Happy Halloween!

We visited a pumpkin patch with my mama group and their families before Halloween.

 It was Colin's idea to dress as farmers and have Mavry be the sunflower that we grew. I had fun making her first Halloween costume.  I wanted her to wear a green onesie with leaves, but I somehow lost the green onesie. 

 The cowgirl boots are courtesy of Aunt Laura.  Mavry got them on her visit to Texas in August.  

 These pictures on the horse make me laugh!  It looks like she's hamming it up a little for the camera.  I wouldn't put it past her.

 After we visited the pumpkin patch, we went to our church's Fall Festival.  Mavry was worn out and not much into smiling at this point. 

They had a photo booth set up to take pictures.  This last one reminds me of one of those old timey photos where you aren't allowed to move or smile.  Ha!  I love the stoic face.  Have you seen the picture floating around the net of the little girl as Frida Kahlo?  Mavry looks about as excited as that girl in this pic.

For Halloween tonight, we stayed home and had chicken turnovers with a normal bedtime for the baby girl, so I'm glad we have a few shots from a week ago to show off our little sunflower! 

Labor Day Camping

We went camping Labor Day weekend when Mavry was still just 6 months old.  It wasn't that long ago, but she changes so fast!  Since I got a few other things crossed off my to do list (like making Mavry's Halloween costume), I finally got around to getting the video of our camping trip put together. 

Colin gets excited about camping (which is why in the video, I ask him if he's excited at least twice).  He was even more excited to take Mavry on her first camping trip.  She did really well.  With the exception of getting used to the cold water, she enjoyed every minute. 

Mavry: 8 Months

Mavry turned 8 months old on Saturday!


For some reason, 8 months sounds old to me.  Maybe it's because she's pulling up to standing and even taking steps around the coffee table (or couch, dresser, our legs, the stack of suitcases in our living room...whatever she can find!). 

Since she learned to pull herself all the way up to standing (a little over a week ago), she doesn't have much interest in toys anymore.  She's just interested in standing up and working on taking steps along what she's holding on to. 

I can't believe she's already at this stage.  The other day I looked at her and wondered out loud to Colin how amazing it is that we have this wonderful little soul living in our house that we get to take care of in this world. What a deal. 

See Mavry at:
7 months
6 months
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
5 weeks

A Photo Book

I've been turning books in at the library the day after they're due (before the library opens, trying to get one extra night to finish them), calling in for an extension on my traffic ticket (the speed limit on our street is 25, which it turns out is slower than you would think), and doing projects at the last minute. 
This is one of them. 
I just finished this little book that I got as a free offer a few months ago, but tonight was the last night.  I actually had an hour and a half to spare before the offer expired once I finished!  Here's the result - not as lovely or descriptive as it could have been, but still a wonderful chance to look back on Mavry's almost 8 months of life outside the womb.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own personalized photo books at Shutterfly.com.

"Man, I just cleared out this inbox yesterday!"

(That's Colin's caption for this picture.  What would your caption be?)

We've been putting Mavry on the potty in between the couch and the coffee table for a few months, putting a basket or a book within reach on the lower level of the coffee table for her to look at while she goes. The past few weeks, she's been working on pulling herself up from the potty by holding on to the table.  Just in the past few days she's become really confident in this and today took a step to the right. 

It's so cute when she does this and she really loves the achievement (especially if there is a lit up computer for her to touch!), but it's not a position that she would normally be able to get into herself since she can only stand when she begins on the potty, which is a position we have to put her in.  So, I've started to turn the potty to face the couch or pull it out to where she can't stand up since she's not really developmentally ready to stand. 

This post discusses the downsides of us putting babies in positions they can't get into on their own, and I agree with it, but I am guilty of violating the principles it discusses!

Mavry: 7 Months!

She does the army crawl.


She loves playing with straps and buckles. 

She has overcome her fear of crossing the line into the kitchen from carpet to linoleum.

She tries pulling up, but doesn't get her legs underneath herself yet.

She is experimenting with less naps.

She loves to be in the sitting position but doesn't sit herself up yet.

She loves to eat and experiment with new foods but is not so keen on being fed. 

She makes herself laugh.  (Another way in which she takes after her Daddy.)

(So I'm about 10 days late with this post, but the pictures were taken just two days after 7 months.)

See Mavry at:
6 months
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
5 weeks

Texas Trip

We got to visit Texas in August!  We flew in to Austin and drove to Lake Brownwood for a family reunion on my Dad's side of the family.  I hadn't been to that reunion since before I left for Asia, which was in 2003, so I was glad to be able to see a few people on that side of the family and bring Colin and Mavry with me. 

 

Since my parents crashed Colin's family reunion earlier in the summer, Colin's parents joined us in Brownwood.  

 We went back to Austin and got some more family time plus some friend visits. 

 Colin left Austin after the weekend to get back to work, but Mavry and I stayed and went to visit my sister Laura and her family in Burleson.  We went to visit a farm in Cleburne to see the animals and buy some raw milk.  For the rest of my visit, Wesley and Curtis kept asking for "farm milk" to drink since they knew where it came from. 

 

It rained a lot while I was in Burleson!  I love rain and had fun playing in the puddles with my nephews.  My parents came to visit for some more grandkid time since we didn't make it to Abilene.  We enjoyed being treated to some fun restaurants and Mavry really enjoyed all the attention she got from everyone.  She especially loved all the fun times with her cousins.  It's too bad we live so far away!