Three new videos!

Here are three new videos of Penny.

Penny Dancing

Penny Waking Up

Penny on a Snowy Day

November Update

November November - how is it November? ...and the end of it at that! It completely baffles me every time a new month ends or begins - where did the last one go? Especially with the holiday season just beginning, I know that I'm in for it for the next month or so! Time is going way too fast and Penelope is getting bigger and smarter every second. It amazes me how fast she figures things out for herself. I love seeing all of the new things that she learns each day.

At nearly 15 months old now, Penelope is a high-speed walker. We're talking fully mobile. Running, climbing up and down stairs, spinning in circles and attempting to jump (hasn't quite mastered how to actually leave the ground yet... but in her mind she's doing it, lol). She knows well over 20 signs now - her new ones are "potty" and "bird". She loves making animal noises and is OBSESSED with "PUPpuppies" ... as well as "NAnananas" (bananas). She's very good at communicating what she wants (and doesn't), can use a spoon to feed herself, is completely off the bottle (the boob is another story), and does a decent job of undressing and attempting to dress herself.
Penny love making silly faces and noises and has become a very busy girl. Forgotten now are the days when I could easily shop with her for hours at a time... we now have to limit each store to about 20 minutes... if she has to sit or be held too long, she gets very squirmy and NEEDS to run around!

Penelope likes to lay, belly down, on the floor and push herself backward while squealing, "weeeee!" She likes to climb in and out of boxes and go down slides. She likes to help clean up messes by wiping things up with towels... she'll even wipe her face if you let her. She is a very independent girl and loves to be able to do things for herself whenever possible. She likes to fetch her shoes when we're about to leave, she even attempts to put them on. She likes playing alone in her room - the last few weeks she has even insisted on keeping the door closed - a little scary for Mommy, but that just means that I have to be extra certain that there isn't anything harmful for her to get into in there.

We were super excited to get visits from both of Penelope's grandmas this month! Alan's mom "Grandma MeMe" came and got to spend lots of time with Penelope so that mommy could get some work done. And my mother "Grandma Nana" came this past weekend to go dress shopping for my and Alan's upcoming wedding! We also had Penelope's portraits taken this past Sunday - they turned out super cute! Below are just a few... you can see Penny's new face that she likes to make... it is usually accompanied with an, "uh-oh-oh!" sound :)

All images were taken by Neil from Front Room Photography

Trick or Treat!

Halloween 2010 was a HUGE success! Penelope loved every minute of it. We dressed her up as a sock monkey this year - I was fortunate to have found her adorable costume on clearance at Crazy8 last year. I'm pretty sure that it was intended to be a lounger outfit, as it was from their Christmas line... but, hey! Works great for Halloween - we got a lot of wonderful comments about it and everyone wanted to know where we got it from! Very fortunate to have found it too - it's 100% cotton and, from the looks of things, it looks like I'm going to have a heck of a time trying to find a costume for her in the future. All the costumes in the stores are all synthetic fabrics, so if Penny continues to have eczema, I may have to learn how to use my sewing machine!

There was a family day at Alan's work for Halloween. We got to eat lunch with all of the other families and went table to table trick or treating in the cafeteria. Since Alan has his own, rather large office, we were able to hide out and play in there while he finished his work for the day. Sock monkey got to help too :)

...and of course we carved pumpkins! Alan's is the tall one, mine is the squat one. We also had a small "baby" pumpkin for Penny but didn't carve it. Not too sure what she thought of us while we were carving them... she just sat in her high chair watching us and actually sat nice the entire time!

We were also invited to a baby Halloween party! These are a bunch of the mommies and babies from the Mommy and Me group that we have been going to since Penny was about 3 months old. For the past several months, we have been taking turns hosting a monthly get together - this particular party had 16 babies in attendance! As well as their mommies, daddies, and some grand parents - all crammed into a down town condo! Looks chaotic, but it was loads of fun!


We also went trick or treating in a friend's neighborhood, but unfortunately didn't get any good pics of that. Penny LOVED it! She had so much fun watching all of the older kids running around in their costumes and wasn't frightened at all. Our friend's neighborhood blocks all of the streets off to through traffic and everyone has little parties set up in their front yards while they hand out candy. Our friends dressed up as characters from Monsters Inc. - one of their son's favorite movies - and even did their front door up to look like Boo's door :)
Now we're very excited to see what Penny will be like next year - as she will be able to do more walking and be able to enjoy the holiday even more!

Pumpkin Picking

On Sunday the family went out to Sade's Farm in McHenry, IL to pick out some pumpkins from the huge patches they have. We had originally planned on going to the Apple Holler in Kenosha, but after reading some bad reviews about high prices, long lines and underwhelming attractions, we decided to drive a little further to Sade's Farm. It was totally worth it! There were bounce houses, a corn sandbox, a kiddie train ride, and, Alan's favorite, a pumpkin canon!

