Fall Festival / Halloween

Here are some photos from Halloween and our church's Fall Festival.  The Wednesday before Halloween our church did a big Fall Festival with food, game booths, lots of bounce houses in all shapes and sizes, a petting zoo and a little train.  It was great.  By the time we finished working at our ABF's booth (we had the first shift and it ran a little longer than expected), Naomi was too tired to really be interested in anything.  So, hopefully next year will go better.  We will certainly plan better - take a later shift so that she can have fun first and pass out in the stroller second.  Either way, it was fun to see all the kids in costume having a good time.  

Here are some pics from Halloween night:

And here are some shots of Fall Festival:

Dallas Arboretum - Pumpkin Patch

Brian took a day off between his old job and his new job, so we took advantage of it to use the Groupon we bought to go the Dallas Arboretum.  It was her first trip to a Pumpkin Patch and a great photo op for us.  We also met up with a college friend of mine, Jenny, and her cute daughter, Lily.  It was a fun time.  


So, this post is pretty much just going to be photos.  I'm saving one of our whole family to use on our Christmas card, so I'm not posting the winning shot here yet.  :)  

9 Month Update - Dr's Check Up

Naomi after her shots, munching on puffs

We finally went to the doctor this past Thursday, so here are the updated stats and general info.  


Stats?
16 lbs 12 oz (20%), 27 in long (25%), and 44 cm head circumference (30%).


Doctor Visit
It went well.  They did a toe prick to check her blood's iron and lead levels which were both fine.  She's still itty bitty, but growing.  Everything checked out physically okay - her previous ear infection has cleared.  Developmentally, he asked about a couple of things and she's doing okay with those.  He seemed impressed that she has already mastered her sippy cup and he was pleased that I'm still nursing her (blessed to be home and be able to do that).  She got her 3rd Hep B vaccine and the first part of her flu shot for the year.  She'll go back in 30 days for a flu shot booster since it's her first one.  Otherwise uneventful.  


That's about it!  

Nine Months Old!

Go Horned Frogs!

Running a bit late with the 9 month post, but here goes...


Stats?
About 17 lbs (?%), ? in long (?%), and ? cm head circumference.
She's in size 3 diapers and her 6-9 month clothes. Will update with more details on this after her 9 month check-up.


How is she sleeping?
Still doing well - no change since last month.


How is she eating?
She still eats solids 3 times a day and nurses close to her regular schedule during the day. She sometimes goes on eating strikes, where she'll only eat cereal and yogurt. Otherwise, she's done well with everything and has tried a decent variety of baby food. She seems to be going through a growth spurt right now; she's eating a LOT. She's made a lot of progress on finger foods. Most of them end up in her mouth and she really likes them. She's also began to master her sippy cup and straws. It's still a bit dribbly, but doing really well. We're very thankful for that as it should enable us to transition her to the sippy when we wean her.


Doctor Visit
I'll update this after we go for her 9 month check-up. I had a little issue making the appointment so she's running a couple weeks late on this.


What new tricks does she do?
She's still not crawling, but is getting close - lots of rolling, scooching, rocking, etc. She's standing really well while holding on to something, sometimes even one handed. She'll pull up onto me (with some extra help), but not on other objects. I can tell she really wants to crawl and walk, but just can't quite figure out how to make her body do that. Poor thing gets so frustrated sometimes. Verbally, she's continued to progress, but nothing definitively new since last month.


General Observations?
We're still waiting on those top teeth and have come to the conclusion that teething is a beating.
She doesn't seem so small anymore, but she's still our itty bitty.
Her smiles and giggles still light up my world.
Tiny Tots and Tunes is going really well this time around. She's starting to interact with the other kids a lot more.
We also started going to story time at our library and then playing with some toys there with some of the other babies from story time. She seems to like that too. She is a very social baby.


Until next time...



Special thanks to Aunt Terah for the pom pom headband and to Cathy and Erica Brown for the cute TCU outfit and bear!  

13.1 with Team World Vision

Today we (dear hubby and I) completed the inaugural 13.1 Dallas half-marathon with Team World Vision.  


It was exhausting.  Of the 3 half-marathons we've completed, this was our slowest one (still hauling extra baby weight and out of shape), but it's the one that I'm most proud of because we didn't do it for ourselves and we really pushed ourselves.  


We hurt... we have blisters... we have sores... we now look like we've got one foot in the nursing home when we walk... BUT... We did it and we have clean water to drink at the end.  Around mile 12, I reminded myself that at least we aren't walking this far to get a bucket of dirty, diseased, mosquito infested, puddle water that we'd have to walk back to our village.  And that's why we are doing this, to help World Vision with their water projects in Uganda.  


Please consider making a tax-deductible donation by clicking the link below...


My Team World Vision Page




Here are a couple of pics from the finish line:

New Sophie!

There is a baby toy / teether called Sophie the Giraffe.  Here she is...

The Gotta-Have-It Giraffe

We got Naomi one and promptly lost it.  It was last seen on a road trip to Houston (during which she may have been hurled across the car in a momentary burst of frustration, however this is not how she was lost).  It doesn't look like it should cost much to replace, but I just felt silly paying another $15 to $20 for something I had already bought once.  I had already combed the car, our bedroom, Naomi's room and everyplace else I could think of in search of it.  Everytime I would see a baby with Sophie, I'd get a little sad and even a tad jealous on Naomi's behalf (poor thing didn't have her Sophie anymore 'cause her silly parents lost her).


Recently, a friend posted on Facebook about how much her 4 month old son loved his Sophie.  I commented on her post, finally lamenting aloud about the lost Sophie.  In swoops my fabulous SIL, Terah!  She saw my comment, happened to be at Babies r Us buying a shower gift with a friend of ours, and she replaced Naomi's lost Sophie.  We came home with our new Sophie Thursday night and I promptly ripped her out of her packaging Friday morning and gave her to Naomi.  (Okay, I actually carefully took her out.  I'm so not a package ripper.)


Here is a picture of Naomi with her new Sophie!  Yay!

Thanks Aunt Terah!  

Staycation Fun

So this post is LONG overdue as Brian's staycation with us was actually at the beginning of September.  But, here goes anyway.  We had a great time resting, relaxing and playing together.  We didn't get as much stuff done around the house as we were hoping, but that's okay.  Brian also ended up using this time to do some interviewing which has turned into a new job for him.  


So here are some of the things we did:


Free breakfast at Chick-fil-A
Yoga class for me
Naomi's first trip to swing at the park
Afternoon frozen coffee at Shoemaker and Hardt
Cupcakes from Say it With Sugar
Enjoying cute, quaint little Downtown Wylie
Soaking up the beautiful weather
Sleeping in (at least as much as you can with a baby)
Etc.


Nothing exciting, but all of it wonderful. 


And, here are some pictures and a video if I can figure out how to put one in here.  They were taken with hubby's phone, so not the best quality.  Naomi wasn't too sure what to think about the swing this first time - she was just mellow jello in it.  :)