Stockings

Lauren decided to make family stockings instead of purchasing them. We sort of cheated last year with Blake since Grandma & Grandpa provided her stocking when we were in Colorado. Anyway, with a little childhood experience and some creativity, Lauren finished her project this morning. So, here they are:

Bob's fishing SantaLauren's polar bearsBlake's snowmanCopa's mooseMaddie's bearAnd, here they are on display.Hope all is well for everyone!!!

Photo Shoot, No & 15 Month Stats

We had family photos taken a couple of weeks ago. A friend of a friend is a photographer and has very affordable pricing. She's actually sending us the full disc with all the pictures soon. Here's a little taste of what she was able to send me on Facebook until I get the disc. Here's a pretty good shot of the lovely couple :)All of our girls hanging out together
And the cutie pie herself


Blake just keeps increasing her vocabulary and her knowledge of what you are telling/asking her. Some of her new words are cracker, nose, britches (with an 'r' sound), door and please. She's pretty used to our bath, brush teeth, read book and go to bed routing. After we brush our teeth, Lauren asks Blake to get a book to read, and Blake will pick one out and hand it to one of us to read. Well, the other night Lauren asked Blake to get a book (Blake was playing in the kitchen with the dogs), and Blake very nonchalantly said, "no". We couldn't help it, we both started laughing and then of course Blake joined in...oh the joys! We also had Blake's 15 month doctor's appointment yesterday. We were able to get her both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 shot. Which was VERY surprising. Lauren has been calling the doctor's office for weeks on end with no luck. It was as if they were out as soon as they got a batch. Anyway, it seems to be such a topic of controversey amongst all the mom's we know, but we decided to go ahead with both since she's never had reactions to her past vaccinations...and they were actually available - didn't want to pass that up. Blake is now 30 3/8" long and weighs 22 pounds 8 ounces. The doctor said that her height and weight is EXACTLY what it should be for her age. She's right on the 50th percentile in both categories...too funny. Well, that's about it for us. Hopefully, everyone is staying happy and healthy and getting geared up for the holiday season!

Halloween Fun

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We have quite a few pictures to post, so we'll keep the text to a minimum. Blake in her Halloween PJ's.Fun with some stickersBlake being a goof ballpumpkin guttingBlake posing with our pumpkinsWe went trick or treating in Columbus with the Smith's. Here's Claire & Blake and you can see Gracie and Randy in the background.The three kiddos ready to go.Blake's first sucker...notice all the drool :) Pretty sure she got more on her shirt (and Mom) then she did in her mouth.Finally, here's our pumpkins all lit up.Our little scarecrow was pretty tuckered out. She hit the sack shortly after getting home. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

Britches

We are so excited to go trick or treating with Randy, Suzi, Claire & Gracie in Columbus tomorrow evening. Blake is going to be a scarecrow. Not too sure what Claire & Gracie are going to be, but don't worry we'll get plenty of pictures to post. Lauren is going to try to carve the pumpkins this evening, so we'll get those in on the pics too. Otherwise, Blake is just growing like a weed. Some of her favorite things to do now are help Mom out by opening and closing doors (including the refridgerator, dish washer and dryer) and playing ball with Copa. She doesn't throw the ball very far, but Copa plays along anyway. She's also recently taken to carrying Maddie's stuffed bear around in the kitchen. Maddie doesn't seem to mind though. Blake has also started saying several new words. One in particular, we caught in the video below. Lauren has always referred to Blake's diaper changing routine as "changing britches", so Blake's attempt to say "britches" isn't always perfect...if you're not catching on yet...just watch the video. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

PC - Part 4 (the end)

This is the last of four posts from our Ponca trip this past week. Lauren & Grandma decided to take Blake out to the Cann Memorial Gardens over by Grandma & Grandpa's house to do a little photo shoot. We ended up with several really good pictures, so here's a few for you to enjoy.






We had such a wonderful visit and are sorry that we may have missed some of you. It was a very busy week, and it seems like we never quite have enough time to see everyone. Otherwise, Blake traveled really well. I think she said, "hi" to every person that we passed in the airport. So, needless to say, she was quite the hit on the plane pointing out her shoes (a new word), giving high fives, and just being a good little girl. Hopefully this finds everyone doing well. We already miss all the help/fun at Grandma & Grandpa's, but it's always nice to be home.

PC - Part 3

Grandma just had to get the cousins matching sweaters so we could get some pictures. Here's a few that we took at the house and down in front of City Hall. Blake & Collier really kept each other entertained. It was surprising to see them have so much fun since they are at very different stages - Collier is six months old and Blake is fourteen months old. Blake kept petting Collier on the head like she does to our dogs, though...too cute.Collier, Grandma & BlakeAnd, here's one of Blake out in front of City Hall.

PC - Part 2

Chris & Katie got Blake the cutest little outfit complete with a little pair of Converse shoes, so we had to take pictures...of course. Here's Grandma & Blake.Grandma, Grandpa & BlakeBlake loves to grab your hand and lead you around the house, yard, whatever. Grandpa was a good sport and let Blake walk him everywhere.Blake thought all the big leaves in the front yard were just too cool. She carried them around with her when she was outside. She even brought a few in the house as well :)Blake had a great time exploring at Grandma & Grandpa's. She had tons of room to run around. We had great weather while we were there, so she played outside quite a bit.