A Rainy Memorial Weekend

Snapshots from the long weekend:

Sophie loves feeding herself a teething biscuit. She's such a lady!

We ventured out for our first family trip to the zoo. Unfortunately, this was the only photo taken...

Because of the incessant rain, our bbq plans were foiled. These photos properly document the madness of an indoor bbq at our house with 4 kids under the age of 2 1/2... (please note the juxtaposition of wine and beer bottles with sippy cups and toys!)

(Sophie was a bit overwhelmed with so many good looking boys around her!)

Running and Jumping and Playing

We enjoyed a special week with Sophie's "MB" (D's mum). (The name MB originates from a nickname that Doug had for his mum.) Here are some photos, pre-nap, so Sophie was a bit exhuasted during the photo shoot!

Sophie thrived with Cathy. One of the highlights of this week was a story about Elizabeth, Doug's maternal grandmother, that Cathy shared with the three of us.

My brief summary of this beautiful story will not do it justice, but it's too important not to include in this post: Because of the way she was raised, Elizabeth vowed to be a mum who would run and jump and play with her children. She did run and jump and play with all 6 of her children and subsequently, all of her 16 grandchildren, including Doug. As an adult, Doug met his own Elizabeth (me!) and he now runs and jumps and plays with his sweet daughter, Sophie. Cathy lovingly told this story to Sophie during their days together, and she kindly put it into writing for us. It is a wonderful story of love, of family, and of joy. Sophie was so loved and nurtured this week; thank you, MB!

Two more adorable photos of my nearly 7 month old:

She is still scooting backward! And, she has become much more talkative and interactive. Despite the fact that our conversations don't include English words, we still understand one another! I will admit that she's dangerously close to saying "da da"....but trust me, saying "ma ma" is much harder so I'm at a disadvantage!

Loving the Sunshine

In addition to hours and hours spent in the backyard this week, Sophie also enjoyed her first trip to Snoqualmie Falls. We enjoyed a little picnic, saw baby falcons, and felt the spray from the falls.

In other SMW news, she has learned to crawl....backward!! She gets so frustrated because she ends up farther away from the toy than she intended. She hits the ground with one hand and squawks as she scoots back and back and back! She has expanded her eating repertoire to include blueberries, bananas, oatmeal, and zucchini. She has mastered a fake cough and a wheeze; each day, she is discovering new tricks with her voice. We woke up this morning around 4 am to hear her babbling in her crib. And, she's looking forward to spending this coming week with her "MB" (D's mum).

Happy Spring!

Love, E

Happy Mother's Day!

Scenes from a fabulous weekend:

The weather was perfect for playing outside!

Sophie and her friends caught up while the parents enjoyed a bbq and some beers in our backyard on Saturday afternoon!

Silly, silly Sophie loved hosting her friends and sharing her toys!

On Mother's Day, Doug and Sophie took me for an early morning stroll through Pike Place and then for a walk along Alki Beach.

Daddy and Sophie made sure I felt loved all day long!

The outdoor playing and cuddling continued all afternoon long!

Sophie is beautiful and the most wonderful blessing in our lives.

Thank you to Doug and Sophie for making me feel so loved and special today (and everyday)!!

Doug spoiled me all day long with meals, drinks, and kind words. But, he did take care of himself a bit by setting up the tv outside so he could watch the golf....very cute.

Daddy and Sophie week

Sophie enjoyed uninterrupted Daddy time this week, because Doug stayed home from work to spend the days with Sophie; they enjoyed music and gym class, a trip to the aquarium, lots of tummy time to gear up for crawling...and much to my delight, Doug did laundry, ironed, cleaned and cooked, ran errands. He was the greatest stay-at-home-mom/dad this week! Thank you, Doug!! It was so exciting to return home every afternoon from work and hear what these two loves of my life did during the day. My highlight: getting out of my car and seeing Doug and Sophie playing on a blanket in the back yard. Doug had packed up a box of her favorite toys, her sunscreen, and her hat. She was sitting, flapping her arms, and squealing with delight.

Sophie is extremely blessed to have such an attentive, generous, hysterical, and hands-on Daddy!

Other significant events:

Sophie's first Mariner's Game with the Minahans and Heidergotts

(I may be the only one smiling in this photo, but Sophie loved the sensory overload at the game.)

Sophie's Gramps (D's Dad) came to visit and dote on her! Sophie had a special day with her Gramps and her Daddy. She was one lucky girl!!