving news alert:  I don’t plan to post on Thursday, November 26 or Friday, November 27.  I’m headed off to visit my in-laws in Detroit, and they have these crazy ideas about people sitting in the same room and enjoying each others’ company.  :)

It’s been a quiet week as the US readies for the holiday.  

Well, not entirely quiet.  The second Twilight flick,  New Moon, premiered.  Names spotted among those turning out for the festivities included designer Rachel Roy brought her 10 year old daughter Ava.  Rachel and husband Damon Dash also have a toddler called Tallulah Ruth.  (via Celebrity Baby Blog)  It’s interesting to see parents who embraced Ava ten years ago, when she was still on the rise, using Tallulah more recently.  Anyone else think that the once-outlandish name that had everyone abuzz when the Moore-Willis clan used it will go mainstream?  And if a search for “baby names Twilight” brought you here, check out this post: Not Just for Vampires Anymore.

In other celeb news, Tiffani Thiessen tells Extra that she and her husband aren’t considering “any freaky names.”  She doesn’t mention whether going through life as Tiffani-Amber colored her view.  We’ll have to wait and see.

On to some real life name-spotting:

• I just returned from Target.  I was buying toddler tights while another mom was trying to persuade her daughter to try on a coat, but the daughter?  Was fleeing to the just-steps-away toy department.  The name the mother was calling?  ”Miracle!  Miracle, come back here!”  Insert your own joke about it-taking-an-act-of-God to distract a 3 y.o. from the toy department here;
• Bewildertrix has spotted Leonidas George.  My baby brother swears Leonidas will be the name of his firstborn son, should that happy event ever come to pass.  She also uncovered an Elisabetta Ivy.  And a Zuma.  (No Gwen Stefani isn’t in New Zealand – he’s Zuma Louis, a non-celeb baby brother for Ava and Remi.)
• For Real Baby Names spotted Dafne.  It may be a valid foreign variant, but to me it is like Jorja/Georgia - this one just looks better as the more familiar Daphne. 

Now for two Language Lessons from that sage font of wisdom, Nancy:

• Hard G vs. Soft G – Sometimes they’re interchangeable – as in Jorja/Georgia – but other times, swapping a J for a G leads to confusion;
• Doubling consonants – Ditto doubling a consonant.  It’s another popular way to make a name “unique,” but it can also cause confusion.

Truly unusual names are always found at Nameberry, and this week’s posts were no exception.  Check out the Lost Boys’ Names of 1880.  Why aren’t more boys named Zeb?  Or Hardy?  Others – including titles like Squire and Commodore – are best left to history.  (I work with a man in his 50s named General.  I don’t get the impression that he thinks much about his name one way or the other.)  For a change, the girls’ list is almost less interesting – maybe because I wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if I met a 2 y.o. called Mahala or Texas. 

Let’s end on a controversial note: the shortcomings of the Baby Name Wizard.  I recently noticed a post on Swistle (a big BNW adherent) that troubled me.  Just a few days earlier, Nancy recounted a similar story on her blog.  

An expectant mother, mom to Sophia, wrote to Swistle about the name Allegra.  She and her husband loved the name Allegra.  Loved the way nicknames Allie and Sophie sounded together.  But she worried about the allergy medication association.

Swistle wrote: “I love the name Allegra—and every time I want to suggest it, I back away because of the allergy medicine. I’m ANGRY at the company that stole it.”

Swistle’s poll was evenly split: 52% no to Allegra; 48% yes.  But here’s the thing: Swistle’s framing of the question – “Is the name Allegra too associated with allergy medication to be used for a baby?” made it pretty clear that she thought Allegra was beyond consideration.  (Swistle is usually so judgment-free that I was really surprised by that.)

The mom herself recently wrote in:

“We ended up naming our daughter Lucy. I love her name, but I regret not being gutsy enough to go with Allegra. Personally, I’d encourage anyone considering the name to go for it. No matter what name you choose some people will like it and others will hate it.”

Lucy is a fine name.  I like it lots.  But how sad that much naming advice often tends to push parents to the middle, rather than embracing the names that we really love. 

