First ZOO Trip

We love the Wildlife World Zoo and were so excited to take Sophie for the first time. While we were there she enjoyed hanging out with the Lory birds, watching her daddy and pops go down the slide, admiring the fishies, riding in her cousins wagon, taking a train ride, and seeing the animals.

Gingerbread Houses

We met up with my parents to check out these awesome gingerbread houses at the Marriott at Desert Ridge. Josh and I got some great ideas for the Henderson/Pinch gingerbread house "contest" next year. Don't they look great!!!??!!!







After, we walked around the resort and took some family pictures!!

Sophie's First Christmas

Christmas Eve, our little family opened presents, went for a walk around the park with Lucy, and had a delicious breakfast. It was so nice to take some time and just enjoy being together. Sophie loved opening her presents and had a BLAST playing with the wrapping paper.






That afternoon we went to Josh's parents house to celebrate Christmas with his side of the family. We started out by opening gifts. Each year we pick a person to be a Secret Santa (which is never a secret for long) and buy a small gift for them and then do something big for a family /organization in need of some Henderson/Pinch TLC. It is such a fun tradition that we have done since Josh and I have been married. This year we started a new tradition. After opening gifts us "kids" made gingerbread houses. Janae and Andrew's sleigh was quite CREATIVE and blew our little house design out of the water!!! Seriously, it was so CUTE! Once we all got fun prizes for our gingerbread houses we went to dinner. To wrap up our family fun evening we went to check out some Christmas lights, which is another tradition that we have together. Our holidays with them are always so much fun and a great reminder of how blessed I am to have such wonderful in-laws.







On the 25th, we packed up and headed over to my parents house. We had a delicious breakfast together, opened presents and then relaxed for awhile. With everyone's hectic schedules we aren't all together often so it was such a treat to be spending the whole day with each other. When my mom's cousin and his fiance came over we competed in some Minute to Win It Games and Josh dominated!!! That evening my parents made us dinner and we played a few more games together. It was a great way to end a perfect day!






Sophie had such a special first Christmas!! We had so much fun creating memories and new traditions together with our families! We are so blessed and thankful for all that God provides us.

bLiNg! bLiNg!

One of the things on our "To Do List" during break was to get Sophie's ears pierced. We were tired of hearing people say, "Hi Little Buddy!" when they saw Sophie (without a bow) so now there should be no mistaking her for a boy/buddy. She cried for about a minute after everything was done but calmed down quite quickly. She hasn't even played with them so her ears are healing very well.
Daddy and Sophie

Visiting Santa

We took Sophie to Bass Pro Shop for pictures with Santa! She did so well and when we went to take her from Santa, he asked for a copy of the picture for himself! It is definitely a good one for his portfolio if I do say so myself.

Christmas with the Leshers

We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with the Leshers this year. It was so fun to watch our kids open their presents and spend quality time together. After a declicious dinner that Tim and April prepared we played Cooties and Ants In The Pants with Andy! Sophie played with the new toys she got and hung out with her buddy Tim!





We love having such great friends like Tim and April and appreciate the love and friendship they give us.

7 MONTHS OLD

*This month we decided to let Sophie start crying it out at night. After doing some research we felt that we would use the Ferber Method to guide us during this process. The first night of our winter break we started and Soph cried for 2 and a half hours. This is probably the hardest thing we had to do but we can honestly say that she is doing really well after about a week. She has actually slept a whole 12 hours a couple nights now without really fussing! Now, Josh and I need to figure out how to sleep through the night again!
* Sophie's new favorite sleep positions are on her side and on her belly. She still likes to be swaddled before bed but during the night she wiggles out of it and rolls over to get comfy. Recently we have found her curled up right next to the bars on the crib.
*On December 8th, Sophie figured out how to roll over from her back to her belly! She is now a little rolly polly and on the move!
*We have started feeding Soph three meals a day AND introduced her to a sippy cup.
* Peas are on the list of veggies that Sophie does not like!
* Sophie L.O.V.E.S kids! She squeals with delight when she is around other kids and thinks they are just the greatest!
* Ba ba ba and Da da da are some of the "words" that Sophie can say. As soon as she gets up she is chatting and screaming (happily) up a storm.
*Her feet are the most ticklish!
* This month Sophie has struggled a bit with separation anxiety. She has always done so well with being left with others but now she is a little hesitant about being held by people she doesnt know.
* We are encouraging her to crawl to get her toys. When placed on all fours she can hold herself up for a couple seconds and rock back and forth but she doesnt make it very far before she gives up and rolls/squirms.
* While all of these things are so exciting, we get a little sad when we sit back and think about how quickly she is growing up.

Update

1. Shortly after Thanksgiving, we had the opportunity to hangout with our buddy Andy while his parents went out on a date. It was so fun to spend time with him and watch Sophie interact with her bud.

2. Sometimes before bed, Josh rocks Sophie to sleep. She loves snuggling up with her daddy!

3. Sophie is so great at sitting up!

4. My two most favorite people in the world! I just LOVE this picture of them!

5. This is what Sophie looks like when Lucy is anywhere near her! She also squeals and tries talking to her! One day these two will be BFFs!

6. Family pic at FSBC of Scottsdale after their Christmas program.

7. On all fours for about four seconds. I can't believe it... she will be crawling in no time!

8. Santa's Little Helper!

Thanksgiving 2010

Like every year, we are thankful for so many things. This year we feel especially blessed and are thankful for our beautiful daughter, Sophie Lee. She fills our hearts with so much love and happiness.

On Thanksgiving morning, we headed over to Josh's parents house to gather with friends and family for lunch. We had so much fun watching all of the kids play and participate in our holiday traditions. Sophie even got to taste sweet potatoes that her Aunt Janae made and she absolutely loved them. We were so proud that Soph did so well being passed around and didn't fuss once!

The Pinch Family
Our adorable nephew, Aiden Roy
With Pops and Grammie
G.G. Gerry
Josh and Tim
Goof ball... Andy
Me and April

After all of then fun and festivities at Sophie's Grammie and Pop's house we went to celebrate Thanksgiving with my side of the family and friends. Every year we get together at our good friends, the Ammann's house, for Thanksgiving. This group of friends that we get together with is just as close as family and it is so special to have them in our lives. This year, we introduced everyone to Sophie an she was a HIT! Everyone loved meeting her and were in awe of how great of a baby she is.

Sweet Sophie
My Mom, Sister, and Me
Hanging out with the Dodges
Eating Dinner
With Gramma and Poppi