Happy Thanksgiving!

We kicked off the day by having breakfast with the Dares, who are visiting from Colorado. They met Sprout for the first time on Tuesday night, but Sprout was especially grumpy. Today she decided that Jacci is not the devil and actually let Jacci hold her for a while. For breakfast we had french toast and Boarrack bacon. Here is a picture of Karen, Elena, Eleanor, and Matt chilling out on the couch. Karen had her eyes closed, but I think 3 out of 4 is pretty good. Both of the Dare girls have really grown up since the last time we saw them. Eleanor has outgrown her rebellious stage, and Alice is mobile as can be. Alice (left) is REALLY into babies, as you can see here. She wanted to be next to her all the time and cried whenever we separated them. Alice and Eleanor both played really well with Elena.Here are Jacci and Alice hanging out on the other couch.We are hoping to visit the Dares in Colorado very soon. We just need Sprout to decide that the car seat is her friend first...

We ate dinner at John and Mary's house. As you can see, we had a good spread.After eating, I fell asleep in the chair during the Saints/Cowboys game. My nap was spectacular despite the screaming kid and football game in the background. Later we attempted to get a picture of Sprout sporting her "First Thanksgiving" shirt and eating turkey at the same time. Even though our camera shoots 3 frames/second and Karen pretty much held down the shutter for five minutes, this is the best shot we were able to get.We also attempted to get a family picture for a Christmas card. I've been telling Karen that we have a wonderful picture from this summer, but she doesn't like it because she "Doesn't look good." I pointed out that lighting for outdoor photos is horrible this time of year, but it is still a pretty nice picture considering that the skyline is blown out (white).

Nine Months

Elena has now reached the nine month mark. She continues to explore her surroundings, hates to be left alone, and makes you wonder what she's up to when she is quiet (usually no good).
She celebrated this milestone by spending some time in her swing- her favorite activity. I think we have a record number of pictures of Elena in the swing.

Baby Starfish

Despite the cooler weather, we've been making an effort to take Sprout out daily.

To keep her warm, we've been using this blue snowsuit. She has a striking resemblance to a starfish with her inability to move her limbs. Barry thinks she looks like Randy from the Christmas Story Movie.

Elena Loves Books

What fortunate parents we are that our 8 month old daughter just loves books.

We'd be even more fortunate if she loved to look at the pictures and hear a good story, rather than chewing on them. Her current favorites are board books- they are tough enough to withstand little "readers".

Autumn Splendor

Elena and I decided to get outside and enjoy the fleeting days of fall. It's been unseasonably warm and we decided to capitalize on the milder temperatures. We spent part of the afternoon raking leaves.

Next, it was time to move on to the garden. Here is Sprout chillin' in her stroller while I picked the last few peppers and tomatoes. There wasn't much because I stripped everything bare a couple of weeks ago. I don't think that we've had vine ripened tomatoes in November before.

After all that hard work exercising her patience, Sprout was deserving some swing time.