Pink Tree and a Rocking Chair

Last year I bought Sophia a small, pink Christmas tree for her to decorate and keep upstairs.  Best idea ever.  She got really into decorating it last year (14 months), but she had a hard time getting the ornaments to stay on the tree with her sweet, chubby fingers :-)  This year she insisted on doing it all by herself, as she had a very specific place for every ornament.

I have mainly glass ornaments on the big tree downstairs, and she hasn't ever tried to touch them (thank goodness!) The dogs are a different story :-(  Last year she would just point at the big tree and say "so pretty" or "oooh, Mommy tree".  This years she talks all about "Mommy's tree" and "Sophia's tree" and is very clear on the difference.

We introduced the 'one-finger rule' around the time she turned one and I think it has really paid off.  This means she can touch anything (Mommy's 'pretty' things (ie breakables), things at the store, stuff at other peoples houses, etc), but only with one finger.  We felt compelled to do that because our downstairs is not 'kid-friendly' at all (don't worry... the entire upstairs is!), and I didn't want to have to constantly chase her around doing damage control.

This little rule prevents picking things up, holding them, breaking them, etc.  So far, so good!  Ask me again if we ever have a boy ;-) Lol!

Checking out her decorating skills :-)

This beautiful rocking chair was given to me for my 1st birthday from my maternal great-grandparents, Ruth and George Lenz.  Lenz is my Mother's maiden name and also Sophia's middle name.  I sanded and re-stained this chair when I was pregnant with Sophia so that she could enjoy it as much as I had.