I suspect the allergy medication reference is fleeting.  When the blogger at For Real Baby Names spotted a Dexy Adelaide, I mentioned the 80s pop hit “Come On, Eileen” – and sent ForReal running to Google.  Dexy, it appears, no longer means “one-hit wonder responsible for lodging the phrase too-rye-aye in my brain.”  And it hasn’t been that long.  It makes me think Allegra will be free of medication association by the time Allie hits the teenage years, if not sooner.

Thanks for reading!

I was cleaning up the living room tonight and took all of Sophia’s babies into her room and placed them nicely in her new beanbag chair.  Minutes later, I hear the pitter patter of little feet and turn to see Sophia running out of her room, four dolls balancing precariously in her arms.  She ran to the living room chair and not-so-gently tossed them down, a look of pride on her face.  Oh, to have video of that…

Before I knew it, she’d made a few more trips to her room and got herself and her children situated:

She is an attentive mother of multiples, although the doll on her lap is the only one to get fed these days because she’s the only one who goes potty and cries simultaneously!

By 667 BC, a Greek ruler by name of Byzas, from Megara, established his kingdom here, on the advice of an oracle of Delphi, and named it Byzantium. But it was besieged by the Romans in AD 196, and became part of the Roman Empire. The ravaged city was rebuilt by the Roman Emperor, Septimus Severus, and temporarily given the name of ‘Augusta Antonina’. But in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great made Byzantium the capital of the entire Roman Empire, and from then on, the city was called Constantinople. The Byzantium Empire was more or less influenced by Greek culture, and was also a hub of Greek Orthodox Christianity, which resulted in the construction of several magnificent Christian architectural wonders, the prominent among them being the Hagia Sophia, which remained the world’s largest cathedral till 1850.

The Roman Empire passed through much turmoil due to attack from various sources, especially the Barbarians, not to mention their internal problems, and finally, in 532 AD, during the reign of Justinian I, the city was totally destroyed due to anti government riots. Though much favored for its ideal location, that made trade and transport between continents an easy affair, this very factor also proved to be the doom of Constantinople. For several hundred years hence, it had to face a lot of assault from the Arabs, Nomadic, Persians, as well as the Fourth crusaders, who periodically occupied it.

At last, in 1453, Constantinople was attacked and conquered by the courageous Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet II, who renamed it Istanbul. It continued to function not just as an important cultural, political and commercial hub, but also as their main centre for military operations too, till World War I, after which it was occupied by the Allies.

Sultan Mehmet II was supposed to have given the city a cosmopolitan social outlook. After deporting the remaining Byzantine population, a great many changes were made to the existing architecture in general. The old world Christian city was gradually transformed into a Muslim conurbation as the Emperor started rebuilding all churches so as to convert them to mosques. The great mosque and the Fatih College were built on the old burial grounds of the erstwhile Byzantine Emperors at the Church of the Holy Apostles. The Hagia Sophia too was converted to a mosque. But to his credit, the Sultan held a cosmopolitan outlook and for the greater part, allowed people of all faiths to settle in the vast city, and made effective use of their varied skills. Tolerance was a great virtue that was practiced by Sultan Mehmet II, and it was reflected all over the empire.Istanbul acquired a status of great importance in the eyes of all Muslims, after the conquest of Egypt, and its glory increased from leaps and bounds in the hands of its various rulers, many of whom were great patrons of art and architecture.

Although the capital of Turkey was changed from Istanbul to Ankara by Kemal Ataturk, in 1923, Istanbul still retained its attractions and continued to expand majestically. But gradually, due to the mass exodus of the various nationalities, especially after the war between Greece and Turkey, it became a prominent Muslim nation.

The many historic monuments of yesteryears, that are to be found there, like the various museums, castles, palaces, mosques, churches, etc contribute greatly to the increase in the tourism industry today. In fact, many of its historic architectures have been added to the UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. Though no more a capital city, Istanbul, which is considered to be Turkey’s cultural and financial center, still retains its old world attraction and continues to generate its own individual history through out the ages.

sumber: http://www.hagia-sophia.net/history.htm

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

We had a nice, quiet evening at home tonight, playing with toys, watching the end of Shrek 3 and putting some new braids in Sophia’s hair.  I love these kinds of nights!

