That Soli Girl

That Soli girl. I can't help myself I am so in love with this little girl.

I remember the very day the "baby" was gone. It was the first Sunday in February, I remember going to bed that night saying to Jared, I can't believe we're having another baby soon, Soli's still so much of a baby. Babies can't have baby sisters. ( I know they do, I was just in denial about this one...)

The very next morning, I kid you not, she woke up and she was just older. Her very demeanor was different and she hasn't looked back since.

I know this is a little bit of a love fest but she is such a delight. She seems so easy after seeing three boys through toddler hood. She's so full of personality and yet is so agreeable and sweet. She's so shy that very few people get to see her personality but we do and we think she's pretty fantastic.

She sings all the time, she loves to draw and color, she loves to boss her brother's around, she loves junk food, stickers, baths, and, of course, "doggies". But what Soli loves most of all are BUTTONS. That's right, buttons. It's a comfort thing. She'll hold a button and suck her thumb and she's happy. Who'd have thought? She prefers that they be attached to some article of clothing, but other than that she's not picky, big, small, plain, colorful,

she

loves

buttons.

When she gets dressed, she always wants a button and she'll even accept one in the back of her shirt. She says, "button in the back?" and reaches behind her head to touch the button with one hand and sucks her thumb with the other hand. She can even do it all while walking down the stairs. My how her talents amaze. Once in a while she's even impressed by other people's buttons and she just has to touch their buttons. Like the guy sitting in front of us at church, my what nice buttons you have on your jacket sleeves...

Soli sure fits the "girl" profile. Everything they say is true. Easier to potty train, calmer, picky about her clothes, really into shoes. She's getting to be much sassier. This summer while at my parents she settled the question of whether gender is innate or learned once and for all. She loves my parents dog, Moose; he's a big meaty black lab with a big meaty bark. He's a goofy teddy bear and literally injures himself over his love of fetch.

He's like an addict, just one more throw, come on, one more, please one more, it's the last one, one more, bark, bark, bark, one more... all day long.

There they were, he's asking Soli to throw the ball for him but she wasn't throwing it far enough for his satisfaction so he's barking and wagging and keeps asking for "one more". He's as tall as she is so she was getting a little intimidated when he wouldn't stop barking and I could see her across the yard putting her hands to her face and sort of shrinking in her nervousness. Just as I expected the tears to start she squares her shoulders, stands up tall, and, no joke, she puts her hands on her hips, sticks her lips out and asserts,

"NO DOG!"

Just like that, no training or anything, it came to her naturally and moose backed down and took his ball some where else.

"Some where in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good..."