Pepperoni at 6 1/2 months

On Tuesday I took Pepper for her 6 mos check up. Nevermind that she is more like 6 1/2 mos; we got a little off schedule. However, here are some updates on her life.

She is just itching to crawl and move. If you lay her on her back she instantly flips over and does a huge push up. Yesterday she got mad and started scooting herself backwards. She has also started to tuck her knees under her so I think it is just a matter of time before she is mobile!

Crazy, crazy, crazy!

On the day she turned 6 mos her first tooth popped through and two days later the other bottom tooth joined in. This new development has made life a little unhappy for the last couple weeks, with her grumpiness and the fact that she is now trying to bite off my nipples (sorry if that is too graphic but I am in serious pain!).

This girl just makes me laugh and smile everyday!
Oh and thanks everyone for your sleep advice. I am happy to report that our little sleeping angel has returned and we are all peaceful once again. It helps a lot when they can breath through their nose!

Pepper is really starting to discover toys, especially her brother's instruments, much to Morgan's dismay. Poor kid will have some serious adjusting to do once she starts moving.
To give her stats Pepper is now 17.9 lbs and over 27 ins long.
She is shorter and skinnier than Morgan was at this age.
The doctor said she is just perfect and to keep doing what we're doing. He was impressed with her ability to sit by herself and how well she pushes her head up. He said to start baby proofing again soon!
So that is our little Peppermint and we are just so blessed to have her in our lives.
She is definitely sugar and spice and everything nice!

Fall Fun

Last Friday night Morgan's Little Gym had a Halloween Party.Morgan went as a punk rocker from the 80's.
Ever since we bought the purple hair spray on Monday he has been obsessively talking about his "blue hair." He told everyone he met all week about it and was very cooperative while I was getting him ready.

I guess all it takes to make this kid happy is a little color on his head!

After the initial photo shoot I could not convince him to put the jacket back on but at least his hoodie has skulls on it so that helped.

Pepper was a pumpkin, thanks to Jill's hand-me-down costume.

Got to love free!

Morgan was on the go from the moment we arrived.

You may notice Batman is in the background. Well, later Morgan saw a kid dressed like Robin and became obsessed with finding Batman. Luckily, Robin was more than happy to help so the two of them spent a lot of time running around looking for this kid who, of course, had already left. Morgan is still talking about Robin and saying "Where's Batman?"

The night was an open invitation so Morgan's friend David came as a bumblebee.
And Jack came as a very cool pirate.

Even though it was past Pepper's bedtime she did surprisingly well and just hung out in our arms the whole time.

On Saturday morning we went with Laura to a local park and took some amazing family pictures. I don't have any yet but I can't wait to post them. Pepper looked just like a porcelain doll!

On Sunday afternoon we decided to carve our pumpkins.

Morgan had a great time helping me clean it out and then spent the rest of the time coloring on the newspaper and trying to play with the little tools from the carving kit.

Such a handsome helper!

It was a really thick pumpkin and kind of complicated cat design. I was so tired by the end of it but I hope it will be worth it when we buy some candles.

After the pumpkins, we decided to to take a walk around our complex and capture how beautiful the leaves are around here.

I know it's a little out of focus but I just love her eyes in this picture!

And yes, she is just wearing pink tights but they kind of work like leggings.

Morgan made some friends with the neighbor kids who were nice enough to let him play in their car.

I REALLY love fall!

Pepper was done with all the picture taking! She also has a cold now, on top of the teething madness. Poor little baby is just miserable!

I love fall colors!

(Please ignore the fact that I look like I'm pregnant in this picture, I assure you I am not!)

Pepper sleeps while Mom gets a makeover

I've been wanting to get a picture of Pepper sleeping but I never want to disturb her... so on Wed. when I needed to wake her up to go to playgroup, I decided to take advantage of the situation.
So here's Pepper in her cradle, in our closet, with the bumper pads and blanket my talented sister Jill made especially for her.

This week we have had beautiful, beautiful weather so we had to take advantage of it. We went to a playground or on a walk everyday and just loved the special fall weather in the 60s and 70s.

Morgan likes to push Pepper on the swings and she gets the biggest kick out of it. This is her mid giggle with tongue out and eyes closed.

On Thursday a lovely new friend in our ward Jen, came over during nap time to give me a quick haircut. I'm growing my hair out so she helped shape it and trim the back so the rest can catch up. She was fantastic and we had a great time getting to know each other better.

It of course will never look this nice again but we can dream.

However, this is how it looked when I woke up this morning!

All I can say is I have some super special hair that I had to share with the world or at least my friends and sisters who would get a big kick out of it.

Now my turn to complain.

Pepper has been such a great sleeper from day one. I thought we my have just lucked out with Morgan but Pepper seems to have been falling in his wonderful sleep habit footsteps. She has been taking 2 or 3 naps a day and going to bed between 5:30 and 6 pm. She sleeps until around 1 or 2 am when she wakes for a feeding. I nurse her and lay her back down in the closet and she sleeps again till around 5:30. She usually hangs out with Cody for awhile then he brings her back when he needs to shower, I feed her and we both lay back down till we are forced to get up and hang out with Morgan when Cody leaves for work. Just kidding, we love watching Sesame Street with Morgan every morning at 7 am!

But Pepper's two bottom teeth decided to arrive last week and our wonderful sleep filled lives have just fallen apart! She now has a hard time with her afternoon nap and wakes up around 10 pm every night just screaming. Of course this is when Cody and I are just getting into bed so now no one can get to sleep. I finally give in and bring her in bed where we all sleep pretty well, albeit slightly uncomfortably, for most of the night. I am torn between training her to sleep by herself and everyone getting sleep. I'm thinking this could just be a momentary issue with her teething and us all having colds, so maybe I should just let her sleep with us till the torture passes. But then again I don't want this to become a horrible habit we have to break later on. Thoughts? Suggestions? Sympathy?

Ramseyer Farms

Saturday morning we decided to brave the elements and visit Ramseyer Farms in Wooster. It was really cold and overcast but that did not deter our fun.
Part of the children's play area. That is a hay bale maze in the background.

Morgan really loved playing in the corn kernels and it was even better that he didn't have to share the toys with anyone!

Our little Pepper Bear.

The playground is behind us.

A big slide into corn kernels. I didn't get to try it but Cody and Morgan did. Morgan did not seem overly impressed and Cody said it was cold and bumpy but fun.

Morgan and Cody took a ride on a tractor train.

Here's a video of their ride and more of the farm:

The goat run.

Morgan had a great time feeding the goats up high.

The boys launching little potatoes into a field.

Pepper and I trying out our launching skills.

Time for a chilly bike ride.

After all the fun and games, a brief tantrum and time out, we decided to go pick our own pumpkins.

Morgan couldn't pick up the big pumpkins but had fun pulling the wagon.

We had a blast spending some time as a family enjoying the wonderful fall activities. I still have days when I really miss living in NYC but on days like this I am truly grateful for our new life in Ohio. My intense love for fall and all of its activities does help my mood immensely!

I was looking through old pictures of Morgan as a baby and realized I had a lot more documentation of him learning to eat food. So here's my pity picture of Pepper (say that three times fast). Even with peas and oatmeal smashed all over her face she is still such a beauty!

This is for Chamaine and Mesha, since I know how much they enjoy seeing me at my best.

I have some truly special hair in the mornings!

It's amazing Morgan can see anything when he smiles, his eyes get so tiny!

On Friday our RS had a girls night slumber party activity at a friend's house. We were supposed to bring a treat to I decided to try my hand at making challah. It turned out delicious and I think my bread braiding skills are starting to improve!