preview.

Lorelei and I did a little Thanksgiving photo shoot. I'm so excited to share the pictures with you -- on Thanksgiving, of course! Here's a funny little preview for you of what's to come...

We're also getting professional photos taken on Saturday to celebrate Lorelei's upcoming 6 month birthday and for this year's holiday cards. Can't wait to share those with you either!

Don't forget to vote for our little cutie in the online poll -- you can vote once a day!

photo contest!

I entered Lorelei into a photo contest. We'd love it if you'd vote for her to be the "cute kid" winner this week! Here's the link: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/1104205 

And here's the photo...

hello from way up here.

Today was a big day -- Lorelei broke in her high chair.

Lorelei is not yet eating solids (we won't start that until after the 6 month mark), but it was seeming like she felt left out during meal times in her little baby rocker down at ankle level. She was much happier this evening getting to sit with the big kids!

(staring at her daddy)

trick or treat!

...smell my feet...

(or eat them, in this case.)

We did lots of fun Halloween-themed activities with Lorelei this weekend. We went to a local farm stand to buy a pumpkin and took some photos in the fall harvest,

attended Pumpkin Fest and walked through the pumpkin display on the courthouse lawn while sampling some pumpkin pie and hot chocolate,

went to the Crunchy Moms Halloween party at Barnes and Noble,

reverse trick-or-treated in Jason's building/office on campus with these lollipop ghosts,

and handed out candy to some pretty cute kids here at home.

Phew! Can't wait until Lorelei can toddle around and knock on doors herself next year...

Lorelei goes to school.

We attended two work showers this week -- a baby shower and a bridal shower -- and Lorelei enjoyed getting to hang out with my colleagues. They thought she was a little doll and commented on her pinchable cheeks and overall cuteness. I had to pry her out of their arms so we could go back home!

and an update...here's a pic that includes me from the shower, too!

We also had some quality time in the living room at home lounging around and playing with tissue paper left over from wrapping up presents.

antics.

Here's a compilation video of what Lorelei has been doing this week: learning how to sit up on her own. We try to have her practice in different places (hence the armchair at first which provides a back rest but also makes her look like she's hosting Masterpiece Theatre, and then the floor where she has to "tripod" with her hands to stay up, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't). We are also giving her opportunities to sit in the Bumbo which makes sitting a lot easier and gives her a chance to see her toys from a different perspective. Not that she cares much about the toys, as you'll see.



p.s. We normally have her wear pants, we promise -- this has been an accident-prone week!

an owl shirt kind of day.

Though it wasn't the first outfit I put on her, we quickly determined that today was an owl shirt day. Both of us.

Doesn't it look like she thinks I'm torturing her? Seriously, mama kisses are the best. Suck it up.

Our new obsession: this Haba caterpillar. We get sad sometimes when we realize that the red ball on the end does not, in fact, produce any milk.

We're also working on sitting up. So far, not so good. Especially when mom lets you topple over while she takes pictures.

(we call this the Elvis face.)

p.s. when Dad got home...

Oh, sure, he gets all the lovin' and slobbers. Go figure!