October

Soleil enjoyed WATCHING Robbie and I carve our pumpkins, but we couldn't get her to touch the insides. She is such a girl...

We visited the pumpkin patch again this year. I posted a pic from last year as well as this year to compare how she has changed.

Nana sent her a little witch outfit which she loved to wear and she even got to wear it to daycare on Halloween! She thought she was hot stuff in the mirror. They practiced trick-or-treating at the neighbors' houses that day. When she came home she liked trying it on our own door.

That night we put on our costumes and went trick-or-treating in a nice neighborhood in Dallas. The first couple of houses Soleil was very hesitant. But she soon warmed up when she realized she would get something for her bag at every house! She started going up the stairs and ringing the bell all by herself!

September

In September we went camping a couple hours drive North of here. It was Soleil's second time to camp and she had a blast. It was a music festival and we camped right next to the children's area so Soleil got to jump in the jump house and play on the slide. She was in heaven!

August

I can't believe it is October already and I haven't posted for August or September yet! Yikes! Guess that is what happens when I go back to work and hit my first trimester of pregnancy all at the same time.

In August we took Soleil to the Dallas World aquarium. She was fascinated by all the fish and other animals. It was a perfect age to take her. She learned many new words while there! We also took her to feed the ducks and geese for the first time which still one of her favorite things to do.

I returned to teaching in August and Soleil returned to daycare at Leslie's. I sent her in her big girl pants since she was doing well at home without diapers. I was nervous if she would continue to use the potty at daycare. Well she had an accident every couple of days there, but was using the potty independently more and more. I never thought potty training would be so easy!

After returning to daycare and seeing the new babies and their pacifiers, Sol has started showing interest in some pacifiers we had in the drawer. She never had any interest in them until she saw the new babies with them. Here is a pic of her sitting on the counter (her favorite place when we are cooking) and playing with the pacifiers.

Middle of summer JULY!

To start July off with a bang we went to visit Nana and Pawpaw in Alabama. They hadn't seen Soleil since Christmas and couldn't believe how much she had grown. She learned many new words while there and Pawpaw taught her the sign for "I love you". He was impressed with all the Spanish words and sign language she can do, but was wondering when we were going to teach her English! We spent our time relaxing in the pool, napping, visiting Nana and Pawpaw's store and just having fun. Soleil had her first trip to the beach and got to swim in the Gulf of Mexico! She loved playing in the sand with Daddy and Nana. She got to visit her big cousin Aric and Aunt Sherri gave Soleil her first haircut! Well it was more of a slight trim...

When we came home we started 2 weeks of swimming lessons. Soleil got fed up before the 1/2 hour was over and often tried to escape out the side of the pool. After class we would hang out with our swim class friends in the water park. Soleil wouldn't last long there either. She would rather go lounge on the chairs and have a snack in the shade. Outside of the swim area there is a great wooden park. There is so much to explore. We took Daddy back there on his birthday to play too!

Daddy spent a three day weekend with Soleil while I went out of town for a Theatre Arts workshop for work. It was hard to leave her for that long, but she was in good hands with Daddy. I can tell they bonded while I was gone.

Sol is picking up new words everyday. She apparently likes Elmo right now. Whenever she sees a picture of him she has to point it out to everyone and repeat his name over and over. She is starting to string words together and makes up signs for things if she already doesn't know the real sign. She is also getting pretty bossy! She will sit on the floor and pat the floor hard next to her to tell you to come sit down. She learned that the sign we use for "come" for the dogs also works on people. We don't have many opportunities to sit down and rest anymore at home since she is making us push her baby stroller with her, go into the other room to play, or singing "Ring around the Rosie" again and again. I am feeling pretty old trying to keep up with her! She sure has a lot of energy. I look forward to her nap time so I can catch a nap or read some more of my Harry Potter book.