Daisypath - Personal pictureDaisypath Happy Birthday tickers
Daisypath - Personal pictureDaisypath Happy Birthday tickers

Monday, October 17, 2011

fall festivities

Yes...fall is officially here! I love this time of year. The month of October is always a busy one for us. It means that Halloween and Olivia's birthday are just around the corner. Let the planning begin. To kick off fall and begin decorating for Halloween we took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We have been doing this each year since Olivia was born. Here she is at 11 months with her first little "spooky"!

We love this little pumpkin patch because they have pumpkins of all sizes so she can pick out ones that she can actually carry. This year she wanted to pick out four pumpkins...two bigger ones that represent Todd and I, and two smaller ones for her and Cecilia. She ran all over that patch, looking for the perfect pumpkins to represent our little family.

Once she found her sister's first little pumpkin she rushed over to show it to her. Cecilia was just taking in the sights and fresh air, while watching Olivia have all the fun. I can't wait to take Cecilia back to this pumpkin patch next year. It will be neat watching both girls run around, looking for the perfect pumpkin.

That weekend Olivia spent time putting sticker faces on the pumpkins she picked out. She was pretty proud of her "family of pumpkins".

Another sure sign that summer is over is the zoo closing for the season. With that, we took one last family trip. It was a gorgeous fall day and perfect for walking around. Cecilia enjoyed riding on Daddy's chest, checking out the animals. Olivia took one last ride on the horses. We will go back to the zoo once more for the annual Zoo Halloween. Olivia loves this event each year and it gives her an extra chance to sport her costume.

Now let's talk about Cecilia and her recent developments. She loves playing in her exersaucer now that she is strong enough to support her upper body. It is a great way to keep her occupied while I need to get a few things done. She is also SO close to rolling over. She gets onto her side and gets stuck. That darn arm gets in the way and prevents her from getting all the way over. I have a feeling by the next time I post she will be doing it without a problem.

She is sleeping much better at night and taking better naps. She usually gets up once in the middle of the night to eat and usually goes right back to sleep. It took awhile to get to that point, but I think we finally made it. We still occasionally have a bad night, but I guess that is to be expected. I have a feeling I am still a long way off from being able to have a full, uninterrupted night's sleep. Overall she has become a very happy, good tempered baby in the past month. She spends most of her wakeful time with a huge smile on her face. The giggles are coming more frequently and her chatter is getting much louder. See for yourself...


Each year at this time we have our family photos taken. This year we tried a new photographer...Kathryn Proto Photography. She was amazing! I am waiting to get all of the photos from her, and once I do I will share my favorites. Picking my favorites was near impossible as they are all so great, especially the ones of the girls. The photographer couldn't wait to share this one of Cecilia with me.

She brought along this adorable little pumpkin hat with her to our photo shoot. It barely fit on Cece's fat little head, but we managed to squeeze it on for one picture. The weather was perfect for our shoot which made for a really nice afternoon. We have been very fortunate to find great photographers to take our family pictures over the years. I am always amazed with how great they turn out. I should be able to share them soon. Now it is time to get the final touches on Olivia's Halloween costume and her 5th birthday party! Such a fun time of year!