Carving Pumpkins With Daddy

I was very excited for Allie's first Halloween. I realize that she is a little bit young for many of the activities but thought that it was still necessary to introduce them. She didn't quite understand the whole pumpkin carving thing, but it was a fun night anyway. She did not want to touch any of the pumpkin guts. Instead, she waited until Nick cleaned the pumpkin out and then she put her toys in it. Here are a few pics of Allie's first pumpkin carving experience:

Getting ready to draw the face for Daddy to carve.

Do you see any resemblance?

What's in there Daddy?

Maybe I can tell what it is if I get a closer look?

Gross! That stuff is disgusting!

This looks like a perfect spot to store my stacking blocks.

The finished product. Allie's first Halloween pumpkin!

Allie and Daddy checking out the candle inside the pumpkin.

Best Friends

Allie's best friend is a stuffed monkey named George. My Aunt Julie bought him for Allie before she was even born and they have turned into constant companions. She loves to push him around in her baby stroller or grocery cart and cuddles with him while she's sleeping. He reads bedtime stories with us and often rides with us in the car. He's a great friend!

Here's a vintage Allie and George picture in the early days of their relationship:

And here they are now, cuddling together while they sleep:

Happy 11 Months!

I can't even believe that I'm writing that my baby is 11 months old. I remember feeling like she was never going to arrive this time last year. She doesn't act like a baby anymore. She's full-blown toddler now.

She talks up a storm and is constantly on the move. Her favorite words so far are yum-yum, Elmo, thank you, car, apple, bubble, more, Mama, Dada, Car-Car (Carson), yes, no, dog-dog, and duck. She also knows what the cow, elephant and lion say. It's so cute!

The kid has absolutely NO fear at all. She easily hangs with the triplets and is teaching them some of her climbing skills. I can't wait to see those 4 together as they get older. I'm sure we'll have our hands full.

Happy 11 Months Baby-Boo! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

On The Move Again

Allie is so full of energy these days. She loves to push her toys all around the living room and must go up and down the hallway a hundred times per day. It's so funny to watch. She talks to herself and periodically stops to clap for herself. She's also doing more and more "balance checks" where she'll let go and just stand there for a second, then grab back on and keep going. She's taken a few steps on her own but seems to still be building her confidence. Where did my little baby go?

Happy 98th Birthday Grandpa!

My Grandpa celebrated his 98th birthday on October 24th. Pretty impressive! We gathered at my Aunt's house to celebrate his wonderful life and just hang out as a family. Happy Birthday Grandpa! We love you!

Allie was very intrigued by the stairs going into Joyce's living room. She must have climbed up and down those two steps about a hundred times.

Allie got to spend some time with some of her cousins too. Jorden taught her all about texting. At this rate, I'm sure she'll be texting her friends by her first birthday. Aunt Jeanne obviously wasn't pleased with the situation.

My cousin Jen let Allie play with her favorite toy in the world...a cell phone!

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?

Pumpkin Patch

I really wanted to take Allie to a real pumpkin patch this year. We had a few weekends of crappy weather so I kept putting it off. Kelsey and Marshall said they were coming to visit the weekend before Halloween so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for the pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, it was FREEZING! We went to one pumpkin patch but they wanted $8.00 per adult just to enter. Since Allie is still a little young, we didn't want to pay $32.00 just to pick out a pumpkin. We ended up going to a small local farm and got our pumpkins there. We were in and out pretty quickly but still managed to get a few cute pictures.

I think we should get this one, Mom.

Well, this one's kind of nice too.

What part of "It's freezing out here" did you not understand?

Showing off her very first pumpkin.

Trying to get warm in the shop with Aunt Kelsey.

Family picture amongst the pumpkins.

Catching Up

I'm doing my best to get caught up on posts before Allie's first birthday. That means there may be multiple posts each day. Be sure to click on "older posts" at the bottom of the page to make sure you get to read them all!