Sophie Update
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It has been 3 months since we were united with our daughter; and today, she is exactly 16 months old! She has changed so much, and it has been such a joy to wake up to her beautiful face each morning and to watch her learn, grow, and blossom each day.
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Sophie is a happy, loving, and very affectionate baby. She has an infectious laugh and gives the sweetest kisses in the world! She plays this adorable game- she kisses Mommy, then she kisses Daddy- then Mommy, and then Daddy again and again... And if Pookie is there, of course he gets kisses too! Sometimes, Sophie wants us to each kiss her stuffed animal, "Night Night Kitty" before bedtime. She puts him to my lips for a kiss, then to Daddy's, and then she gives him sweet kisses too! Another favorite is feeding Night Night Kitty, Pookie, Mommy, and Daddy her bottle--- ohhhh, it is so sweet! And in the morning, she insists on feeding us her Cheerios too!
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Sophie loves to copy everything I do- she brushes her hair (and mine!), she fluffs my powder brush on her face, and most recently- she mimicks the way I say, "Hi!" The other day at the store, I said, "Hi!" to an old friend... After that, Sophie said, "Hiiiiiiiii!!!" to every single person we passed in the store! She cracks me up! Unlike most other words, she says it pretty consistently now too. The words she uses consistently are: Mommy, Daddy, Bobby, and Hi. She also says, "Uh Ohhhh!" when she drops something (usually she drops it first, then says Uh Oh!" "Kitty" is very inconsistent- it can be Chitty, Kichy, Chichy, or Chit Chat. For a while, she was calling Pookie, "Chento". Finally I figured out that she was saying, "Gentle" because that is what we say when she pets (tortures) him! But lately, she has been calling Pookie, "Moppy!"
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Sophie surprised our housekeeper Edilia and I recently when we were playing the "Where is Sophie" game (peek-a-boo). Sophie covers her eyes, and we ask, "Where's Sophie?" The 3rd time around, she actually uncovererd her eyes and said, "There she is!" before we did! We were shocked!
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Sophie has 4 teeth now: the two tops and the two bottoms. She is 24 pounds and 31 inches tall. Three months ago, Sophie could not roll over or sit herself up. Now, she is still not actually crawling, but she is definitely mobile. She scoots herself around, and can pull herself up to stand while holding onto something. We think she will be walking very soon!
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Sophie LOVES books and is always handing one to us to read with her. She correctly turns the pages on command, and points to the words and pictures. Today, she picked up one of her board books and started looking at it upside down. She immediately turned the book right side up! I was so impressed! She also loves music, and she loves to dance! Her dancing has evolved from a slight lower body wiggle while sitting down to moving her shoulders upside down, and now she uses some hand movements as well. During "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", she taps on her chest! :)
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Other things Sophie loves: kitties (one in particular), owls (?), paper, and FOOD! She eats everything, and a lot of it! She still will only drink her bottle of water with ice in it! Sophie also enjoys playing in the garden with Daddy (she has a fascination with roses!), and she also loves bathtime and all water activities. Also, Sophie is snugglier than ever! I can always tell when she wants to snuggle, and these are my favorite times of the day. She is super affectionate and hugs me with all her might. Sometimes when she is hugging me or Daddy, she pats us on the back- it's very cute! The best, though, is when she makes her fish kissy face and actively kisses us! She even makes a sweet "mwah" sound!
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Sophie's fears: all medical personnel, police/fire sirens, and dolls. Anytime she is presented with a doll, she throws it down. When I try to show her how to cradle and love a doll, she completely freaks out. She does NOT want Mommy holding other babies. In fact, if I go anywhere near other babies or small children, Sophie screams and cries. She also protests when most people try to hug or kiss me! My little girl is very protective of her Mommy!
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When Sophie naps, I try to find time to work on my many projects. The most pressing project is the video/slideshow production of Sophie's story (before, during, and after we received her in China). It is a difficult project to work on because I get so emotional everytime I view the photos and video from China. I will never ever forget the moment I first saw her picture or the moment I first held her and she looked into my eyes. I hope I can capture even a fraction of how magical it all was... and still is.
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~I love you, Sophie Lu~
