Sophie is 2 years old!

My Sophie is 2 years old. As her birthday was approaching, I jokingly asked Bobby, "Are we sure we want to celebrate this one?" Franny is doing great now, but I have a few battlescars (not just emotional- I literally have scars) from her 2nd year and I've been bracing myself for Sophie's because in the past year I've seen her develop a very strong personality. She's feisty and even pretty scrappy. I'm a little that she'll have some 2 year old abuse of her own to dish out, but I think we'll enjoy the ride. At least most of it.

It was really low-key this year. Just a cake and ice cream and presents. I'm pretty sure that's going to happen a lot because her birthday is probably going to coincide with General Conference fairly often. Which is fine now- she's only 2, but I'm going to have to be creative when she gets older. I love General Conference. I look forward to it, but there's not a lot of time for much else that weekend. When I checked on her after I put her down for a nap, I found her with a teddy bear under each arm like this. She got a baby stroller, a Little People police car, a new baby doll, and a Slinky. I had Franny help me wrap presents while Sophie was sleeping. Franny loves to help. I asked her to wait with the presents while I went into their bedroom to retrieve the wrapping paper. Franny started to follow me and I said, "No, you wait here." When I came back, Bobby told me that after I left Franny crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Hmmmph. I never get to go anywhere." Hilarious.



I took Sophie to get her first haircut. Against Bobby's wishes. At first he said he liked it better longer, but I think it's growing on him. She did pretty well. She was totally freaked out at the beginning, but she mellowed out pretty quickly. While we were waiting, I discovered that she has started to learn her colors and I didn't even know! She was pointing to the different hair products and saying "yellow" and "red."




I'm so happy for her and all her progress. She can count to 15 and knows the words to a number of songs. She likes to make up her own songs. She loves to talk on the phone, but only when it's her idea. She wants to do the talking. It's usually just 2 or 3 words that she repeats over and over. Whatever is on her mind or whatever we've just been talking about. "Franny, Franny, Franny, no cookie no cookie cookie, (because I've just told her she can't have one) milt, milt, milt" (her word for milk.) Her favorite foods right now are cookies, string cheese, fruit snacks, carrots, pesto chicken, and rolls- although she calls them pillows. This is her favorite song right now. She knows nearly all the words!





Some of my favorite Sophie posts (in no particular order):

AV Geek
Happy Birthday Sophie!
Sophie and Sloth
Very Proud to Present you With...
How to make a good impression your first Sunday in a new ward
Sophie's first sugar high
Ouchie, Mommy, Ouchie!!


Some of my favorite Sophie quotes:

"These are my pants!!!"
"I'm funny!"
"Mommy, NO SONG!!" (this when she doesn't want me to sing.)


I made this as her birthday cake this year. I'm not much for origami, so Bobby followed the instructions and made the boat for me. I just couldn't figure it out. :)

I didn't use the recipe for the One Bowl Chocolate Cake because I didn't have any buttermilk. I used a recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cake from the Cake Bible. It was delicious!

3/4 cup + 3 T unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 large eggs (room temp.)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

Grease the bottom of 2 9-inch by 1 1/2-Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl whisk together the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
In another bowl lightly combine the eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture, and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans will be about 1/2 full. Bake 20-30 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center.
Let the cakes cool in the pan on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto greased wire racks.