Zoe Danielle

Zoe decided to grace us with her presence a little earlier than expected! She wasn't due until June 22, but we welcomed her on May 29th at 12:49 am. She weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long. She is healthy and strong for being as early as she was. She has been eating, sleeping and pooping well, and she has settled right into Sophie's favorite spot on her daddy's chest. Sophie got to meet her little sister this morning. She wanted to pick her up and give her kisses, but we had to keep her at a distance because she has a cold. Soon enough, Zoe will get her fair share of torture by the big sister! We also noticed that Zoe has inherited the "Pollack toe." That gene skipped Sophie, but Zoe seems to have a mild version of it. The family is doing well here, although we are a bit unprepared as we thought we still had a month to get ready for our new addition! Fortunately we have lots of friends and family alreaddy helping or offering their help as we adjust to our new little bundle of joy.

Party Time

Sophie's first birthday party was a blast! We decided to keep things small since she really didn't know what was going on anyway. The party was more of a celebration for us - for making it through the first year, and to have a chance to visit with everyone before Zoe arrives and has us confined to the house and out of the heat! I'm not sure what the best part of the party was...maybe getting Sophie all dressed up, or watching her destroy her very own miniature cake, or seeing the three girls swimming with their daddies...it's hard to decide. We took lots of pictures and video recordings, but we can only put 5 pictures on here at a time, so I had to pick my favorites. I'm working on learning how to put our videos on You Tube, so check back soon to watch Sophie cry through the Happy Birthday song, and then quickly recover after getting a taste of that delicious cake! We also would like to thank all of our friends and family for helping us through this first year of parenthood. We couldn't have done it without all of your love, support and encouragement!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

One year ago today Sophie made her grand entrance. What a wonderful day that was, and what an amazing year it has been. I must say I feel proud to have survived this first year, especially since I have been pregnant for two-thirds of it! It has been so exciting watching Sophie grow and change, and to think of all that she has learned and accomplished in the last year just blows me away! I think she is quite a special little girl, and I wouldn't trade the past year for any experience in the world. Just to show how much she has grown, I put up her very first Pooh Bear picture for comparison. She doesn't go for her 1 year check up until May 22, so we won't have her official stats until then. Check back in a few days for pictures from her birthday party too on May 20th!

The Very Busy Baby

Sophie had a very busy day today. This morning we got up and got dressed right away because our play group was meeting at the Children's Museum. They have an exhibit just for children under 4 where the kids got to climb on structures, experiment with shapes and push different buttons to hear sounds from the rainforest. In addition to the kiddie room, we also got to explore a computer room, an art room and a music room. We didn't get to stay the whole time because straight from the museum we had to go to swim class. Sophie took a cat nap in the car, and then got an unexpected private lesson since the other student wasn't there today. During her lesson she had her picture taken under water. We got to see it on the camera, but we'll have to wait until her last class to get a copy. At the end of her lesson, Sophie got her very first progress report, which we proudly put on the fridge! It says that she is a very happy swimmer and that she does well with everything. We are going to keep working on blowing bubbles since she hasn't shown much interest in doing that yet. After swim class Sophie took a very long and much needed nap. Her day still wasn't over. Sophie's friend Shea came over and spent the evening with us while daddy and Shea's mommy were at a seminar. Sophie and Shea had a lot of fun playing together. They took turns pushing each other on the truck, they took a bath together, and we read lots of stories. I tried unsuccessfully to get them both to sleep at various times during the night, but when Shea's mommy came to pick her up at 10:15, both girls were awake. Sophie fell asleep almost immediately after Shea left, and I'm sure Shea was asleep well before they made it home. It was definitely a very busy day!

First Mother's Day

I had to wait almost an entire year to celebrate my first official Mother's Day, so it certainly felt like I had earned a day just for me! The morning started with Sophie waking up extra early (5:30 am) and snuggling in bed with her mommy and daddy. We thought she might fall back asleep, but she had other ideas. She and daddy went for a ride in the car and came back with coffee and donuts for mommy - what a treat! Later Sophie and I went to brunch with Grandma Laura and Gigi. There we got our picture taken - all four generations! Sophie got to show off her new sundress - size 18 months! After brunch we all rested for awhile. Then we made a picnic dinner and took a drive up to Mt. Lemmon to watch the sunset. Sophie slept through most of it, and stayed asleep all the way home and through the night! She was tired from her early start to the day! Andy and Sophie did a wonderful job making my first mother's day so special.

Little Miss Adventurous

Sophie has always been very curious, but now that her motor skills are well developed, she sometimes gets herself into situations that she can't get out of. At the playground she can climb to the top of a structure, but then she can't get down. At home, she managed to get underneath our entry table and on top of the subwoofer, but then she couldn't figure out how to get back out of there. So of course mommy came to the rescue (after grabbing the camera) and got Sophie safely back to open space. Well wouldn't you know not a minute later she was back under that table, stuck and crying. I was tempted to let her work it out herself, but I didn't want to risk having her bump her head and have a bruise or other blemish on her face just before her birthday, which of course will be a day filled with picture taking. So mommy rescued the baby once again, but this time I told myself - be smarter than the baby. I set up a barricade and within a few minutes Sophie forgot all about her adventure and found something else to do. The lessons I get from her are never ending!

Just Another Day

In an average day, Sophie spends a good chunk of time just being cute. She may be doing nothing more than sitting down to drink her bottle or snuggling with Daddy to watch some Sesame Street. It's really nothing exciting, but these are the moments when I wish I grabbed my camera more often to catch the sweet look on her face or the shared moment between daddy and daughter.

Our Little Bookworm

Sophie has loved books ever since the first time we read to her. Today, while I was washing the cover to her carseat, she decided to share her love of books by reading to me! She picked a book that Grandma Ann gave her when she was just 6 months old and climbed into her bare carseat. Then she carefully turned the pages, pointing to each picture and telling me what was on the page. Sometimes she just said "bah" or "dat", but she got "hat" right, and when she got to the page where the little girl claps her hands, Sophie put down the book and clapped her own hands! Sophie did a great job of reading to mommy. She even made sure to show me the pictures! I hope that reading to each other will become a favorite tradition for years to come.

A New Baby!

A special congratulations to Andy's sister Liz and her husband Jace on the arrival of their baby girl - Lauren Elizabeth. She arrived today, May 2, 2007 at 12:13 pm. She weighs 8 lbs. 12 oz. and is 21 inches long. We are so excited for Lauren and her parents, and Sophie can't wait to meet her newest cousin. Isn't she just gorgeous?