Congratulations Vigilance & Theresa

While we were in Chicago, we went to the wedding of one of the Soldiers who served in Iraq with me. 1LT Anthony Trimarco was my Plan's Officer and was instrumental in the Battalion's success. Most importantly he could always be counted on to get the job done and uphold the highest standard.

Today is Anthony & Theresa's one month anniversary. Theresa was stunning and Anthony looked happier than I've ever seen him. It was a beautiful wedding and wonderful reception. We wish you both years of happiness and fulfillment.

P.S. Vigilance, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure it will be nice not having to wake up at 04:30 to run the Turkey Trot at the behest of your boss. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.
-Their anniversary is today, the 25th, even though the date says the 24th.

Mt. Morris

While we were in Mt. Morris, we were able to visit with a few of Martha's relatives: her sister, Nancy, cousin, Ed, and her Aunt, Lila. We made a short drive out to the Baker Family Farm. It is so gorgeous out there. I love their red house and matching red barn. See the beautiful paintings above Aunt Lila, Randy and Hattie? Aunt Lila painted those. And the photo of Hattie mesmerized by a hand carved Native American? Uncle Harlan, Grandpa Baker's younger brother, hand carved that himself. Such a talented family.

10 Months and a Single Tooth

10 months. Wow! Double digits. Her language is booming and it is so exciting to watch.
She:
-knows 13 signs (yes, I'm going to list all of them): more, milk, eat, dog, cat, duck, shoe, sleep, book, up, light, diaper and baby
-is learning the signs for cracker, water and rabbit
-is pulling herself up onto everything AND is able to sit back down
-went on her first airplane ride
-says "ta ta" whenever Cameron walks into the room
-thinks Cameron's water and food dish are fun toys to play with (can't take my eyes off her for a second)
-loves spaghetti
-eats "puffs" and asks for them all of the time (a cereal, finger-food)
-talks in her sleep (she says "da da")
-loves looking through books
-coughs when we say "cough". She even coughs when we "coffee" :)
-is beginning to drink out of a sippy cup
-combs her hair when we give her a comb
and
-has a single tooth. Yep. Just one. It's been there for 3 weeks. Just waiting for its partner. Click on the photo if you want to see a close up of it.

Have you voted?

Hattie has.

Meeting Great-Grandpa Baker

We flew to Chicago for two reasons. 1. Randy participated in a wedding of a fellow Soldier in Iraq, and 2. to visit Randy's grandpa. Grandpa Baker lives two or so hours outside of Chicago in a small town called Mt. Morris. Our visit with him was short, but very sweet. Hattie was not shy around him and she was very interested in his glasses.:)
I love the 4th photo because it shows Grandpa Baker imitating Hattie with her fingers in her mouth-which is so Hattie. The 3rd photo is also a favorite of mine because she is pulling herself up on lots of items now, and this one shows her pulling herself up on Grandpa's walker, with him looking on in the background.
More photos with our time with Grandpa and others later.

Great Little Traveler

She did a fantastic job flying to Chicago last weekend. She was a little fussy on the way home, but after settling down in my arms, she slept most of the flight. I took her photo with the pilot. I wanted to take it in the cockpit, but we were too excited to see Grammy to wait, so we caught the pilot on our way out.

Making of a Doll 2 of 2

I took photos of Hattie when she saw the doll for the first time (scroll down to the post below if you missed the pics of us making the doll). She was so excited. It made all of the hard work worth it.
This is the end of the photos from Idaho. We had such a great time and can't wait to go back to Boise and McCall for Christmas.
Pictures from our trip to Chicago this past weekend will be up later this week. Stay tuned...

Making of a Doll 1 of 2

I have always wanted to learn how to sew, so I bought a doll pattern off of etsy.com and brought the materials to Idaho. Jenny is a fabulous seamstress and she said she would help me. Thank goodness, because I had no idea what I was doing and she helped me tremendously! Jenny, Marne and I sewed two dolls; one for Hattie and one for Sadie. I think they came out so cute and I am hoping to make another one soon.

Teething

Guess who has a little tooth coming in and is not happy about it?
Baby Orajel is our best friend.

Halloween Party

Hattie went to a Halloween Party this afternoon. There were about 20 or so babies at the party. There were several that we hadn't seen for a couple of months, and it was fun to see how much they have grown.

Fly Fishing

More Idaho pictures. During the last week we were there, we were joined by my parents. My dad, Randy and John fly fished a few times. My mom, Jenny and I were "lucky" enough (rolling eyes) to go with them on one of their fishing trips. After many, many (did I mention "many") hours, they did not catch anything and we went home. The next day the three men went out and caught a few fish for dinner that night. It was delicious and we were all impressed.

17.3

Hattie had her 9-month doctor's appointment this week. She weighs 17 lbs. and 3oz. She is also 26 3/4 in. Both are in the 25%. Short parents=small baby. She stared at herself in the mirror most of the appointment. I love the look on her face in the first picture. It is so hurry-and-take-the-photo-because-everyone-can-see-how-much-I-weigh.
And today was an exciting day. She signed "more milk" after she finished her bottle.

Pumpkin Patch 1 of 3

We went to Joan's Farm in Livermore over the weekend. It is a nice pumpkin patch with tons of pumpkins, hay rides, pony rides, a corn maze and a petting zoo. Hattie was fascinated with the goats and she had a great time on the pony. I thought she was going to cry and want off, but she smiled and laughed the whole time.
Since we took so many photos, I have three posts. Scroll down for the other two.

Pumpkin Patch 2 of 3