18 month birthday!

Sophie had her 18 month doctor's appointment yesterday. She got two shots (DTaP and Hep A) and was very, very brave! Mommy also got all sorts of new measurements on Sophie:

weight = 26 pounds (50th percentile)*
length = 32 in (50th-75th percentile)*
head circumference = 48 cm (90th-95th percentile)*

*percentiles were derived from the 2005 CDC infant growth charts

Sickie-poo and Walkies too

Sophie has had an interesting week. She started it off with a nasty fever and a sore throat. She did not sleep or eat for several days and made Mommy and Daddy sad and worried. But, she got better and will soon be her chirper self again.

With that said, Mommy took Sophie to see a large truck show in Burlington, MA on Sunday when Sophie kept complaining of boredom. Sophie had an OK time, but will probably have a great time when she goes back next year...especially because next year she might get to go with one of her boyfriends (Evan) who she missed out on this year because she was so sickie-poo in the early part of the day.

Sophie and Mommy have also started to occasionally go for walks down their street. Above is Sophie taking "baby" for a walk. She's such a good Mommy!

Sophie the Model

Ok, not the greatest pose, but it was the only pic from Friday where she was looking at the camera. For any interested parties about the information to be discussed below, Sophie wore a turquoise blue short-sleeved top, a skirt that was half khaki and half flouncy fabric with white, blue and khaki flowers, her infamous pink sneakers, and a white bow in her hair.

So...way back in March, Tim and I paid to have some shots done of Sophie, a la....

well, the pics were so nice and she had such a good time, that we decided to act on the urging of our friend Nel to try to get Sophie into modelling. So, Liz looked online, figured out how to find a good agent, took Sophie to an open casting call, and suddenly Sophie had an agent. That was back in April. Well, Thursday, Sophie got a call to go to her very first casting call. It was very exciting for Mommy and Daddy. Mommy picked up Sophie early from daycare on Friday and drove Sophie all the way into South Boston where Sophie waited with many, many, many other children to have her picture taken by a professional photographer. This shot will be used to determine if she or one of the many, many, many other kids at the call will be used in an advertisement for a major brand. How cool is that? Mommy was very proud of Sophie because she had to wait 45 minutes on a very hot and muggy day, and Sophie did not get her clothes dirty or even cry very much at all. Yay, Sophie! Mommy hopes this means Sophie will do well on future casting calls too.

Fun with the Alibertis

Sophie has had a busy week....but Mommy always forgets to take pictures/bring the camera so here's a summary: she got to hang out with her baby-sitter (Julia) so Mommy and Daddy could go see a movie (their first one since January), she went back to daycare where she quickly abandonned the safety of Mommy's arms to play with her buddies she missed these last two weeks, she hung out with kids through the Chelmsford Mother's club where she got along smashingly with a twin brother and sister pair (they made her smile lots), she got to hang out with the Alibertis twice (once last Friday and again today). Today's playdate was especially exciting because it was at the Museum of Science. Sophie pretended to be Mommy while pushing her own stroller for several hours. She also got to play with a make-believe fish tank (up above) and at one point, Evan licked her. She actually liked that (poor kid). Afterwards, Sophie took a big long nap and progressed through the rest of her day normally. Above is a pic of her being super smiley in the bath tub, because, well why not!

Sophie's First Vacation

Despite going on vacation with a cold (thanks Evan!), Sophie had a really good time vacationing at her Grams' and Gramps' house in Carmel, NY. She got to sleep in a huge room with Mommy and Daddy (in her own giant playpen), she got to hang out with 3 dogs in addition to Hunter (Miss Mandy-Pandy, Layla and Peppi - yes, two of the dogs were indeed named after songs...one about a dog, go figure!), she got to watch LOTS of TV in the mornings because Mommy and Daddy were feeling lazy all week, she got to spend time with some of Mommy's oldest friends (Nel and Dave and Astrid Church), she got to hang with the Stewart-clan, swim a bit (which she even half enjoyed this time), get a little tan despite all the sunblock Mommy applied, see a cool farm called Muscoot Farm, and, of course, have a playdate with her cousin Naomi. All in all, Sophie enjoyed her vacation.

Natural History Museum, and ostriches

Today, we went to the Harvard University Natural History Museum, and had a great time starting at large skeletons and stuffed animals. Sophie, in particular, enjoyed the pliosaurs.

Daddy, however, did not enjoy the ostriches. They tried to sneak up on him! And as everyone knows, Daddy does not like ostriches. Daddy does not like flightless birds. Jesus 's dad did not intelligently create birds just so they would stay on the ground. Ostriches have wings, for god's sake!

Daddy also doesn't like:
- Emperor penguins
- Emus
- Kangaroos
- Any animal from the ANZAC region
- Koalas
- Spiders
- Owls
- Camels
- Llamas
- Any dromedary
- Actually, any even-toed ungulates
- Capybaras
- Roadrunners
- Giraffes
- Macow parrots

Keep that in mind if you ever send Sophie stuffed animal presents. Thank you.

Styling It

Sophie's hair has been growing and growing. So, Mommy and Daddy decided she needed another hair cut. Today, Sophie got to go back to her hair place and ask to have her hair styled. Although she cried and whimpered a little (which is even worse than crying because it is so sad), she made it through her styling in less than 10 minutes because she was such a trooper and sat really still on Mommy's lap! Mommy was very proud of her. Her stylist even said she was very good! Yay, Sophie.

before, being a cutie patootie

after, being a hungry cutie patootie who is eagerly people watching