7 months old

Zoe rang in her 7 month birthday by showing off her new skill - talking! Of course she doesn't say real words yet, but she makes lots of sounds like mama and dada. The most interesting sound she makes is "blah blah", and I mean this literally. I had never heard a baby say "blah blah blah" so clearly. I wonder if that is how we sound to her. I also think I heard her say "aflac" one time. Perhaps we ought to turn off the TV more often! Other than "talking", Zoe isn't doing too many new things. She sits up well and has great control over her body. She loves to jump in the jumperoo. We have a great video of her that we will be putting up along with pictures from the holidays and our visit with Andy's family, so check back soon!

Their Own Rooms

Before moving to the new house, Zoe slept in a cradle in our bedroom, and Sophie slept in a crib in a room that also had a closet with all of Andy's clothes in it. Now the girls each have their own room. Zoe sleeps in the crib now, and she loves having the extra room to roll around in her sleep. Sophie sleeps in a toddler bed with an Elmo body pillow. There is also an extra full size bed in her room for those occasions when one of us needs to go in and provide some reassurance. Tonight we put together a bookcase for Sophie and created a little reading corner in her room. I think she likes it, especially since reading is one of her favorite things to do. So for now, it's separate rooms for the girls, although someday maybe they'll choose to share a room. There's definitely plenty of room for them to choose from!

Bath Time

Zoe was practicing some new poses today while taking her bath. Sophie was in the bathroom helping, so she got in on the action too. Now that Zoe is sitting up, giving her a bath is much easier. She also seems to have more fun. Tonight she played with her toys and did lots of splashing with her feet!

Presents!

Both girls received great presents for Hanukkah. In the first picture, Sophie is wearing a dress up outfit and using a Cinderella cell phone, both of which she got from her Aunt Michelle. Zoe mostly enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper! In the second picture Sophie is making a tea party for her toys. The tea set was a gift from Grammy Harriet. Sophie loves to bring Daddy a cup of tea in the evenings! It's a good thing we moved before the holidays because Sophie got lots of new toys, including a baby doll stroller and a Little People barn set, as well as many new outfits, shoes, dolls and books. Fortunately we have plenty of space for everything!

Home Sweet Home

It has been a busy week of moving and unpacking, but we are slowly settling into our new house. It's kind of fun to unpack the boxes that have been in storage. It's kind of like opening presents because I had forgotten we had some of the things we've unpacked! In one box I found our winter gear, which we rarely get to use. Sophie had fun trying on my hat and scarf. Since she was only wearing a diaper, she didn't get too warm. Another part of moving is making many trips to Costco and Lowes. On one recent Costco trip, a box of brownie and cookie mix magically jumped into Andy's cart. To reward him for all his hard work this past week, Sophie helped me bake the delicious treats. She also helped make sure the cooking utensils were exceptionally clean before I put them in the dishwasher. We can't wait for all of our scheduled visitors to arrive and help us continue making our house a home!