A Fantastic Fall!

Let's go back a few months to October.  Life has been busy since the holidays!  And by holidays, of course I'm including Halloween.  In this household, it definitely counts as one of the more important ones!  We had our annual Halloween party this year.  We couldn't have done it without a few of our ghoulish family members. My mom, Aunt Linda, and Aunt Regina all came down to visit, decorate, and babysit Miss Sophie.  Grandma Cindy whipped up a cute costume for Sophie again this year.  She was Little Red Riding Hood.  She really made that costume look adorable!  We spent a good week preparing for the party.  Everyone helped out in such a big way, I don't know how we would have done it without them!  Aunt Regina got a one-on-one course in making Jell-O shots.  She was a pro by the time we finished our 400th shot, I think she even made a few batches on her own.  Grandma and the Aunties were nice enough to check into a hotel for the evening with Sophie.  They had a great time during the sleepover, and even more fun at the park the next day!  They sat and watched ducks in the pond for a long time, Sophie just couldn't taker her eyes off those birds!

The sweetest Little Red Riding Hood!

Carving our first pumpkin

Our first lollipop



Fun on the carousel at Universal Studios. That's Grandma Cindy and Aunt Regina

Aunt Linda, Dan, Sophie and I

A few shots

I've taught her well!

Dan the squirrel, and my homemade Pinata costume!

We spend a lot of fun day's with our friend Sloane!  Sloane's mommy is a teacher, so when she has the summer off, we find so many fun things to do together.  These girls go to the same daycare, so I'm sure they see enough of each other as it is, but they have a great time together.  When I tell Sophie we are going to play with Sloane, it's all she can talk about until we've actually made it to our destination!

We went to Naples for a visit with Grandpa Don and Grandma Sally in November.  The weather was beautiful!  Sophie had a great time at the Naples zoo.  Sally took us to feed the birds and fish.  We saw an animal show with a sloth and a skunk.  We even watched them train alligators!  We also spent a day at the beach!  I couldn't imagine going to the beach in November, but for some reason my gut told me to pack Sophie's swimsuit.  It was a beautiful day!  Sophie played in the sand and could not resist the water.  She headed straight for it and I thought she wouldn't like it because it was cold.  I was wrong!  She loved splashing in it, running into it, and falling over in it.  She giggled so much!  I had to take her out at one point and wrap her in a towel when I noticed her shivering.  She couldn't wait to go back in!  Sophie had so much fun, she fell asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.



Feeding the birds with Grandma Sally





Training alligators...??

Reading a book with Grandpa Don

Sophie participated in her first cooking making experience.  It was a rainy day and I just so happened to have everything we needed to make chocolate chip cookies.  I let her help pour in the ingredients, stir the batter with the mixer, and of course lick the beaters!  She was a great helper and so patient.  She even enjoyed the finished product, and is not an expert at saying the word "cookie"





Patiently waiting for the finished product



The best part!  She loved it of course



There are many things Sophie enjoys doing everyday.  One of them is loving on her dog Lucy!  They have a fun time playing on the bed together.  Sophie usually tries to "wrestle" with Lucy by throwing herself on top of her.  Lucy is such a good sport that she takes it, or gets up to get out of the way.  At night, when it's time to go to bed, she says good night to Daddy and Lucy.  We then head to her room to read a few books.  When I lay her down in her crib, I tell her, "Mommy loves you very much, and Daddy love you too. Sweet dreams."  The other night, after I said that, she asked me, "And Lucy?"  I could have cried!  I answered her, "And Lucy loves you too!" So sweet...

 

We go to the park just about every day too.  She helps me walk Lucy around the block, then we take Lucy home and go to the park for some fun.  She' s very brave climbing up all of the sets to go down the slides.  Of course, every time we enter the park, the first thing she has to do is swing.  Those are some of the biggest smiles I get out of her, when she's soaring high on a swing!

 



Snuggles with Lucy

The most serious kid on the playground!

Two dogs while riding a bike? Now that's talent!

A Purdue game with the family!

 

Read on to the next one!  It's time to play catch up....

 

Love,

Dan, Jess, Sophie and Lucy