A Christmas carol from Delaney

This is Delaney helping me sing Deck the Halls. Merry Christmas!

Fun in the snow...take 2.

Well, this time we made sure Delaney was well rested and we tried the snow again. This time was much more of a success. Thursday we went out and pretty much just sat in it. All was fun until she did a face plant in the snow. We were done after that. It was starting to snow really hard then anyways, so it was a good time to go in. Friday we were able to spend a little more time out there and went for a little walk in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Dan didn't get to participate in any of this. He left for work at 3 am on Thursday and had a route in Bellevue. They didn't get there until 2 pm. 405 was a standstill and for anyone who watched the news, that was the road they were telling people to stay off of. He wound up having to spend the night in a hotel up there and finished the route today. He finally got home around 6 pm tonight. We are glad he is home safe and sound. Since there is no chance of the snow going away anytime soon, at least he will be able to play outside tomorrow with us. Delaney's snowsuit is coming in handy sooner than we even expected. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bell!

And this was what it looked like about 5 minutes after we came in the house. Brrrrrr!

And even more snow to play in on Friday!

Trying to slide down our little tiny hill in front.

Houston, we have a tooth!

Yes, Delaney's first tooth has FINALLY popped through. It has not been easy process and has caused some restless nights and unfinished meals lately, but it is finally poking through. You can barely see it and it is surrounded by incredibly red and swollen gums, but it has finally made its appearance! Only 4 days before she turns 10 months old. Hopefully, she will have a bit of an easier time with the next few. Now only a mouthful more to go!

Delaney's first snow

So, Delaney got to experience her first snow today. We had our first snow of the season. She really didn't seem to enjoy it too much (which you can see from the pictures). Granted, we had already been to the mall this afternoon and it was just before naptime, so I don't think she was in the mood. But, it was still worth documenting, so here it is.

Remember in the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie's younger brother can't get up in his snow suit??

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful. We are thankful for Dan's new job. We are thankful we are all healthy this year. We are thankful for our abundance of friends and family. We are so very thankful that we are celebrating this holiday as a family of three.
"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances." I Thess. 5:16-18

Now here are some pictures of our little turkey! :)

About to enjoy our Thanksgiving meal!

Our content little girl after her first Thanksgiving meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.

Ah, a trip back in time...

This last Saturday, my sister-in-law, Melissa and I took a trip back 15 years and saw one of our childhood crushes in concert. New Kids on the Block!!! Melissa won tickets on the radio and we had seats in the 5th row. Awesome! I must say, I was the first to make fun of it and think it was going to be a pretty cheesy show, but I was wrong. They put on an amazing show and were on stage for a full 2 hours. Neither Melissa or I were able to go to a concert back in the day, so this was 15 years in the making. It was a ton of fun and I won't forget it!

9 months old!

9 months old today. Wow. We are amazed every month at how quickly the time is passing. I know I say that every month, but it really does seem like time is flying by. Our little girl isn't a baby anymore and she is starting to look more toddler-ish every day. At her 9 month checkup, she is in the 90 percentile for height and 40th for weight. She is long and lean right now. I don't know how because she is eating a ton. Her teachers at daycare comment all the time at what a good eater she is. They put her next to some of the picky eaters to see if she wears off on them. We still have yet to find something that she doesn't like. However, still no teeth. We are hoping to be able to update that soon. What else can we say that we haven't said already? She is awesome and we are having a blast with her.

Is she flashing a gang sign?!?

Practicing our crawling on the quilt that Aunt Karry made. She still doesn't quite crawl, but she has also realized that with wood flooring, she doesn't need to because she can just pull herself and slide everywhere. We have found if we put something under her, then she can't slide everywhere and has to at least attempt crawling. Thanks Aunt Karry for the beautiful quilt to enhance the crawling skills on.

Hmmm, I wonder whose idea this was...

Hanging out on the big toy at Grandma Bailey's house.

Happy Halloween...and may the force be with you.

Happy Halloween! Here are some pictures from Delaney's first Halloween. We decided she needed to dress up even if we weren't going trick-or-treating, so here she is. Delaney and I went to my mom's house for Halloween and Dan was sick, so he stayed home. We handed out candy and Delaney loved all the kids coming to the door (and they seemed to love her too). She talked and waved to the groups of kids and genuinely seemed to have a good time.

