Just Some Pictures Before We Go

Well, we are leaving for Virginia in a couple of hours, but I wanted to get these pictures from Sophies 3rd Birthday (and a few bonus ones) up for you all to see...

UPDATE! - I now have taken the time to res-sort and comment on the pictures! Yes, I'm posting again!

Sophie is a Dora Freak (and secondarily Diego and Kai-Lan) - so it was natural for her first "aware" birthday party to be a Dora party. We went all out, Dora plates, cups, napkins, cake, and a banner!

In the time-honored tradition of children everywhere, Sophie sneaks some frosting...

Here is the "Giggly" Kai-Lan doll that we got for her - it reminds us of how she looks when she does her big smile :) That's grandpa Ziegler looking on...

At this party, she was really figuring out presents, and this present had a bunch of different things in a bag big enough for her to fall in, and she almost did, trying to get the stuff on the bottom...

Sophie got her first Barbie, which she is showing off to her friend Jayden, as grandma and grandpa Ziegler watch...

When Sophie has stayed with grandma and grandpa Gabriel, she and grandpa share some super big marshmallows, so grandpa got her a big bag for home use...

Just a small portion of the pile o' presents...

Sophie had such genuine enthusiasm for everything she received (whether she knew what it was or not) - I hope she keeps that...

Giving grandpa Ziegler a big thank-you kiss...

Eating her lunch with her baby and grandpa Gabriel.

"How old are you?"

The previous evening, Stacy and I gave her the bulk of the presents from us (so it wouldn't be just a mom and dad fest with everyone else there).

I had been finding some awesome deals, and we got her a V-Smile learning system and a bunch of games so that she could get started with some other types of fun learning.

Sophie loves playing with hair, so we got her a set of hair toys...

She also gt her first Cabbage Patch Kid (we tried to get one that looked like her)...

Sophie's aunt-aunt gave her a couple of games that she already had, so I traded them in for something we knew Sophie would love - a play vacuum. Every time I vacuum, she wants to hold the handle and help - now she has one made just for her. The middle section pops off, and can be used like a dust-buster. She loves it! Thanks, aunt-aunt!

Another thing we've started, which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, is to get her started with Legos. Right now, she has all of the Dora and Kai Lan sets (actually Mega Bloks, but they work with Duplos) - and she loves to build and play with them. She's getting much better at stacking and arranging them, and she loves being able to play with her favorite characters too.



Grandma Orsund got her a couple of costumes, including this cowgirl outfit, which looks very cute on her...



See you later!

Larry

Catching Up - Dad and Daughter Weekend II, Silly Gril, and the Zoo!

Well, I apologize that it has been so long since the last post - we've been pretty busy...

I'm going to just unleash a ton of pictures here, with no real description, as I am extremely tired right now, but I want to get the pictures posted.

I may come back in here and edit the post with descriptions... we'll see...

I hope to dive back in with a full-on status report soon, but for now, I hope this satiates those clamoring for new stuff...

Saturday In The Park

It's been a very long time since my last post, but I thought I'd sneak one in about our first trip to the local park a couple of weeks ago...

We've been living here for over 5 years, and until two weeks ago, had never even thought about going to a park, but we finally did, and Sophie had a lot of fun!

A few days earlier, I was cleaning out the garage, and Sophie wanted to climb up on my yard tractor. Since it was in gear and I had the keys, I let her up there and she pretended to drive...



In ten years I'll be asking her to mow the lawn - we'll see how much she smiles about it then :)

Anyway, we went first to get Sophie's hair trimmed (you can see how long her bangs are in the above picture), then we hunted down Mark Park, which is about two miles from our house. They have a splash park there too (not pictured), but we were interested in the playground equipment...



This is the larger of the two main pieces, there are also two swing sets at the park.

Sophie on the bridge to the slide:



And here she's sliding down the aforementioned slide:



Like many playgrounds, a steering wheel attached for no particular reason is included:



Mommy helping Sophie up after coming down the big slide:



Sophie sliding down yet another slide:



And climbing a spiral ladder:

You can see from all of the pictures that Sophie loved the park. Next time we'll bring a swimsuit so she can play at the splash park.

