Pumpkin Carving

After our busy day in Moscow for UI Homecoming I wasn't sure if we were going to have the energy to do much of anything on Sunday. But we all slept well and were able to carve pumpkins with Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Steve. Baby Etta couldn't do much of course but seemed to enjoy the parts that she could participate in.

I love my pumpkin!



Chillin' with Grandpa Steve



Ooooo, gooooooooo...



And the finished products

A note from Baby Etta...

...Aunt Molly and Uncle Jim

...Montana Grandma and Gramps

...Uncle Erik

...Aunt Macee

...Auntie Christine and Uncle Matt

...Jonah & Noah & Caleb

...Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Steve

...Lana

...Brooke Ann Chalmers

...Benjamin Scott McKenzie

...Aunt Marj and Uncle Karl

...And YOU!

Smiles for Montana Grandma

6th Month Annibirthery!

On Tuesday Etta turned 6 months old. She had her doctor appointment today so I wanted to wait and post with official stats. The pictures are from Tuesday though.



Weight: 15 lbs. 1 oz - 32%
Height: 26" - 60%
Head Circum.: 42 cm - 37%

She seems to be doing wonderfully. Has started with a bit of a mommy attachment/hold-me-all-the-time attitude. But nothing that we can't handle. Overall she is such a great baby!

Getting her to lay still for her pictures is going to become a bit more difficult I believe...

Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch

U of I Homecoming

On Saturday we headed up to Moscow for the U of I Homecoming. Traveling with a baby automatically means that you take a lot of stuff. And when you are heading out the whole day you want to make sure that you don't forget anything important. I packed most of the stuff the night before and gave myself almost 2 hours before we had to leave to make sure that I had *everything*. But as we were getting in the car it just didn't seem right. I kept saying to Bob, "I'm forgetting something. What am I forgetting". He looked over at me and replied, "Your 80 piece band". That was it I guess because we made it through the rest of the day just fine.

Etta rode in the front pack with her daddy. She was a hit. All along the parade route everyone on that side of the street was saying, "Look at that baby!" It was okay but Bob decided that she was just the right size. Any bigger and he wouldn't have been able to breath!

Overall it was a great day and we had a lot of fun seeing old friends. There's no place like Dome!

Waiting for the parade to start



Family shot



Snugging with dad after lunch



Wiped out!

Octoberfest

Last Sunday we jetted up to Uniontown after church to take in an Octoberfest. Our dream is to someday go to Germany for the real Oktoberfest. But we would be fairly content heading over to Leavenworth some year...

First Date...Double Date?

One evening Jonah drug out the Cars couch and said, "Baby Etta sit!" He wanted to sit on the couch with Etta. And as much as Christine and I tried, he wouldn't put his arm around her. But he did give her a little kiss.



Of course, where Jonah is, Noah is not far off. So he decided to join the fun. Two big boys and one little couch doesn't leave much room for Etta, but we made it work!









[Etta and Jonah also had their first slow dance last Sunday. At a church event. Gotta watch the pastor's kids!]

Pumpkin Paci

Montana Grandma brought Etta a new pumpkin pacifier during her last visit. The thing is, Etta only takes the Soothie that we got in the hospital.



So I tried to get just one picture with the novelty pacifier.

After I hand it to her she decides, "This might be okay".



Mom!



No! What are you doing?



What is this thing?



It looks interesting.



Seems to taste normal.



This is all you're going to get mom!

Post #100!

For anyone who is doubting what Etta's hair color really is...

Spring...Fall Training

For those of you who may not know, some time over the last two years I became a runner. Weird, I know. My favorite running quote used to be, "Who runs for fun?" But then I did a triathlon. An Olympic triathlon at that. Trained for the 1000 yard swim, trained for the 35 K bike, did not really train for the 11 K run. Why? Because I didn't like running. It was just a necessary part of the tri.

Well, some where in the middle of that run I thought to myself, "You know, a half-marathon [13.1 miles] isn't much longer than this 7 mile run, I should do one of those next." Really? Not much longer? Try twice as long! Math never was my strong subject.

And so began my running addiction. I mean, hobby. It lead me through a couple of 5 Ks, a 10 K, and finally a half-marathon in Eugene, OR on April 28th, 2007. Does that date look familiar? One year to the day before Etta was born. Labor was a bit harder.

Nearing the end of my pregnancy I had all sorts of big plans to get back to running. Was going to be back to my full training routine at the end of two months. All you veteren moms reading this can stop laughing now. I did get into a bit of a routine between biking and running at the beginning of August. Then school started. No more daddy to watch the baby while I went running. I know - jogging stroller. Well, our petite peanut was just too darn small to fit right. Had to wait until the beginning of October for it to really work.

But I am now pleased to say that I am back in a fairly good routine. The weather has been perfect and a mid morning run fits right in with that mid morning nap. The pictures below show what wonderful weather I am running in and how beautiful Lewiston can be. Now I just wait for winter to make us adjust again.






My new goal? The Missoula marathon next July. Anyone want to join me?

Johnny Jump Up

Oh how I wish that I could get the video onto my blog. Etta jumping in the Jump Up is just about the cutest thing that I've personally ever seen. Her face lights up and her legs start a-goin'. You can say "bounce, bounce, bounce" and she just goes crazy. Both legs go up and down at once and her toes kick out to the corners...

Tummy Sleeping

Etta has never been one to be a tummy sleeper. She has been rolling from tummy to back from about six weeks - I think mainly because she just doesn't like to be on her tummy all that much. But this morning when I went in to check on her...



(She is on her tummy - and squished the short way at the end of her crib...)

Random acts of cuteness

To round off the week I will add some cute shots of Etta that we got last weekend. Enjoy!

My new monkey that Montana Grandma gave me. Mom is thinking we may name her Yotango.



I adore my Auntie Christine. Someday I want to sing and play just like her!



Halloween costume preview. Do you think that it makes me look a little like Jabba the Hut?



Enjoying time with Caleb

The Helicopter Ride

Men are hard to shop for. (Well, all the men that I know are hard to shop for.) So when I saw an article about a new helicopter business in Clarkston I knew exactly what I was going to get my dad for his birthday. (It just happened to work out so well that I got rides for Bob and Matt also.) For my dad's 60th birthday last year his gift was finding out about baby Etta. Cheap, I know. But pretty special I think.

Here are some shots of the ride.

Loading up









Post-ride glow

The Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday we went to an Autumn Festival at The Red Barn Farm just North of Colton, WA. It was 3/4 of the way through a LONG day, was fairly brisk and windy. We got a couple of cute shots though...

Gramps