Fun in the sun

Well we are more than half way through our Florida holiday and the weather has turned beautiful. It is sunny and warm but not too hot. Sophie is having a great time and, though not fond of sun hats and sunscreen, enjoys not having to wear a jacket, mitts and woolly toque.

Today mum's friends here threw us a baby shower. It was fun and Sophie was given some beautiful gifts. She is definitely going to be the best dressed baby around this summer!

Sophie and Grandpa Riordon catching up on the morning news.


Fun in bed.


On the beach.


Feet in the ocean... what fun!


Giggles this morning after a full night's sleep!

A well seasoned traveller

Well since that little jaunt to the Isle of Wight Sophie has conquered airplane travel! We left England via Gatwick Airport on Monday morning and safely arrived in Florida Monday evening. Sophie then got right into the swing of things and has spent some lovely time with her grandparents in the sun since then.

Here is Sophie with her grandparents the morning after arrival.


A new sun hat from Grandma...


A make shift play gym... how fun!


A tired out Sophie in the sun.


Sophie, Mum and I on the Pier.


A blurry but oh-so-cute pic of a thoughtful Sophie.


One of Sophie in her grandma Ellen's arms thinking 'why can't I have ice cream too?'


A bath in the sink.


And finally some rest after all that excitement!

A Seaworthy Sailor

Yesterday Stephen, Sophie and I took a trip to the Isle of Wight. It was Sophie's first trip and she did really well - especially on the ferry. She loved the noise, lights and movement and spent the entire trip to and from the Island lying on the table happily looking around and cooing.

We had a lovely day with our friends the Gavins and are looking forward to when we next see them.

Relaxing at the weekend

It is always nice when the weekend rolls 'round and Sophie is able to spend more time with her daddy. Unfortunately Stephen has been laid down with the flu for the past few days and so Sophie hasn't been able to spend the quality time with him that she normally gets to. Luckily this is half-term week though for Stephen so he will have lots of time to spend with her when he gets better before we head off to Florida next Monday.



And now for the pictures...

This is Sophie with our Kiwi friend Laura Saturday out for lunch.




And here are some pics of Sophie from yesterday.

Play Group

After being snowed in yesterday (yes! it snowed in England - around 4 inches which caused complete and utter mayhem around here), Sophie and I were glad to be able to escape the house and go to play group this morning. Sophie made a special Valentine's surprise for Stephen (I'll put a pic of him receiving it from her on here next week) and played very nicely with some other babies. She is now asleep... though whether worn out by the excitement of this morning or from her valient efforts to keep Stephen and I awake last night is undecided. Hopefully she will need to sleep for a good, long time so I can bring some order back to our house!!

Here she is playing by herself...

And here she is playing with another little girl...

Bathtime Baby

Just a quick blog as I am dashing to wake Sophie up and then out the door to our last post-natal class...

Here are a few pics of a happy Sophie before bath time last night.

And a cute one of Sophie and Stephen.

More pics to share

Here are a few pictures taken today...

Sophie in her play gym this morning.

And on the phone to Grandma Ellen.

Music Group

Sophie and I went to a baby music group yesterday. It was really fun and Sophie enjoyed herself though I think she was a bit too overwhelmed to sing along there as she does at home with me!

In music group all the parents sit in a circle with the babies either sitting on our laps or in front of us (depending on baby's age), sing songs, play percussion instruments, and then at the end we lay all the babies on and then under a parachute and sing to them while it is fluttering. Sophie really liked that part as you can see below!

A day of firsts

Today two 'firsts' have happened in our little Sophie's world... She held a toy in her hand for the first time.

And she slept in her crib (cot for all you non-Canadians!) for the first time.

Stephen and I have slipped into the bad habit of rocking Sophie to sleep in her cocoon. It seems much easier right now to rock her to sleep rather than try to get her to go down by herself but I am scared that we are creating a rod for our own backs because at one point in the not so distant future she will be too big for her cocoon and I have no idea what we will do then!

So we have been phasing her in to her cot. At first I would just put her into it in the day to let her play for a few minutes while I folded her laundry in the room with her, and today we have been putting the cocoon in the cot when she falls asleep at nap time so she gets used to waking in it. I think the next step will be to sit next to her and comfort her while she tries to get to sleep on her own in the cocoon in the cot. Hopefully it will work and with minimal tears because I really hate it when she cries and the baby whisperer says that one should never let their baby cry for an extended period of time as it breaks the trust between parent and baby. Maybe we're being too soft but I'd rather she feel secure in our love while she is so little.

Here is another picture of Sophie sleeping in the cocoon in the cot. She likes having the receiving blanket over her face as I think it blocks out stimulation when she half-wakes.

Here is a picture of the two of us taken last Sunday.

And here are a few of her looking very cute on our bed earlier in the day today.