Happy Halloween!!

Madeline hosted her very first party and it was quite a success! We had a great time at the baby Halloween party and everyone was extra cute!

Madeline was a bumblebee and she hosted quite the menagerie of other characters. We had:
--Ishan the scarecrow
--Jasper as Vulture Boy (he apparently has perfected the vulture's screech!)
--Aleena the ladybug
--Jack as a milk farmer (his mom came dressed as a cow-very cute idea!)
--Amelia was a flower
--Lila the cat (accompanied by her mom the mouse and her dad as cheese - a complete food chain)
--Theo was an iPod
--Madeleine, Sofia and Sarah were pumpkins
--Chloe was a pink poodle

We lucked out and had a beautiful day. Everyone brought a pumpkin so that we could set up our very own pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, we should have set up the pumpkin patch in a different part of the yard, as we realized after the fact that the sunshine made it hard to get photos and the shadows darkened out a lot of the kiddos. But, once we got everyone set, there wasn't much hope of moving the pumpkin patch to another locale just to get better photos. These are the best ones I got. I'm hoping some of the other parents got some photos that turned out a bit better.




Here's a picture of the post-costume playtime:


After the party, a nap and a snack, Madeline was rejuvenated and let me get some more photos of her outside in her costume. I am really pleased with how her costume turned out. She was originally supposed to be a panda bear, but the costume didn't fit. On one of these rainy weekends we have had, I decided to put together this bumblebee costume for her.

So, here she is as the cutest baby bumblebee ever! (I had a hard time deciding which photos to post, so I'll just add a bunch!)








Bees love to fly!


Bzzzz, watch out for my stinger! (Dad thought it was very important that mom made the costume complete with a stinger)


This is my favorite photo of the day!




This is one talented bee...she can blow bubbles!


"OK mom, this is getting a bit silly...do we really need ALL these pictures?!"

Happy Halloween!

Grandma's visit

I realized that we didn't take many pictures this past week to document her stay, but Grandma James was in town to spend some time with Madeline. I think they really enjoyed their time together. Madeline shared lots and lots of smiles with Grandma and Grandma had lots of snuggles and cuddles. Thanks for coming out and Happy Birthday!



Getting ready for bath time!



Madeline enjoyed playing froggy with Grandma.

Our weekend...according to Madeline

The weather was perfect and it made for a very fun weekend in Houston!

Saturday morning, mom & dad took me to get my pictures taken. They said I smiled really pretty and did a good job. Its hard not to smile when they are in the portrait studio acting like goofballs. I think the photographer should have been taking pictures of them instead of me. You'll have to check back later for a peek at my pictures...they're supposed to be ready in early Nov.

Dad had a lot of time to work on his favorite project--his car! He even let me sit in it.

I think I look pretty cute behind the steering wheel. Do you think he'll let me drive it one day?


Mom and I worked in the flowerbeds for a little bit. Cooper tried to help, too.


Hey, Unckee-T and Auntie Meg, I hope you are reading, because this part is for you!

Here's the scoop...Dad put my jumperoo together a few weekends ago, but I was cranky and didn't like it much. But, they brought it back out this weekend for another try. This time I was drooling with excitement over this thing.

I'm still pretty small for it, so I have to stand on a box so my feet can touch the ground

There are a lot of really neat things to look at like a parrot that flies above my head.

I'm not real sure what to do with everything right now, but I think I'll learn soon!

Mom and Dad even let me take it outside. I love being outside and had so much fun out on the deck. Mom and Dad thought it was great too, since I was happy and they could do some work in the backyard.

So, yep, its pretty cool! Thanks a bunch!!


For other events this weekend, we went to Costco. I've been to Costco lots of times. Its usually not super exciting, but this time I got to ride a pony. It was just my size!


We went out for breakfast on Sunday to the Breakfast Klub. Dad and mom have been wanting to try this place for a long time. I just had milk at home, since I still think mom makes the best kind. Check out what dad ate, though. He said the wings and waffles were worthy of their reputation!

Mom and dad seemed to be enjoying breakfast, so I let them eat in peace while I chewed on my hands. I bet we get to go back there some time!


We also go to go for two nice long walks in Hermann Park. They have lots of really big trees that I like to look at. Dad and mom say when I get bigger we'll go to the park a lot to see the zoo, fish in the lake, run through the fountains and play at the playground. For now, I'm perfectly content with a walk. Cooper likes it, too, since he gets to go along!

So, all in all we had a really fun weekend! I think I like fall!

Has it really been 3 months?

My month in review:

Here I am at 3 months old!


I now can hold my head up very high!


I flew in an airplane for the very first time to visit Grandpa and Grandma Handl in MT and to meet my Unckee-T and Auntie Meg.


My hands taste soooo good! I love to have them in my mouth.


Even though the Boppy clearly indicates it is NOT for sleeping, I take some very good naps snuggled up on it.


I have lots of friends and enjoy talking to them at my playgroup.


I also enjoy talking to and looking at the baby in the mirror


I love baths


--I can roll from front to back and back to front and love to roll all around the floor.

--I have finally outgrown most of my newborn clothes and my 0-3 month clothes are fitting me well.

--I really enjoying "talking" and "cooing" with mommy and daddy (and anyone else that wants to talk to me). Sometimes I even initiate the conversation, even if they don't talk back:



--I'm starting to take an interest in toys and will reach out for them. I'm still working on my hand-eye coordination!

--It has been a busy month, and that's sure enough to make a girl tired!

Bath time is so much fun!

One of Madeline's favorite times of the day is Bath Time! She has all sorts of fun splashing and playing in the water.



She also enjoys recapping the events while being dried off.

Sacked out!

Madeline fell dead asleep on our bed and was looking so cute, that I couldn't help but snap a few photos. She even let me move her little arms around a bit to get some different shots. She's usually not much of a napper during the day, but she's sure out now!

Hey...there's a froggie on my carseat!

Fall is in the air...

We've been wanting to go listen to a concert in the new downtown park, Discovery Green, for quite sometime. This week, it has finally started to feel like fall and we felt it was cool enough to take the baby and dog for an evening outing. We enjoyed some great Latin music by Grupo Fantasma, had a yummy picnic and got to enjoy the feel of fall in the air. Hopefully we can enjoy more Thursdays in the park in the weeks to come.