Saturday, January 21, 2012

Happy 5th Birthday, Sofia!

Dear Sofie,

Are you celebrating your birthday this weekend? (January 24th is almost here!) We would love to be in Jacksonville with you.

But here we are in Providence, where snow has been falling. (Grampy took these pictures for you and Gabriel. You can make each one larger by clicking once on it.)





We wish we could have taken you to the Rhode Island Convention Center (where you went with Mommy and Daddy two months before you were born).



Gabriel will not be two until April, but he loves to go on adventures.

This morning, a lot of animals were waiting for Gabriel at the Convention Center.

The lamb was waiting . . .



The goat was waiting . . .



The rams were waiting . . .





The miniature pony was waiting . . .



The Indian elephant was waiting . . .



The African elephant was waiting . . .



The camel was waiting . . .



The tortoises were waiting . . . .



FINALLY, Gabriel arrived!





He had LOTS of work to do!



He had to feed the goat,



who said "Thank you very much, Gabriel!"

And Gabriel said, "You're welcome!"



The miniature horse said, "I'm hungry, too."

And Gabriel said, "Of course you are. This is for you."



The yak from Tibet said "Hi!"



We fed the llamas



and the Zebu steer from India:





Then we exercised the camel named Roosevelt. (We went fast enough to keep up with the heavy traffic in the Convention Center.)



High on Roosevelt's back, Gabriel could see everything.



He could see the smart way the elephant eats:





We took the elephant for a walk.







Next Gabriel leapt onto a pony named Danny!



and rode almost as fast as the wind.







Sometimes Gabriel wonders about the animals.



He wonders if they are really happy giving us rides.



Do they enjoy eating food this way?



Would they rather have friends who don't keep leaving?



But now it's time for Gabriel to leave. He has taken good care of all the animals. Maybe soon he'll dream about them. He's a little bit tired . . .



and a little bit not.



Sofie, we hope you have a wonderful birthday--all week long--and many happy dreams.

We love you.

Grammy & Grampy

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Dear Sofie,

It was so much fun seeing you this weekend!

It will be fun all over again when we show everyone the photos mommy took. We will tell them about our trip with you to the zoo and Grampy's birthday dinner and going to our first live professional football game with you.

You did a great job cheering the Jaguars to an amazing victory! It was fun watching you cheer on television:


Thank you for taking us on tour of your beautiful home and back yard and for drawing those happy portraits of Grampy and me (with my braid) and even signing your name!

We love you!
Grammy & Grampy

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Meet Gabriel!


Dear Sofie,

You have a sweet little cousin named Gabriel.


His Mommy and Daddy celebrated their second anniversary yesterday. (We showed you Sonnie Kpangbai and Alvin Johnson's wedding photos from October 2008.)


Gabriel spent quite a while in the hospital when he was born six months ago.


Now he is the healthiest, happiest baby you can imagine.


Right after he arrived, his Mommy graduated with honors from Rhode Island College.



Gabriel has loads of grandparents, aunts and uncles who all take turns holding him. (Grampy thinks he's even better than a football!)


November is a very special month for all of us. Gabriel will see his Daddy for the first time. (His Daddy is working hard to rebuild the country of Liberia, West Africa.)


November will be very special for us, too, because we will get to see you and your Mommy and Daddy. Maybe you will show us all your favorite animals at the zoo.

And maybe you will teach me everything I need to know about football!

Love,
Grammy and Grampy