Sophia's Dedication

On December 22nd a very special moment in our lives, and that of our daughter, took place.  We knew prior to her birth that we wanted to have a dedication for Sophia, but our schedule along with both sets of grandparents, the godparents, and our pastor were not able to align until this date. The result was a sanctuary beautifully decorated for Christmas, and a string quartet for the performance of Handel's "Messiah". 

Instead of baptizing Sophia as an infant, we would like her to be able to choose that for herself when she is older, and can take a more active role. We view her dedication as part 1 of the baptism process.

At the dedication we instead made a commitment, 'dedicating' ourselves to her spiritual growth. Similar to our wedding, we stood before a congregation and declared our intent. We  committed to strive to live our faith through example for her, to tell her when we don't know the answers, and to guide her as best we can.

When working on the narrative with our Pastor we broke the ceremony down into three parts: 1. Acknowledging that Sophia is a gift from God 2. Committing as her parents to nurture her in faith by living example and teaching and 3. Asking for help to do this from her godparents and our congregation.

A Video of the Dedication can be viewed below:

*A Special Thank You to Sue Perch for the Photography, and James Condon for the Video.

Florida

I knew having a child would mean changes to our lifestyle. Before Sophia got here I tended to focus on the ways I thought I would be limited from doing things I used to enjoy. Those limitations exist, but there are also suprising new things to enjoy. For example, when I was working full time, I wouldn't have joined Joshua on his business trip to Florida.

 

We landed in Fort Meyers at 11 pm on a Monday night. When the gentleman at the car rental agency saw Sophia, and learned we were from "up North", he insisted on  a free upgrade to the 2014 Mustang convertible. Earlier in the day, Sophia had also got us bumped up in line for security, so we were grateful. 

 

The next morning things seemed slightly less glamorous as Joshua needed to take the car to go to his staff retreat (the reason we were there) which was forty minutes away. He wouldn't be back until 5 pm, and when I asked the concierge what was within walking distance, his response was "the interstate".

After a brief walk, which was actually quite lovely with palm trees and evergreens, we went for a swim. Sophia is all about cause and effect these days, and loved the way the water splashed when she kicked. Later in the week she enjoyed the pool again with her Dad.

The first part of our week was spent on the West coast in Naples. We went to the pier and saw pelicans, egrets, and sandpipers.

On our trip we were able to enjoy eating most of our meals outdoors. 

Sophia loved learning how to use a straw to drink water on this trip.

Half way through the week we drove about three hours across the state to the east coast. We were able to see the ocean from our hotel room in Fort Lauderdale, and were privileged to see a plane carrying a very special message.

 

Walking on the beach with Sophia one of the last mornings, I felt so grateful to have this quiet time with her, and the warm ocean foam on my feet. The next day we would land back in Boston during the first snow storm of the season!

Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia

Sophia took her first plane ride to Washington, DC. 

Fortunately the total flight time was only about an hour, so we knew it couldn't be too bad. Also there was actually some unexpected freedom in being stuck in the same space with other people. Unlike when I might feel self-conscious about the need to remove her from the room for making noise, the other passengers knew we couldn't go anywhere.

Our adventure began by exploring the airport terminal.

When it came time to board, Sophia gave her best, "Let's do this" face as her Dad carried her on the plane.

She then proceeded to greet all the other passengers with shrieks as we made our way to our seats. This did not instill confidence in regards to how the rest of the trip would go. However, once we were seated, Sophia showed her understanding of the concept by doing her impersonation of an airplane in flight.

She slept most of the trip until we started the descent. She actually seemed to like the landing, almost as if it were a carnival ride.

We went to DC for a legislative conference her Dad was attending. Sophia was the youngest attendee by about thirty years. Here she is listening to the governor of Wyoming discuss energy policy.

Since we were away from the house there was no laundry to fold, or other chores to accomplish, so Sophia and I passed the time by doing things like building pillow forts in the hotel room.

We spent one day with our friend Shannon, and her two sweet boys, Behr and Hudson. Unfortunately Sophia's shrieks of joy terrified poor Hudson.

However, he was still kind enough to share his stroller with her, providing Sophia with a front row view of DC.

