First Easter as a Family of Three

Sophia celebrated her first Easter yesterday and we celebrated our first real holiday (sorry, but I don't think St. Patrick's Day counts) as a family of three! The day started bright and early with our traditional brunch at my parent's church followed by church. We swung by grandma and grandpa Anderson's house afterwards to see what the Easter bunny left for Sophia - a big basket full of board books, a nice cuddly rabbit to go with her new Velveteen Rabbit book, and some cute new summer clothes. We had some generous Easter bunnies this year :) Since the weather was so nice we snuck in a walk at home in the afternoon before heading to Dave's parents house for Easter dinner. More books, clothes, and Easter treats awaited Sophia as did some cuddle time with her grandma. We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner and even got to skype with aunt Katie again in Peru. It was a wonderful first Easter! (And yes, there were a few minor wardrobe changes throughout the day, mainly the headbands and tights...somehow she managed to keep the rest of her outfit clean!)

Firsts

Sophia has had so many "firsts" in the past few weeks that it's about time I start documenting before these little moments escape my memory. I realize some of these "firsts" are completely insignificant in the every day sense but to a mommy, they are all so very exciting. It's funny how what's important suddenly changes when you become a mommy :)

First Time Out to Eat

Sophia's Godmother, Kelsey, came into town the day before her baptism to spend some extra time with us. We met up with my parents who always enjoy a visit with Kelsey as much as we do for dinner at the Milwaukee Ale House in Grafton. While at dinner I realized that was Sophia's first time out at a restaurant! It was pretty uneventful as she slept through most of it. Thankfully Kelsey snagged a photo on her phone since this mommy didn't have a camera on her. Since then I've made our small digital camera a diaper bag staple so that we don't miss any special moments in the future.

First Roadtrip

Last weekend we headed to Kentucky to celebrate our friends Danielle and Jeremy's wedding. While we quickly learned that traveling with a baby is a lot of work (and requires a lot of stuff!!), Sophia did very well on the six and a half hour drive and we enjoyed our whirlwind of a weekend in Louisville. I wish I had taken more pictures while we explored downtown and at the wedding but I was a wee bit busy tending to a six week old on my own (Dave was busy doing wedding party stuff most of the weekend). Thankfully we got a family picture at the reception while we were all still dressed up!

First Smiles





Sophia has been smiling more and more over the past few weeks. It's absolutely beautiful. I especially love the middle of the night smiles that make those sleepless nights worth it. It's not always easy to catch the smiles on camera yet but I've managed to get a few out of her.

First time rolling over
I kid you not, at seven and a half weeks old, Sophia rolled from her belly to her back today (twice!) for the very first time. You can bet after she did it the first time I ran to get the video camera. I can't seem to get the video to upload so you'll have to trust me on this one. This was just another reminder of how fast she's growing up!

First Walk in the Stroller
I kick myself for not getting a picture of her all bundled up in her stroller for her first walk. It was a rather quick impromptu walk when Dave came home from work a few weeks ago. Wisconsin has graced us with a few spring-like days in the past couple of weeks and we've taken advantage of them. Sophia and I have since enjoyed a few walks on our own. I should actually call them workout sessions because pushing a jogging stroller with an infant carrier attached does wonders for the upper body and legs. I'm determined to walk off the last few pounds of baby weight I have left to lose.

First Skype Session with Aunt Katie
Okay, so this one might only be significant to Sophia's Aunt Katie in Peru but we finally broke in our computer camera and enjoyed a mini skype session. It was Katie's first time seeing Sophia other than in pictures. I must say, Skype is a fabulous tool and I wish I had discovered its usefulness sooner. While it was nice to see Katie "in person" through the computer we're looking forward to seeing her actually in person in just a few weeks when she comes back to the States for a visit and to meet Sophia. (We should've taken a picture of this Katie!)

Baptism

I'm a week behind in my blogging...I just hate wasting time on the computer when I only have a few weeks left with Sophia Grace before heading back to work. I do want to make sure to document some of the important occasions and milestones in her life, however.

Sophia was baptized on April 3rd with many of our family and friends present. It was an absolutely beautiful day and one that was so important to Dave and I. Sophia wore my family's baptismal gown. She was the 33rd child baptized in the gown that my great grandfather first wore in 1913 when he was baptized in our church. The gown was especially beautiful to us because of this history. Both of Sophia's Godparents were present. I wish I had all the time in the world to share how special and beautiful her Godparents are to Dave and I. Choosing Godparents can be a daunting task but when it came to Kelsey and Jesse the choice was so easy and clear...they are perfect examples of what it means to live a Christ-like life and we look forward to the values they will help instill in our daughter. Kelsey even came in a day early for extra cuddle time with Sophia. They certainly did lots of bonding during this time and it was beautiful watching their relationship grow :) We were also fortunate to have Pastor Jon baptize Sophia. He has played an important role in our own faith journey throughout the past two years. Pastor Jon was there for us when we experienced our miscarriage and shared his own personal loss of two children with us. He continues to support us in parenthood and we have joined his small group Bible study where we have enjoyed getting to know the "non-pastor" side of him. He's helped us meet other younger couples and form new relationships with those who share similar interests and beliefs with us. We look forward to him being a part of Sophia's life as well as she grows in her Christian faith. It truly was a special and joyous occassion in our daughter's life.

Welcome to God's family Sophia Grace :)

The baptismal gown


Pastor Jon baptizing Sophia


Godparents - Kelsey and Jesse












Anderson Grandparents


Irish Grandparents