Lean, Mean (Not really) Cleaning Machine

Sophie loves ducks! Can you tell? Sophie's Nana was just here for a visit recently to come and help out. We had a great time visiting with her! Nana brought Sophie her very own broom, dust pan and cleaning set because Sophie had recently started "dusting" her chair as she's seen her Mommy do.

Bridge Walk

Last weekend, we decided to walk across the Cooper River Bridge which was completed a couple of years ago. We walked as far as the first large span that looks like a sail. This bridge connects downtown Charleston with Mt. Pleasant. See casadavis.org for more information! There's another picture of the bridge below.


Can you see the electricity in my hair while I'm playing with my balloon? Mommy was so happy to put my hair in pigtails for church one night and then I took them out on the way there!
Below, I've got the family camera. I'm ready to go do some sight-seeing. This past week, Sophie had hand, foot, and mouth disease which causes a rash in certain areas of the body and is very contagious in kids. We had planned to get away this past weekend but neither Sophie or Paula were feeling 100% so we just stayed in Charleston. One of Sophie's newest things is that she has started helping Paula "dust" the furniture-particularly her little chair. She'll get a rag or a diaper and start "dusting". It is so cute and I know she's just copying what she's seen Mommy doing before.

Splash Time!

The end of summer is here and we made several trips to Splash Zone at James Island County Park, about 3 miles from our house. These were some of our best times this summer. Sophie loved to go down the waterslide with one of us in the children's pool. After sliding she would immediately get up and wade through the water, climb steps, and get in line to go down the slide again. She did this repeatedly.
We also visited the Folly Beach County Park recently. Sophie loves every part of the beach-the water, the sand, everything. It's scary at times because she has no fear! Once she became a better walker, she got to where she would just walk all over the beach chasing seagulls with no real destination in mind it seems. She calls the seagulls "ducks".

Other news with us is that Sophie has a cold right now but hopefully, she'll feel better soon. She's going to Mother's Morning Out again one morning a week. Poor Sophie has had a lot of falls lately so her knees are skinned up!

New Tricks

We took Sophie to Hampton Park in Charleston after dinner one night. There were ducks in a lake who were very friendly and walked right up to Sophie. She kept pointing and saying, "duck!" "Duck" is only about the third word in Sophie's vocabulary. She also says "Mama" and "Dada."


Uncle Phil and Nana came down to Charleston to visit Sophie not too long ago. Phil and Sophie had similar schedules during the day; they both woke up late in the morning and took long afternoon naps. Sophie did go to bed at night five hours earlier than Phil though. (OK, so their schedules were a little different. She's usually up by 7 or 7:30 A.M.)
Sophie has also taken an interest in brushing her teeth. She loves to sit in the sink and brush her teeth. The week before Phil & Nana's visit, Grandma & Grandpa Vergne came down to help get some projects done and help babysit Sophie.

You got it dude!

How do you like Sophie's new look? Matt says that she reminds him of Michelle on Full House. Her hair reminded me (Paula) of the old TV antennae (we still have some)! She kept wanting to try to wear both pairs of sunglasses which was interesting. This is her new adonirack chair that her grandparents gave her on their latest visit. She loves it! It wasn't intended for the living room but it's there for now.

By the way, Sophie's a good little helper in the yard! This mower sends out bubbles which is fun! I think I forgot to mention in our past blogs that along with all of our other craziness, our digital camera broke while we were in Nashville. We've replaced it now though.

Beanie Baby

Sophie just LOVED these beanie babies! They were just her size. The last couple of weeks have been very crazy around our household. As you know, Paula's grandmother passed away while Sophie and Paula were in Nashville. The morning after arriving home, our air conditioner went out. It took us several days to get the air conditioner fixed because we were going through our mortgage company. During that time, we spent one night in a hotel and then stayed with church friends. Many thanks to our friends from church who put us up in their house until the air was fixed. Sophie loved sitting on our friend, Janie's bench and "organizing" her beanie babies! We are very thankful that our air is fixed and we are back in our own home. It was fixed just in time for Grandma & Grandpa Vergne's visit to see us.

Tribute to Virginia Burton

Sophie's great grandmother (Paula's last surviving grandparent), Virginia Burton, passed away this afternoon in Nashville, TN. (Paula and Sophie had already planned to be in Nashville during this time.) Matt was able to drive down in time for the family visitation and funeral. Grandmother Burton lived a long, full life, and she was always glad to see Sophie when she came to visit. We'll be sure to tell Sophie how wonderful her great grandmother was as Sophie grows up. She was always such a generous and wise person who was glad to do anything for you. She loved the Lord and she loved her family. We're glad that she's free of pain now and we look forward to seeing her again in heaven someday. Below is the most recent picture of Sophie and her great grandmother, taken at Christmas last year.