Josh learns how to "raspberry"

Sophie decided to help teach Josh how to "raspberry" and she got so excited when it worked! Enjoy!

March 2012

The Marks family has been up to a lot over the last few months. Joshua has started to become a little person (complete with smiles that are not gas-related!), Sophie continues her busy social life, and their parents are not getting nearly enough sleep!  But that's easy to overlook when we see how much Sophie and Josh love each other and how they can already make the other smile! Click HERE or on the picture to see what else we had been up to this March!

Joshua Zachary Marks

We are pleased to annouce the birth of our son, Joshua Zachary Marks. He was 4 weeks and 1 day ahead of schedule but ready nonetheless. He clocked in at 5 lbs 15 oz and 18 inches, but was ready to leave the hospital "on schedule" just two days later. The entire family is so excited for our newest addition, especially new "Big Sister" Sophie who is in love with her baby brother. Without further adieu, here is Joshua!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the pictures above.

Princess Sophie at the Princess Dinner!

Sophie got to attend her very first Princess Dinner at the NJ Children's Museum where she dressed up like a princess and got free reign of the museum, had some chicken fingers and french fries for dinner, and best of all, got to meet some of the Disney princesses. As you can see, she had quite a blast. 

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Halloween 2011

2011 seemed like the Halloween that would never end! It started with a MOMS Club Trunk or Treat, followed by Halloween at My Gym, and then got interrupted by a crazy snow storm in October. While the snow storm may have postponed the official Trick or Treating and canceled another Halloween Party, we still went out on the 31st! Oh, and then Sophie got to wear her costume one last time to school!  And yes, you will notice that Sophie actually has two costumes this year (just like in past years)!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Happy Independance Day

Happy Independence Day! We spent the day with family - Sherri, Neil & Todd to be exact - and had a blast (but no fireworks).  Between the water table, "water slides", BBQ and Angry Birds, we all had a great time. Sophie was ZONKED afterwards, taking an almost 2 hour nap shortly after they left!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Strawberry and blueberry picking

The MOMS Club took a trip out to Altsede Farms in Chester for some strawberry (and blueberry) picking. Sophie, Paul, Will, Arianna (and Emily) had a blast picking, tasting, tractor riding and hay climbing. And of course, they had so much fun all the kids (except for Ari) passed out from exhaustion and had a nice long nap afterwards!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or the picture

Sophie gets to meet the "real" Buzz and Woody!

Buzz and Woody (from Toy Story, for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last 15 years) were at Rockaway Mall, and needless to say, Sophie was very excited to meet them!  Add the cowgirl hat and sheriff's badge they gave her, plus a Woody tattoo, and Sophie could not have been happier!  Thankfully, things went a lot better than when she met Santa at that exact same spot 6 months ago.

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture

Next stop: Hershey, PA

So last week, the Marks family ventured into new territory: the family vacation. This was the first time that we were going somewhere with Sophie and not staying at one of our parents' houses, but rather in a hotel (well, it was a timeshare, but close enough). We packed up the car with a LOT of stuff for Sophie (easily 2-3 times more than our stuff combined) and drove out to Hershey, PA. We were only there for about 48 hours, but we packed in as much as we could do. We covered Chocolate World (including 4 trips on the History of Hershey ride), Hershey Park (including the water park), Hershey Gardens, Hershey Hotel, Zoo America, and a stop a Cabela's on the ride home.

To say that Sophie was ZONKED each night and even while still at the park would be an understatement!  But we had a great time and Sophie was absolutely amazing at night and in the morning. She stayed in bed (in her own room) and called out to "Mommy and Daddy, come get me" when she woke up! Here's hoping our next trip away from home goes as well.

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture above.

Memorial Day 2011

While we remember and thank all the soldiers (and Beth's grandfathers, both war veterans), we also had a great time celebrating Memorial Day 2011! Sophie (in festive attire) enjoyed the local Parsippany parade with her friends Arianna and Ziba. After the parade (and a quick nap) we had a few friends over to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather:

1) The parade with friends!

















2) The backyard BBQ (though mainly pictures of the kids having a great time)













For more pics, click HERE (for Parade) or HERE (for party) or on any of the pictures above.

