Pumpkin Carving

Before I take down the pumpkins and erase my "happy fall y'all" chalkboard sign, I need to do one last autumn update.  Here are some adorable photos of Charlie Ann carving and painting her first pumpkin.

She got to stay up late and wait for Daddy to get home so we could all carve together.. hence why she is in her pajamas.

She was not really a fan touching the inside of the pumpkin.

Have you hugged your pumpkin today?

And then, after it was all carved and finished, she decided it was indeed NOT finished.  It needed to be painted.  So, round two.

 Multiple smiley faces are good.

Thats a lot of pumpkin love.

Halloween

I lied about being done with autumn posts. I just gotta show off my funny little girl, (who will not touch dress up clothes or ANYTHING princess with a ten foot pole), who suddenly wanted to be a ballerina with wings for Halloween.

{even the next day she would not put this costume on for her grandparents-ha! What a turkey!}

And of course, the most adorable and hungriest skeleton I've ever seen.

Charlie Ann and her little friend, 

"Jessie" 

Happy late Halloween!

Annual Family Photo

Here we are - fam 2014!

And two throwbacks, for kicks.

2013

2012

Tripp - 11 Months

Tripp's last "official" month as a baby. Gulllllllpppp. Someone stop the clock. For reals. 

Eleven months  

Loves: Tie-duh (Taiga), army crawling as fast as his four limbs can go, Autumn walks in the stroller, sticks and leaves and other collectables from said Autumn walks, Cheerios, smiling, talking, playing by himself, Charlie Ann... The list goes on and on.. I genuinely feel like this kid just loves LIFE! 

Hates: teething, runny noses and congestion, getting diaper changes, getting dressed, trying new food. 

Fav toy: Little People everything

Fav book: "garden animals" by Lucy Cousins (never gets old... It's been his fav for months)

Fav food: TJ's version of Ritz crackers, cheese and ALL fruit (fresh and chunked). That would be his meal of choice all day long if possible. 

New tricks and stunts: professional army crawler, pulling up to knees, clapping, signing "all done", sharing food and toys and *actually stopping* when being told "no" (ie, computer cords, {out of order} fireplace, chewing on bottoms of shoes, pulling up {and out} of baby tub, etc.) 

First carousel ride 

Eating: Tripp does a pretty bang up job of eating big people food in baby size chunks. However, to make sure he's getting a fairly balanced and healthy compilation of foods, I still will purée some veggies and meats.  Because, like I mentioned earlier, he'd just live off crackers, cheese and fruit in his little kingdom. He's like the perpetual baby shower food kid. 

Nursing: yep. Still luvvvvvvving it. Myself, ehhhh, can't wait til he's one!

Sleep: he's pretty good at it. Except when he's teething or has a cold. Both of which are happening as we speak, this week. Poor boy. I'm also thinking we are going to say good bye to that morning nap any day now. He seems to be able to take it or leave it nowadays, and it does get left a lot. 

Sleeping on Mom

Sleeping on Mom again

Size: Tripp is wearing all 12mon size clothes and some 18mon. This guy is SO LONG and skinny. The go to method is to roll the waist band of his 12mon pants in efforts to prevent him from crawling out of them. Silly boy. 

We all love Trippy Boy!

Tripp - 10 Months!

Another month passed last week, good grief!!

10 Months! 

He was ready for his nap, so he's looking a little sleepy..but still happy!

Likes: Toys! (especially balls and cars that easily roll, wooden stackers and electronic ones with buttons that make noise), stroller rides, ergo rides, Taiga's ears and nose and feet, army crawling, Cheerios, his sister's singing, electrical cords and chasing the vacuum.

Dislikes: diaper changes, most veggies not disguised with applesauce, holding still and getting dressed. 

New tricks: Army crawling... Everywhere!- Bring out the baby gates and remember to close doors. I am thinking this kid isn't going to be as containable as my other one. Pointing... So cute! He's really got that index finger working all the time. Going from Sitting to Crawling... So long being able to "keep" you still. Saying a lot of consonant sounds (d, g, m, b, p, w, t) on repeat.

And of course this new trick of spoon balancing.

Eating: well, we've pretty much moved on from most puréed foods. Tripp would much rather pick up bits and do it himself. And he's more prone to a wider variety of food if I let him do it on his own. This is a good thing because it's super easy to toss lunch on his tray and let him eat with the girls. It's a bad thing because my kitchen floor, booster chair, child and child's clothes are generally peppered with squished lunch. Needless to say, I'm mopping daily and changing Tripp's clothes two to three times a day. Also, I haven't been as strict with the four day wait rule either.. Oops. But on a plus note, we haven't encountered any more reactions, and we've crossed some big barriers (eggs, peanut butter, gluten, etc.)

Snacks from the floor are okay, yeah?


And chicken legs? Those are super okay, yeah?


Wild curls!

And he lives on graham crackers. Sorry, kid.

Sleeping: we are on a solid 6:30pm to 6:30am night sleep schedule. He's sleeping til about 4:30/5am, nurses, and goes right back to sleep for another couple of hours. His naps are at 9/10am and 1/2pm. He's kind of a short napper, about an hour or less each time. But I'll take what I can get. He doesn't show signs of dropping his morning nap yet, and I'm totally okay with that.

Nursing: he lovvvvvvves it.  Still going strong about 5 times in a 24 hour period. I've been making my exit strategy for his weaning in a couple of months. I have a feeling it's not going to be pretty.  

Firsts and other happenings: First time in the pool! A little apprehensive at first, but he warmed up quick. This month Tripp went on another camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains (see previous post). It was quite a different experience taking a 10mon old, as compared to taking a 6mon old.. (ahem, belly crawling e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e) and the sleeping was definitely a miss on the second night.  But we all survived, and much more fun was had than not, so I chalk that up to a SUPER successful camping trip with two littles. We also found a great board walk and pier about 5 min from our house, that's been the new "go-to" for the witching hour before dinner and bedtime.  It keeps us all sane.  Tripp is a growing boy (although because of a pediatrician debacle, I do not know his official size) and is completely in 12mon clothes (some 18 mon!!), is busting out of his size 2 diapers (but Mommy is cheap, and making him finish the box) and has three new pairs of fall shoes in size 3.  

Pool!!

The only cute thing about trying to tackle a drain problem at Home Depot.

Our happy place at Ontario Beach Park (again, note the graham crackers.)

Until next month, my happy little guy!