Meet Angus!

This is Angus. He is the newest member of our family. We adopted him from the Humane society this last Saturday as a new playmate for both Maisy (our other cat) and Delaney. He has adjusted quite well and I don't think we could have asked for a better introduction. He and Maisy get along just fine, which is a stark contrast to when we got Maisy and couldn't leave her alone with Max for over a month because he attacked her. And as for Delaney, she LOVES her new kitty. When she says his name it almost comes out as "ernie" because she can't quite say the "g". So, she goes around calling him "baby angi". It is adorable. They chase each other all over the house and she has been giggling since we got him. He curls up next to her whenever she sits still (which is not very often) and he is the first thing she asks about when we get home or when she wakes up. All in all, it is a great match for our little family. So, here he is: Meeting Maisy. He is only 3 pounds and 2 months old, so he is a tiny little thing.

Delaney is already teaching him the wonderfulness that is Elmo.

Some reading time with Daddy, Delaney and Angus.

He climbed up here next to her on his own accord. We'll see how long that lasts...

We are so glad to have little Angus.

100!!

100 posts! This blog has actually made it to 100. It has seen pregnancy, birth, loss, joy, injuries and everything else that life throws at us. As I looked back over the last 2 years of posts, it brings back all of the memories and experiences that we have been through. Our life has changed so dramatically throughout this blog and I love having this to remind me. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoy making it (and let's face it, showing off my little one). I can't wait to see what happens over the next 100 posts!

Halloween pics

Delaney had a good time this Halloween as a little garden gnome. I think she was surprised that people just gave her treats for no reason. She kept taking them out of her basket one at a time, examining them until every one was out of her bucket, put them all back in and start over again. We just went to a few family members houses and a couple neighbors that know her and that was our evening. She even got to enjoy a sucker when we got home that could not be pried away for any pictures, so that is why there is a sucker in all pictures at the end. Since she is not too much of a sweets eater (except for the sucker and a few other things she likes), Dan and I have been enjoying her candy loot. Thanks to all who contributed to our sweet tooth! Here is our little gnome. She counted her candy her at one stop no less than three times.

With the hat on and everything.

Enjoying her post trick-or-treating sucker. Here she didn't care about the hat as long as she got the candy.

The end result in an Elmo bucket (of course).

A video of the wee one

Here is Delaney saying her name, that she is one year old and since I had promised it many blogs ago, the way she says watermelon. It has actually evolved slightly since her vocab is getting better, but still cute nonetheless. Enjoy!

The pumpkin patch

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch today. We headed off to Scholz Farms in Orting again and this year Delaney was able to run around by herself. I will readily admit right now that I have included way too many photos, but I couldn't seem to narrow it down, so tough. You're stuck looking at all of them. We had a great time. Here she is checking out the donkeys. It is far away, but these two dwarfs never made it into the Snow White story.

Checking out the corn maze. We made our way without getting lost.

Picking out the right one.

She is a little bigger in the wheelbarrow this year than she was last year.

One again, there was not one family photo where she was looking at the camera.

Hmmmm, how will I choose just one??

Daddy and Delaney

Off to find the Great Pumpkin

Grammie Charlene and Delaney way out trying to find the perfect pumpkin.

I've got better things to be doing, mom.

I love her little look in this one. She looks bored and angelic at the same time.

Still not willing to look at the camera.

She is jumping. She just figured it out and it is her new favorite thing to do.

Picking out squash for great grandpa.

Daddy and Delaney off wandering.

Of course we had to have some corn on the cob. It has been well documented on this blog how much she loves corn on the cob. Well, today was no exception. She ate the entire thing all by herself.

Enjoying our treats at the end of the outing.

One last shot of our little family on the tractor. We were able to get a good break in weather for our little trip this year and Delaney had even more fun this year now that she could run around. She loved seeing the animals again, even little lambs that were just born last week, and being able to run around outside always makes her day. Another fun trip to the pumpkin patch.

Making Strides for Breast Cancer

I participated in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk this past weekend. It is a 5k walk with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. As most of you know, both of my biological grandmother's battled this disease. Both were later in life when it was found, but both had mastectomys as the treatment. One lost her battle when Delaney was 10 weeks old. So I walked in honor of one and in memory of another. It was inspiring to see how many people turned out and even more inspiring to see how many women were wearing Survivor sashes. To see women with no hair from chemo with their Survivor sashes on, in the midst of battling this monster, it puts a face to why we do this. I hope by supporting this cause, it helps other women and families who are going through this, that it helps spread awareness and preventative testing, and may prevent future generations, like Delaney, from going through it. It was a great time and was worth every step and much more.
My own little cheerleader decked out in pink, just like me. Getting ready to start.

Crossing through the starting line.

These are just some pictures from along the route. It wound around old town Tacoma and was actually a really pretty walk with views of the water and Stadium bowl.

Almost done, right at mile 3.

And crossing through the finish line. We made it!

My mom watched Delaney while I walked and they were waiting with a picnic lunch for me when we got done. Delaney was wearing her new pink kitty hat (since it was not warm) and we had a nice lunch in the park before heading home.

My registered walker sticker. See, I was official!

The three of us after the walk. It was a good morning out making a difference.

Some September and October randoms

We went to the zoo this morning. It has definitely turned fall here, with the temps maxing out in the 50's so it is time to bundle up for our zoo trips. Here is Delaney and I in our matching pink hats. Checking out the elephant. Delaney is very into animals and the sounds they make. So far, she knows what a cat, dog, bee, sheep, cow, elephant and tiger all say. We have a set of animal magnets and she knows all of the different animals in the set, so trips to the zoo are becoming more fun as she gets more into it.This was also the very first time that Delaney went down the zoo slide all by herself. She loves slides and there were no other kids there this morning (a perk of the cold weather), so she tried it and loved it. She looked so little on the big slide, but she had such a great time and went down it several times with no fear whatsoever.

She had a huge grin on her face the whole way down every time. I was worried it would be hard to pry her away, but offering a ride on the horsey (aka carousel) made it fine to leave.

Oh, and she insisted upon climbing on her own bench at the play area. She couldn't sit with us, she had to sit on her own bench all by herself.

They both look surprised I'm taking this picture. And when I say that she wants to ride a horsey, I actually mean she wants to ride the puppy. There is one husky dog that she insists upon riding on. She then says "puppy" throughout the entire ride.

Her anti-gravity hair after bathtime.

Having some snuggle time with daddy.

Just a happy girl.

Hugging the fan. She loved giving loves to the fan all summer. This was taken early September when we still needed our fan. The fan always had to be on and she would go and stand in front of it and then randomly give it hugs. What a little goofball...