the start of winter

it has been a very long time since mommy got around to uploading all of our family pictures from before thanksgiving, but i convinced her to motivate before another month goes by. as you will see, there are a few trends that i have kept, like dressing up and spending time with family, and a few new things like climbing anywhere, anytime, and being outside in all types of weather. in fact, i can't wait to get to montana in a month and try skiing and sledding. i hope mommy brings her boots...

with mommy and daddy's friend mike from college and his daughter eleanor... we had a lot of fun playing together one morning before thanksgiving.

thanksgiving with auntie mere and uncle ric (sorry auntie mere ;-)

we celebrated christmas early with grammy and grampops since we were going to be in indiana... i really like the scarf that grammy got mommy

a circus tent and new rainboots from nanny kacey have kept me giggling for hours

my new snowsuit for montana, courtesy of grammy and grampops

clearly turning my carseat around doesn't keep me from dozing peacefully on long road trips

daddy couldn't resist introducing me to the finer things in life

going over my colors with pops

there's nothing better than double fisting sippy cups

christmas eve

ashley and mike on christmas morning

unk b!!!

playing with gram and my new water bottle

checking out the snowfall the morning after christmas

eating brunch with erica and stacy before we hit the road back to nashville

mommy and daddy and i took a trip to the aquarium in chattanooga where i learned all about sea horses

new year's eve fondue dinner

grammy stopped in for a short visit a couple of weeks ago and convinced me to leave my hairbows in

after a "huge" winter storm in nashville (1 inch of snow), we had a thaw and i got to get back into my sandbox for an afternoon

i flung myself out of my crib a few nights ago in a howl of frustration. this prompted mommy and daddy to quickly purchase a toddler bed so i wouldn't accidentally break any bones. i haven't slept in it yet, but it sure is fun to jump on.

a fall selection from grammy ginna

grammy and grampops were here in nashville for five weeks this fall and grammy took a lot of fantastic pictures of all of us. so here is a selection from their visit:

thanksgiving at home, mommy and i read "always sprinkle pepper in your hair" by shel silverstein as a lighthearted approach to the thanksgiving reading round

auntie mere and uncle ric

grampops and auntie mere

i love having other people wear my "airbows" but i refuse to wear them myself

thanksgiving eve dinner

i carried my ciao bella purse for the first time since we were getting really dressed up

18 months old

hard at work with grampops on the computer

playing the keyboard at my music class halloween party

so many instruments to choose from

eating the sugar cookies i made

tasting flour

decorating the cookies with daddy

riding the carousel at the zoo

another great shot of me with that personal pie grammy helped me make

baking pies with grammy

at the pumpkin patch

gourds!

strolling on a sunny saturday

it was a beautiful yet cold saturday in nashville yesterday so we went out strolling around the neighborhood and stopped for some hot chocolate. blechh, i don't like hot chocolate. i realize this makes me a minority among tots. as you may have noticed, i am really into the cool style of runners... it makes for a perfect look, comfort and pizazz all in one. i think the snazzy vest that auntie ann and uncle michael got for me has contributed to this along with mommy's friend natalie's hand knit hats and leg warmers... they make wearing shorts in 30 degree weather possible.

dressing up and baking pies - halloween delights

preparation for halloween has really gotten me in the dressing up spirit! in reverse order, here is my halloween extravaganza:

it's a little far away, but this is our house on halloween night, we passed out candy to many costumed neighbors and i tried most of it first to make sure it was okay to give to others

earlier that day mommy and i carved a jack-o-lantern

at my school halloween party, my friend betti is behind me, she was a ladybug

most of my class waiting for the halloween treats

painting myself and my pumpkin

grammy and i made pumpkin pies, i had my very own that i quickly and enjoyably polished off all by myself

playing dress-up in daddy's t-shirt and one of mommy's sashes, this has become a very entertaining pastime