It's also important to note that with very few exceptions, Sophie did all of the climbing and sliding completely unassisted. She's getting better coordinated every day, and playing like this definitely helps build more strength too!

Stacy should be popping in here in the next day or so to give a report of their trip to the local nursery, where Sophie fed some deer and pet some puppies!

Later!

Larry

New Leg Fitting

Well, Sophie's had her current leg for just under a year, and she's really outgrown it.

We were told that typically, these prosthetics last around 18 months, but of course it all depends on how the child grows. Since Sophie is growing like a weed, she's ready now for a new leg! (actually, she was ready a few months ago - we won't let it get this tight on the next one).

On Tuesday we had the check-sock fitting for her second leg, and it went very well.



Sophie's leg had changed / grown / mutated since they made the cast a few weeks ago, so her doctor Dick, had to make a piece of the socket adjustable to be able to fit her properly.



Of course in Sophie's typical "Help!" and "Fix it!" approach, she had to help Dick adjust the screws on her leg. She was very well behaved here, listening to what Dick told her, and was actually effectively turning the screwdriver, not just the typical back and forth most kids do. Yes, I've been teaching her that :)



Here they are checking the height of the socket to make sure that once the prosthetic is finished and her foot is attached, Sophie's hips will be level and her legs will be where they need to be.

As I said earlier, Sophie was very well behaved. She didn't cry or have any tantrums, and she was responding to Dick's questions about how it fit (if it was tight or hurt).

We are expecting to have a follow-up fitting in a week or so, and then have the finished product in two to three weeks.


Last night, Sophie started gymnastics, and the report from Stacy was good! Sophie had a lot of fun, but she still needs to learn to focus on the teacher (which we will keep working on). Also, the crab-walk was tough for Sophie, which is understandable, considering she has no right hand and her right leg doesn't have the flexibility that her left does. Again, we can practice at home and let her figure out how to best do it.

On the potty training front, Sophie is doing better each day. I think she is going in her chair twice a day on average, and is getting better at knowing when and telling us she needs to go.

Sophie is also getting better at saying multiple word phrases, and has even given us a couple of small sentences, so her language development is coming along nicely as well!

I will be posting a video of Sophie's dance recital, I just need to get it down to size.

That's all for today,

Larry

First Dance Recital!

It's been mentioned earlier (I think) that Sophie has been in a dance class at the local YMCA for the last month and a half.

She's really been enjoying it, and according to Stacy and her teacher, Sophie's been getting progressively better at listening to the teacher and being physically away from Stacy during class, which is a very good start.

Needless to say, Sophie has been loving dance class, and she has been great about practicing at home.

Some were afraid that she'd be upset at her first recital, which was yesterday, but unlike some of the girls, Sophie did her steps, stayed in the stage area, and beyond having to have Stacy within 15 feet of her, had a great time!

I apologize for the odd angles of the pics - I didn't know where Sophie was going to be, or where she'd be looking (mostly at mommy and the teacher). I also apologize for the graininess of the pictures, Our new camera either stinks and needs to be returned, or there is a setting for it to not compress the heck out of the data that I need to find...

Sophie and class coming out for the first dance:

She's doing the steps!

You may notice Sophie's costume is different than the other girls in her class - that's because the costume shop screwed up and we didn't get her costume until the day of the recital, and found that they had messed up so bad that they couldn't get more of the same costume! Sophie and another girl were to have the pink, so they wouldn't look so out of place, but the other girl didn't make it to the recital, so Sophie got to wear pink, while the others had to wear plain white :)

More moves that she is doing right - though she is supposed to spin (which she didn't), so I didn't get her face..

From the second dance, a montage of Sophie's moves:

At the end, all the girls from all the classes came out:

Sophie was still focused on Mommy and her teacher:

And at the end, Sophie sitting with her friends:



When all was said and done, I realized what I'll need for camera equipment next time (which will be in the fall), and most importantly, Sophie had a lot of fun and was able to get started in the whole dance and school thing.

On a side note, Sophie is a soup fiend:

Also, Sophie has had a new casting made for her new leg (her current one is rapidly getting too small), and we hope to have the check-fit in the next week or two.

She's growing about 1 cm a month, and is already over 3 feet tall!

We are very glad that she is healthy and happy!

Talk to you later!

Larry