No Tricks, Just Treats

It's not even technically Halloween yet, and we've already had a great time!  Natalie's costume was a huge success, and she loved wearing it.  What do you think?

Today we went to Trunk or Treat at Grandma & Grandpa P. and Aunt Beth's church:

Grrr!

cutest lion 

"Mom, the candy's that way!"

I am totally creeped out by clowns, 

but Natalie was totally drawn to this nice lady.

showing off her walking skills to score some treats

A sucker from Aunt Beth

There are no words to describe this...haha!

First taste of candy

Nat and Aunt B

Grandpa lured her in to this giant tub of candy

and she took off with the goods!

Nat took a tumble, but instead of putting her hands down to break her fall, she held tightly to the candy. 

 A girl after my own heart!

10 Months

With any luck, I can get all 10 months worth of pictures on here this time...

A little stroll down memory lane:

1 week

1 month

2 months

(look at those cheeks!)

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

Lots has happened this month.  Most obvious, Natalie is a walking fool now.  I guess last month she was taking a few steps at a time, but now she is walking all over the house.  She does great bare foot, and is getting much better with her shoes on.  Also this month she got 2 more teeth!  Finally.  We're up to 4 now. Nat also had her first (and, is it wishful thinking to hope for last?) ear infection.  Poor little lamb didn't even give us much indication her ears were hurting, but 10 days of antibiotics cleared her right up.

Nat now says "doggie," "dat" (cat), "dada."  

Walking demo

and again (did I mention she points at everything now, too?)

Seriously, how adorable is this physique?

We've been loving the weather, and have been 

outside for some play time almost every day this week!

A true country girl

Corn!

Pretty fall scenery...

our backyard

Halloween costume making was a success!  Although, maybe I should withhold that statement until Natalie actually wears her costume?  It turned out so great, but I think I need to start preparing myself for the fact that Nat might hate wearing it.  Pictures coming later this weekend.

To Play Like a Baby

Today started off not great (thanks to one stubborn top tooth), but after a great nap, Natalie was right as rain, and up for some hard playing.

She thought me crawling around under furniture was about the funniest thing in the world. I learned two valuable lessons:

1. Crawling is not meant for 30 year old knees. Ouch!

2. When was the last time I dusted under that hutch?! I swear my house is clean....all except that 2-foot long strip.

The Great Pumpkin

I've said it once, and I'll say it again.  I LOVE this weather.  Cool mornings, cool evenings, beautiful sunny afternoons.  Jeans, boots, sweaters.  Fall colors.  Seriously, love it!

This weekend, we took a few family pictures around our house.  I'm hoping the best one will eventually be our Christmas card, so you only get a sneak peak of all 3 of us.  But, our little showman was ready for her close up, and produced some real gems.  I'm playing around with a photo editing program, so hopefully I can correct some of the effects of the sun in these, but for now, enjoy!

You should see all of our back yard trees....gorgeous!

Love this picture

Before she ate half of that mum, she checked to see if we were watching

Natalie takes a time out from snacking on the flower to sing a song

one of my all-time favorite shots of Natalie

Nat and Eric

After our photo shoot, Eric did some yard work while Natalie napped.  Then, we went to the pumpkin patch!  Not quite as big a deal as I recall from childhood, but it was pretty fun.  And, while my own little one was too small to really participate, I did witness two other kids acting pretty much the way I remembered acting, which was running full speed from the hayride, through the patch all the way to the back (you know, where the biggest pumpkins grow), yelling "PUMPKINS!!!"  

Aunt Beth helped me remember the rule we always had to follow.  We could select any pumpkin we wanted as long as we could carry it ourselves to the car.  Natalie could carry hers, but Eric and I helped some, too.

Nat's first pumpkin

Can I get this one?

She would have been just as happy if we had let her take home the vine.

Dirt

(about 3 seconds later, that all ended up in her mouth)

Nat B and mama

She really liked this little guy, too!

Nat's first hayride

You'll want to stay tuned for photos of Natalie's first Halloween costume, which I am attempting to hand make.  Let me tell you, in my head, it's adorable!