Rasta Duckie Dance!

I am not sure there are enough words to describe this scene.  Sophie is in her pajamas and just ate, but would not let us take off her bib.  Then she put on an old Rasta Halloween hat. Finally, she took her new duck that made quacking music and just danced...  and danced... and danced.  So, we present to you, Sophie's Rasta Duckie Dance:

Princess Birthday Party

Sophie got to experience her first Princess Party for her friend Nina's birthday and as you can tell from the pictures, she had a blast!  It was fun seeing fifteen 2-4 year old princesses (and a few pirates) run around, have a good time, and pig out on Cheetos.

For more pics (and a few videos), click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the pictures to the left

Sophie starts her Soccer lessons!

Sophie's first Kiddie Soccer lesson was a lot of fun and a whole lot of craziness.  Trying to teach ten 18-month to 3-year-old kids the basics of soccer is not an easy task!  But they had fun and that is all that matters...  and it was so friggin' cute! 

For all the pics of Sophie's soccer class, click HERE, on the title of the post, or the pictures to the left

Easter Bunnies Sunday

  

Sophie got to visit two different Easter Bunnies today!  She met the first one on a train ride from the Whippany Railway Museum (she kept saying that we were going for a ride on Thomas!), along with her friends Arianna and Paul.  The three kids had a great time together and although we couldn't get a great picture of all three of them looking at the camera at the same time, we got plenty of other great pics throughout train ride!

After the train, Sophie and Arianna (with their respective parents) headed to Calandra's Italian Village for lunch and a picture with another Easter Bunny.  Paul couldn't make it because he had to go home for a nap, and both Sophie and Arianna agreed that that was a good idea and each passed out on the drive over.  But once they were awake, they got to hang out with the Easter Bunny.  Sophie absolutely loved the bunny, going back and giving him hugs and even tickling his nose.  It was adorable!

So what's next for Sophie?  A Passover sedar, of course! :-)

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Sophie's Princess Weekend!

It's hard work being a princess...as Sophie found out this weekend. Saturday morning Sophie and her friends attended a breakfast with their favorite princesses. She was an absolute princess and loved getting dressed up, what little girl doesn't? The next day she got to wear her gown again for a Purim party at My Gym. She ran around, had fun, ate hamentashen and walked in her first Purim parade! It was a sparkly fun princess weekend!

 

"Oh, well, what's a royal ball? I suppose it would be frightfully dull, and boring, and completely... completely wonderful." - Cinderella

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture

Sophie's first art class!

Sophie attended her first art class today.  She got to paint with brushes, paint with her fingers, use glitter, mold clay, and of course make a huge mess.  It came so naturally to her and she loved every minute of it, showing that the proverbial apple didn't fall far from the tree.  She can't wait until next week's class!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture to the left

SNOW DAY!

 
Sophie had fun playing in the aftermath of the December Blizzard of 2010 (not to be confused with the February Blizzard of 2010).  The winds were so bad that her time outside was cut short, but she made the most of it.  It seems like it took us longer to get her dressed than the total amount of time we spent outside.  It made for some cute pictures and videos, though.  Enjoy!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Sophie Turns Two! (Party #2)

As a continuation of Sophie's Birthday Weekend, Sophie and 20 of her friends descended upon My Gym for 90 minutes of fun, bubbles, zip lines, stories, pizza and Mickey Mouse cupcakes!  Oh, and let's not forget Sophie dressing up with her birthday boa and sunglasses and getting wheeled out in front of the crowd.  This was one birthday girl who did not mind being the center of attention all weekend, but rather thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to our friends and family who made this weekend so special.

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture.

Sophie Turns Two! (Party #1)

For the first of Sophie's birthday parties (the party with her friends was the next day), we invited the family over to celebrate.  Sophie, of course, had a blast being the center of attention and loved all of her gifts...actually, we think she liked unwrapping the gifts more than the gifts themselves (just kidding).  

We will be posting pics from the "kids party" within the next few days


For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Sophie's Own Vacuum Cleaner!

While we are still working through all of the pictures from Sophie's Birthday weekend, we wanted to at least share this one video of Sophie playing with one of her new presents (thanks Leslie).  Enjoy!

