Happy Halloween!!!

Daddy left to go hunting this morning, so we did our trick or treating last night. In case you can't tell, Laurie is a bumble bee. And yes, that costume is quite the broiler. Woo! They do not make costumes for the balmy south. I bought her costume a little big, so there is a good chance we will be a bee again next year. Mommy's favorite part of the costume are the cute little antennae, but daddy likes her stinger. I tried for the last week to get Laurie to say "Bzzzzz", I don't think it ever really played out, but she is trying with all her might. Turn up the volume to hear hear her precious baby voice.








Happy trick or treating to all you kiddies! Come by my house for M&Ms and Starbursts! Yum!

Learn to Play Musical Jeep: Check!

Since the moment we sat Laurie in the Exersaucer, the musical jeep has taunted her. "I know music comes from it, but don't know where." Or, "it seems like Mommy touches the monkey to make it play, but when I touch it, nothing happens." Laurie is just about too busy to be bothered with spending much time sitting in the Exersaucer, but she still likes to cruise around it and play with all the fun little toys. And now, JOY, we know how to play the musical jeep. Ahhh, life is good.

It was rather chilly yesterday morn, so I dug out these boots from Laurie's cabinet. They are really to small for her (3-6 months), but I couldn't resist. She didn't care for them at all, though I thought she was the most adorable little snow bunny.

Happy Nine Months Old, Laurie!

Today Laurie is nine months old. We all say it, over and over, but my how time flies. She is starting to "cruise" and attempting to stand up on her own. If I were meaner hearted, I would knock her back down. But she falls enough on her own.

We went to her nine month check up on Tuesday. She received rave reviews on all counts. When the nurse took her measurements, she commented, "Wow, she's got a big head." Yeah, we know. She is 27.5 inches long, weighs 17.12 with a 44.5 head circumference. Strangers are starting to bother her more and more. After all the nurses and Dr Phillippi too, she had had enough of that joint. And insult to injury, they gave her TWO shots!

Mommy and Me

I always think I will remember to take pictures at Mommy and Me, but I never remember to do it. Probably because I spend most of my time chasing Laurie all over the room, keeping her off the step in the front or saving her from a stampede of tiny little feet. I finally remembered to pull it out today! Of course you will see what I usually see, the back of Laurie's noggin as she is off and "running". The child has no fear or stranger anxiey. She never looks around to see where I am and she thinks, "Everyone loves me, why wouldn't these other Mommies and children want me crawling all over them?"

Pumpkin Picking

It was a GORGEOUS day Saturday. So what better time to get out, enjoy the day, and pick a pumpkin. We headed off to the Ag Museum for our pumpkin picking. Besides the pumpkins, we enjoyed a hay ride and farm animals. The horse was the biggest hit with Laurie. The scratchy hay was the lowest.

More with Josie

It was a good day. Josie was kind enough to come to the window for a visit. Laurie loves her, but she could do without the slobber all over her face. I will admit, I lured Jo to the window with Laurie's cheerios.

A Room With a View

Laurie has discovered the window in the kitchen. At least once every day, we have to stand at the window and talk about what we see. If Josie happens to make an appearance, she's made Laurie's day. Ugh. I am really pleased that Laurie has apparently taken the cracker I just gave her and crumbled it up on my clean floor. Thanks, a lot.

On a sadder note, nail clippers has gone missing. If you have a spare, Laurie would be in your deepest debt.

She Has It In For Me

Yesterday for lunch, Will and I had tacos and black beans. I always let Laurie try some of what I am eating and she was lapping it up. So, being the wonderful mother that I am, I took some beans and hamburger and steamed and mashed it to be sure it was soft and a good consistency for her. We set up for dinner time and I just knew she would have a yummy dinner! To say she hated it, is an understatement. I am sitting there, staring in disbelief at this screaming child, crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks, mouth wide open so her unchewed food can dribble out of her mouth and down her chin. Seriously? You loved it at lunch! Did you only want it when I was eating it?

We are no longer friends. Daddy finished dinner and got her ready for bed.

But just in case you think she was scarred for life, here Laurie is in her favored jumparoo (as opposed to unfavored doorway jumparoo) later last night.

Out of the Fog

For the last few weeks, Laurie has decided she is done with sleeping. Doesn't want to nap, doesn't want to go to sleep, and doesn't want to stay asleep. I felt like we were back in the newborn stage! She and I were both sleep deprived and sporting matching luggage under our eyes! I can't decide if it was her stuffy nose, some teething, or just wanting to work on the latest tricks she's learned. But, she's been back to her norm the last few nights. I won't go so far as to say we are in the clear, but at least I have the cotton out of my head. Here is what we are working on...


In the mornings now, instead of happily rolling around the crib, Laurie stands up and flicks the little metal spring on the crib railing. Either that or drumming her nail clippers back and forth on the rails. Is she a prisoner?










We also love, LOVE looking at our decorative window on the front door, it's just so sparkly. And, OH, to the right, you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful shelves William made for us. They look fabulous in our home.



And in case you were wondering...we still love nail clippers. I think this is partly why she shows no interest in crawling, it's to hard too carry nail clippers.



Isn't she a cutie?

Fair Fun

The Fair is in town, Woo Hoo! So, right after Mommy and Me, Laurie and I met some of my friends and Dada, too, for a bite of yummy fair food and bit of good people watching. I think with such a beautiful girl with us, we were the main attraction. Mama had a cinnamon roll and Dada had a steak sandwich. After that, I don't know about the rest of the crowd, but Laurie and I are now in need of a nap.

I like that she has her foot kicked up on the bumper pad. hee hee.

Jum-ping is Bo-ring

I have really tried to encourage Laurie to enjoy her jump toy, but for the most part, she could care less about it. She loves the stationary jumper. But this one, is apparently lame. Usually she just sits there. Laurie will start a few baby jumps and then lose interest, especially if she catches me with the camera pointed at her. I think she does it to drive me nuts.

Laurie showing no interest.

Jumping till she sees me watching.

Pop Comes Home

Pop has been on vacation for three long weeks, Laurie has continually been asking when he was coming home. To celebrate, we all got together to give him some good home cooking. He was so tired but he was a good sport with all his many grandchildren.

I got a good cuddle in with Meg while Laurie was otherwise occupied. Her big smile lit up the room.
















Genevieve and Liddy were such sweet helpers to feed Meg her dinner...I'm not so sure Meg was really up for it though.

Building Blocks

I get so excited when Laurie figures something out. We have played with her blocks many a day and she has never done anything but chew on them. She only showed vague interest in the block with the rattle. But all of a sudden, "Hey! I can knock these things over!" Thank you, Ms Amanda! We love the blocks!

In the second video, she also realizes Momma's cup of coffee is on the fireplace. Mommy had to move fast, fast. And before you lecture me, I add so much creamer to it, it's only lukewarm, not fire hot.

Fun with Laurie

Laurie loves the fireplace, it's cold, it's shiny, and you can grab the screen and rattle it back and forth.

It really is hard to crawl when you HAVE to take nail clippers with you. What a grump! I think she is working on some top teeth, not that she would let me look at them, but she chews on her lip a lot these days.