Happy New Year, everyone! Hope your 2010 is as wonderful as it can be!
Our two-week trip to Michigan over Christmas was a whirlwind but really nice to actually be able to see everyone and spend actual time with them, without being in a rush to jam everyone in. Even Jon and his family came up from Tennessee! Sophie flew on an airplane for the very first time and was an excellent traveler. On our return flight, there was another infant behind us named Hannah, also a year old. She screamed the entire flight. I had nothing but sympathy for the parents. Sophie, on the other hand, slept quietly while Daddy held her:
We are so lucky to have her!
The highlight of the trip, besides seeing family, was Sophie's baptism on December 27th, 2009. David and Kelly Gruner are Sophie's Godparents. They have two children, Nathan and Declan, and are quite active in the church with music and volunteering. They were the perfect candidates, especially after they said yes! The ceremony took place at St. Vincent de Paul's church in Shepherd, MI, with all the old crew from St. Mary's. Except Jeff, but we knew he was there in spirit, just like when Sophie was born. [Sophie was in her car seat while I was sitting in the wheelchair when we were released from the hospital a few days after she was born. While waiting, a priest happened to walk by. As he did, he noticed Sophie and blessed her. I was speechless and I couldn't wait to tell Jim. We think Jeff was there that day. Jeff was a close friend and role model who happened to be the priest at St. Mary's at CMU, where Jim and I met, worshipped, and played in the choir together along with Dave and Kelly. Jeff was supposed to marry us in that church, but tragically passed away a few months before the ceremony.] Father Fred, whom I knew from Frankenmuth, led the proceedings. Sophie was an angel and didn't want to get out of the font! And when everyone clapped for her, she happily clapped along! Such a sweetheart! We are so lucky to have her! She looked perfectly heavenly [if I do say so myself] in her white dress. We celebrated with brunch at Riverwood Golf resort in the same room we had our rehearsal dinner for the wedding, so it was extra special. Here are a few shots. She STILL smells like the Chrism oil Father Fred put in her hair!
We are settling in nicely here in Irvine. The apartment is nice, open and clean; there is an attached (!) single-car garage (!) that we LOVE; the washer and dryer actually work; and everything we need is close by. Sophie is becoming a big girl more and more each day. We took her to a little park today where she liked the swings and went down the slide with Mommy and Daddy a few times and without! She is very brave. We are so lucky to have her!
She is adventurous with her foods also. Today she had mashed potatoes and cut up strawberries for the first time, and she has been bottle-free for the past five days. We're making progress. She's not a big fan of cow's milk yet, but we're working on it. She loves water, orange juice, cheese, yogurt and scrambled eggs. She's up to three main meals and two snacks a day. We are slowly but surely getting her on our foods, and will be done with jars of baby food soon too. Now to work on getting rid of the diapers...
Also, she's crawling like a pro and her balance is improving immensely each day. This morning she stood up and let go of me for a good 10-15 seconds before sitting down again. Some children can be scared of sitting down once they stand up, but Sophie is definitely the exception. This girl has no fear and is quite confident, and quite stubborn too! If you say no to her, or take away something she was playing with, she will most definitely let you know she doesn't like it! She flings herself quite dramatically onto the floor. We call her a 'Drama Mama.' I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's so funny!
She went and saw Dress Rehearsal with me last week here in Irvine. She didn't fuss once, and kept clapping and pointing. She really enjoyed the music, almost as much as I do! :] I can't remember the last time she saw the show from the audience. Did I mention how lucky we are to have her?
