14 and 15 months

Sophia never stops! She is ready to take on the world and has a plan on how to do it. No matter where we take her she makes friends with the children and adults. Once she is comfortable in an environment she will not walk past a person without giving them a smile, wave, and a nice loud “hi.” If they are lucky they even get a hug and a “bye- bye” when she leaves. I am so afraid she is going to be that four year old at the deli counter that talks to everyone while waiting for their deli meat. Daddy and I have our handful with her.

We had a wonderful 4th of July.

A little rain didn’t stop us from having a great family day. We took Sophia to Piers Park in East Boston to watch the Constitution Sail. She loved watching all the boats, having Daddy chase her around the park, and showing off for all the people that were there waiting to see the ship. Once the ship turned around we went over to the playground. Daddy and Sophia played for a long time in the tunnels and on the swings. I was in charge of pictures and wiping the equipment dry before they tried to play on it.

That night we went to Wakefield for the fireworks. We sat in the parking lot of Jordan’s furniture and enjoyed the show without all the noise. Sophia loved it!

We didn’t get to go on a lot of adventures during the week like we planned because I was sick for the month of August, but we did fit them in on the weekends when Daddy was home to help.

In July, we took our first family trip overnight to New Hampshire.

We went to Nana and Don’s camp.It was tons of fun. Sophia’s aunties and their families came up along with Don’s kids which made it even more fun.

It rained some of the time, but we had fun anyway.

Sophia fished for the first time. She had a blast! Daddy had been teacher her how to reel in the line in our backyard, so he was excited to finally let her try her skills in the water.

We didn’t catch anything, but had a fun time trying.

This summer we spent a lot of time in the garden.

Sophia loves to pick weeds, water flowers, and plant. She has a true green thumb!

In August, the big event was her Auntie Adrienne married her Uncle Keir. Now she is the luckiest girl in the world with not only great aunties but also a great Uncle Adam and Uncle Keir too. Now all she needs is some cousins! We didn’t go to the wedding since it was in Jamaica, but Sophia and I were in charge of the school while Nana and Auntie were away. When they got home we hosted a luncheon Sophia loved seeing everyone.

On top of our schedule appearances we made trips to the zoo,

parks,

and had lots of playdates with our friends.

Every afternoon while waiting for Daddy to come home, Sophia would do some messy art projects in the driveway.

If we were lucky, Logan from next door would come and play too. We spent the summer finger and feet painting, painting with dobbers and using chalk on the driveway (Daddy needed to get used to the chalk on the driveway activity).

Developmentally, Sophia continues to make leaps and gains. She is still our little helper. Her newest helping skill is putting stuff away for us. Actually, she has begun to put things away without us knowing. I will go to find a pair of shoes I left by the door and they are gone. Naturally, at first, I thought I was losing my mind. But when I kept finding them in my closet I realized it was Sophia. She does so well with putting things away that when I do the laundry she puts her own clothes and towels away. I have a cleaning genius! Another thing Sophia is great at is hide items in the house. Luckily the “cleaning genius” is also a great locator of lost…strike that…hidden items. The other morning when we were heading off to work Daddy loaded the bags and Sophia into the Explorer as I searched for my phone. After 10 minutes of Daddy and I taking turns going into the house looking for my phone (which was still turned off from the night before) we figured Sophia hid it. So out of the car and into the house she went and found the phone in less than 30 seconds. She had hid it in the bathroom behind the door. It is funny today, but wasn’t that morning.

On top of cleaning and hiding, Sophia has been talking up a storm. Some of her new words are silly, sit, easy, wow, oh-oh, and woa. She knows all her colors, 10 animals sounds, and what a rabbit does with its nose. She can identify shapes with some help but can identify all the animals she knows the sounds for. She now strings words together to make simple phrases. The phrase of the month is, “No, No Da-Da.” Poor Daddy is always getting in trouble. When Daddy is downstairs or outside and she can’t find him she will call for him once or twice as “Daddy” and then she will call out “Mike.” She shouts it at the top of her lungs. Daddy and I laugh every time she does it. She also has begun to talk in gibberish. Luckily, she pairs it with her signs so we mostly know what she is saying. Her signs have become more complex. She no longer just uses them for her wants and needs but now tells us that she loves us. It melts my heart every time she does it!

Physically, she has been mastering her walking backwards and on her tip toes. She can walk up and down stairs, catch a ball, and can throw really well. She can throw so well that it actually hurts if she throws a ball at you when you are not looking. She is able to hold on to Mike’s back when he gives her horse rides around the house and can FINALLY put the hats on her dolly’s. Her favorite activity this month has been coloring with her fat crayons and painting.
Medically, nothing new. We meet with her GI specialist and we have her 15 month check-up at the within the next two weeks. I will keep you up to date.

Well, I have enjoyed sharing some funny stories and can’t wait to share more. I look forward to sharing so many more stories with you in the future. Have a great September!