A Snow Owl

Todd took so many good photos of Lena in her Halloween costume, it was hard to narrow it down to just these few. We spent Halloween in Houston at Todd's sister's with his family. Lena showed off her flapping skills and sat patiently on the sofa while we took her picture. She was surprisingly cooperative about the costume and wore it for almost 2 hours, which is a long time for a 7 month old. Since it was pretty warm out, I skipped the white tights I had brought along, so enjoy the extra chubby legs.

My favorite photo!

November Already!

We returned from our trip to Galveston and Houston last week. I have soooo many photos to sort through including shots of Lena at the beach, in her Halloween costume, and with the grandparents. Meanwhile, here's what's going on with Lena.

I think she might have a cold. She started coughing yesterday morning. At first she would cough, then smile, cough, then giggle. I think it was tickling her and felt funny. She hasn't run a fever and has no diarrhea, just a cough. Today she has slept a lot and is still coughing, but that's it.

I felt the first pointy spikes of a lower tooth today. I can just barely see it, but it's on its way!

Lena is crawling faster and farther now. If you leave the room she is right behind you, usually crying while crawling because she can't figure out why you left!

We're still working on solids, but we've had some success with banana and today she ate part of a piece of bread. Hooray!

Last Few Photos: Grocery Store, Jeggings, and More

Todd took Lena on her first grocery store trip. She loved it! So many sights and colors and sounds. She was squealing and kicking like crazy.

Fashion: check out Lena's new winter boots. They barely went over her calves, even though we bought them a size large. Bonus tummy in this photo. Below, you can see Lena in her jeggings, looking very slim. The shoes don't stay on at all, but they look cute.

Lena doesn't care of it doesn't look cool to stick a giant orange thingy in your mouth. It is meant for holding and teething. Lena tends to suck on it like a pacifier, hand-free. Below, see one last time before we dropped the crib. She is so tall. We had to drop it that night.

Lots to Say

Lena looks like she's going to say something. She babbles away all the time. Sometimes she is very emphatic about what she's saying and adds some dramatic arm gestures to get her point across. Sometimes, as in the bottom photo, a look is enough.

Me and Lena

At South Side on Lamar at a craft show, The Dallas Flea

Todd has taken some great shots of me and Lena together. I love it when Todd and Lena come to visit me at a craft show. Here we are practicing faces. She makes some really good ones.

These bottom photos are all from cousin Sophie's 3rd birthday party at a park in Plano. Lena was adorable in her brown dress, striped tights, and brown hoodie.

Last image -- here we are after a long day at the mall. Lena is just waking up while being carried in the sling. Why, she's at the new H&M at North Park!

In a Galaxy Far Far Away

Lena watching Star Wars for the first time.

Todd bought the new Star Wars box set, so we watched all of it. That's right, all 6 movies in a row, night after night. We finished it up in a week. 

Lena wasn't too into the movies. Here she is watching her favorite program, the washing machine. What's going to happen next?!

Lena at the State Fair

Elayne and Lena, getting ready to go to the fair 

Lena made a big splash at the Texas State Fair. We went opening day, again with pals, and finally on a beautiful afternoon just the two of us. I ate a lot; Lena looked around and slept mostly.

What to do first?

So many possibilities! 

At the fair on opening day where we ran into Erin and Paul with little Clementine.

Pumpkin Princess

I met a friend at the Dallas Arboretum on Oct. 18. Afterwards, I stopped by the photo portrait booth and they shot these photos. You can browse them here - http://arboretum.hphoto.net, then select Fall 2011, then 10-18-11. We were the last ones to be photographed that day, so just scroll to the end. You can order directly from the website if you want a print!

I think Lena looks pretty cute in her denim jacket and pink hat.

October Recap

Lena playing, before we lowered the crib

Whew, October has been a busy month! I'm so sorry I'm so far behind on the blog. Todd just downloaded all the photos off his camera and has been sorting them out. I'll post some of those soon--he had over 1,000 photos to sort through. I continue to have problems with my computer's space/hard drive issues so it isn't always as easy as I'd like to get the photos, but enough with the technical stuff!

Here's what's going on. Lena did a real crawl today! One hand in front of the other followed by one knee, then the other. More importantly, she was able to do it again when Todd came home from work and we wanted to show off. She continues to try to pull up on anything and everything and can pull herself all the way to standing. We lowered her crib to the lowest setting to keep her from toppling out. It is more difficult to put her to sleep now and she is waking up more at night upset, but I think she'll get used to it. We continue to have trouble getting her to eat solids. ever since the horrible vomiting episode she is not interested. I actually had some success with green peas, pureed and watered down. She got them everywhere, but I think she actually swallowed some too!

We've really enjoyed the cooler weather. We took Lena to the State Fair three times. We've been to the Dallas Arboretum's Fall Blooms Mommy and Me Mondays and Tots Tuesdays a few times. We even accompanied Hazel on a field trip to a farm! That was fun. I've been taking Bradley and Lena out for daily walks.

We're leaving for Galveston and a fall vacation on Friday. We're excited about Lena's first Halloween. I just finished her costume. She'll try it on tomorrow, I hope. She's going to be a snow owl, Hildy.

Now, for more pictures!

Lena sleeping, before we lowered the crib and after we removed the bumper

Happy girl! Before lowering the crib. She's on her knees here.

Lena after a long day at the fair!

Lena and Sophie the Giraffe. We've had some close calls with Sophie, but we haven't lost her yet.

Hildy, the snow owl. Better pictures to come soon.

Splash, Splash, Kick, Kick

Lena still loves her bath time, thanks to her Bath Time Babies class at Emler's. She does a great job of sitting up in the tub.

Good Morning!

I shot these photos this morning. She was so bouncy it was hard to get any pictures in focus. She's doing a great job of pulling herself up at the side of the crib. We had a busy weekend with lots of birthday parties and activity. Today was busy too. We met friends at the Dallas Arboretum and had a picnic. Then we checked out the petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and more. Lena was pretty worn out by the end of the day.

Baby Bounce

Lena and I went to Baby Bounce at North Park Mall on Monday. We stopped at the food court for lunch. Lena was still very bouncy! Baby Bounce is at Bookmarks, the Dallas Public Library branch located at the mall. We sing songs and bounce with lots of other kids for about 20 minutes. It is total mayhem. I hope to have pictures to show soon. Both Todd and Amanda have come with me to Baby Bounce at some time.

Sleepy Bunny

Here's Lena with the bunny we keep in her crib. It's very soft and cuddly--just like Lena.

Gigi's Visit in September

Todd's mom came to visit September 8-10. It was so great to have her here! These are photos we took of Lena on the floor with me and Gail (Gigi). Lena sits up like a champ, but she loves laying down and rolling over.

On Saturday I helped Jen at White Rock Local Market with Hip Hazel Hoops. Gail and Todd brought Lena to visit me. Here is Lena trying on a pink hat with a tulle top. Gail bought Lena a different pink knit hat that is very cute.

My friend Pamela took this photo of Lena and I shoot through Alicia's woven paper wreath at WRLM. It was great to have so many friends vending at the market that day.

 Here's Lena saying goodbye before I took Gail back to the airport. Until next time!

(I think it's just the light that is making Lena's hair look so red. It's brown.)