Grandma and Grandpa Visit!!!

Today is Josephine's 3 week birthday! Hard to imagine that 3 weeks have already gone by with her in the world. She is still eating and sleeping like a champ. She gained over a pound and a half at her 2 week check up! As Mike has said, she really is her daddy's girl and staying true to her name. We've had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. They've been trying to keep up with Sophia- going to parks, the Market, Carters Mountain Orchard, and the sprayground. Leland's been having a grand time as well, going on 1, maybe 2, walks per day with Grandpa. We will be sad when they have to head home to CA tomorrow.

Sleeping Sisters

So the first shot we were able to get of Sophia and Josephine together is this one, with the two of them sleeping. One of Soph's new things to do these days is to pretend sleep. She even has got the snoring part down. She goes so far as to find a blanket, her lovely, and a pillow, plop down somewhere, and then pat herself to sleep. She loves patting Josephine now too. It's really very sweet.



In an effort to try to capture some of Sophia's dance moves, Mike took this video. While she loves dancing to "London Bridge", we've also caught her busting moves to Beyonce, Aerosmith, the Doors, and Old McDonald... I apologize in advance for the side view, the back of Soph's head, and the annoying clicking. One of the things on my "to do" list is to take our camera in to see why the video function is doing this. Just haven't gotten around to getting there yet. Go figure. Enjoy!

Sophia meets Josephine!

The meet and greet at the hospital wasn't quite the bucolic experience we were hoping for. Thankfully we were able to capture one family photo before Soph caught on that this baby was here to stay.

I’m recovering quite well but want to be doing more than I probably should. The hardest thing for me has been not being able pick up Sophia., especially when she asks for "up". Josephine is doing great. She’s a champion eater and has been sleeping well at night all ready. We actually have to wake her for her nighttime snack! It’s so very tempting to just let her sleep.




It has been said that older siblings tend to regress once a new sibling takes center stage. Soph demonstrated this brilliantly during introduction time at the hospital. She was determined to take a nap in Josephine’s newborn bassinet. We let her of course. She barely fit but had a great time being rolled up and down the halls. Not surprisingly, Mike used it as a teaching moment for the residents and med students. We all got a laugh.



Josephine’s gift to Sophia was a fish tank, complete with 2 guppies, a barrel obstacle, and plant. Soph is already into the routine of greeting the “ish” in the morning and feeding them their breakfast.

More to come...

Josephine Marie Lipinski

Another rare Dad posting. Things were quite busy preparing for the arrival of a new baby. Even Sophia has really taken to playing with babies. She pats them to sleep and has been trying to feed the doll given to her by Daniele Rottkamp. We went to the hospital Monday morning for scheduled C-section. Shawn was hoping for VBAC (pronounced V back), or vaginal birth after C-section, but didn't get the opportunity. We scheduled the C-section as the risk for uterine rupture increases significantly past the due date. Additionally, it is higher in larger kids. For that reason, I'm very happy with how things turned out. Josephine Marie Lipinski was born 8/23/2010 at 11:12 AM at 8 lbs 4 oz. Josephine was picked because Al's grandmother was Josephine and his grandfather was named Joseph and my middle name is Joseph. Shawn is doing well and recovering nicely. Josephine is eating like a champ and latched on immediately. We are planning on heading home tomorrow. Sophia has yet to meet Josephine so we will see how that goes. Michele and Al have been awesome and have taken care of Sophia and Leland. My folks are coming out in early September. It is so nice to have family that helps out.

Grandma Lipinski's Visit

Finally! Sophia's casts are off! And her thumbs are healing great! Grandma Lipinski came out to visit for 10 days to help with Sophia care. A good time was had by all- bubbles, a ride on a carousel, a chocolate eclair, a trip to the national zoo in DC, a trip to the county fair. What more could a 19 month old want?

Sophia 18 months + Bilateral Arm Casts + Momma at 35 weeks + 100 Degree Heat Wave = ???

