Welcome Lauren Isabelle!

We are thrilled to introduce Lauren Isabelle, born on December 28th at 5:50am. She weighed 6lbs 15ozs and was 19 inches long. The delivery was such a good experience, and both her and I did so well we got to come home from the hospital a day early! Big sister Sophie has been loving on her all week, just like everyone else who meets her.

About 5 minutes after arriving in the world. We were lucky enough to get to spend about an hour with her before the staff took her. She was wide awake the whole time, and both Dave and I got in some good baby gazing time. 

Sophie wanted to inspect every part of her right away. Her belly button and umbilical cord were particularly interesting to her. She also loved her little fingers and toes. 

Two very happy grandmas. 

Pop Pop

Christmas!

This year we spent Christmas Eve at our house with Mom Mom and Pop Pop. Dave made a fabulous dinner (2 fishes, as opposed to 7) and then we opened a few presents. I got a new camera, and so did Sophie! She did a lot of practicing...

 This one was taken with mine...

A science kit! Dad was as excited as Sophie!

We then spent Christmas morning at home, just the 3 of us (well, with Benson, 4) and then headed to the Sharps for the day

 All she asked Santa for Christmas was chocolate. Easy to please I guess. 

 Jumping for joy with her new doll

 And a toy for Benson too

 A doctor kit from Santa at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house. 

 They were very good patients

 With a butterfly net from her bug catching kit. She caught an ant later in the afternoon. Not much insect activity in Jersey in December.

 Having fun with Zoe

And ending the day with ice cream with Shannon. Goofballs. 

Christmas Cookies

We had a Holiday-filled day today. This morning we made some Christmas cookies (some pics below), then went to Sophies very first Nutcracker, which she was very good for, and then watched Frosty the Snowman. We're ready for Christmas!

 Melting all of the ingredients together

 Rolling the dough

 Cutting out a Christmas tree

 Decorating (where more went in her mouth than on the cookies)

The final product! 

37 Weeks and Counting

Well, we're in the final stretch. I officially hit 37 weeks, and full-term, on Thursday. I'm feeling good, despite some random contractions over the last few weeks. At my last doctor's appointment I was 2 cm dilated, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Looking forward to meeting her soon!

School Update

Three months into school and Sophie is doing great. She's one of the big kids in her class this year (which is from ages 18 months-3 years). I think she likes showing the little ones how to do things. We had our parent-teacher conference last week and we found out that her favorite "work" to do is language work and art work. Not a surprise. We also found out that her and her best friend Claire need to be separated during Circle Time and lunch because they are too distracting to each other. Uh oh....

Here are a few pics from her teachers blog:

This one is from the beginning of the year (pre haircut & cold weather)

Helping to put together some shelves in the classroom

Circle Time with her teacher Laura

Thanksgiving 2012

We were down in Virginia this year for Thanksgiving and for the first time did a deep fried turkey - which was delicious! Doug was the man of the fryer. It only had to cook for 50 minutes, which is my kind of turkey.

 Sophie got to spend a lot of time with her cousins, Quinn & Carley! All she wanted to do was hang out with the big kids all week - and luckily she got to. 

 Sophie hanging in a tree during our hike. The weather was beautiful all week - it was amazing!

 We also got to spend some time with Lexi & Sarah at the Meriweather Lewis playground. The girls had such a good time together. 

 Here's a Christmas card preview...

Halloween!

Yesterday we went trick or treating in our neighborhood with Claire. Sophie the bumble bee had a blast - and ate lots, and lots of candy. We enjoyed a sugar high, and then the inevitable crash. But it was worth it.