Halloween

We had so much fun this Halloween. Billy got to dress up and 

tit-o-teet 3 times! First we had our ward trunk or treat, and Jay was lucky enough to be a part of the "dunk tank", which wasn't water, but rather some sticky, slimy, sugary concoction. The joys of being in the bishopric . . . 

  

We also went to my parents' ward trunk or treat the next evening, where I got to see lots of friends, like Summer and Geri Anne.

On Monday night, we took Billy and Reagan around our neighborhood and we all had a good time. We met all sorts of neighbors. We've been here a year now, and we had only met three of our cul-de-sac neighbors. Pretty sad, huh? Billy caught on pretty quick, and loved pushing doorbells and even tried to open a few doors!  

 

11 Months Old!

Yep, 11 months. I can't believe that my baby is almost a year old! She is so much fun. She is a mover - crawling, cruising, probably soon to be walking. She just got her third tooth, but the other 3 top ones are ready to come in. Fun times. Yesterday she was holding a pen and threw it on the ground. Then she looked down at it and said, "uh-oh"! Now it's her favorite game. Wonder who taught her that one . . . 

Happy Birthday, Jay!

Happy 33rd birthday to Jay! His birthday was on Tuesday, but since he had the day off for Columbus day, we celebrated on Monday. After an awesome pancake, egg, and smoothie breakfast, we worked out and then went to Carambas for lunch. The plan was to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, but we were so stuffed from lunch that we got take out from Pei Wei instead and ended up eating the rest of it today! After dinner we indulged (again) on a chocolate-raspberry-vanilla ice cream cake.    

On his actual birthday, we had quesadilla burgers and raspberry-filled cinnamon rolls for lunch. Yum.  

That night, Jay's family came in town and we went to Carrabas for dinner. 

So to summarize Jay's birthday: good food, good presents, and good company!

Apple Picking

Last weekend, we drove to Wickenburg to go apple picking at a family farm. Billy is quite the fan of apples (a-po), so he was pretty excited to see the sheer numbers. (Too bad a lot of them were on the ground).   

 Since I work Saturday mornings, we had to skip naptime, so Billy was pretty tired on the way home. He only slept for about 10 minutes because Jay was able to locate the BBQ restaurant that had catered an event at the city. We had dinner at the Hog Trough Smokehouse. It was pretty good, but really, it just made us miss Rudy's. If you are ever in Texas, look for a Rudy's - you won't be disappointed!

Labor Day in Puerto Penasco

 We were able to go to Rocky Point over the Labor Day holiday (many thanks to Jay's parents for taking us!). It was extremely hot, but still nice to get away from reality for a little while. Billy absolutely loved the beach (no surprise there). We only went early in the morning while Reagan was sleeping because it was just too hot to go later in the day, so no pictures of Reagan playing with (or likely eating) sand. Billy played in the sand and walked all over when the tide was out. He surprised me by sitting in the water almost up to his neck and then waiting for the waves to hit him. Jay was able to take his mind off work for a few days and read a book (a fiction book, mind you, not a political one!). I watched lots of movies with my mother-in-law. Ah, the life. 
 

9 Months Old

She's crawling, eating table food, and babbling like crazy. We are loving this stage.

According to her 9- month check-up, she's average in weight, and above the 90th percentile in height and head circumference.

Potty training and crawling

We've reached the big leagues! Billy is potty-trained (for the most part). He doesn't exactly tell us when he has to go; we have to be on the look-out for his cues and ask him if he has to go. I don't think I can express how lovely it is to no longer have to change his poopy diapers. :) We're going to attempt it a lot younger with Reagan . . .

Speaking of Reagan, she is finally crawling! Well, she moves around, that is. It looks more like "the worm". She loves to play. She can entertain herself for a period of time now, which is WONDERFUL! She has been a LOT more needy than Billy was, so I'm real excited about this. Her hair is finally growing and filling out, and it is definitely still red. Yippee!

Reagan loves her brother. She laughs at the silly things he does, especially in the bathtub. Billy is really sweet with her, most of the time. Of course he takes toys away from her (ones he hasn't played with in over a year). Whenever he finds a pacifier, he puts it in her mouth, even if she already has one in her mouth (he'll take that one out). The other day as I was getting lunch ready, I turned around and found him spoon feeding her (I could take advantage of that)!