Happy 7th Birthday, Sophie!

It's been 7 years since this amazing girl was born. Some of the days have felt extremely long, but most have gone by in a flash. It turns out she's a stubborn, empathetic, happy, smart little girl who has given us 7 adventure-filled years.

On her birthday, Dave and I went into her classroom in the afternoon to read a book to the class and then she gave all of her classmates bubbles to take home.

Handing out bubbles. 

And then, to celebrate 7 years, she decided that she wanted to get her ears pierced. We ended up at a Piercing Pagoda the same spot (in Va.) that I got my ears pierced 30 years ago. She was extremely nervous, and Dave and I expected some (lots) of tears, but she was a trooper and didn't shed one. Then we went to Benihana for teppenyaki - her favorite.  

Putting on a brave face

The action shot...

That night we had a little family party with our new family addition, Lydia, our au pair from Germany. She's been living with us for two months and it's like she's been here for two years. She made a beautiful rainbow birthday cake for Sophie.

The rainbow cake

Two days after her birthday she had an ice skating party (for the second year in a row) with her friends. She's pretty good on skates - which is great, because we haven't really gone too many times this winter. I on the other hand didn't even attempt to put on skates, like I did last year. It was better for everyone. 

The expert skater

We got a rainbow cake from the best bakery on earth: Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill. 

Winter Activities

This winter the girls started an indoor climbing class at a local rock climbing gym. Sophie loves it, and Lauren likes it, but "it isn't really her thing" (in her own words). 

Lauren making her way up the wall

Sophie looking proud after climbing all the way to the top. 

The girls have also been skiing - Sophie quite a few times, and Lauren for her first time. Sophie is totally comfortable and can bomb down the mountain (green and blue runs) by herself. Lauren needs to get her ski legs still - but there will be time for that. 

Goofballs on the ski lift

One of Lauren's first times down the bunny hill. 

Lauren Starts Violin

Shortly after Lauren's birthday she started taking violin lessons from the same teacher that Sophie and I have. Right now she's learning how to hold the violin and name the different parts. Sophie is also being very "helpful" when we all practice at home. This month Sophie will get "certified" from her school, which means she plays a scale and song that she's memorized for the director of the school. She's nervous, but has been playing her song for months now, so is prepared. I can't wait until all three of us can play a song together!

Sophie demonstrating the proper hold and stance

Happy 4th Birthday Lauren!

On the 26th all of our Christmas decorations came down and we were in full birthday mode! My parents were here for a few days and we had a little family party for Lauren. And then on January 3rd, when the kids were back in school, Dave and I went in to her school and celebrated again with Lauren's class, where she did the traditional Montessori birthday walk around the sun (a candle) holding a globe. And for the third and final celebration she had a party with friends at the Mud Room, a paint-you-own-pottery spot in Ardmore. We had 22 kids and no broken pottery - amazing!

The crazy birthday girl! 

The birthday girl at her friend birthday party

Blowing out the candles at her friend birthday party

Christmas 2016

The year we hosted Christmas for the first time! We had a relatively quite morning with Mom Mom, Pop Pop, Dave, me and the girls. And around 1pm a crew of both Sharps and Rainers came over for a total of 26 people. We successfully we pulled it off! Here's what the house looked like before the madness:

After Santa left off of his goodies

Table for 26

And the table filled with family! Everyone fit! 

Sophie's big present was a set of skies that she got to use right away. Dave took her the day after Christmas to Spring Mountain. 

The hip ski chick

Doing a pretty good run down the hill

The School Year so Far

The girls have both settled into their new schools pretty well at this point. They seem to both have made some good friends and like their teachers. 

Two weeks ago Lauren's school hosted Grandparents Day, and PopPop came in for a visit. She showed him around the classroom, introduced him to her friends, and they both enjoyed snack.

Lauren and PopPop

Last week all of the first graders at Sophie's school put on a concert called Mighty Minds. It was pretty cute. Here's a quick clip of one of the songs. Sophie is on the end, second from the top.

Here's Sophie's first grade picture. Looking a bit sly, I think. Unfortunately Lauren missed her picture day when she was in the hospital with a broken arm, and they don't do any makeups(!). So sadly, we won't have a school picture of her this year. 

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We arrived back from Virginia on Saturday and on Sunday went right into Christmas mode. This year we went to a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm in Collegeville and did just that. We pulled out all of the holiday boxes, and by Sunday night the house was fully decked. One full month of Christmas bliss :)

Sophie helping Dave cut down the tree

The girls and Dave with the freshly cut tree

Fully decorated. As you can see, we don't really abide by the "don't touch" rule for the Elf on the Shelf. He's more of a "helper" in our house.. 

The following weekend we went to see Santa at the Northwestern Stables in Fairmount Park. To be a little more accurate, it's Santa and his horse, Otis.

Lauren wasn't too thrilled about the situation.