On our final day we rode the metro to the end of the line in Maryland to visit my freshman and sophomore year college roommate, Stefanie. Our little girls are only seven days apart in age.

We ended the trip with a stop at the World Bank to visit our friend Violet.

This final picture documents Sophia's very brief time in Virginia, it consisted of the Dulles Airport.

Family Firsts: First Food

We decided to start Sophia on solid foods when she reached 6 months, and chose avocado as the first one to try. The morning after her 6 month birthday we gave her the tiniest bit. It wasn't entirely clear whether she disliked avocado, or if she was just confused as to why we were putting green mushy stuff in her mouth.

A few days later on Thanksgiving morning, she tried banana for the first time with the assistance of her father and her Uncle James. 

She has continued to eat small amounts of avocado and banana, as well as some strawberry and gnawed on a piece of watermelon without making a dent. In the coming weeks we are looking forward to trying some sweet potato, carrots and pumpkin- hopefully she doesn't turn orange!

First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving began the Saturday before the holiday at our church's annual dinner. 

The table of desserts was almost as long as the table of different side dishes that were brought to share.

What seemed to delight Sophia the most(which is fair since she isn't really eating solid food yet) was the brown paper table cloth and the crinkly sound it made.

In a similar sense, the texture of her Uncle James' beard was a highlight when we went down to Pennsylvania for the actual Thanksgiving day.

Sophia's Grandpa Ray had gone to great efforts to decorate the house prior to our arrival since we will be in New Hampshire for Christmas this year.

Lights in particular are one of her favorite things right now.

She is also rather fond of her Gran (and wearing funny Santa hats).

When it came time for the Thanksgiving feast, Sophia was napping.

She did wake up before we ended the meal and enjoyed making funny faces with her Dad (again her options were limited without being able to eat anything on the table).

Despite the fact that there was no actual food on the table for Sophia, her Gran had bought her a purple crystal cup. She enjoyed the glass this year, and next Thanksgiving she will get to actually have something in it!

Second Quarter

4 Months
(With an increased awareness of the outside world, all of a sudden the 'elephant in the room' is noticed!)

5 Months

6 Months

Dear Sophia,

All of a sudden at four months you seemed to awaken to the world. This meant that you stopped eating as much during the day as you were frequently fascinated and distracted by just about everything around you. Less eating during the day meant more eating at night and consequently less sleeping. Sometimes my being very tired led me to feel frustrated with your awakenings. Other times I had the perspective that in the future I could sleep, but I wouldn't be able to cuddle you forever.

Your new interest in the world around you led to conversations like one we had in October.  You were very intrigued by my putting cream cheese on a bagel, you may have just wanted to eat it, but I started telling you that this was similar to how snow would look on the ground. I was looking forward to introducing you to snow, and bagels, and cream cheese, and pretty much everything.

Sophia, you started giggling. Your laugh makes us laugh harder, and we never stop until you do. We crouch down below your changing table and pop up and you think we are very funny.  Your Dad has now decided that you are big and strong enough for wrestling. I frequently hear from the other room that you have pinned him once again. This quarter you grew from what your Gran calls a 'kidney bean' (all head and bottom) to a little girl with stretched out arms and legs. 

During the first few weeks of your life you did the same few things over and over again. Now it seems as if you might be doing a new thing every day. Small things like grabbing an object in a new way and big things like rolling across the floor and sitting without our help. We loved those first few weeks, we love right now, and we can't wait to see what you have in store for us next,

Mom and Dad  

New Hampshire in November

We had a pre-thanksgiving New Hampshire visit, since we will be spending the holiday with our Pennsylvania family this year.

We were also there for Veteran's Day to celebrate Sophia's Great-Grandfather, a World War II Veteran.

It's cold there, so we did a lot of indoor activities.

On Saturday morning Sophia worked on the crossword puzzle with her grandfather....

....until she decided that it was more fun to throw the newspaper on the floor.

This was so enjoyable that she schemed with her Aunt Becca......

.....to teach her cousin Blake the "I drop this rattle and you pick it up" game.

Other games this weekend included being her Dad's partner in cards.....

Lincoln logs with her cousin Aaron....

and a little indoor soccer with her Grandmother. 

