November Images

...Alanna splashing in the bath...


...sticking out her tongue...

...and eating blueberries...

...Rhys helping Mommy make peroshkis (stuffed dough pockets)...

...and being silly...

...and generally having fun...

Happy Halloween!

Rhys the Builder waves hello!

Alanna the Purple Mummy isn't so sure about Halloween. Actually, we didn't do anything exciting. Alanna is dressed warmly because we hung out with neighbors in their driveway with Jack-o-Lanterns, a fire in the fire pit, and Halloween luminarias. Rhys didn't want to wear his Bob the Builder costume, so he wore his Batman jammies instead. Oh well!

October Monday

9 o'clock a.m.: We woke to the first snowfall of the year! Rhys immediately wanted to go play and build a snowman.

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3 o'clock: As it is the week of Halloween, we carved some pumpkins. Rhys wanted to do a scary face, a happy face, and a sad face. So, we have three great Jack-o-lanterns in the front yard. Rhys wasn't sure how much he liked sticking his hands inside a cold slimy pumpkin, but he got over it and enjoyed himself in the end!

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6:30 p.m.: In the spirit of the season, Alanna had her first taste of winter squash. She seemed to like butternut squash puree pretty well!

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8 o'clock: And finally, a scary Jack-o-lantern all lit up!

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Autumn Images

--Happy Fall!--

--Pressing apples into apple cider at our friends' house--


--Napping on Daddy while he's on the phone--

-- Napping on Mommy while she does housework--

--"No, Mommy, I'm not really sure how this sand got stuck to my snot..."--

--"I'm funny!"--

On the last photo: Rhys's sense of humor is really developing. He's experimenting with what other people might find funny– and how he can get them to laugh. He'll do something, such as putting on Daddy's shoes and clomping around the house, and then inform us, "That's funny!"

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, dear hubby! Rhys and I decorated for Daddy's birthday yesterday, September 30th. Or at least, I did, anyway. Rhys played with the balloons and sang "Happy Birthday", which was helpful to get us in the mood. I don't know if Aaron wants me to divulge how many candles are on his cake, but as you can see, it burned very brightly when they were all lit! We're all so lucky to have our hubby/daddy in our lives and we love him very, very much.

Sitting Pretty

Alanna continues to amaze me. She can sit on her own (at 4 1/2 months!), though she needs some protection when she wobbles. She occasionally arches her back, which causes her to flop on her back (or the boppy, which is a softer alternative than the floor), and she'll lean too far to the side to get back upright on her own, particularly if she's reaching for something just beyond her grasp. I sat her up (with close supervision) in the bath tonight and she had a blast splashing her hands in the water. I think she likes the new perspective and ways to play with toys. She can still only roll over from her back to her front, and not back onto her back, so she gets very frustrated when she's stuck on her tummy. Sitting gives some nice variety to her play time, I think.

Garden Beautiful

....Our only carrot of the season (yes, it's supposed to be small and round)

and the first ear of red popcorn....

....tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes...

...eight foot tall sunflowers....

....more sunflowers (and the unproductive raspberries,
and the blackberry bush)

....and finally, this huge– and I mean pretty darn big– spider and her web.This was taken out front, and I couldn't get the camera to focuson the spider because there was no background close enough.This spider, in the position it's in in the photo, was easily thesize of the top knuckle-to-fingertip of my middle finger. With its legs stretched out, it would probably be and inch and a half in diameter. Its web was about 18 inches in diameter, and was anchored by webby strands that stretched another 18 inches to 2 feet beyond the web. My interest was particularly piqued by the still-wriggling sack of lunch the spider was guarding in the center of the web. I checked on it later and found that it had moved its lunch to a more secluded place to eat. This spider has become a small obsession for me; I looked in on it this morning as I was loading the kids up to take Rhys to preschool. I don't know where it was hidden, but I know I kind of want to keep tabs on it just so it doesn't find its way into the house or something...