9 Months

Leia hit the 9 month mark yesterday. We headed in to see how much the little chunky cheeked baby had grown. Turns out... not much. She weighs 15lb 2 oz.and is 26 1/2 inches. That puts her in the 5th percentile for weight. She is a pound lighter and an inch shorter than Kate was at 9 months. Her baby fat is deceiving!
She is however wonderfully healthy. She eats more dinner than Kate pretty much every night and is a super absorbent sponge for learning. This week she is testing crawling up stairs, balancing using one hand (or none), and learning sign language.

New Toy Shelf

I finally built the toy shelf (twice) we got from Craigslist back in June. Yes, I built it twice -- as I usually end up doing with everything from IKEA.

We decided to get rid of the picture board that we hadn't had any pictures on since we put the new floor in:


I was concerned that it would be a little in the way in this spot, but it turned out pretty nicely:


Leia will have a blast pulling herself up to standing on this. I fastened it to the wall really well -- it won't budge. I think if I put some candy on top, Kate will climb all the way up it.

Halloween

We pulled bits and pieces from the dress up bin to create a Tinkerbell costume for Kate. Leia got the hand-me-down Dalmation outfit, and Aidan was proud to sport a Superman costume. It took Kate and Aidan and hour to trick-or-treat in our little neighborhood. They got just enough candy, exercise, and cold air to make the experience enjoyable and end without tears. Everyone was glad to get back inside for some warm dinner.


Kate testing her wings.


What's a cowboy without a dog?

This guy with the giant pumpkin head was a big hit. The kids didn't know how to react but Scott convinced them he was a good guy and to take his candy. Hooray for people who still appreciate Halloween!

BFF 2.0

It looks like Leia may have found herself a BFF. This is Shea and she is a peach. They snuggled for a couple minutes when they first sat next to each other. Even as Leia started crawling away Shea still had her arm around her. Kate definitely approves.