Happy Halloween!

And happy 10 months Camryn Ilene!  Couldn't get a good picture with the 10 months sign this time.  She is way more interested in smushing the paper.  Little girl has been walking up a storm these days.  She gets so proud of herself as she stumbles across the room like a drunken college freshman.  Silly Rynnie.

Pic 1: Just wouldn't crack a smile.  Better luck next month...

Pic 2: Giraffe arrives at August's Halloween party.

Pic 3: August is a cowboy, complete with chaps.

Pic 4: Watching Yo Gabba Gabba while they wait for the other guests to arrive.

Pic 5: The gang.  Rynnie trying to escape of course.

Pumpkin patch!

Apologies for the lapse again, Kev had a business trip in Vegas this week, and he had the computer.  We missed him and are so happy he's home!  While he was gone, we visited the pumpkin patch with Auntie Liz and some of her dear friends.  Though it was freezing, we managed to evade the rainstorms.  When the sky did erupt, we took refuge under the tents with a fresh homemade apple cider doughnut and hot cocoa.  Wonderful fall memories.

Pic 1: Ready for the farm.

Pic 2: All the kids ready for fun!

Pic 3: Hello goat.

Pic 4: Rynnie Piggy.

Pic 5: I love walking on hay!

 Pic 6: My favorite pic.  So fun riding on Aunt Lizzy's shoulders!

 Pic 7: Cold cheeks and cold nose.

 Pic 8: I want this one Mom!

 Pic 9: Hello gnome.

 Pic 10: Are you done posing me yet?

Pic 11: The next morning, I had to take a pic of her wild and crazy bed head.

 Pic 12: Yesterday at the mall playground.  So fun!

Sick day(s).

Poor little Petunia has been home sick with Mommy all week long.  It is heartbreaking to see her so congested and uncomfortable.  There isn't much you can do to help an infant with congestion except steam and sucking the boogies out so that is what we have been doing.  Kevin even came home with a new humidifier and an electronic boogie sucker that we have affectionately named "The Vacuum".  Didn't prevent her from waking up every two hours last night screaming.  Screaming from hunger because she can't drink her beloved milk.  Screaming because she can't breathe.  Screaming because she can't even chew on Bun Bun!  Sad sad girl.

Pic 1: Breathing through her mouth and playing with the boogie sucker.  No fun.  We stayed in pajamas all day yesterday and watched cartoons and snuggled.

Pic 2: Earlier in the week: big girls that walk get pretty toenails!  Note the drool/snot combination on her shirt. 

Pic 3: Pretty pink toes.

Nom nom nom blackberries.

This is what happens when you allow a nine (almost ten!) month-old to go bananas with some colossal, ripe, juicy blackberries.  Now I understand why the Pacific Northwest Indian tribes used the fruit to dye cloth.  It also dyes skin.  And hair.  And laminate flooring.

I can walk!

Yes, I think we can officially say she is walking.  Kevin and I thought when she took her "first steps" it would be this monumentous occasion.  Like all of our clocks would stop for a few seconds, and the world would halt as she navigated by feet.  Not true we learned.  She has been taking her "first steps" for weeks now.  From couch to couch or toy to toy she would take a few steps here or there, simply to save some time I think.  But now she is consciously making the decision to walk from one place to the next.  And as this video shows, she gets a kick out of it! 

Also, here is just a cute pic with her toys.  She loves dumping out the toy box.

And finally, making "it's" blog debut, I present baby Schjei #2.  We had an ultrasound today and just as we suspected, Dr. Stewart confirmed that we are not quite eight weeks along.  She is thinking more like sixish, and the little blob was too tiny to get a good measurement and thus a solid due date.  For now we are planning on early June 2011.  We get to go back in two weeks for a definite date.  But we did see a faint flicker of a heart so it's real!

Fun family Sunday.

A little glimpse of our fun weekend.  Better late than never!

Pic 1: Go Linfield!!!

Pic 2: On Sunday we went to Lana's birthday party.  I just love wearing these silly hats.  And eating them.  And pulling them off everyone's head.

Pics 3 and 4: Kayleigh and I looking at the pool.  I told August all about what we saw.

Pic 5: It was so much fun swimming with my Daddy!

Zoo trip!

Made a trip to the zoo with lots of friends today.  We saw cougars, beavers, bears, a tiger, turtles, goats, cows, otters, and deep fried elephant ears.  Guess which was Ryn's favorite?

Pic 1: My new Elmo faucet cover that Daddy bought me.  Who knew you could have even MORE fun in the bath?

Pic 2: Snuggling with Daddy at the start of a long and fun day today.

Pic 3: My friends and I at the zoo.  From left: Ryn, Lana, Kayleigh, August and Nora.

Pic 4: Nom nom nom elephant ear.  Delicious!  I am still wondering why Mommy wouldn't let me eat the scrumptious crumbs off the ground.

Pic 5: Mommy also went to a fun baby consignment sale today and bought me this new big Lego table!

It's all in the thighs.

She had her nine month well-baby visit with Dr. Smart yesterday and her stats are just as we suspected.  Exercise does result in weight loss!  She now weighs 20 lbs, 15 oz (80th percentile), is 28.5 inches long (80th percentile) and has a head circumference of 44.5 cm (70th percentile).  Dr. Smart said this 10% drop in percentile is completely normal and expected given her mobile monkey business.  She's allowed to eat everything except honey, nuts (including peanut butter), cow's milk and egg whites.  She will be allowed to add these to her diet after her birthday.  Thank goodness, because as we all know, this kid likes to eat!  Something else we learned is that it is now recommended to keep the carseat rear-facing for two years, instead of the original guidance of one year.  Guess she'll be staring at the back of the car for another 15 months! 

Pic 1: Waiting for my shots.  I didn't even shed a tear when the mean nurse attacked me with needles.  I had a two-second pouty face and then I was back to playing with the fun Dr.'s office tissue paper. 

Pic 2: My Daddy is more fun than Disneyland!

Report card.

No pics today, but I did want to share yesterday's "report card" from daycare, because as always, it is a hoot. 

Today I was: "Cheerful"
Meals I ate: "Oatmeal, raisins, apple, milk, chicken taquitos???, peaches, yogurt, banana, grapes."
Comments:  "Camryn is a leader among the babies.  She crawls around the house and they all follow her."

No question, I am saving this for when she needs some bulk on her first resume in 20 years.