Happy Halloween!

Tonight we took Kens trick or treating around our neighborhood and then back to our house to hand out candy.  It was a little chillier than we originally thought it'd be so we tried to keep our time outdoors to a minimum.  Kens caught on quickly and seemed to enjoy picking out candy at each house we visited.  Here are a few pictures of Kensley's first Halloween.

Sweet little Colt's Cheerleader all ready to go!

Our first stop to see Ashley and Steve...Kens really did have fun (despite the look on her face).

Family photo

All ready to head out around our neighborhood.

Kens and her buddy, Cooper.

Loving her wagon ride.

Her first taste of a sucker...it was a hit!

Is this not the cutest Colt's Cheerleader that you've ever seen??!!

She was a fan of the candy.

Such a good little helper!

 

Pumpkin Patch...

Last weekend we took our little pumpkin to two different pumpkin patches. Kensley loves being outside and the weather was too perfect not to spend some time outdoors. Kensley picked out a pumpkin at each patch and loved patting it and we even caught her trying to eat/lick it several times. Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patches.

Best family picture we got...Kens was distracted by all the people.

This is what happens when she refuses to wear shoes...she stands barefoot in the dirt.

Checking out the big pumpkin

Mommy and Kens

On the hayride with Nana and Papa

For the past several weeks, Kensley has pretty much been eating what we eat at meals.  It's so nice to not have to buy/make baby food anymore (with the exception of baby oatmeal).  In some ways though it feels like we have started over again with introducing solid foods.  We typically have to try new foods at least 2 - 3 times with Kensley before she decides she likes it.  Her latest thing is spitting food out (or pushing it out with her tongue).  If she decides she doesn't like something, is done eating or sometimes for no reason at all, she'll just spit out the food.  All in all though, she has done great and we are excited to eat more family meals together. 

Go Knights!

Last weekend, we made a surprise visit to Nana and Papa Brauchler's to see Papa coach one of his last football games (at least that's what we're told).  Ashley, Scott and Elli were also able to make the trip and Papa was surprised when we showed up at the football game.  The weather ended up being perfect and both girls were pleasant and happy despite being up past their bedtime.



Cheering on the knights!

The ladies hanging out by the fence.

Future Cheerleaders

Kens with Auntie Ashley

The girls with Papa...it took Kens a few minutes to warm up (hence the face).

The rest of the weekend we spent relaxing and hanging out.  Saturday afternoon we took the girls for their first visit to 1812.  Every year, the area where we are from, re-enacts the Mississinewa Battle of 1812 that took place not far from my parent's house.  It's quite the experience (picture Sweet Home Alabama, but not quite as classy) and we quickly remembered why we hadn't been there in so many years.



Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

The girls playing in their matching jammies.

Swinging with mommy on our childhood jungle gym that Papa built and then refinished for the babies. 

Ash and little Elli

We took the girls "swimming" in the hot tub (don't worry, the temperature was turned way down)

They loved splashing!

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We've had a pretty relaxing and uneventful week (hoping this weekend is the same).  Kensley continues to be on the move and her latest obsession (besides walking around everything) is climbing the stairs.  She's been climbing stairs for quite a while now, but never seems to have much interest in it as we don't spend much time in that room.  She typically only wants to climb up if one of us is upstairs or if we're going up with her.  Lately though, she'll stand at the bottom of the stairs and wait for one of us to come into the room.  As soon as I walk towards her, she starts scrambling and crawling at record speed up the the stairs (she gets excited and I think she thinks we're playing chase).  We've been teaching her to go feet first down the stairs and it's cute to see when she remembers without us telling her.

We feel like all of a sudden Kensley is really starting to "get" things.  We can tell she understands so much of what we say to her or ask her.  Lately, she's also really into pointing at things....mostly at things she wants (sippy cup, paci, etc.).

In the past few weeks, Kensley has really started to show more of an interest in her stuffed animals, blankets and dolls.  I kind of wondered if she'd have a "comfort" item besides her paci (which we are hoping doesn't hang around too much longer).  It's been really sweet to see as she snuggles up to her blankets and hugs (or gently lays her head on) her stuffed animals/dolls.  Her favorite friend lately is "Buddy" (the bright orange, oddly shaped, Dr. Seuss character).  Buddy was our lifesaver last week when Kens got her flu shot...she hugged him tight and shed only a few tears.

Kens enjoying her milk on the couch with Buddy.

More Steps...

Kensley is taking more and more steps every day and it's so fun to sit and watch her move across the room.  She'll often walk between her toys or randomly let go of the object she is holding onto and just start walking.  She typically takes about 4 - 6 steps a time and is getting better at figuring out how to recover (when losing her balance) instead of falling down.

After watching her walk around the room tonight, we figured we finally had a good opportunity to catch a video.  Here is a short video of Kens walking.



11 Months Old!

Wow...that's all I can say!  11 months old...are we really approaching 1 year already?  Our sweet little baby, is becoming more like a little girl and less like a baby every day.  Time is just flying by and we are constantly asking "how did we get here so quickly?".  We are enjoying every stage and love seeing Kensley learn new things each day.

We'll keep this month's commentary brief as lots of cute and funny pictures were captured in this evening's photo shoot.  And now for our sweet, little 11 month old!

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Kensley!!!

Busy weekend...

These first few pictures have nothing to do with our weekend...just a few cute shots from last week.

Kensley loves pushing her piano around the room.  It's so cute as it looks like she's concentrating so hard.

Such a sweet picture...giving her daddy a kiss through the storm door.

So now onto the weekend.  Saturday, we had the opportunity to celebrate with the Cobb family as Kensley's little friend, Nolan, turned 1 year old!  You might remember this post from last year, introducing sweet 2 day old Nolan.  Where has the past year gone??  Nolan and Kensley are 1 month and 2 days a part, which can only mean one thing...guess who's birthday is next??!!

Sunday, we made a quick trip over to Columbus, Ohio to celebrate Elliana's dedication with the Lindvall family.  We managed to time our drive around Kensley's naps and she did great in the car!  We left early in the morning and Kensley slept a little over a third of the way there, had a bottle and played quietly with her toys.  We left to come home later in the afternoon and Kensley was exhausted from the full day.  She slept for a little over 2 hours in the car and we finally had to wake her up for fear she wouldn't sleep last night. 

(Despite our best efforts, last night was a rough one as Kens was up at 10:30 pm, 1:30 am and 3:30 am.  We aren't sure if the full day and lack of sleep threw her off or if she's teething as she seemed to be a little stuffy and fussy today.)

The whole crew (minus a few of Ash and Scott's friends) 

Our first attempt at a picture of the girls together.

Kens anxiously awaiting more bubbles from Elli's Papa Lindvall.  She LOVED the bubbles and got so excited!

Second and final attempt at a picture of the girls together...neither wanted to sit/stand still for a picture!

Kensley is really into crawling under things.  The first time she tried this she got stuck with the push toy on her back.  She actually made it through on this attempt.