Happy Halloween!!

Emilia's first Halloween has come and gone. She really enjoyed herself!! We went to the CTC Halloween party on Thursday. She was all dressed in her costume and had a great time playing with the other kids.



Then we invited Levi over on Friday to join us for some pumpkin carving. Emilia LOVED it!! She played in the pumpkin guts and then decided that they were pretty delicious.



Levi did not enjoy it so much. He wouldn't touch anything except the clean scooper, and he was very happy when we were cleaning up.




On Saturday we went to the town Halloween parade. Emilia thought it was pretty awesome. She danced to the marching bands and waved and giggled as all the people and floats went by.




LJ, on the other hand, wedged himself between Brian and me and shook like a leaf the entire time. It probably didn't help that we dressed him like a bumblebee...I think he was embarrassed.


After the parade we went trick-or-treating all the way home. For a little girl who can't have candy she certainly made out like a bandit! Daddy will be set with candy for a while!


We hope everyone is having a great fall, and we can't wait to see everyone over the holidays!!

Happy Fall!!

Happy fall everyone! We've been busy as usual for the past couple of weeks. Brian took a week of vacation to just stay at home with us!! It was great! Even though we didn't get a chance to go camping, because of the weather, we did get to go to My Gym for a trial class together. Lately, we've been busy getting ready for Halloween.

Emilia's costume is nearly done and she's very excited to go the Halloween party at CTC and to the parade in town!

We went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. It was beautiful day and we all had a lot of fun! Emilia was fascinated with all of the pumpkins and the cornstalks but more fascinated with the other kids!!


This was just before she ate the dirt off the pumpkin. Won't be the last time I'm sure!



We each picked out a pumpkin for the front of the house. This was Emilia's choice.

Big Steps!!

Emilia took her first two steps at the Little Gym last Friday!! Many of the other kids were walking around, and Emilia felt left out. She promptly turned from the piece of equipment that she was standing against and took two full step to me. Such a big girl!!!

We went to the Penn State game this past weekend. It was such a great trip and we got to use our camper for the first time! Emilia did so well with the disruption in her routine. Mammaw stayed at the campground with her while Pappaw, Lauren, Brian and I went to the game. They later met us in State College and we walked around and went shopping.

We also got delicious ice cream from the Creamery...it's not a PSU trip without it! Emilia thought it was pretty delicious, too. She had a little taste of just about everyone's, but her favorite was daddy's cone which she managed to chomp with her two little biters!!

The two days of activity definitely took their toll on our little one. She kept a smile on her face the whole time, but she sooooooooo sleepy. She slept almost the entire way home!


On Monday evening we went to the Caps game. We invited Megan, Paul, and Levi to come along. The babies were so well behaved that we got a couple of compliments from the people sitting around us! They had a great time and Emilia was "rockin' the red" for the home team. Despite the cutest cheerleader of all time, they lost in a shoot out to the Devils.

10 months (almost)

I've fallen behind once again with my posts. Since Emilia is going to be 10-months-old on Sunday we'll just consider this her 10 month post. We've been having a blast lately!! Emilia is on the verge of walking. She is soooooooo close! She is standing independently for longer and longer periods of time. She was even able to squat and recover without holding on to anything. Unfortunately with the new-found success comes lots of falls and bumps. She is constantly falling and sometimes I'm not right there to catch her. She really doesn't like being in her jumper or exersaucer anymore because she can't go. Her new favorite toy is the dog's water bowl (she would probably also love the food dish if there was every anything left in it)...I've got to get more gates!! Soon our whole house will be gated!

Her first official word is "hi" (she says it with an enthusiatic wave)...not "mommy", not "daddy", not "ball". I guess that just proves what a social butterfly she is! She's been saying it for a couple of weeks now and we've realized that it's not just a noise. She is very appropriate with it. When we go to the playground she says "hi" to all the other kids. Brian was able to come with us to the playground last Saturday (a rare day home from work). He and Emilia had a blast on the swings and the slides.



I've been trying to get her outside everyday to burn off some energy, even if it's only in the front yard. She doesn't really like the texture of the grass on her hands, but as you all know we'll work on it until she does!
We were invited to "bring your friend to the Little Gym day" by Levi. Emilia had a great time popping bubbles, crawling all over the equipment, doing forward rolls, playing with the balls, and walking on the balance beam. Here she is thanking Levi for the great playdate!

These are some of the 9-month pictures that we got done a couple of weeks ago. She was having a pretty grumpy day so I'm glad that we ended up with some good ones!

9 months (cont'd)

Wow...9 months!! I can't believe it! She's so big...yet so little at the same time. We went to the doctor yesterday for her 9-month well-check. She's a healthy 16 lb. 8 1/2 oz. (jumped up to the 10th percentile), 26 1/2" long, and continues to have a head circumference in the 50th percentile (must be the giant brain). We haven't gotten any real words yet but lots of Emilia language. She babbles all the time.

This is what I see when I go to get her out of her crib after nap and in the mornings. What more could I ask for!?!


Her favorite place to be is right here, standing at the coffee table. It's the perfect height for pulling up and cruising. These are the best little sock/shoes for chilly mornings when her piggies get cold on the hardwood floors.

Here are Emi's new earrings!! She got them done on the same day as her finger stick and 2 shots at the doctor, and she's still smiling!!



Emilia showed off her stuff the other day when she climbed all the way to the top of the stairs (and then crawled down the hallway)!!

9 months old!!

Emilia is 9 months old today!! Holy cow!! Lots of stuff is going on in our house...mainly Emilia-proofing. There are things I didn't even realize I had that she has gotten into. She loves the dog's crate so that has to stay locked, and she can make it up several stairs very quickly. However, her favorite thing to do is to practice standing. She'll pull up on just about anything, and then she likes to see if she can let go. She's even stood straight up from the floor twice so far. She can stand independently for a couple of seconds at a time and is getting much more daring with cruising. She can make it all the way around the coffee table and will let go to hold onto the couch, a toy, or someone who is sitting close by. Needless to say she's had a few tumbles and bumps.

She still isn't creeping on hands and knees consistently. She can, but she resorts to her belly crawl when she needs to get somewhere quickly or when she's on the slippery wood floor. No rest for the weary in this house!!



Yes, those are her bunny slippers that she's wearing.