Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You.....

So, on July 28, 2006 Sophie turned one year old! I can't really believe it! In some ways this past year has flown, and in another way, it seems so long since we took the trip to Florida to get her and bring her home. One thing is for certain....in that first year (I can't speak yet for the years to follow) kids change CONSTANTLY! You just get used to them being able to roll over and they're up and crawling. You baby proof the floor area for the crawler, and they pull up and grab everything off of the tables. You think they'll get up 3 times during the night for the rest of your life and you'll be sleep deprived and half deranged forever, and then suddenly you have that night where you wake up, the sun is up, and they slept all night long! It's been a great year, the best of my life, and I love that little girl with a fierceness that seems overwhelming sometimes. She's taught me so much already....about the capacity I have to love, how to live in the moment, how to have a sense of humor about the oddest situations you find yourself in, how to use a "snot sucker", how to change a "poo explosion diaper", and how to take care of myself while being a 24/7 caretaker of another human being's life.

So, anyway, enough mushy stuff. Here are some pictures of Sophie's first birthday.

Opening birthday gifts. She got so many cool gifts! She's having a field day playing with them now!

Sophie in her tacky, designed to embarrass her when she's 15, "birthday princess" tiara. I couldn't resist. She hated it. It stayed on for about 30 seconds. Long enough to snap a couple pictures, though, and that's what matters!

Eating her first slice of birthday cake. She was much neater and daintier than I thought she would be with it. What a cutie. I think she liked it.

So I think she enjoyed her first birthday, although really she had no clue why she was getting so much attention and so many gifts. It meant a lot to me to celebrate having her in our lives. I think maybe that's what first birthdays are all about.

Brown Family Reunion

We returned this past week from Sophie's first Brown reunion, which was in Highlands, North Carolina this year. It was out in the mountains, very rustic, and we stayed in individual cabins in this nice resort. Sophie was awful in the plane on the way there, but we had a great time once we got there. She got to meet approx. 65 Browns from around the country, and everyone was so glad to meet her. She was passed from person to person the whole time. We mostly hung out at the resort and caught up with relatives. We skipped the white water rafting and "bust your butt falls", which is a waterfall you jump off of into a pool of water far below. From the bruises people had after these experiences, we were very glad we skipped them. Here are some pictures from the trip.
This is Sophie and her new second cousin Allison. Allison is just a few months younger than Sophie, so next year we suspect that they'll be chasing each other around at the reunion. Next year's location....Lancaster, PA. No flying for us!!
Some of the Browns hanging around in the common central area of the resort. You can see the cabin we stayed in in the background, with the red rental car parked to its left.
Debbie, who works at a daycare, organized games for the younger kids. Here they are playing with a parachute. Somehow, they all ended up winning "prizes". Sophie got a glow in the dark mini frisbee that she lost almost right away. And then she somehow ended up with some other kids' rubber ducky. That's the way kids are :)
Here's an organized picture of some of the immediate Brown family members. There was one that included all 65 Browns, but since we were in it, we didn't get a picture of it.

We really had a good time, and it was so great to see everyone! Next year Sophie will be 2. That's a crazy thought.

Lots of new Sophie pics

It's been a long time since I've put an update up, so here are a bunch of pictures of Sophie from over the last couple of months. She's going to be a year old on July 28, you know. How time flies!!

Sophie in a moonbounce for the first time with Aunt Karen. She's looking pretty stunned by the whole thing!! Also, this was Sophie's first Kabobfest! She had a great time!

Sophie with Aunts Tracy and Mia at their baby shower.

Kicking back in the stroller at Tyler Park. She has this way of peaking out of the side of the stroller that is just too cute!

Oh, I love you, Giraffe!! I have to have you with me constantly!

Sophie enjoys a push in the swing with Daddy. You can't tell from the picture, but I'm pretty sure she had fun.