Happy Halloween, Part 2

Happy Halloween! Tonight we dressed Haley up, loaded her in the stroller, and went for a walk since the weather was so nice. We didn't actually trick-or-treat, but we enjoyed seeing all the other kiddos dressed up. Below is a house a few blocks from us that takes Halloween very seriously (notice the coffin in the last picture)!

p.s. click on slide show to view in larger window

Happy Halloween, Part 1

Happy Halloween!



Costume pictures to come later....

Handy...

I am not a "handy" person when it comes to home improvement projects. Neither is Steve. I did successfully hang curtain rods and curtains over 2 windows in Haley's room and did a decent job. I will admit that they are not perfectly hung, but they turned out pretty good. Well, when Haley started crawling, we decided it was time for the baby gates to go in. Last weekend I ventured to Bo Bebe to purchase 2 gates: 1) for the stairs from the main floor to the basement and 2) for the top of the second floor down the stairs. I dreaded putting them in as they required "additional hardware" as they were being installed into drywall versus wood. Sunday I ventured to Rona which is the home improvement store in the shopping center at the front of our neighborhood and with the assistance and advice of a Rona employee purchased some screw in wall anchors. Turns out the wall anchors were a BAD idea! When screwing them into the wall, they started out good but towards the end it all went bad. The drywall basically crumbled and I became VERY frustrated. I thought I had done everything right. I bought the anchors the store employee told me to. Frustrated the next day my Dad and I had a conversation and some Googling about wall anchors and he suggested I buy a different type of wall anchors....expandable metal ones. Monday night off I went to Canadian Tire (think Home Depot meets Sears) and bought a box of expandable metal anchors that you can nail in (as we do not own a drill.) Last night I got up the courage to try again so I measured new holes and pounded away. To my surprise, the new anchors actually worked and I got the gate installed! Now, I just have to learn how to patch the 3 holes in the wall caused by the BAD wall anchors.....


And while at Canadian Tire, I walked by an end cap that had these super cute foam alphabet mats on display for $25. Since the hardwood floors are so hard, I grabbed a box. Needless to say, they are a hit.

Haley thinks the end pieces are fun to pull off

And the box is tons of fun too!

On the move....

It is a good thing Steve is off tomorrow and we have a long weekend as we will be installing some baby gates!

Hmmmm... (updated at bottom)

So, I just checked the details behind the map at the bottom of my blog to see where people have been checking my blog from. Many I recognized and many places I did not. Yes, the time on the details below coordinates when I posted my last post, but creepy! Here is the recent history and I have bolded the locations where I don't think I know anyone...

Location Time
Calgary, AB, Canada Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:47:28 -0500
Austin, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:53:38 -0500
Spring, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:36:33 -0500
Tucson, AZ, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:28:46 -0500
Newport News, VA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:25:01 -0500
Pasadena, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:12:28 -0500
Charlevoix, MI, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:01:19 -0500
Fontana, CA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:01:48 -0500
Karachi, Pakistan Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:01:24 -0500
Zapopan, Mexico Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:01:07 -0500
The Entrance, Australia Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:58 -0500
Modesto, CA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:59:39 -0500
Pendleton, OR, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:59:25 -0500
Homebush, Australia Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:59:03 -0500
Seattle, WA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:58:34 -0500
Vermilion, AB, Canada Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:58:34 -0500
Pocatello, ID, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:58:07 -0500
Federal Way, WA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:57:15 -0500
Seattle, WA, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:56:36 -0500
Spring, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:51:23 -0500
Houston, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:18:50 -0500
The Colony, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:41:28 -0500
Calgary, AB, Canada Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:56:43 -0500
Irving, TX, United States Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:21:21 -0500
Calgary, AB, Canada Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:36:58 -0500
Dallas, TX, United States Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:50:18 -0500
Valencia, PA, United States Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:20:56 -0500
Houston, TX, United States Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:11:02 -0500

Needless to say, I am a bit creeped out. I may even consider making my blog private. This would mean that you would have to 1) be approved by me to view the blog and 2) have a gmail email account. First, I am happy to approve all family and friend and even acquaintances. If you are a friend of one of the Grandma's or a long lost friend from high school, I'll approve you. I just feel strange with complete "strangers" seeing this blog. Second, a gmail account is easy to set up. It takes a minute and you don't ever have to really use the email address. It is just a requirement to sign in. And I will happily help anyone set-up an account that needs one!

