Sophie Turns Two

Sophie sure had a spectacular birthday. With my brother trying to compete with my mom's gift giving skills, Sophie received some amazing gifts. My mom gave her a little table, a tea set, another little riding toy, and a Frozen purse. Spencer (and my dad) swooped in a bought her a ball pit and play tent.  It's huge and super fun. Sophie and all her little friends that come over are in love with it. But now we have so many big toys we turned our extra room into a play room. We will be in trouble whenever we have a second baby and have to move Sophie into that room. We played all day and tried to make her a Mickey Mouse cake. I changed my plans half way through. My brother mixed up some black frosting which totally turned everyone's mouths black too and the cake turned out not too shabby. She had a wonderfully fun day and everyday has pretty much been fun since. 

 Two year old Sophie is...

35 inches tall

Weighs 26 lbs.

Loves Curious George, Mickey Mouse, Elsa, & Dinosaurs

Favorite Movies: Monsters University, How to Train Your Dragon, Curious George Movies, and Jurassic Park (No joke)

Favorite Food: Raspberries, Cheese, Chocolate Milk

Favorite Books: The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss; Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton

Favorite Friends: Anna & Tessa

Favorite Activities: Dancing to "Shake it Off" w/her crazy outfit, coloring, Ring-Around-the-Rosie, the ball pit

Favorite things she says: "Thank you-welcome" "I see-ah you!" "Dad-wee" "Oh-kay" *shrugs shoulders repeatedly* says "hey you!" when she wants to be picked up, counts to ten, "bee-pop" (teapot), says "pwetty" when she wears a dress or skirt, "Sworry" with a pat on the back

Other Favorites: Binky, Mommy, iPad movies

I can't believe this was her a year ago. A year ago Sophie couldn't walk, talk, feed herself fairly well, say "mommy" or "daddy," or play with friends. She didn't have long blonde hair that I love to play with. She didn't have super sensitive feelings that lead to lots of tears and in turn a sweet heart for others. She didn't hold our faces in her hands and give kisses. She couldn't express what she likes and doesn't like (which is most foods). She couldn't climb up in my bed and say "shhh, mommy sweeping" and snuggle in next to me. They really do grow up too darn fast. 

My Grandma Hoffman

The week before Sophie's birthday my grandma Hoffman became increasingly ill. She had been moved to an assisted living home after a surgery to recover, but as soon as she was well enough to go home she had to go in for another procedure. Her health depleted rapidly after that. She faced many battles with health over the last ten years and fought valiantly despite her tiny size. My parents called me Thursday to tell me that she had passed away. So I packed up Sophie and I to leave for Idaho Falls with them first thing the next morning. We stayed with Daniel's dad and were there for five days while funeral arrangements were made. Impressively nearly all my cousins and aunts and uncles were able to make it. It was lovely to see everyone and I know that would have made my grandma so happy. 

 {I wish I had some pictures of my grandma, but I don't. I will have to get some}

My grandma was a proper lady. She always had impeccable manners. She was a master homemaker. She knew how to set a perfect table. Her house was always spotless, yet homey. Comfortable and full of love. She had been a wonderful cook. She was spiritual and loved good things. She loved music and reading. She loved the gospel and the temple. She loved doing family history work and indexed over 150,000 names. She loved her children and grandchildren. 

I always knew to be on my best behavior at grandma's house. She had a small box of toys in the hall closet that we would play with as kids. I remember always borrowing the movie "The Sandlot" from her house because we didn't have it. She loved hearing our accomplishments at school and work. She loved that I worked at Deseret Book (pretty sure she prayed I would get it and that's probably why I did!). We would chat about books and I loved picking out things I knew she would like. She loved to give books as gifts and they always had a lovely inscription with her beautiful penmanship. My grandpa was the silly to her sweet and the laughter to her wisdom. They were a perfect pair in my eyes. At the funeral my cousin Brad shared a history written by my great-grandma about my grandma. I will have to include that along with some pictures at a later date. 

My Aunt Paula, Aunt Teri, & Aunt LeeAnn with one of two remain sisters of my grandma, Carol.

My Hoffman Cousins

The funeral was held the day before Sophie's birthday. After which we headed straight back to Boise so we could spend Sophie's birthday doing happy things. It was a lovely funeral. It's hard to convey how loved someone is, but I know that many of us were touched by the stories and thoughts shared.

Here are some other random photos of our little trip:

 Sophie's excitement over a new birthday toy from grandma