Happy Halloween!

Autumn Walk

We went on an autumn walk around our block. I had the camera. I think that I am a pretty great photographer. Here is the story of our walk in pictures:

We started our walk in the backyard. This is a picture of our horse and swing set.

Fall leaves and my little foot.


Mommy pushing Juliettie in the stroller.

Having a jolly ol' time.

Little cutie pie (who turned nine months old yesterday).

The sisters love each other so much.

An airplane flying over our house. Like most people living in SW Minneapolis, our house is under a flight path.

The Barack Obama sign in our yard. As an aside, whenever I see an Obama sign like ours, I say "Look! A Barack Obama sign!"

Princesses and Fairies

I just love princesses and fairies. Lately, I have been wearing my new tutu on all of our errands. Today we went to Target and I wore my tutu. Sometimes, I will wear my tutu and my crown and my wand. People will look at me and say, "I love your tutu. Are you a princess?" I will say, "No. (long pause) I am a fairy." Duh. At gymnastics on Saturday morning, we had an "under the ocean" theme. The teacher said, "Sophia, what things do you think we could find in the ocean." I replied, "Princesses." I am going to be a fairy princess for Halloween this year.

Lost and Found

Overheard at our house on Saturday afternoon:

Mommy: Where did I put the tape? I just had it a minute ago. Sophia, have you seen the tape?

Me: Maybe the tape is up your butt.

Total Goofball

I can be pretty silly. In fact, in this picture, I am being super silly. Juliet had just finished eating her breakfast in this very highchair. I then climbed into the highchair and told mommy that I wanted to finish my breakfast there. I even put on Juliet's bib all by myself! Juliet is so lucky that she gets to do baby things. Another silly thing I do is make-up words. On a walk, I may tell mommy and daddy that a particular tree is called a treegabogoblah tree and another is called a trobobedewahwe tree and another is a gobodedogolawahoo tree. It is silly making-up words.

Montessori Play

Mommy recently introduced me to Montessori play. In these pictures, I am doing a pouring activity with water, glass containers, a funnel, and a little sponge. I think that it is great. I love pouring water, splashing in puddles, doing dishes in the sink, and playing in the rain with my umbrella.

P.S. Yes, I am wearing my princess dress, which was my Halloween costume last year and will likely be my Halloween costume again this year.

It's Play Time

Juliet has her own big bin of toys. A few days ago, we had fun getting out all of the toys from the bin and playing with them. Most of the toys are from when I was a little baby.

Juliet continues to do new things nearly every day. She just started pulling herself up onto furniture. She is so pleased and proud when she does it! Once she is up on a piece of furniture, she cruises around and will sometimes even let go and momentarily stand on her own. When she wants to sit again, she simply lets go and lands on her butt with a thud. Juliet also picks up everything with her little pincher grasp. She can find the teeny-tiniest little piece of anything on the floor, pick it up, and quick-as-a-flash put it in her mouth. We keep a close eye on her. Through all of Juliet's changes, she still remains a super happy and super smiley girl. We just cannot believe how easy it is to make Juliettie smile. It brightens our whole day!

Down on the Farm

We went to an organic farm on Saturday afternoon. It is called "Gardens of Eagan." The farm is owned by our organic co-op grocery store in Minneapolis called "The Wedge." Because we are members of the co-op, we were invited to go on a school bus ride to the farm for the co-op's annual meeting. We did not really know what to expect. What we found was a magical experience that I will not soon forget.

First, we boarded the school bus for the 45 minute drive to the farm. I thought that was pretty great. I see all of the big kids in my neighborhood riding their school buses and I got to try it out too. Then, a dad and two kids boarded the bus and sat down next to us. They were really friendly. Pretty soon, I had switched seats so that I could sit closer to them. By the time the bus arrived at the farm, I had become friends with Glorianna (10) and Adam (4). From that point on, we were inseparable.

At the farm, we boarded a little cart pulled by a tractor. The tractor first stopped at the cauliflower and tomato patches on the farm. We got out and started eating the vegetables right off of the plants. I never knew that fresh cauliflower could taste so good. Adam and I had fun smooshing all of the tomatoes with our little feet that had fallen on the ground. It was so great wandering through the rows and rows of plants, sampling the vegetables along the way.

Back at the main part of the farm, the Wedge was having its annual meeting. Glorianna, Adam, and I just played and ran around the fields. We then asked if we could go wandering through the red pepper fields. Mommy and Daddy took us over there, and we picked lots of red peppers to take home.

After the meeting was done, we ate dinner at the farm. It was delicious. Glorianna and Adam are vegans, so they could not eat all of the same foods that I could eat. Then it was 7:00 and it was time to board the bus. Glorianna, Adam and I all squeezed into one bus seat. We talked, laughed, sang, and played the entire way home. At one point, Adam asked me if we could have a play date sometime and that maybe I could sleep over. I told him that he could come over and borrow one of my stuffed animals.

When we returned to the Wedge, I had to say good-bye. I gave the kids hugs and the daddies exchanged telephone numbers so that we could all play together again. Just thinking about the whole experience makes me feel so happy!

Mommy and me on the school bus.

I am in the picture in the background. I am leaning over my seat to talk to Adam and Glorianna.

At the farm, I was allowed to use the camera later in the evening. First, I looked down. Dirt.

Then, I looked up. Beautiful night sky.

Here are the three inseparable kids walking through the pepper patch.

Yum.

Me and Adam with our freshly picked peppers.

Me and Glorianna checking out the tractor.