Birthday Birthday Birthdays

So the marathon of birthday parties, at last, is over! We had so much fun and send great thanks to everyone who was able to attend and also for all of the wonderful gifts! We hope everyone had a wonderful time, as I know we did!

Here are just a few photos of some of the highlights from each party:

The beautiful cakes that my mother, sister and I made for the party that we had with my family in Tomahawk! We had such a beautiful day - the party coincided with our Geurink family camping weekend, so we had the party at the picnic shelter for my Aunt's campground. There was a play ground just next to the shelter as well as shuffle board, mini golf, badminton and horseshoes for everyone to play!

Happy Family :)

Penelope diving into her very first Birthday cake!


Penelope sure didn't have a problem making a mess of that cake!






Penelope's face as we were singing happy birthday to her at the party that we had for her at our house here in Milwaukee! She was such a happy baby and, again, we had PERFECT weather! It was hot enough that we had the kiddie pools out for the kiddos to splash around in:

After cake, Penny really wanted a bottle and she wasn't letting anyone interrupt her drinking time! She sat, drinking and scowling like this for the first half of present opening :) We had invited the families that I babysit for as well as some of our Milwaukee family - later on we had an after party with our childless friends to celebrate with drinks and a bonfire after Penny had gone to bed!


Make a wish, Penelope! Grandma Mary Ellen lit the candle for Penny's last birthday party that was held for her in California on her actual Birthday! Fortunately, we had yet another beautiful day for the party and had a great turn out! Thanks to Aunt Jill and Uncle Steven for the adorable birthday cake and cheese cake!


Diving into that cake face first!


Making a mess of herself :)



Happy Family :)

Penelope's Practical Birthday Wishlist

lol - so some people don't know how to have fun and have already asked that I make a list of practical things that Penelope still needs. These are all items that I have been researching since I was pregnant and have my mind set on getting her sometime this year - so if we got them as gifts, that would be wonderful. So here it is:

This fun item is called the Trunki. It's a child's suitcase that is made of heavy duty materials to allow the child to ride it! You can attach a strap to use it like a wagon and pull your child through the airport. Perfect for going to visit Grandma :)

We have been looking into getting Penny a nice toy box for her bedroom. On the left, we have the Turner toychest by Pottery Barn Kids and on the right, Beat Our Chest found on landofnod.com. Both have excellent reviews and are made to last.

Potty time! I would like to start Penelope on potty training as soon as she starts walking (if she's willing). Clockwise starting with the pink seat we have a Disney Princess foldable training seat. Perfect for keeping in the diaper bag to use in public restrooms or when out visiting. Next is the Potty Bench by Boon. We have a tiny tiny bathroom and literally do not have any extra space for a potty seat, so we would have to keep the seat in either the living room or in Penny's room. This potty has compartments on the sides to fit wipes and toilet paper rolls, so that we can keep all of her potty essentials right with it!
The next two items are both by Baby Bjorn, a training seat and a step stool. These would be for when Penny is a little older and can climb onto the big toilet. Last is a pair of Imse Vimse training pants found on CottonBabies.com.

Penelope has hardwood floors in her bedroom. For now, we have foam puzzle pieces serving as a rug. Eventually I will be moving the pieces downstairs into Penelope's playroom and will be replacing them with either a 3x5 or 5x7 foot chenille rug. The top rug pictured is called the Shaquille Chenille rug from landofnod.com, the next two are both from Pottery Barn Kids: the Border Chenille and the Amy Chenille rug.

The closer we get to Penny's birthday means the closer we get to having a walker on our hands - and with that comes the need to get sensible walking shoes! Clockwise we have a pair of cute, soft soled Puma sneakers, the cute, pink shoes with the strap are by Stride Rite, Purple Chuck Taylor All Star high tops, and some sweet Mary Jane style shoes by the Target brand, Circo.

We will also be weaning Penelope soon and have been starting her on the sippy cup. We have decided to stick with the Tommee Tippee brand of training cups. So far we only have the style that is recommended for 4 months and up - above are the ones recommended for 6m+ and 9m+ , which will be our next steps up the training cup ladder...

Here are some fun options for dining utensils. The blue place setting in the top, left corner is by Skip Hop, the mat stays put and you can switch out the silverware and plate as needed. Clockwise from there, we have some cute cutlery by Gerber, the Tommee Tippee Explora mat. It sticks to the table and the large suction cup grips to the bowl or plate so Penny wouldn't be able to pick it up and throw it to the dogs! The bowls shown go with the Tommee Tippee mat.