So, what does everyone think?

Update: I think I had my blog set to publish to the Blogger homepage when I posted something new.  I changed the setting to not do this.  I will see if strange places keep viewing my blog.

9 Months

Haley & Aunt Julia @ Amazon Grill

Haley is 9 months old today! I think I say this every month, but time sure does fly by! Haley had her check-up today and the Doctor said she is doing really well! Her 9 month stats are:

Weight: 19 lbs, 8 oz (60th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (90th percentile)
Head circumference: 17 1/4 inches (50th percentile)

Haley's first "ride"

We had a great rest of the trip in Houston! Grandma Dibble bought Haley a walker and she had the best time in it! She thought it was so fun to explore on her own and chase the dogs. Below are several videos of some of the fun that Haley had:

One Haley's newest tricks - rolling over to tummy and sitting up

Haley driving

Another trick - clapping

And Haley has become such a chatterbox

Haley has also figured out how to wave but I don't think she associates it with saying "hi" or "bye." And she is SO close fully crawling. She is trying so hard and is almost there. I'll post a video of her soon!

As for the remainder of our trip, Haley, Grandma Dibble, & I met Julia for lunch one day at Amazon Grill (yummy!). Steve and I went out to dinner Friday night at Pappasitos and ate SO much that I was up half the night with heartburn but it was SO worth it! Saturday we watched UT beat OU and VT lose GT. And Sunday Haley watched NFL with Steve & Grandpa Dibble while Grandma Dibble and I went shopping (& had great luck at the mall too!) Overall, it was a really nice visit and we are looking forward to Grandma & Grandpa Dibble's visit over the Christmas Holidays.

Houston

Haley with her Godparents, Julia & Ryan (my sister & brother-in-law)

We are all having a great time in Houston! Haley & I are visiting my family while Steve attends a training course Downtown. Haley was baptized on Sunday at Westminster United Methodist Church which is the same church Steve & I were married at. And the same Pastor who married us baptized Haley! It was a nice ceremony and Rev. Bob Webb said a lovely prayer for Haley too!

Grandma & Haley playing with Honey

Haley & Uncle Ryan

Grandpa and Haley playing with Oscar

So far we are having a great time! Haley did really well on the flight down and even took a good nap on the plane which is a nice surprise! We have just been hanging out and visiting. This weekend we plan to watch some football (UT vs. OU) and Mom & I may do a bit of shopping! More picture to come!

Lunch today....

And yes, that is snot connecting her nose and cracker!

Ruffle Butt & First Snow

Ruffle Butt Leggings

Haley and I joined a friend & her little one last Wednesday at the newest mall in Calgary, Cross Iron Mills. Cross Iron Mills started out as an outlet mall, but I would guess that 90% of the stores are not outlets, rather just regular stores. I managed to find a few things for myself and a few for Haley. Above are the cute ruffle butt leggings I got Haley from GAP Generation store. SO CUTE!

And we woke up this morning to the first snow of the Fall. Boooo! Our last snow of the Spring was June 6th so that was 4 months of non-snow weather.

Cowmooflage

Haley is now in a 'big girl' carseat. This past week I purchased the Britax Boulevard CS car seat in the cowmooflage pattern. She seems to like it!

Arrowroot Biscuit

Today Haley ate an arrowroot biscuit for the first time without gagging and throwing up! This is the first success we have had with finger foods. I have previously tried rice Mum-Mums but they are a lot mushier than the arrowroot biscuits which I think makes it easier to gag on! We will have to try again tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!