Sophia Smiles

Sophia started smiling more regularly at around six weeks of age. 

At seven weeks we noticed that this happened most frequently in the morning (perhaps she will love mornings the most, like her Mama). 

We are enjoying that it is still novel.

When we catch her giving one, we stop and relish it, as it takes precedence over everything else. 

I also love how well we are getting to know her other expressions. 

Sometimes it seems as if she flashes through about ten in a few seconds.

It is becoming easier to tell if she is about to erupt into tears or smiles. 

When someone else fears that she is about to cry, we can often tell that this is not where she is actually headed, and feel privileged to know her so well.

Sophia, we wish for you the joy of many reasons to smile. 
Always know how much joy your smile brings to us.

My Eight-Week-Old has an E-mail Address

After being shown a video commercial with another little girl named Sophie, I set up an account for our Sophia and drafted the following email:


Hi Family,

Mama set up an email account for me..... so that letters could be sent to me before I can read. She wanted a place where she could write things to me.....even if it were just a quick sentence that she didn't want to forget......fun things we did together.....funny things that happened.......

One day I will be able to enjoy reading these things or seeing the pictures that were sent.

She was inspired by this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vkVHijdQk

.....she says it makes her cry every time.

Thanks for being my family.

Much love,

Sophia Gayle (Via Mama)

One of the e-mails I have already sent to her was a 'Thank You Note' after the first time she slept through the night. I love that the e-mail is automatically dated so I can remember the exact occurrence of such momentous occasions.

If you are a friend or family member of Sophia's, and would like to participate in this time capsule of sorts, she can be reached at sophia (dot) archambault (at) gmail (dot) com

Mental Pictures

From 9:30 in the morning until 6:30 pm (with stops), we had been on the road driving to visit my family in Ohio. At 11:00 we were finally ready to go to bed, but Sophia wasn't. 

I was frustrated as she laid on my chest, seemingly undecided about eating but convinced about being upset. 

Right then Joshua encouraged me to take a mental picture. For a few seconds I just soaked in her wrinkled up face. 

Before our wedding a friend had encouraged us to take 'mental pictures', knowing how fast the day would go. Now knowing how fast the years will go, I appreciated Joshua's encouragement. 

Sometimes I think to myself.....'will I someday wish I could have this moment back even if I'm not enjoying it right now?'

The answer is there will never be enough time......but I am attempting to pause long enough to take some mental pictures.....perhaps particularly during those moments when I need to remember what a gift I've been given. 

First Fourth

For Sophia's first fourth of July we drove to upstate New York to visit Rob and Di, whom after 23 years of friendship have now been classified as family.

We spent the rest of the day swimming in the lake, sitting on the porch, and eating outside.

 

The next morning friends of theirs (several shared by us) came for breakfast bringing strawberry rhubarb crisp, blueberry crumble, scones, fresh cherries and other treats, as well as magazine clippings that Di pasted into a picture book she was making for Sophia. She also lent us several of the books she owned as a child, including an original 1933 copy of Babar, a series Joshua loved when he was little.

 

 

In the afternoon we enjoyed the lake of another pair of dear friends, Nadine and Ira. They provided a delicious BBQ Buffet for dinner that night.

Nadine holding Sophia for the 1st Time

Before heading back home the following morning, we had a pancake breakfast outside and lingered until noon.

 

We delayed getting back on the highway, and instead drove on a smaller road through the Berkshire Mountains. To cap off our trip we had a wonderful lunch at the Blueberry Hill Market Cafe.

 

The Best Panera Trip

2:00: Joshua calls from work on a Tuesday to say it is time to leave.

3:00: After feeding Sophia and changing her diaper, changing both of our clothes and making sure the diaper bag is fully stocked we leave Quincy for Downtown Boston.

3:30: We arrive in the city in the midst of a thunderstorm. Joshua leaves his office in a suit, attempting to avoid getting soaked. 

4:00: We hit traffic.

6:30: We stop for dinner in Western Massachusetts. It takes a long time and isn't very good, but Sophia sleeps the entire time.

8:00: We have a necessary conversation about my needing to clarify when I am disappointed in a situation vs. mad at Joshua. I am not mad at Joshua, I am just sad we are not at Panera yet.

8:30: We arrive at Panera! The reason for my sadness had been that our family had arrived at Panera a half hour earlier, and we had missed that time with them while at the not-so-good-slow-restaurant. This was magnified by the amount of time we had been on the road with a sometimes 'very vocal' backseat passenger and the fact that our visit would have to be short. However, all of this was actually unexpected time. Joshua's older brother and his family had been packing up the car to move from Michigan to Colorado when they received the call that his grandmother had died. They made the amazing decision to drive many hours east instead of west and attend her memorial in Vermont. We met them at the stop that would be closest to us on their route back towards Colorado. Sophia gets to meet her family and I get to talk with my sister-in-law about being a new Mom.

Aunt Jennifer and Cousins Grace and Anna

Uncle Eric and Cousins Noah and Levi

9:30: After Joshua leads a parking lot game for the kids and hugs are had, we are back on the road.

10:30: Rain begins to pour again.

12:30: Still raining.....but we are home!

1:00: Sophia is changed and fed, swaddled in her bassinet with her white noise machine humming. We are in bed and grateful for the unanticipated opportunity to see our family, not knowing how long it will be until we see them again but hoping it will be soon.

***The 2nd  best Panera trip was on our next road trip when Joshua danced with Sophia to the overhead music next to our booth, so I could finish my dinner.

What I want to teach her......

I was holding Sophia while she slept the other day, and an Amy Speace song I had never heard before came on the radio. 
As I listened to the lyrics, I thought this is what I want to teach her:

"Red sky ahead, of the morning sun
And I've heard it said, that's when trouble comes
Have been blown by this wind, and I know this eve
I've been out here before, it's not a map that I need

Show me how to fly in the starless sky
Help me to hold on when there's no guiding light
Teach me how to sleep, how to sleep in a stormy boat"

It made me think of Philippians 4:7, which says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 
And of the story in Mark 4:35-41:
"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm."

As much as I want to, I realize I cannot protect her from everything hurtful in this world. As her Mama, the only way I can teach her to 'fly in the starless sky' or 'sleep in the stormy boat' is to guide her heart towards peace that surpasses understanding when she is in the midst of a storm.




"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3

Family Firsts: Father's Day

I know from personal experience that the father-daughter bond can be a very powerful one. It is clear that these two have already begun to make that connection. 

When I was pregnant, Joshua didn't want to hug me too tightly so as to avoid harming the baby. He already loved you, Sophia.

Despite the fact that we didn't want to learn the gender in advance, he had a strong hunch that we were having a little girl. Now that we know both her gender and name, it is rare to hear him call her Sophia....usually it is.....'little one', 'cheeks Archambault', 'squeak', or 'sweetest pea'. 

When we brought her home from the hospital, he was always making sure she was wearing a hat or that everyone would wash their hands before holding her. When we went to the beach for the first time, he had her fully covered from head to toe. When she is having a difficult time, he is often the one who rocks her and speaks softly to her. When she is working out a digestive issue he coaches her enthusiastically as if at a sporting event. I have been told to get the camera because 'she is making the cutest face'. It was once suggested that I eat dinner in the dark, because the light was bothering her eyes.

Sophia, you are incredibly blessed to have this man as your father, and I am forever grateful to have him as my teammate in raising you.