Sophia had been sporting some flat twists back to a pony — an easy and cute style that lasted several days longer than I thought it would.  You can see the twists here…and check out the concentration she’s giving to her new Tag book!

I’d been taking her ponytail out daily, combing it through and adding some Peach Kernel Hydrating Milk from Darcy’s Botanicals, a recent addition to our arsenal. What a wonderful product!!  It smells great and Sophia’s hair has never seemed softer or more well-hydrated.  When I took her twists out tonight, her hair was looking so great that I opted to simply spritz it down with plain water and comb it through (a very easy comb through due to the hydrating milk).  There was no product residue or dryness, so I opted to skip a full wash/condition and go right into a new style.  After detangling, I added in another new product that I recently got from the Darcy line — Organic Coconut & Aloe Moisture Pudding.  The product description says: “moisture, conditioning, softness, and control for your locs, twists, braids, afro, curls and waves.”  Um, hello?! What else do you need?  It’s got a nice, light smell and blended into her hair very nicely.  It’s the first time I’ve used it, but I was amazed by how fantastic her hair felt as I worked with it. 

I did a full head of cornrows — by the time I start on the 2nd half, I usually have to re-spritz her hair and do a little more detangling.  Not tonight!  Her hair was still slightly damp and so unbelievably soft!  I added a little Paul Mitchell Foaming Pomade to her hair line to help control the fuzzies and here’s the end result:

I really love the Darcy’s Botanicals products we’ve tried so far.  They are easy to work with, smell great and, most importantly, really seem to work well on Sophia’s hair!  I was out of the Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme sample I’d been loving, so I placed an order and got more plus the two products I mentioned above.  So far, so great!!  And it’s worth noting the fantastic customer service and extra touches you get from Darcy’s (if you research Darcy’s, you’ll see that others note the same things) – super fast shipping, scented petals in the shipping box and a free sample of a new product!  (This is not a paid advertisement, by the way…I’m just a happy customer!)

After all that work, Sophia was ready to turn the tides.  First she combed my hair (which she loves to do) and then, just as I would do, she turned the camera on me:

That’s my girl!

“Sophia” means wisdom…interesting.  I’ve always liked the name, Sophia, but it sounds so pretty and light.  It would make more sense if it meant ”flower”, or “puppy”.

But, come to think of it, there is a world of wisdom captured in the scent of a rose and in the soft, furry caress of a puppy.  Both share the wisdom that God is real, and good….that He is. 

The expanded definition of Sophia includes, “skill in the affairs of life, practical wisdom, wise management as shown in forming the best plans…”

Oh Father, may Sophia be my middle name?   Gloris Knows-the-Best-Plan.  It’s kinda long, but I like it.

“Get wisdom, get understanding…” Proverbs 4:5

The Sophia Prayer (click on highlighted phrases/sentences to read the verse we’re praying):  “Oh, Father, wisdom starts with you.  How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.  Oh, Father, please give me wisdom.  May I make wise plans for how to spend my time and DO them.  “Teach me to number my days that I may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.”.  In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Do you know the Lord?  Click on the sunflower to be introduced:

Sophia had her two-year check-up this morning.  While I dreaded the shots on her behalf, I was primarily looking forward to the visit to (a) show off her skills to Dr. Brian and (b) see where she’s ranking on the growth charts.  The results are in, some suprising, others not:  she’s remarkably smart (not a surprise), she’s in roughly the 40th percentile for both height and weight (surprising, as in my mind she’s grown a ton and is both tall and heavy) and she’s in >97th percentile for head circumference (totally blown away by this one…I mean, really?)!  Her stats:

• Weight:  25.7 lbs (39th percentile)
• Height:  33.4″  (41st percentile)
• Head circumference: >97th percentile, although the nurse did put the tape measure over her braid and not under, which leads me to think she’s really at the 97th percentile vs. the >97th!

Both Dr. Brian and the resident lauded Sophia’s development, particularly in language and comprehension.  She even showed off a little Spanish, sang the ABCs and randomly identified a few letters just for good measure.  The resident told her she was “smart and cute,” and Dr. Brian asked if I did her cute hair by myself, mentioning that he’s been needing to do his 3-year-old daughter’s hair.  I pointed him toward YouTube as a resource, and suggested he stick with a basic ponytail to start, but that, with practice, he could eventually mimic Soph’s style (flat twists back to a pony, with a tiny cornrow of bangs).  He just laughed and said his main hope was to get her hairbow in securely.

