Sophie is growing and changing before our eyes. What a delight!
On March 22, she was baptised at her American grandparents' church in California, St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Coincidentally, this date marked the 50th anniversary of her German grandma's confirmation, and the name of our church in Hamburg is St. Paul's. I love those synchronicities... :-)
We celebrated with a small family gathering that included yummy California cuisine and German cake. Sophie wore a hat that her great-great Grandma Annie made and a d
ress from Grandma.
This week's milestones include:
* deliberately grabbing for Rocket, her favorite purple bunny
* laughing when Dan plays peek-a-boo with her
* picking up Rocket and other toys
* holding her spoon...and choosing the colorful wooden one over the plain white plastic one
* staying in the classic tummy pose for about a minute, and lifting herself up when she's tired
* lots of singing to the bears
* sleeping for four hours at a time at night, sometimes, but more often in three hour stretches
* entertaining herself with the purple and pink elephant dangling toy while we ride the train
* full laughs when we play "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "Way Up In The Sky"
She's even-keeled and lots of fun. I savor every minute of the joy and the snuggles for she's growing more independent and self-confident every day. She's now a proper little girl...not a newborn...she's growing up before my eyes. And I love her so much.
Here she is with her great-Grandma Love, Grandma Patti "Grammy Crackers", and Mama.
Spring is here in HH. The flowers twirl in a kaleidascope of color, birds awaken us and sing us to sleep, there is a general feeling of delight (relief?) that the cold winter is but a faded memory. folks seem friendlier--shopkeepers make small talk, moms smile to each other on the street, the bicycle-riding grandparents call out "hellos". It's nice.
A few weeks ago, we decorated the Easter Tree. Germans hang colorful eggs on the branches of a budding tree. Around Easter Sunday, the blossoms bloom, and spring is celebrated. Sophie was intrigued by the fuzzy buds and the smooth eggs.
Sophie started eating carrots on Saturday. Loves them, especially steamed, and pureed with mama milk. She also has a new "game" that I probably should 
discourage, but it's sooo cute...when she has finished breast feeding, she looks up at me and laughs. Hee hee hee. This makes me laugh, which encourages her to laugh more. Soon we're both shrieking with delight. What fun. Her whole face lights up when she laughs.
Sophie's gymnastic and yoga prowess continues to develop nicely. She can touch her toes, roll from left to right, and reach out and 
clutch a favorite toy both on her back and on her tummy. She also gives sweet "concerts" at around 6am...lots of la-la-las and ooh-ooh-oohs. Her voice is sweet and slightly husky, and reminds me of a jazz singer.
She has two friends--Ace (who is five days younger), and Vesa (who is three days older). Here she is with Vesa at the ice cream parlor.
Sophie also loves to read! She helps turn the pages of "Brown Bear", and snuggles in for "Goodnight Moon" at night.
Can you tell that we love her?
She went to a cafe with some friends from my German class. Everyone loved it! Dan and I were happy to help myself to the brunch buffet while our daughter basked in the glow of our friends' arms.
Sophie is so cool. How did we get so lucky?
So come on over to HH and spend some time with Sophie before she grows up. :-)
