Our train tickets from Boston to Philadelphia on July 4th were less about independence and more about coming together, as we were traveling for the wedding of my high school (and ever since) friend Jeannie.
She and her husband Cesar met in the Dominican Republic, where they now live. Sophia's first planned international trip is to visit them there.
Uncle James provided his wonderful brand of childcare services during the wedding.
Another highlight of this visit was spending time with friends at CADES, a program for those with intellectual and physical disabilities where my Mom volunteers and Jeannie's Mom works. The last time we visited these gentleman Sophia was only a few months old, so everyone enjoyed being able to interact more this time.
Six of our family members came to visit from Colorado, and it was the first plane ride for half of them. For part of the time we were joined by additional loved ones from New Hampshire and Vermont, with a grand total of 18. All four Archambault siblings were together, and for the first time all of the grandchildren.
Here are some of the highlights from the week together:
For about half of her life thus far Sophia has been interested in walking. You could instantly bring a smile to her face by offering your hands to hold hers while she "walked" in front of you. Some suggested we not practice with her, so as not to encourage an 8 month walker to chase after. When we told our pediatrician what she was up to at her 9 month visit, he predicted that she would "definitely be an early walker."
Five days after turning one years old, Sophia took her first steps. She was sitting at my feet at a meeting of about ten people at our church. Her Godmother Carolyn nudged me to point out that she had been standing for quite a while. The next thing I knew she came lurching towards me. Carolyn interrupted the meeting by shouting out, "Those were her first steps!" The room celebrated. Joshua was actually in the building, but unfortunately was in another meeting down the hall.
For the next six weeks we would see occasional steps, but crawling was clearly preferred. It seemed more a matter of confidence than mechanics, as she would hold on to one hand and almost run ahead of you, but would drop right down if you let go. Two nights ago I noticed that instead of reaching for me to pick her up, she would put out her hand for my finger to grab onto, so that she could pull herself up and walk alongside me. Yesterday afternoon it was a slow going walk down the beach, as she wanted to use the tripod approach of her legs and my arm.
Last night I had brought up a bucket of paint brushes to touch up our bedroom ceiling, and was pleased when Sophia decided it was a toy box, so her father and I could make dinner next to her while she was entertained. Without our coaxing she grabbed two of the brushes, stood up, and started walking.
It was reminiscent of how Sophia's maternal grandmother learned to walk. My Great Aunt Betty gave my Mother clothes pins instead of her fingers to hold on to, and this was just enough security, like the paint brushes, to get her moving. Every time Sophia walked last night, she made sure she had a paint brush in each hand.
After a few strolls, Sophia promptly returned to crawling as her more perfected form of locomotion, but it seems her non-walking days are numbered.
Sophia Gayle and Sofia Abigail recently met at the Boston Children's museum.
Joshua and I met Sofia's Mom, Sarah, in college, and got to meet Sarah's husband Karlos the same day the girls met.
The bubbles were popular until our Sophia got a little too excited and started eating them.
The girls also really loved the section of the museum that was dedicated to 0-3 year olds.
Aside from reconnecting with our friend Sarah, and meeting her lovely family, my favorite part of the day was seeing Sophia create her first piece of artwork.
She was very focused, attempted to eat the paint less than expected, and while her Dad helped her to try out a couple different color choices, the brush strokes were almost entirely her own.
It is currently on the fridge, but is soon to be framed.