Halloween 2010

A little late, but here are all the pics from the week-and-a-half that was our Halloween Marathon!   4 days, 6 total events, and a lot of wearings of her Minnie costume (which Sophie picked out on her own).  It starts off with Sophie "carving" a pumpkin and ends with a fun night of Trick-or-Treating.  Hope you enjoy looking through these pictures as much as Sophie had taking them.

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture above.

Imagine That! Discovery Museum

Sophie and her friend Arianna (or Baby A-na-na as Sophie calls her) took a trip to Imagine That and had a blast playing and pretending!  They even got a free pumpkin (with the cost of admission)!


For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the the pictures above.

Sophie's trip to the Chester Harvest Festival

We went to the Chester Fall Harvest Festival with our friends the Grobes, and Sophie and Kaelin had a very fun time together.  Between sharing their snacks (Sophie tried popcorn for the first time) to watching the costumed pet parade, fun was had by all. 

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or the pictures to the left.

Sophie's first trip to Chuck E Cheese

Sophie finally meets the Mouse!  No, not Mickey Mouse, the other Mouse..  Chuck E. Cheese!  She had a blast when the MOMS Club took a trip to "Chuck E. Cheese House" (as Sophie said), as you can tell by the pictures. 

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture.

Sophie's Fall 2010 Photo Shoot

Fellow Parsippany East MOMS Club member Ileana Cascio held a mini fall photo session and Sophie was in a fantastic mood the entire time!  She is definitely not shy around the camera, so maybe there is a future in entertainment for her...she would probably love the paparazzi.  In the meantime, you will have to settle for these falls photos

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or the picture to the left.

The Very Hungry Sophie Caterpillar

Sophie amazed us today when we were reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and she started to read it on her own (or she just really likes food). So, of course we grabbed the video camera and recorded it! Enjoy.

August: The Birthday Party Month

Sophie has made quite a few friends this year, and it seems like they all have birthdays in August. So, here are 3 sets of photos from each of the parties that Sophie went to this August.  Enjoy!

1. Matthew's 1st Birthday -- Sophie really enjoyed this backyard BBQ party, from the kiddie pools to the toy car!

2. Billy & Lena's Birthdays -- Sophie's first inflatable party. She loved it, but I am not sure if she or Beth had more fun!

3. Arianna's 1st Birthday -- Sophie's first PRINCESS PARTY! Balloon animals, bouncy house, and corn on the cob (which she liked to dip in ketchup)...what's not to love? (well, maybe that corn & ketchup combo, but it worked for Sophie)

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above (each picture will link to it's own set of photos)

Sophie, Mommy and Grandma go to the beach!

After 21 months of waiting, Grandma finally got to take Sophie down to the shore.  I am not sure which one had a better time!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture to the right.

Sophie visits Space Farms

Sophie made her 2nd visit to Space Farms.  For those who don't know Space Farms, it's a crazy, weird place (look it up!).  Sophie loved the animals (or aminals, as she calls them), and had a grand ol' time....until she was tired. 

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture above.

Sophie's first trip to the beach!

After a nearly 21 month wait (and despite Grandma's best efforts to get her down the shore sooner), Sophie finally made it to the beach.  A bit unsure at first, once she hit the water she fell in love.  She played in the sand, splashed in the water, collected sea shells, and loved every minute of her first trip to the beach (well, except for those few seconds when she put her sand-covered hand into her mouth).  There will be many more trips to come, but for now, enjoy these pictures!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or the pictures above.

6/5/10 -- A fun summer day for Sophie

We know that we have been a bit delinquent with our regular blog posts, so we at least wanted to post a few (well, quite a few) pics from the BBQ that we were at today.  Sophie loved running around, playing, and hamming it up in front of a crowd doing all her "tricks".  It was so much fun just watching Sophie be a "little girl"!  Enjoy the pics!

For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on any of the pictures above.

Sophie's First Swim Class!

Sophie has started taking Swim Classes!  We took a bunch of really great pictures (and a few short videos) from her first class and wanted to share with everyone!  Sophie absolutely loved the pool. 
 
For more pics, click HERE, on the title of the post, or on the picture above.