The First Five Times I Saw You

Dear Sophia,

The first time I ever saw you was when I was six weeks pregnant.

It was earlier than we were supposed to meet and I was scared. I had been having some symptoms that led me to believe you might not still be with me. The ultrasound technician compared your size to a grain of rice. She said the only way to tell if you were going to be ok was to see if you had grown after a week. The first time I saw you I was scared.

A very long week went by and I was still bleeding. Now I was convinced I had lost you. Your Dad brought me to the ultrasound appointment and I told him I didn't want to go. At first I didn't look at the screen, but then I saw this blinking light and it was you! It was your heartbeat and you were ok. The second time I saw you I couldn't stop smiling.

After that we were both healthy and so I didn't see you again until I was 18 weeks pregnant. Your Godparents Glen and Carolyn came to the appointment with your Dad and I, and took us out for a celebratory dinner afterwards. 

It was hard to believe it was really you on the screen. It felt like I was just watching a television show about ultrasounds. The third time I saw you I was convinced that you had your father's nose (and you do!).

The fourth time I saw you was for an "overdue ultrasound appointment". Again they were checking to make sure you were doing ok in there. My Mom (your Gran) was there with me and kept trying to see if you were a girl or a boy, but I told her we had made it this far without knowing and I wanted to wait. What we did find out was that you were going to be close to nine pounds. The fourth time I saw you I didn't know that I would actually get to meet you the very next day.

The fifth time I saw you was on May 22nd, 2013, a few minutes before 11 pm. While you were still attached to me I held you close. I found out you were a girl and your Dad and I quickly discussed whether you would be named Sophia or Elise. It was unanimous between the two of us and we announced your name to the room. The fifth time I saw you I was exhausted and very very happy.

Rookie Parents

Dear Sophia,

Right now you seem to think your Dad and I are the moon and the stars. We are big fans of you as well, but I have a secret to share with you....You will probably have figured this out by the time you read this......Your Parents are VERY HUMAN and IMPERFECT.

There have been many times in these first few months where I say to you out loud, "Thank you for being patient with Mama". There will be many times when we need to tell you, "I'm sorry, I was wrong". We will model bad behaviors and say words we wish we could take back. I promise you that we will try to be good and I can also promise you that sometimes we will fail.

There was the time I was changing your clothes and nicked your brand new baby skin with my fingernail. You started to cry and so did I.

There was the time I was trying to teach you how to use a bottle and in my zealousness you ended up covered in spit up milk and I had a pool of it on my lap dripping on to the carpet.

There was the time when you road home in just a diaper and a burp cloth wrapped around your middle because we forgot to bring an extra set of clothes. 

And when you need a burp cloth, we pretty much never have one on us.

Your Dad and I often smile at each other and say 'rookie parents'.

Sophia, just as you are learning to be a human, we are learning for the first time how to be parents. But I have another secret to share with you....we are still learning how to be humans as well.

So my sweet girl, when you get frustrated with your parents, other people, or yourself, remember that we are all still learning. As your parents, we will try to remember that as well, and only expect that with God's grace you will try to be the best Sophia Gayle that you can be.

With all of our imperfect love,

Mom and Dad

My Favorite Sound

Eagles go Apple Picking

Rita,Desie,and I attended the Boston College(Go Eagles!)School of Social Work together.

The obligatory baby with pumpkins picture

Desie and I were roommates during our BC days. She had come for a visit from Colorado,and was meeting Sophia for the first time.

Our outing started with lunch at the Noon Hill Grill in Medfield, MA. It is housed in an old train station, and has delicious food.

About ten minutes down the road is Jane and Paul's Farm in Norfolk. We love it here for picking everything. Unlike many of the other farms in the area there is no admission fee and no crowds. In fact there was even free hot apple cider.

For three dollars you could purchase the hayride/corn maze package.

We picked incredibly sweet corn that a few hours later became corn fritters.

The 1/2 bushel of apples we picked became apple crisp for dessert that night, apple dumplings the next evening, and went into baked oatmeal the following morning.

Fortunately Sophia led Rita's boyfriend Steve, and the rest of us, out of the corn maze safely.