Jan and Sophie

Today was a fantastic day. I didn't really do anything productive but some fnu things happened and I thought I would fill you in on it.

In the morning, Vanessa and I along with our boys in their strollers went for a walk into the Glebe. It was for the exercise but also for a sale. La Cache, a store full of beautiful items designed by April Cornell is going out of business and EVERYTHING in the store is currently 50% off. I had to get there3 in the hope to find a table cloth. I was fortunate and actually left with two. Different sizes and designs. I thought I might buy a cute girls dress if one jumped out at me just because she makes beautiful girls clothes and doesn't make any boys clothes, but I didn't. Matty started getting fussy so I got out quickly. I might have to go back and have a better look around.

Next we hit Starbucks for hot chocolate and then on to the pharmacy. I had to purchase Bio Oil. It's suppose to help rid me of my very bad stretch marks. We shall see.

The next fun thing I did was go to the church to help Jane (a lady from church) decorate the youth bulletin board. I had fun picking out the colours I wanted and I have to say, no one will be able to miss the board. I hope to snap a picture tomorrow and post in later.

While I was there, Jan, a missionary to West Africa who used to be my Sunday School teacher, handed me a gift that she had bought Matty. She said she had bought one for her neice and apparently she loves it.

Before I tell you about this toy, let me tell you a little bit about Jan. Mostly, I know her from church. When I was younger she was my teacher, as I mentioned, but she was the woman who first made me think about the world and I think my desire to visit Africa came from her. She taught us about praying for other nations and she gave each of her students a book about other countries. I still have the book. Needless to say, this toy I opened already meant a lot to me.

Meet Sophie:


Here is a description of it that I found online after learning that this is a VERY popular toy that i knew nothing about.

Born in 1961, her success is legendary in France. Made in the French Alps with natural rubber and non-toxic paint, Sophie has been safely cuddled and chewed for over 40 years! The famous giraffe 'Sophie', in natural rubber (phtalate-free) is soft, light, and easy to grasp and fits perfectly into little hands. Sophie is loveable and amusing. She even makes a happy sound when squeezed. Babies especially love her bumpy head to soothe their teething gums.

Over 600,000 Sophies are sold EACH YEAR in France!

Sophie is 7 inches tall!

Designed to stimulate the senses and soothe the teething gums, Mothers recognize right away the benefits of this little giraffe for their child.

Sophie the Giraffe is one of Vulli's most popular characters. Her success is legendary with more than 10 million units sold in Europe since her creation.
In today's fast paced world it is unusual to see a high production toy still made by hand: Sophie requires 14 manual manufacturing steps.

Slender, Flexible, and Soft, Baby can squeeze and chew her in complete safety. Lovable and amusing, She laughs when her body is squeezed.

0-12 months +

Anyways, when I got home I decided to introduce Sophie to Matty. I took her out of the box, gave her a squeeze right near Matty's face and... he smilled the biggest smile. He got super excited and it looked like he was going to giggle. He loved it. afte about 5 minutes straight of happy smiles and stories, I put the giraffe and Matty down to quickly get the camera and when i returned Matty was done with being happy. Why does that ALWAYS happen?

This evening, Dave and Cory went to a hockey game together so Vanessa and I spent the evening together watching movies. First we watched Martian child which I really enjoyed. Then we watched Penelope. I think this movie is really cute.

Now, Im in bed typing and waiting for the most recent episode of the Office to buffer so Dave and I can enjoy it. That is one of the greatest shows ever.