The title to this entry just about sums it up I think. Hard to say more...
For those of you who haven't heard, Sophia began developing trigger thumb on both hands and wasn't able to straighten her thumbs all the way. We had her evaluated by a great hand surgeon the Monday after coming home from our NJ 4th of July trip and he scheduled her surgery for that Friday. It has been 10 days of her in these soft casts but she has been an amazing trooper the whole time. I have said repeatedly that she has handled it better than the adults around her. We spent a lot of time indoors as a result of the heat and the surgery. While it was hard not to go to the pool and the spray ground, we have managed to find new fun indoor activities to keep us occupied. Dressing up being one of them!



In other fun news, Sophia has decided that talking is a great way to communicate. It was as if one day she just up and decided that she wanted to talk. They say that toddlers do this, but it is really amazing to see. Today, Mia and I counted that at 18+ months Soph has a good 35 words! Granted some of them are a bit difficult to decipher, but they are in fact words. Some of our favorites: "Thnk uuu" "Weee" "Icickle" (bicycle) "Apple" "Up" "Ackt" (cat). Some of her favorites: "Weee" "Nooooo!" "Moore" "Uh huh" "Uh Oh" "Pool" "Yellow" "Uck" (truck) "Car" "Twwwooo" (used for one, two and three). She loves to do animal sounds too. Some favorites in this category: "cock-a-doodle doo" "hoo hoo" "rrooaarr" (used with slight intonation differences for bear, lion, tiger and dragon) and "quack quack". She also loves to tickle and is very fond of playing hide and go seek.


Great Grandma Sinesky is trying to teach Sophia how to shake hands.

Here Sophia is portraying the Lion King at the Annual 4th of July Costume Party themed Kings and Queens. Her roaring came in handy.


Here's our one photo we captured with Sophia, Baby Lipinski, and Baby Twin Lovetts!!! This holiday season is going to be interesting with 4 grandbabies!



Sophia loved the "pool" but wasn't such a fan of the sand. No matter. Her dada is just fine with taking her in the water for as long as she wants!!!

Another First

Today was a big day. Sophia said good bye to her first locks with an official trip to the salon. While we loved her baby hair and the mullet that she has sported for so long, we decided (with the encouragement of Aunt Rinnie) that it was time to let the look go. She enjoyed the experience and loved the idea that she could look into the mirror while someone played with her hair.



I'm hoping to get a cute after picture up here soon. Hopefully before 2 months passes.

In other Sophia updates, her vocabulary has skyrocketed in the past 2 weeks- she knows over 15 animal sounds, loves saying Purple, Blue, Yellow, Green, Bubble, Baby, More and many other fun words. She recently learned how to tickle so it's become one of her favorite things to do, especially in the morning as a way of waking up Dada. We also have frequented the many SprayGrounds and public pools around town- trying to beat this summer heat wave has been a bit challenging.

For those of you who haven't heard by now, you probably have guessed by my photos that we're expecting another Lipinski this coming August. We're trying to prepare Soph for the new arrival, but we're not quite sure how much she is understanding. I'm sure she'll be a great big sis!

Sophia Does Key West!

Why does it always happen that when you go on vacation, vacation-mode doesn't set in until 2 days before you're scheduled to head home??? Sophia wonders the same thing! She and I just got back from a fabulous trip to Key West. We met up with Mia and PopPop and stayed at a cute bungalow in Old Town, within walking distance to Duval Street, Southernmost point, and all the other hot spots. We visited the Butterfly Conservatory, the Aquarium, and other popular destinations. The photos below represent just some of the good times we had. As you will see, lots of water was involved. While Sophia wasn't too fond of the sand and surf, she did enjoy the pool scene. Sophia officially says "Mama" now which is very exciting. She also says "Baby" and "Uh oh!" (within context of course). She is also very fond of giving raspberries and blowing kisses. Thankfully for us she also figured out that going in her stroller was actually a good idea as we did a lot of walking. Some of you may be wondering why Mike didn't come along... Unfortunately he had a presentation to do for Fellows Research Day and then he went out to San Fran for a meeting. (Don't feel too bad for him though as he is getting in his own vacation as well- The 4 Lipinski boys + Nate hit the bar scene, he and his lab had some of the best sushi they have ever had and I just heard from him that Lipinski et al were renting tour bikes to bike across the Golden Gate to have lunch in Sausalito!)

Enjoy!