Ready for winter

It is amazing how much the weather changes our daily routine. This summer, we had to rush out the door to start our walk by 7:30 a.m. for fear of melting on the sidewalk. Now we rarely think about leaving the house before the sun has been up for several hours, and we've added many layers of clothing.
This sweater made it into the blog because for one thing, it's super cute, but also it's genius! You put it on the baby from the front like a smock, then it zips from the top of the hood all the way down to the waist. It is the only head gear that Jane hasn't been able to take off (yet). Thanks for passing it down, Aunt Noel!

Posing for mom's photo shoot

Hamming it up for mom's photo shoot

Done with mom's photo shoot

And here are a few more fun pics from these chilly days...

Staying cozy with Jane's first fire

Will we ever go outside again?

Ok, mom, I think I'm warm enough

The crawling carrot

We finally found the proverbial carrot Jane needed to get moving! As I was rummaging through her toys trying to find something she wanted badly enough to go get, I remembered that she loves knocking over towers. So, today I put her on her tummy and stacked some blocks a few feet in front of her, and what do you know? She went for it! She's still in the commando phase, as in not picking up her tummy yet, but we tried it again this evening and she is already getting a little faster and more confident. Might we have a crawler soon after all?

Not a Box

Ok, this is a box. But this picture made me think of a great children's book that we learned about recently at story time at the library. It's called Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.

It's about the importance of good old fashioned imagination and simple creativity. The bunny appears to be just sitting in a box, but to him it is a race car. And when he is standing on the box, he is really climbing a mountain. I can't wait to see what Jane comes up with when she is older. I do miss that about teaching art, especially to the fifth graders (my youngest students). They have the best imaginations!

Giraffes!

Last Thursday Jane had her first trip to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day, so just strolling around would have been enough to make it a worthwhile trip, but the giraffes were a definite highlight. Their "savannah" is only separated from the viewing areas by a ditch and a low wooden rail, so it feels like your right there with them. One of them came right up to us and just stood there licking his (her?) lips for about ten minutes. It was so cool! Jane kept reaching out to him and panting/squawking (see previous post) in excitement. She even cried a little when we finally left.

Yes, this being three days before Halloween I decided to put Jane in a costume...again. Dressing up as a pink cat to go to the zoo... why not? Our tour guides, Stephanie and almost five-month-old Lauren, were more appropriately dressed in Halloween colors. Oh well.

Moo, and Happy Halloween!

Jane ended up wearing this costume three times!
On Friday we went to the Halloween Carnival at Harpeth Hall. It was put on by the sixth grade for children of alumnae... cute.
On Saturday we went to the Pumpkinfest in Franklin. It was SUPER crowded, but a fun event nonetheless. If you're wondering about the fashion statement I was making in my (Richard's old) overalls... I was trying to be a farmer for my little cow.

On Sunday we went trick-or-treating with friends in East Nashville. The video shows Jane reacting to some giant blow-up ghosts. It was so funny... we were standing in front of them when all of the sudden Jane started waving at them and doing this panting/squawking thing that she does when she sees something both exciting and strange at the same time (like giant blow-up ghosts).

Had to end with this one...