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!