Holding on...

Someone around here is still holding on to summer...

 I let Lainey go explore the porch while I got her dinner ready the other night and came out to see this...

While Lainey seems to be missing those warm summer temperatures, her Momma is sure loving everything about FALL!  I have a whopping 3 pieces of fall decor out on my mantle and they make me smile.  I bought 2 new fall candles and I alternate burning one and then the other every other day.  Last Saturday, I made homemade applesauce in the crock pot and it was AMAZING.  I'm hoping to do some fall baking soon too.  Not to mention, Lainey's fall wardrobe (once again, mostly thanks to her Auntie Em and cousin Claire's generosity) is just TOO cute!

Aren't cool fall mornings just perfect for cozy sweats and a little time with a good book?

Me and my little walker are loving exploring the yard multiple times a day too...

As much as she is loving the crisp, crunchy leaves and tossing helicopters in the air, I think she will love fall too like her Momma!  Especially once she gets a taste of pumpkin pie some day... that will really win her over!

Mashed potato 'do

Lookin' good Lainey!

Learning and growing!

This post is more for my own memory than anything else but I just wanted to make sure I captured where Lainey is at right now and all of the fun things she is learning, new words, etc.

At 13 months, Lainey is...

• walking EVERYWHERE!  She only slows down to eat and sleep!
• able to recognize dogs anywhere... on a walk, on a package of dog food at the grocery store, in a book, on TV... anywhere.
• already able to scold Simon.  She'll point her little finger and repeat us by saying "bad dog!"  It's maybe not the best thing we've taught her, but it's pretty hilarious to watch your toddler scold the dog.
• working on her chompers.  I felt around in her little mouth this weekend and to my surprise, she has 3 new teeth so a total of 8 (as of today).
• a mover and a shaker.  She can dance on command.  C'mon, are you really shocked that MY child likes to dance? :)
• pointing to what she wants or where she wants you to go or take her.  She'll point and then look at you and nod.  For example, at church on Sunday, she was pointing to the back of the building which coincidentally, is where the doughnuts are. :)  She's a smart girl.
• enjoying playing with things like pots, pans and play dishes and is figuring out the purpose of forks and spoons and will gladly share her delicious "food" with anyone.
• trying to climb up, on and over anything and everything that is her size.
• obsessed with shoes and loves trying to put them on.
• saying words like ma, da, dog, ish (fish), bah-bah (baby).
• giving lots of kisses and hugs to her mom and dad and of course, to Simon and her stuffed animals.
• able to point to and recognize where her nose, belly, mouth and head are.

And of course, any post without pictures isn't a post worth checking out, right?  These are all from my phone from the last week or so...

The girl love, love, LOVES dogs.

We've gone twice now to Book Babies story time at the Urbandale Library.  The best part about the class is the rule that there are no rules, which is perfect for a story time for 12-24 month olds.  Lainey has zero interest in sitting still so she's usually doing a lot of roaming around like this...

We are slowly but surely transitioning from 2 naps to 1.  She was showing some signs of being ready 2 weeks ago or so but due to the fact that she's such an early bird, she really did NEED 2 naps some days.  She has graciously been sleeping until 7 or 7:30 (which I realize is still pretty early, but better than 6!)  and therefore can now make it all morning (most of the time) and nap after lunch.  We definitely don't have it totally figured out yet but I wanted to make the switch before baby boy arrives in November.  Anyway, this has lead to much, much longer afternoon naps, which is AWE-SOME for this Momma.  It takes her a little while to come out of the nap coma so I get some sweet snuggles for 15 or 20 minutes while she wakes up.  Definitely love that!

And finally...

I mean...COME ON!... How precious is that?!  I think she's going to be a sweet, sweet big sis!  Loving our adorable 13 month old!

Labor Day weekend

We got to spend an extra long long weekend in Minnesota for Labor Day the past several days.  We wanted to take one more trip before I get way too uncomfortable for a road trip and before baby boy comes and do a few things as a family of 3!  We ate lots of delicious meals and enjoyed lots of relaxing down time too.  It's always a great time to visit my parents - they take care of us so well!

We hit Como Park Zoo which I would HIGHLY recommend!  1) It's (technically) FREE! (There is a suggested donation at the entrance)  2)  It has a lot of the "good" zoo animals that kids like to see like giraffes, zebras, seals and polar bears!  3) It's not huge and you can see almost everything in about 2 hours or less!

Lainey is getting to a SUPER fun age for zoo trips.  She loves animals and she pointed at everything, called it a "dog" and shouted out lots of "OOOHs!"  It was so adorable!

Look at that polar bear!  That is her favorite animal in her Little People Zoo toy she got for her birthday.

See?!?  "Oooooh!"

Gotta love a little group photo op!

Doing LOTS of walking these days!

  Lainey's favorite item of the weekend was this little rocking chair at my mom and dad's.  My parents recently cleaned out the attic and found all kinds of treasures! 

She has the funniest expressions.

 Little stinker wouldn't touch the sweet corn on the cob but enjoyed it on her tray!

My parents live in a neighborhood of townhouses with an awesome playground down the street!  Lainey tolerated the swings on this particular night. 

 She's always loved books but just in the past week she's really be interested in actually listening to you read the book to her rather than just flipping through the pages.  She's also started backing her little tush up to sit in your lap which is just about the sweetest thing ever.

Seriously?!  That face!

 Another gem my parents found in their attic were some baby blankets from when my sister and I were born.  We laid them all out and Lainey had the best time crawling and walking back and forth on her blanket path.  It was so cute!

Blessed to take one last trip as a family of 3 and to spend it with my parents.   Loved that Jed could take a day off too so our weekend was extra long.  Lainey enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa's attention and adoration just as much as they enjoyed giving it to her!  Great long weekend!