Talkative Toddler

We haven't really taken many pictures this week or done anything too exciting but I thought I'd give an update on some of Sophie's latest feats. Each day, Sophie is coming out with more and more new words and it's really exciting. This past week she said "special" and repeated Paula and said "bless you" which was just too adorable. Sophie also got her hair trimmed a few days ago. For the first time, she sat up in the special seat independently. Paula could not believe how well Sophie did because every other time, she's had to sit in her Mommy's lap. What a big girl! Of course, Paula didn't have the camera this time.

We are also trying to get rid of Sophie's pacifier and it is not fun! So far, we are all surviving (after 1 day without the pacifier). (Actually, we cut the tip off of a couple of her pacifiers because we had heard that the child will not want it anymore and that's definitely true! ) We hid all of the "normal" pacifiers.

We'll try to take some pictures soon and post them on here.

Cypress Gardens

Today, our family had a chance to visit Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner, SC. You can ride a boat through a swamp filled with cypress trees and black water (yes, black!). You can also visit a butterfly house, see an aquarium and reptile house filled with crocodiles and alligators, turtles, etc. They have a lot of walking trails and gardens too but we didn't have time to check all of it out. We had a great time though and Matt managed to keep our boat afloat and pretty much on track through the little swamp. Thankfully, Paula managed to keep Sophie in the boat.
Here, as you can see, Sophie is having a terrible time. (Just kidding!)

Matt was dissapointed that Cypress Gardens, SC lacked the exciting ski show that Cypress Gardens in Florida when he visited there in 1982. Here is a picture from that Floria visit.

Big day out

We enjoyed visiting and cycling around Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site today. At the visitor's center, Sophie pointed out a turtle on the wall that was just like the one on her shirt. We walked through the animal forest where there was a river otter exhibit. Sophie enjoyed pointing out the river otters and telling us, "See!"
Later, we visited the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry. Sophie loves to pretend "shop" in the grocery store exhibit there. She loaded up her cart with all the bags of chocolate chips she could find. Did she learn this from watching her Mommy shop at the Piggly Wiggly?
Here Sophie is steering a shrimp trawler into port. Watch out!

Fort Sumter

On January 2nd, Matt had a day off of work as a day of remembrance for President Ford's funeral. We used the opportunity to visit Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The shots that were fired on Ft. Sumter to begin the Civil War were fired from Ft. Johnson, which was on the of the campus where Matt works. We realized on the boat ride to Ft. Sumter that it was Sophie's first boat ride. She took the cruise in stride as she ate her lunch as we sailed past the beautiful homes on the harbor. Once we arrived at Ft. Sumter, Sophie ran around and explored. She was fascinated with the canon. In all it was a great lesson in US history for Sophie.

Finding Nemo at the South Carolina Aquarium

Sophie outside of the SC Aquarium












During the slow tourist month of January, many Charleston attractions participate in the "Be a Tourist in Your Own Town" promotion for local Charlestonians. We purchased passes for the second time this year, and made quick use of the family pass by visiting the South Carolina Aquarium on the first day of the promotion, New Year's Day. This was our second trip to the aquarium, and our last trip was last January. We knew Sophie would love seeing all of the fish and critters; especially now that she can say the word, "fish." Sophie's favorite attraction at the aquarium was the river otters feeding time demonstation. She pressed hard against the display case to see all of the river otter action. She also enjoyed seeing the schools of fish other sea creatures.
















Look how much Sophie has grown in one year!
January 2007













January 2006

Back home for Christmas

On December 20, Sophie and Paula returned to Charleston and started making final preparations for Christmas. Grandma & Grandpa Vergne, Aunt Leia, Aunt JoAnne and Uncle Gary all joined us in Charleston shortly before Christmas. Stephen, a friend from church, also joined us for Christmas day.

Surprisingly, Sophie pretty much left our Christmas tree alone but she liked to look closely at the ornaments and have Mommy take some of them down for a better look. On Christmas morning, she couldn't resist sitting on top of a pile of presents! =) Santa Claus was good to all of us. Much to our amusement, Sophie loves playing with her new cars that Uncle Phil gave her for Christmas (while in Nashville)! She received the cars along with a track tower where she can race the cars. Who said that girls can't enjoy playing with cars? =)

Sophie had a great time playing with Aunt Leia especially and Leia was a great sport about it.

Christmas in Nashville

Sophie and Paula were able to visit Nashville for a week in mid December. They attended Martha's (Paula's sister) graduation from Freed Hardeman University (about 2 hours from Nashville) and celebrated an early Christmas. Matt was able to get away for a long weekend and enjoy the festivities too. Paula was so proud of her little sister who earned a degree in elementary education. Sophie enjoyed spending time with Nana (shown above), Paw paw, Uncle Phil, Aunt Martha, and many extended family members and friends.

Since Sophie already had some baby dolls and typical girl toys, Uncle Phil decided to branch out and give Sophie a little track tower where you can race three cars at a time. Uncle Phil also taught her other useful tricks such as growling like a lion. =) Sophie enjoyed all of the attention.