SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize.
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!

Halloween 2009

She's pulling herself up to standing! And she's doing it so well! It shocked me the first couple times she did it, I was so surprised. Really, I was looking at her, looked away for a second, looked back, and there she was, standing like she's always been doing it.

She has a lot of interest in her own movement. It's fun to sit back and watch her figure things out on her own. Boy, it's been quick progression between crawling and standing - walking isn't too far off.



Halloween was fun. We decided to be brave and forego traditional trick or treating and instead venture out to Canby for our church's harvest festival. It was so fun! I'm so glad we made the trip. We don't know many people at church (completely our fault, although lately I've been really trying to reach out and connect with folks), but we had a blast. Hazel had her face painted to match her mouse costume...which she hated (the costume, not the face paint).


See? What did I tell you.



We had a fun time! There was a photographer there who took a really fun family photo, but I don't like it at the same time - it toys with my self-image. I don't think I'll be posting it here. But maybe. Perhaps. We'll see. Let's leave it at that.

(And how many times can one say "fun" in a post as short as this one? I dare you to give it a try. Really. Go ahead. I can't be beat.)

Big Move

Tom made the move to Baltimore part way into October, but Rae Ann and Stella and Ivy stayed with Mom and Dad in Portland for a couple more weeks. It was so good to have them close for awhile longer!

Suzi came into town, too, so Mom and Dad had quite the houseful of guests. AND everyone was sick. I still, to this day, have no idea how Hazel managed to avoide, well, everything. I prayed and prayed she'd manage to not catch any bugs, but with pneumonia and bronchitis floating around (along with swine flu, although no one at Mom and Dad's had that as far as I know), I didn't think there was much chance of escape. Praise God, though, she avoided it completely!

The following pictures are from the drop-off at the airport. It was so sad to say goodbye. One of the hardest things, I think, was that Stella and Ivy really didn't understand what was happening. They probably just thought they were going on a trip - "move" meant very little to them. They'd lived in the same house for three years, all of their lives, practically, so "across the country" and "not coming home" mean nothing.





So Rae Ann and the girls were off! October 30th, 2009, and they made the big transition to Maryland.

I'm sad.

A Day At Tutu's House

Mom watched Hazel for a few hours again today, so I could get some editing done. Mom had to take off to run an errand forever away, but needed to have someone sign for a package she was expecting, so here I sit, waiting for the delivery guy! Hazel and I discovered PhotoBooth on her nice new computer, so we played. This video is a result of our efforts.

Found some stuff.

Here is a video from Magone. It's cute, so I'm posting it. Hazel had just woken up from her nap and we were beginning to pack up camp. She's ruffled from her sleep, but oh so cute.



And here are a couple parting shots from Magone Lake:



Here are a few pictures from Nathaniel's birthday. I didn't have them loaded when I wrote his post awhile ago (let's be honest: it's been a month).



I'm currently working on a couple more posts, so those will be up soon! Hallelujah!