The Zoo

Barrett took a Friday off from work, so we took a trip to the Dallas Zoo.  I had been wanting to take the kids to the zoo this fall while the weather was nice and this really was the perfect day! This was our first time to the Dallas Zoo with our kids.

 Jack and Daddy checking out the elephants.

 Me and my little monkey :-)

Loved

seeing all these beautiful animals!

 Amelia and Jack looking at the leopard.  The leopard and Amelia are matching!

 Looking at the monkeys.

Riding the monorail

 Resting in the stroller after a fun walk around the zoo.  We went ahead and got a membership to the zoo, so we will be able to come back and enjoy looking at all the animals several times over the next year!

Halloween 2013

We had Halloween this year with 2 kiddos of our very own.

 Jack (2 years old) dressed as an airplane (one of his many fascinations right now)

 And for Amelia's first Halloween (11 months old) she was a pumpkin (in a tutu of course!)

Mom-mom made Amelia this precious pumpkin hat.

But Amelia isn't a fan of wearing things on her head right now so it didn't stay on any longer than it took to take these pictures.

Jack and Amelia got their big orange buckets and had a busy evening going door to door going trick-or-treating throughout our neighborhood.

 Barrett or I would walk up to the door with the kids at each house.  About an hour into it,  I took Jack's hand while standing on the sidewalk to walk him up to the next house. Jack turned to me and said, "You stay here."  Yes, he is only 2 years old and he has already asked for me to stay at the curb while he walks up to the door to get his Halloween candy :-(  I thought I had a few more years before that started!

 Candy!!!!

I think we are set on candy for the next year! (Or beyond!)

Amelia is 11 Months Old

Amelia turned 11 months old on October 26th.

She is one happy girl!

She weighs about 19 lbs.

She is in mostly size 12 month clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 3 diapers.

Right as she turned 11 months old she (along with Big brother eventually) got sick - colds, coughs, fevers, some throwing up.  It was not a very fun time & lots of lost sleep for everyone.  Now everyone is back to normal (accept for Amelia's sleeping at night which we are working on.)

A sleep routine on an ideal day for Amelia would be one nap right after lunch for a couple hours.

Bedtime around 8 or 9.  The tricky part is the wake up time.  Since being sick, if she wakes up during the night she just wants to be held.  Its getting a little better each night but we still have a ways to go.  At least I am getting some extra snuggles from this baby girl.

Amelia is always on the go!  There is always something to get into, tear up, chew on, climb, etc.  She keeps us busy!

Amelia has around four 6 ounce bottles of pumped milk each day (woohoo! I just about made it the full year nursing/pumping!) She drinks water from a straw sippy cup. She eats all 3 meals with us at the table each day.  At this point she mainly eats whatever the rest of us are eating. Her favorite foods are mostly fruits and veggies - apples, grapes, green beans, edamame, corn, and also cheese. She will eat meats and beans, its just not what she would choose.

This is one of her favorite toys right now...the spatula from the play kitchen.  Doesn't she look proud?!

 Messy, messy eater!

Her BIG accomplishment for the month was taking her first steps at about 10.5 months.  In this picture she is holding my hands (couldn't capture it on a pic that first day) but this day she took 3 steps then another 4 steps later on.  Since then she will still only take a few steps here or there - nothing too consistent.  But she is trying. And she is very cautious.

 We love this sweet girl and all the joy she has brought us these last 11 months.  That first birthday will be here in just 2 short weeks now.  Can't believe it!