Trick-or-Treat

Before heading out to trick-or-treat, Dan carved a pumpkin while Sylvia ate dinner. She decided the jack-o-lantern (designed after her with 6 little teeth) was hungry and tried feeding it some cheese.



Our neighborhood is not highly populated as of yet, so we didn't stick around for trick-or-treating. Instead we took a road trip to Ben & Katie's, Grandma & Grandpa's, Thad & Katelyn's, and Nana & Papa's. We did make one stop next door when we got home. Sylvia scored some teddy graham's, gerber puffs, and applesause...as well as a few candy bars for mommy & daddy.







With day light saving time coming up we've been keeping Sylvia up past her normal bedtime of 7:00. We were going little by little the last few nights, but tonight she didn't go to bed until 8:15 because of trick-or-treating. We'll see tomorrow morning if it's working or not or if she just wakes up at 6:00 anyway. We don't want her waking up at 5:00 on Sunday morning.

Happy Halloween

Bumbles and George the Monkey

Here they are again...Sylvia & Henry. They'll both turn 1 on Thanksgiving.

Grow Happy

Our friend, Laura, made this and posted it awhile back. I liked it immediately and recently asked if she still had it or could make another. I wanted to buy it for Sylvia's room. She generously gave it to Sylvia as a gift and also gave Dan & me a welcome home gift. You can take a look at some of her other work along with her mom's and sister's at Things with Wings Art Journal.



As you can see, Sylvia liked her gift. It is now sitting on the shelves in her room and not in her toy bin.

Room with a View

This is Sylvia's favorite place in our house. I'm not sure what she'll do when winter comes and we have to keep the door closed. Our neighbors have said they enjoy driving by and seeing her at the window.

First Snow

It is 8:48 on Sunday, October 26th and it just started snowing. Let's take a vote...
Who is excited? Who is bummed out?

New Fabric

I learned today that I like the fabric at Hobby Lobby better than what I've found at JoAnn's. The latter has more to choose from but it's harder to find "funky" fabric there. Hobby Lobby's fabric is also less expensive (and one sale today) so that's a plus for me.

This fabric will soon be nursing covers and burp cloths. Only one is claimed so far...

Marching Band

This afternoon while Sylvia was eating, I could hear the Iowa marching band start practicing. So, Sylvia and I called up our friends, Linda & Henry, and headed to the practice field to enjoy some marching band music. Sylvia spends three mornings a week at Linda's house playing with Henry. The two of them can make each other laugh and it's fun to watch. When the band finished up we headed to Goodwill where the kiddos enjoyed playing in the toy section.

Boo!

We didn't make it to an actual pumpkin patch, but here's a few cute pictures of our pumpkins out front. Thanks for filling them up with leaves for us Grandpa! We have a Halloween costum ready for Sylvie but we'll wait to post any photos till next week. I don't know if she'll like it but she'll be cute.

Party Animal

Last week we went to my parents house to celebrate my mom's birthday. Sylvia again enjoyed the ball pit. She can crawl in and out of it now and likes to empty all the balls and then put them back.



Sylvia was also entertained by the tunnel which was originally set up for her older cousins to crawl through. It took her a few times to make it all the way through, but she caught on and did it over and over again.



We think it's teething time again because Sylvia has been very drooly recently. She loves giving kisses and often "slims" us. Dan swears she wasn't trying to nurse but I'm not so sure.


Happy Birthday Mom!


(Don't worry...she got that last candle blown out.)

Fagus Sylvatica

Before Sylvia was born, Dan and I planted a purple beech tree for her in our front yard. The purple beech's scientific name is Fagus Sylvatica. We did not know the scientific name before we named Sylvia. We both liked the name Sylvia because it is a traditional name that is not commonly used now-a-days. It is currently the 532nd on the U.S. Social Security Administration. Sylvia means forest or woods.

This picture was taken shortly after we planted the tree. I was 8 months pregnant.

We took another picture with Sylvia next to her tree in May. Not many leaves yet but it was growing.


Unfortunately, Sylvia's tree did not survive the flood. So, we purchased a new tree and planted it last weekend. We splurged this time around and got an older tree. Sylvia enjoyed "helping" daddy by playing around in the dirt and pulling the leaves off her tree.








Here's a picture of what Sylvia's tree will look like in about 100 years.

2nd Nursing Cover

I made a second nursing cover the other day. It was much easier the second time around. I need to get some more fabric (which isn't cheap) so I can keep sewing. This one was intended to be for a friend with a new baby but she is no longer nursing so it's just hanging out at my house.

Playing at Home

As of Tuesday, October 7th we again reside at 804 Eastmoor Dr. We'll post pictures of the house sometime (when things are a little more put away). Until then, enjoy these new pics of Sylvia.

One of the first things we did after moving home was take a bath in our new kitchen sink. I know we won't be able to do this for long because she's getting so big, but it's so much easier than the bathtub.


Sylvia watched a bit of the Iowa game with daddy this weekend. She likes how low our TV is and tries "kissing" all the people she sees on it.


Here Sylvia is playing in her room. This is the one room in the house that looks the most similar to before the flood (besides our bathroom which we didn't have to tear out). Books are becoming one of her favorite things to look at. She is also starting to "share" by handing things to anybody sitting near her. However, don't go far with it because she'll want it right back.


Our next door neighbors moved back a few days after us. Sylvia is excited to see their dog, Gertie, everyday now. Sylvia has always enjoyed dogs and has done very well around them. There's one benefit of living in a highly dog populated neighborhood.


A new favorite. Sylvia's cousins in Texas sent this to us awhile back. We put it together after moving home and she now plays with it all the time. You can't tell from this video, but this is a Spanish speaking toy. I now finally know the whole Spanish alphabet. I could never remember it in school.

October Bible Memory

Here is our Bible memory verse at preschool this month.

Raspberries

I love that she can do this. I've always done it to her and now she can retaliate.

Homecoming

Sylvia made it through watching her second parade. I have to say that the Coralville 4th of July parade was more kid friendly...and more entertaining for me as well. We mostly went to hear the Iowa marching band, but they were last and we were tired by then so no clapping along happened.

Sylvia got some Grandma & Grandpa time in which she always enjoys.



Sylvia and her friend, Henry enjoyed playing together at the parade. They both stayed awake and content (for the most part) long enough for our two families to go out to dinner afterward.



We spent Saturday at our house working. Sylvia and Henry took a trip to Lowes with the Mommies. She also got a little Daddy time out in the front yard. Look at those matching expressions in the second picture.

The Last Day of Summer

Sylvia spent the last day of summer out back in her pool.



There are so many things I love about this video.

1. Hearing her say "ba"
2. The look on her face right before she sits back down
3. Watching her kick her feet in the water
4. Her working so hard to get those cups apart
5. Splashing her hands in the pool
6. Making noises on the back of her hand

The only thing that would have made this video better would have been a sneeze. I still haven't caught a sneeze on camera and they're already so different than they were when she was little.