Real Island Gal!

Papa and I make each other smile!

Three months young!

This is what "Clearwater" should look like...

Great Aunt Irene and I busting a gut.

My cousin Makyia and I in Marsh Harbour

Tracing my roots in Green Turtle Cay (my first boat ride)

Bathing suit not required.

Sunning my buns in Abaco!

Papi and Mommy enjoying a rare Sheriff-free dinner.







Look, mom! I can see my feet!!

Daddy introducing me to the gin-clear waters of The Bahamas!

Nana and I discussing life.

We are in Abaco taking in the sand, sea and sun. Soleil has been swimming, boating and taking walks on the beach. She has adapted to the slow pace of island life.....the ocean breezes lull her to sleep on a daily basis. Soleil has been basking in the attention of family and friends and LOVING it. She is going to be crying with a Bahamian accent soon!

"I swim in da ocean,

I swim in da sea.

I look at da fish,

All the fish look back at me!"

Let's get this party started!

My smile brings all the boys to the yard!

Maybe if I ignore Ricky he'll go away!

No autographs, please!



Could you at least fix my hat before you take the picture??

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend with Gramps! Substitute grandparents Jane and Tom came to visit from Orlando and Soleil got to take her first ride on a trolley! It was fantastic! The next day we hit Siesta Key where the lovebugs apparently had a worldwide convention!

Throughout all of this traveling, Soleil was a trooper, as her "adult people" get used to her schedule.

Memorial Day also marked Soleil's first swimming lesson with Gramps. Of course, being a true true Bahamian her mother and father refused to get in that cold water. As you can tell from the pictures, she was NOT impressed. Maybe the Bahamian sea will be more of a success!

More pictures of Little Miss Sunshine

This is Little Ricky, Soleil's future husband!! She plays hard to get by refusing to make eye contact and he often pulls her hair to let her know he is still there!
Papa and Soleil love each other dearly and can't wait to see each other soon.
Auntie Krissy, Uncle Dan and Auntie Shana are some of Soleil's favorite people.

Soleil at two months old!

It has been a really long time since I posted and a lot has taken place in the last 6 weeks. Life is constantly changing.....I keep telling Soleil that there is a new sheriff in town, meaning her. She doesn't seem to appreciate the humor in it!
Soleil will be 8 weeks old this week!! Hard to believe it already. She is my most precious ray of sunshine, and I thank God for her every day.
She is focusing now and has smiled twice at Granny and Aunt Hazel. I find myself doing ridiculous things to elicit a smile, to no avail. I am getting her passport this week so that she can go to The Bahamas next month. She is looking forward to spending time with Gramps, Nana and Papa. And meeting her Uncle Jon, who says all babies look like aliens. Should be an interesting match!!
More than anything else, Soleil is so lucky to have so many people love her. Her Auntie Kristina has been to visit her twice in the last couple of weeks. She is a lucky girl!!

More pictures of Soleil

Today Soleil is 6 days old! How time flies! She is very alert and very awake...especially at night. She loves to eat (no relation to her mother at all) and can be rowdy at times (she has lived up to the name).
We are both completely overjoyed by her presence and spend hours just studying her. She is our miracle.
Grandma has been helping us A LOT with every day tasks and we couldn't have done it without her.
Grandpa and Uncle Andy have left, but we look forward to Grandma and Grandpa's (from Abaco) visit next week.
See you soon! love, Soleil

Introducing Soleil Eve Gates

On Thursday, March 29th our dreams came true. We welcomed our little sunshine, Soleil Eve Gates, into the world. Soleil is pronounced So-lay and is French for sunshine. She is absolutely perfect in every way! She weighed 8lbs, 12oz and measured 21 inches long. She has lots of hair,beautiful blue eyes, piano player fingers and her Dad's feet (finger toes).
We have felt such an outpouring of love and support for her from tons of family and friends both here and abroad. Her Grandpa came to visit from Abaco and her Uncle Andy drove over to see her. She is the luckiest baby on earth!! Who knew that such love could exist?