The shots were, as predicted, a pain, but thankfully short-lived.  The visit was pleasant and, thanks to my witty banter and Sophia’s singing, mildly entertaining.  Two additional things resonated:  first, Soph got her measurements taken on the big-person scale, not the baby one.  And, second, the next well-child check isn’t for a year!  In retrospect, the only thing I didn’t ask for that I secretly wish I would have is the resident’s phone number, as, like Sophia, he was cute and smart (and sans wedding band).  But, since that seemed inappropriate, I opted against it.  Damn ethics.

Clearly I need to try harder to not narrate video footage…super annoying!  The clip is cute regardless, though — what’s most interesting is that you can hear snippets of both counting and ABCs in Spanish.  Oh, and you can see Sophia reading to Nell, who hung out with us for awhile tonight.

Part of Sophia’s birthday fun was going to Build-a-Bear for the first time.  We followed the typical routine. 

After browsing the selections, she choose a brown cuddly puppy:

We brought the puppy over to friendly worker and Sophia picked out a heart:

The worker “fed the puppy” and Sophia helped by stepping on the pedal:

When the puppy was done eating, Sophia put its heart inside:

Sophia proudly walked out of the store with her yet-to-be-named puppy.  (Every time I suggest a name, she responds, “No…it’s puppy.”)

It was a sweet moment that I’d been looking forward to and that Sophia thoroughly enjoyed!  We’ve already had lots of puppy play and snuggle time, so despite his nameless status, he was obviously a good choice!

The inevitable reminiscent post.  I can’t help it. 

Two years ago today I first held in my arms a tiny little baby — just over 6 lbs., a head full of dark hair, soft mocha-colored skin, tiny, pristine fingers and sleepy eyes.  She was a quiet, calm little thing and holding her warmed me all over, calming my own restlessness.  I remember certain details exactly; other things are a blur.  I remember looking into her eyes for the first time and thinking, no, knowing that in finding Sophia I’d found myself.  Today I pat myself on the back for being so diligent about writing down as many things as I could when I returned to the hotel from a day at the hospital.  I’m also glad I’ve kept this blog as a record of the growth, development, hairstyles and milestones that Sophia’s experienced during the past two years.  I am grateful for my journals and written ramblings and hope Sophia will one day treasure them as I do.

I know that it won’t be long before those journals will become a way of helping Sophia understand adoption and how she came to be my daughter.  They already are a tool for me; something I rely on to keep the details fresh in mind, ensuring that when I talk to Sophia I’m speaking only truths.  The older she gets and the smarter I realize she is, the more I know that now’s the time to start those conversations.  Adoption certainly isn’t the whole of our identities, but it’s a part of it — for her, as an adopted child and, for me, as an adoptive mother.  And it’s an important part, one that my research and, more importantly, my maternal instincts say shouldn’t be ignored.  So, today, as I’ve done in the past, I took the photo of Sophia and her birthmom down from the wall above her bed and we sat on the floor looking at the picture and talking about it.  Sophia held the frame and smiled at the picture, poignantly hugging it when she was done. 

It’s clear, I’m sure, that my thoughts are split today.  They are, of course, with Sophia – we spent the day together celebrating her special milestone.  She is 2 after all!  She was bright-eyed and full of smiles and laughs.  We enjoyed a special moment at Build-A-Bear, and many subsequent special moments playing with the puppy she chose.  We went out to lunch, we played with her new birthday toys and read her new birthday books.  It was, in a word, awesome. But, simultaneously, my thoughts are with Sophia’s birthmother…wondering about her wellbeing, especially on this day.   Wondering and hoping that she’s OK and has found as much peace as is possible.  And, hoping that the letter and pictures I sent a few weeks ago brought her something happy (be it solace or joy or even just a hint of a smile)…hoping that she could see through my words and photos just what a remarkable child Sophia is.  I also hope that she draws the same conclusion that I have: That Sophia is an undeniably perfect mix of nature and nurture, of biology and environment.  That she is perfectly Sophia, a child who’s loved by many, most notably by both of her mothers.