Highlights from the Richmond Zoo

Sophie & Paw-paw Tom with the giraffes as Matt feeds them

Tom, Sophie & Leia on the skyride at the zoo

Abbie & Paw-paw Tom

Sophie poses for a picture

We love visiting the Richmond Zoo when we are in the area. The giraffes there are our favorite exhibit because you can feed them right out of your hand. It's a great zoo for little kids because it has tons of animals but it's not too spread out. This time, most of us rode the skyride and that was neat because you had a great view of the animals. It was Sophie's first time on a skyride and she enjoyed it! We saw lots of cool animals but we were all worn out after a while and Sophie was ready to go! We had a great time on our trip to Richmond. Thanks for everything, Mimi, Paw-paw Tom & Aunt Leia! It was a lot of fun!!

First Wedding

Sam (a ringbearer) & Sophie

Sophie likes holding hands but Sam's thinking "enough already!"

"the girls" smiling after the reception

Matt & I pose as the girls stare off into space (they were good through the wedding and a pretty long stay at the reception though so they are worn out!)

Part of the reason that we visited Matt's family in Richmond when we did was that Melanie Harkabus, a good family friend of the Vergne's, was getting married. We wanted to be there to attend her wedding. Yes, it was actually Sophie and Abbie's first wedding. They both behaved very well. Sophie was really looking forward to the cake because I had told her about that. =) Sophie also seems to have the talent of finding little boyfriends wherever she goes. She and Sam looked cute together since they are both redheads and they were so dressed up!

Other Surprises

When we arrived in Richmond last week, Mimi had many new toys for Sophie to play with that she had found at yard sales. She had found lots of cool Little People stuff, a Wiggles microphone, and some other things. Sophie had a great time playing with these toys and going shopping with Mimi and Paw-paw Tom for a new baby doll. Abbie also had some new toys to play with but I don't think I got as many pictures of her.

We celebrated a late birthday for Sophie while in Richmond since Matt's family was unable to come down for Sophie's birthday in May. Sophie had requested a cake with Ariel on it from the Little Mermaid so that's what she got. =) I think Sophie enjoyed getting some late birthday presents and definitely enjoyed having another little party!

Kings Dominion

Here we are at the Eiffel Tower in Paris (not)...in Doswell, Va. at Kings Dominion. This was Sophie and Abbie's first trip to a theme park.

Sophie surprised us by wanting to see almost all of the "characters" up close (whether she knew who they were from TV or not). Here is Sophie, Aunt Leia, and a Rugrat.

Sophie was so excited to meet Dora and Diego. She gave them high fives.

Sophie rode several rides in the kiddie land. She loved being on every ride unlike the girl in the jeep behind her.
Abbie enjoyed people watching with Mimi.

Sophie rode her first roller coaster-the Taxi Jam- with a "responsible" adult since she was under 40 inches tall (OK, Matt's writing this post as I supervise from over his shoulder-who could be more responsible than her mama?). Sophie enjoyed the rides for about an hour, and then she kept asking for us to move on to the waterpark area of Kings Dominion, where we spent the whole afternoon. Overall, we had a great time!

Vacationing in VA

The girls are ready to fly away.

This week, we took Abbie on her first plane trip to visit Matt's family. Sophie is a very seasoned flier for a 3 year old, but it's been a long time since she's flown. We flew to North Carolina where Matt's parents met us at the airport, and we drove for two hours to Richmond, Va. Sophie had been so excited about the trip. She had packed her toothbrush in a travel toothbrush holder about three weeks ago, and we had to keep unpacking it every time we needed to brush her teeth at home.

The next day, Mimi took us to the Richmond Children's Museum. Sophie was excited to play in the grocery store and the kitchen at the museum. She also loved making some artwork. Abbie loved people watching (or kid watching) at the museum.

Abbie and Sophie coming out of their shells.

It's Wabbit Season

Sophie was so excited to find bunny rabbits out and about in our yard. Our neighbor found a nest of baby bunnies under their deck. The baby rabbits have now left the nest, and we see them out and about in our yards. This is a bunny under our deck.

This bunny was out by the fence. We are pretty sure they are siblings.

The mommy rabbit.

Miss Personality

Here are some recent pictures of Abbie. I look kinda crazy in the one of the two of us. Matt took several pictures for me because I realized that I don't have any recent pictures of me and Abbie. Abbie smiles great until she sees the camera's flash about to go off. The other shots were better of me but oh, well. Abbie tends to get serious when she sees a camera. A couple of weeks ago Abbie rolled from her back to her stomach (she had rolled the other way a long time ago). She can also scoot now so you can't leave her for long. She's like a little inchworm and it's funny to watch. She also recently found her feet (and she really enjoys them) which is so cute!! Big sister Sophie loves Abbie but we'll have to see how she handles it when Abbie can get into more of her stuff. Abbie enjoys chewing on everything!