Which Witch?

Thought I was a witch, eh? Thanks. Little Dorothy had 3 of us to surrender to...the Wicked Witch of the East, the Wicked Witch of the West, and me, the Wicked Witch of the Midwest. Plus a Power Ranger and Michael-Dad.

I've got you my pretty, where are your little dogs?

Who's under this witch's hat?

It's Gina-Mom! Look at all those kids on sugar highs!

Aunt Katie as another witch! And Uncle Austin, the Power Ranger.

Taking candy from a baby? Go ahead and try to keep her away from it!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

While the All Powerful OZ is at a wizard conference in Las Vegas (or is that Emerald City?) I've been feeling a bit of a Halloween Humbug. Until today, when I finally got that old excitement I used to have as a kid when I'd plan our porch decorations for weeks and my costume for months. For Reina's first Halloween, I was going to make her a vampire because of her peculiar tooth growth, fangs. That is, until the other top teeth came in and kind of ruined that idea. As there are always plenty of fairy-princess-ballerinas out there, and she is sure to want to join their ranks as soon as she can talk, I opted for another option. Perhaps it is just to justify the purchase of her ruby red slippers...

Flying Monkey, Toto, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow...where is Dorothy?

she's off to see the wizard

guess who's the witch?

Fall Fun

We spent the last weekend at my friends Amy and Craig's house in Indiana. Reina enjoyed lots of pre-Halloween festivities like drinking apple cider, walking in the "woods" admiring the leaves changing and carving pumpkins. The weather has finally turned brisk and autumn is in full swing.

Reina and "Aunt" Amy getting acquainted over sushi

My little hunny bunny

bitty bunny checking her 6 teeth

how do you make a Jack-o-Reina?

oooooooh, spooky-eyed vampire baby!

Shame, or "Oh Poop II"

Disclaimer: If you are a germaphobe, think I'm a bad housekeeper, bad parent, or bad pet owner, DO NOT READ THIS ENTRY!

For the rest of you whose interest is piqued, read on my friends, with caution...

My beautiful, charming, dainty, picky eater daughter loves to crawl. She's all over the place. She's doing stairs, climbing under chairs and tables, wandering around the closet, kitchen and bathrooms. Nothing and nowhere is sacred. Ok, keep that in mind while I give you the back story.

The past several days have been really rainy and cool here. Hardly any let up in the rain at all, which is great for our lawn, but the dogs get cabin fever. You see, despite being born on a farm, Hermes is 100% city dog. He quivers with the slightest breeze, hence his "sweater of submission", and hates getting wet. Therefore, his trips outside to, uh, do his business, are dreadfully short and sometimes less than efficient on his part. Keeping that in mind, it came as little surprise to us the other morning to discover Hermes had left some tootsie rolls on the floor after a particularly torrential downpour. Well, we thought we got them all...

If you can't see where this is going, you haven't been paying attention. Let me sum up:

Reina (curious, crawling pre-toddler who is very interested in finger foods)

+

Hermes (incorrigible indoor pooper during inclement weather)

+

Bill and Annie (lazy bad parents who encourage child's exploration while poorly supervising)

=

Pooptastrophe of all pooptastrophies!

I'm sorry, I can't write any more. I can't even bring myself to tell you exactly what happened, I'm so ashamed! Reina has now tasted something new, however....

Toothpaste!

who me?

Same Day, Less Movie

We spent the weekend at my parents' house where Reina discovered that they live in a house not overrun by baby junk. Everyone had fun, especially Reina who learned to climb stairs (thanks a heap, Nana) and played on the neighbor's swing set.

The shortest distance between 2 points

Mouthful of teeth and a crooked grin

HoverReina

Reina in Action

Sorry if this video doesn't work, experimenting a little today. Also sorry you'll have to lay on your side to watch it!

The Terrible Tenth Month

Forget terrible twos, or even the now popular, terrible threes. Reina is already showing her stubborn and determined streak and she's just 10 months old today. She's asserting her preferences and need for independence by refusing all solid food from a spoon or my hands (if I put some crackers on the coffee table and walk away she's totally interested). She cries when I put her in her high chair, lay her down for a diaper change or put her down to play. She demands that we take her hands so she can walk around. She has mastered the 2-hand-push-away of everything from bottles, to toys, to food, to doggies, to kisses. She crawls like a maniac toward all things dangerous: steps, outlets, electric cords, water bowls. She even shakes her head "no"! What am I going to do with this kid?!

If she weren't so stinking cute she'd be in real trouble. Of course Bill says she can't drink from a bottle forever....or can she?

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Wistful Reina, "what is this outside place?"

I want to go to outside

watching the puppies in the rain

Check out these fancy dancy tights and skort, hubba hubba!

Oh Poop!

Hi. Sorry to not write in awhile. We've been experiencing an epidemic here over the past week. To spare you the details, it's called gastroenteritis and anyone who has worked in children's health care or daycare has seen/had it.

Now we've all seen it first hand, especially Reina. She's the only one with symptoms still but getting more chipper and less poopy by the day. No need to send flowers. I can tell you I have new found sympathy for my friend Giselle who has terrible "morning" sickness right now and still has to take care of her other 2 kids.

Reina continues to master crawling, pilling up the knees of her pants. She is eager to walk but can't yet stand on her own. She just wants us to take her hands and let her walk wherever she wants.

We'll try to do something photo-worthy this weekend for you. Trust me, no one wanted to see pictures of us this week!

Here are Bill and Reina sharing a throne of a different kind!

Come On Fall!

I love the Fall. I wish it would hurry up and get here...the cool weather (still 85 degrees today) the beautiful leaves changing color (this year pretty much just brown) the new clothes and toasty cozy sweaters (Reina can't wait to wear her new wardrobe) the crisp evenings enjoyed by the fire with apple cider (more like TV with football...) We have had a few teaser days of cooler weather. We've enjoyed some football games, even if not all our teams have won. We had classic Autumn experiences like craft fairs that were incredibly overrated (2 hours to drive 10 miles to get there and spent 30 minutes and left, sucked.) We've enjoyed having friends stay and visit and have eaten lots of Autumny squash.

Reina has become a crawling expert, she positively zooms around the house. No sooner do I turn my back and poof, she's moved on to new and exciting dangers. Everyday I find another potentially perilous item or location in the house. She also pulls up on furniture like a pro, cruises along it and gets herself across the room by grabbing on to the next closest chair. She sometimes holds on with only one hand and often reaches out to us to hold both of her hands so she can walk. She has become proficient at saying "dada" and has moved on to "baba" and "nana" (Mom loves that one) and last night Bill's trying to convince me she said "mama" finally. I'm still reserving judgment...

what? I wasn't about to climb up on this chair!

Go Bucks! Reina helping Uncle Matt move on a rainy day last week.

If the crib is baby jail, the pack 'n' play is a half-way house part of the kitchen work release program. As her speed increases, so does her time in here while I'm cooking!




WHO DEY! Reina and her first pumpkins on the front porch.