uP uP...UP!!

Well, as much as we tried to keep her little bitty, Allie has decided she is a big girl. She's been full-blown crawling for a month now and started pulling herself up about 2 weeks ago. I am not encouraging any of this unruly behavior (ha!), because I want her to stay little! But, she sure is cute standing there playin'. And on the 4th picture...she's only holding on with one hand! She is going to walk before we know it. Feisty little one.

P.S. Yes, she is finally growing some pretty hair. It is much darker than Zachary's...more like Todd's color. Yay - I was SO hoping she'd get Todd's great hair!!

Kids like parents who have skills

Recent conversation:

Zachary - "Mommy, can you draw me a dolphin?"
Mommy - "Sure."

Zachary hands mommy a paper & pen. Mommy draws.

Mommy - "Here ya go. Here's a dolphin for ya."

Zachary looks at picture.

Zachary - "No mommy, not an airplane. A dolphin."

"Punkin Time"

Hard to believe it's already late October. Whoa!! We took the kids to get a pumpkin so that we could make a "Punkin Face" (Zacharese for Jack O' Lantern). Neither of them were in very good moods, but it was still a good experience.

Allie enjoyed the little pumpkins:

Zachary was intrigued by the different colors & shapes of the gourds:

He was also intrigued by the cutting of the triangle eyes, nose & mouth. He got super excited when the cut pieces popped out!

He talked to the "Punkin Face" a few times. LOVE this!! And he fed the "Punkin Face" some dirt & leaves...because surely, he was hungry, right?!

Cultivating Self Expression

Some days (particularly those when we stay at home!), we'll let Zachary dress himself. This was one of those days. He's really into wearing "mittens." And in Zacharese, "mittens" refers to gloves & socks that you put on your hands. So fun!!

Sweet baby girl

I can't think of the right words to describe the sweetness of a little girl. But baby Allie is so yummy! We took turns taking pictures of us with Allie. Todd did a great job with the pictures he took of her & I. I love her pretty little face.