Car seats! Penelope will be fitting in her infant seat until she is 30 lbs, but we would like to switch her to a "big girl" carseat sometime before then. We know that we would like to get a Britax brand, but are undecided of which we like best, so we narrowed it down to 3: The Round About 55 in smokey pearl, the Marathon in crocodile, and the Boulivard in castlerock.

The bookcase that is currently in Penelope's room desperately needs replacing - luckily she hasn't tried to climb on it yet. A screw has popped out of one side and now the side keeps separating from the rest of the shelf! We have also been unable to find a proper strap to attach it to the wall to prevent falls. So here are 4 options that we have come up with: The Carson bookcase sold by Target, the Thomas wide base bookcase by Pottery Barn Kids, the Cottage bookcase also sold by Target, and the Low Rider bookcase sold by landofnod.com. All have excellent reviews and would be sure to last until Penelope moves out of the house.

Penelope's Birthday Wishlist

I have already had a few people ask what would make good gifts for Penelope's Birthday, so I thought that it would be nice to put a list of ideas up here for everyone to see. Toys would be awesome - we have been anticipating an eventual overflow of toys. So, up until now, Alan and I have behaved about buying toys. What that means for all of you is that you're free to get her an awesome toy without receiving hateful glares from Alan and I :) Above is a cute Birthday cake toy by Leap Frog. The light on the tip of the candles light up and it has a sensor so that you can "blow" them out!General notes for gifts: we do not particularly care for cartoon characters such as Elmo, Dora, Disney Princesses, Little Einsteins, etc. - we make a point to leave the TV off until Penelope is asleep - not that Penelope will never watch T.V., we would just rather not expose her to those things this young.
Clothing: please keep in mind that Penelope still has some issues with eczema. So, if gifting clothing (or even stuffed animals and blankets), keep it 100% cotton. Currently, Penny is wearing size 6-9 / 6-12 / 12 months. For warmer clothing this fall, she will be fitting into size 12-18 or 18 months and size 2 shoes. For next spring/summer she will most likely be in size 18-24 months or 24 months and in size 3 shoes.Our favorite brands include: Gymboree, Circo, Baby Gap, Tea Collection and Old Navy. These brands are all generally 100% cotton. (Brands like Carters, Garanimals, and Jumping Beans have a tendency to slip in a small percentage of polyester or spandex. So keep a close eye out when shopping.)Now to toooooyyyys! Below is a list of things that are Penelope approved:

Penelope LOVES balls. Especially beach and play balls. Above is a super cute ball that I found at PotteryBarnKids.com that I know she would have a lot of fun with :)

Penelope is getting to the age where she's starting to figure out more complex toys. On the left is a "chunky" puzzle by Melissa and Doug. We have their Dinosaur puzzle and Penny loves it! If anyone can find their wire puzzle rack, that would also make a wonderful gift!
On the right are the Hide'n'Sqeak Eggs by Tomy. SUPER cute and super fun!

Penny loves playing with animal figures! So the more the merrier! I know Schleich is a popular brand that is found in many stores, but it really doesn't matter what brand they are as long as they are not small enough to swallow.

Ok... so going clockwise starting in the top, left corner, we have a cute, simple shape sorter by Imaginarium, a simple plastic shape sorter by FisherPrice, Picnic Basket fill and spill by Melissa and Doug, and wooden blocks by Wonderworld. She loves toys that involve taking things in and out of a container.
Also, as a side note, we LOVE Melissa and Doug toys :)

Books! Books! Books! We love books! Here we have Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you see? and The very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss - 3 classics that Penelope has yet to own. She LOVES Dr. Seuss books and books that rhyme or that have "touch and feel" textures. So far, the only Dr. Seuss book that we own is Cat in the Hat, so more would be amazing!

For those who plan to "go in" on a larger gift or feel like being generous, here we have a foldaway slide by Little Tikes and a riding toy by Prince Lionheart. The slide would be getting tons of use. One of my big projects for this summer is to create a playroom for Penny in our basement. So not only will she be able to play with it outside when the weather is warm, but one this size, we will be able to set up in the playroom during the cold winter months.
...and last but not least, here are some TaDoodles by Crayola! With Alan and I being artists, you know that we want to start Penny young! The ones shown here are called tub crayons - they can draw on the tub and it washes off easily. They also have regular crayons, markers and stamps like these.

Most of these toys can be found at Toys'R'us, Wal-mart or Target. Any other questions or ideas, just let us know!


Also.... I find it absolutely critical that Penelope receive a couple pairs of these ASAP:


...seriously - how freaking cute? Their website is: www.rufflebutts.com