Stephanie, Katie and I were Snap, Crackle and Pop for Halloween at work. We handed out Rice Crispy treats and took home the prize for best group costume.

Here she is trying to steal some candy from the trick-or-treaters.

And here she is trying to figure out how to unwrap the sucker. Luckily, we got it away from her before she figured it out.

Our little Princess Leia.

We had a playdate a few weeks ago with Amanda and her two little guys. Paul was a Jedi and Luke was Chewbacca. Delaney and Luke were very cute together.

If only we were kitties...

We have said before how much Delaney loves her kitties. We thought there should be proof, so here it is. As you can see, Max gets tired of it quicker than Delaney does. After 8 months of seeing the cats around the house, we thought it wouldn't be that exciting to see them. Boy, were we wrong.

8 months old....time has flown.

Delaney turned 8 months old yesterday. It is hard to believe how quickly time is going. She cracks us up constantly. She makes faces and imitates us now. She is eating some new foods and can pick up pieces of food herself. She is completely frustrated with crawling and has no desire right now. She is much more aware of what is going on around her and still adores the cats. We thought that would have worn off by now. We can only hope to be as entertaining as them one day. Enjoy the new photos!
DON'T MESS WITH ME!!!

Fresh from the bath.

All her toys and she had more fun playing in this box with paper.

In her little kitty winter hat.

Notice the bib. It says "I'm a little crabby". 8 months and no teeth. We have been a little "crabby" more than usual lately. Hopefully these little teeth will pop through soon. They have been aggravating for a couple months now. Thank you Great Grandpa Brown for the bib!

Trying to make the zerbert sound and poop. Not an easy task.

This is why we have to pull the hair back now. This is what it looked like after I took the little ponytail out. Her hair had a little growth spurt (along with her) and now it is a necessity to keep it out of her face.

Overall, she is a pretty happy little girl that loves to play, listen to music and have fun. Her smile constantly melts us.

Our trip to the pumpkin patch!

We took Delaney on her first trip to the pumpkin patch this Sunday. We went to Scholz Farm in Orting and she actually enjoyed it even more than we thought she would. They had animals, which are always a hit (especially the goats). She picked out her own little pumpkin and loved sitting in the wheelbarrow and patting the different pumpkins. She was falling asleep by the time we left, but it was a fun outing that we had been looking forward to since the beginning of fall.

Our own little dwarf.

Delaney picked out her own little pumpkin and promptly put it in her mouth to make sure it passed the test.

It was a keeper.

She had a grand time sitting in the wheelbarrow with the pumpkins.

This is Dan attempting to get Delaney to look at the camera. Obviously Delaney had other plans.

This picture cracks me up to no end.

The happy family.

Our trip to the zoo!

This last Saturday morning we spent some time at the zoo. It was a beautiful morning and it wasn't crowded at all. Delaney had a great time and loved being outside and looking at all the animals. It was some nice family time for all of us and we are very grateful to Mom and Dad McGuire for the annual pass so we can go as much as we want. Below is our attempt at a picture of all three of us, but it didn't quite turn out. That is why the rest are just of Delaney and I.

Enjoying our time at the zoo.

I think she had more fun with this plant than she had with the animals. We had a hard time prying her fingers off of it to move on.

Here she is trying to touch the sharks.

Watching the reindeer.

Measuring ourselves against the polar bears.

This was her favorite part of the zoo. She LOVED petting the goats. We will have to make sure to stop by there twice next time we go.

And just because there weren't too many pictures of Dan and Delaney...

Our little human beat box.

So, Delaney has been making some new sounds lately. I think she may need to expand her repertoire a little though.

Time to do the hair.

Well, it is necessary to do something with Delaney's hair now to keep it out of her face. We knew it wouldn't be long, but I finally had to do something this last week. She really never lost her hair and it is getting really long in the front. We tried little barrettes, but they couldn't hold her hair back for very long. She is a mover and a shaker and we had to find something a little stronger to keep it under control. So, here are the first pictures of our big girl with her hair pulled back.

I finally found some rubber bands that hold her hair without ripping it out when I take it out. She loves having it pulled back, but I think it makes her look older and it makes me miss my little baby.

This is what it looks like now when I do nothing. It is always in her eyes and she is always rubbing them.