Happy Happy Halloween!

At Natalie's daycare Halloween party.

She definitely didn't get the concept of a party - that I was there to *hang out* with her... from the second I walked through the door, she clung to me to make absolutely certain that I wasn't leaving! I couldn't put her down for a second! Finally once her dad arrived an hour and a half later, she finally understood that we weren't going to leave her there, and she started to enjoy herself a little bit.

Her toy of choice, a fake potato chip.

She did win second prize in the costume contest though - which was highly lucrative for mom and dad - 1/2 day free at daycare! Yah! As Tyler pointed out, this more than paid for her costume, so we feel vindicated that we spent money on it.

Videos edited and posted later.

Belated Weekend Pictures

On Saturday 10/18, Natalie and I did a 5 mile walk for the American Cancer Society - Making Strides for Breast Cancer. We had an absoutely fabulous time! Here we are before the walk began.
And here we are along the walk route. This is actually quite close to our house (just two blocks north). Initially our plan was for me to walk the first half with Natalie, then have Tyler meet me to take her home at about this spot. But she and I were having too good of a time together to let the walk end, so we trudged on.
And eventually got to the finish! Here is Natalie getting ready to cross her very first finish line.
And afterwards. That whole crowd of supporters yelled and cheered for us, and we had to walk through a "people tunnel", and she wasn't altogether thrilled about that. Hence the disgruntled look on her face.
And here's Natalie on Sunday doing crafts at the dining room table with Mom. It was adorable! She was tugging at her booster seat as though to say "please, mom, let me up!" so I did, and we sat together at the table for at least ten minutes before she got bored and had to go walk around the house with Dad.
Natalie's new achievements for the week: "Hi!" and "Bye Bye!" And her walk has started to turn into a wobbly run. *sigh* We fear that a big spill is not far away.

Pumpkin Patch - Avoiding the Blue Angels (reprise)

Last year, we lived in a different (louder) neighborhood, and avoiding the Blue Angels was a full-time job during the second week of October. We went north to see our friends and had a great time with our then seven-week-old baby!

This year, we live off San Francisco's beaten path. Near the ocean the noise of the Blue Angels isn't nearly so loud - thank goodness for that - but we still went South anyway to avoid the crowds.

Here's Natalie at lunch, at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company - one of our favorite spots. Walking is such an all-consuming passion that she isn't the most, um, refined lunch guest but we made it through.

Afterwards we went to a fabulous pumpkin patch! She had such a grand time climbing over all the pumpkins and riding in the wagon. The only problem with the pumpkin patch was that it was so fun, she didn't want to leave :-)
They even had a tractor and a teepee!

Yesterday I took Natalie to Ocean Beach to play in the sand and sun. I could tell that she had a great time - while it was tough for her to walk in the sand without a helping hand, at least it didn't hurt when she took a tumble. Let's just say she ended up with sand in every possible nook and cranny - ears, eyelids, diaper... the works.

Today I had to take the day off from work because her daycare was closed. Tragic (not really)! We had breakfast with some friends from our Mom/Baby group. We're also considering a trip to the new California Academy of Sciences later! Fun!

Happy Birthday, Gramma Nance!

I have been getting rid of a cold lately so the picture isn't my finest, but you get the point. :-)

Proof of Natalie's Political Leanings

Here, Tyler captured proof that Natalie always chooses the Clinton books off of our shelf. Now, you may think that she is choosing the Clinton books because they are closest to the end of the row... but in fact, the reason they are closest is that we have to put *just those two* books back five times a day.

Note how she judiciously skips over The World Is Flat. Mom couldn't get through that one either, Natalie!