Confessions of a Leaf-aholic...

Laney was 9 months old on November 4th. She is a happy, happy baby. She loves to play, loves her brother, loves to be outside, and SHE LOVES LEAVES. I did not intend for this to be a 'leaf session,' but I think I only ended up with just a handful of pictures that were sans leaves (there were a lot more than this!).

Laney hasn't had her official 9 month check-up yet (11/18), but she was 18 1/2 pounds when I took her in for an ear infection on Monday. She's not crawling yet, but she'll get to where she needs to go one way or another. She still goes 90 to nothin' in her Jumperoo and likes to stand up at her toys and bounce.

She is such a sweet-natured baby. I love that she is the perfect combination of determination and gentleness with a little dash of silly. She still thinks Carter is the best thing ever and smiles SO big when her daddy gets home.

Besides eating leaves, she has lots of other favorites. I think German pancake and mac and cheese may be at top. She ate a little bit of everything off of my Luann plate the other day at Luby's! I still give her some pureed food, but she is a great eater and tries pretty much a little of whatever we're having. She has 6 teeth, but she just cut the last 2 so you can't see them too much yet.

She can clearly say, "Mommy, you're the best." Ok, not really. But she can say "mama" and "baba" - so we're getting close.

Love her, love her, love her.

Lil' Hills' Halloween

I don't have too many shots from Halloween, but I was able to snap a few at some of our outings.


"Trunk or Treat" was the Wednesday before Halloween at the kids' school. Cute idea - designated cars are set up in the parking lot with their trunks open. They are all decorated differently, and the kids trick-or-treat around the parking lot. They had a dinner and some other fun things too. It wasn't the best day to be outside though. We got sprinkled on quite a few times.

Anyway... I decided not to waste money on Carter's costume this year. He would rip it right off. So... we went with what we had (and borrowed a hat - thanks, Debbie!). He was supposed to be a conductor, but he kept shedding parts of his outfit. 'Farmer' was an acceptable guess, too!

Laney just looked on. I didn't have it in me to dress her up, too. It was way too warm!

Friday morning was playgroup Halloween Party and the Halaskas'. So cute to see all the little ones dressed up, and Heather's house was so festive. Laney got to debut her ladybug costume. It was a tad big, but I don't see how a 2T could fit into that. Joel said she looked like a bear. She reminded me of some high school mascot with the giant fuzzy head. But she was so darn cute it didn't matter :) I think she's trying to pull the head off in every picture we have of her in the costume.

The little ones on the couch were all born within weeks of each other. Actually, Laney, Claire, and Allie were all in the same week! The older siblings were there, too, but it was like herding cats to try to get everyone in the picture. We just settled for the babies. (Laney is the crying ladybug in the middle!) I only wish I had audio for this picture.

Carter and Lindsey were busy crafting something wonderful outside. And eating candy. Lindsey looks like a giant compared to Carter in this picture, but I think they were just in different chairs.

Daddy and Carter went to Super Hero night at the church Friday night. No pictures, but Bee Bop went dressed in his Super Hero pj's. Actually, from Lindsey! He kept Joel busy, and Laney and I got to enjoy a night together.


Saturday evening we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's to say hello before heading out for candy.

Cousin Bethy and Mark invited us over to their annual shin-dig in Bellaire. Their neighborhood goes ALL OUT for Halloween. We had a great time visiting with friends and family. And of course they had a ton of yummy food. Carter really got into the actual trick-or-treating this year. Last year, our little frog prince only wanted to slide down the bouncy slide. This year, candy. No hat or bandanna by the time we got to Beth and Mark's, but oh well. Laney had fun with Cousin Charlie (Batman), too. He was so sweet to her!

All in all a fun, fun weekend for the kids. But Joel and I were worn out!