Happy Halloween!

Holidays just get better and better as the kids get older and we get to experience them for the "first time" through their eyes. We didn't really know how Lill would take to Halloween or if she'd really understand what was going on so leading up to it we often asked her what she'd like to dress up as and gave her examples. It seemed to change daily so once the answer remained unchanged for a number of days in a row, we decided we had a winner. "Elsa", she said. A trip to Costco later and we had ourselves our very own Elsa. She was so proud to put on her dress and prance around the house. As the day got even closer, she kept asking what mommy and daddy (and mommy and daddy's work...ok, so maybe she still doesn't TOTALLY get it!) were going to be for Halloween. My mommy guilt finally built up enough that her and I headed to the costume store the day of to pick something out.

"Ty Ty" (a doggie) was her pick and so my costume was born!

That night we headed over to our annual Taylor family Halloween party. After some delicious food, playing with the cousins and the annual (growing) family picture, we headed home in the wagon and hit up some houses on the way home. Lill took to the trick-or-treating thing more than we expected so when she asked for "one more", we happily obliged. OK, so she got "one more" a few times...but it was just too hard to pass up! The cooler temps and misting rain eventually pushed us inside and we enjoyed handing out candy to the kids coming by until Lill insisted it was her bedtime. The fun-filled day sure wore her out!

3/4 of a year

The last 9 months have gone by faster than I could have imagined. Our 24 pound (not so) little guy resembles a toddler more so than a baby. He's crawling all over, pulling himself up on things and eating more than probably all of us.  Well, not quite but he would if we let him!

He loves Lill's toys, cords, shoes and the bright colors of the TV. He's also a huge fan of the wagon, which we learned after trick-or-treating. He's taken to two solid 1.5 hour naps at 9am and 1pm and is so interested in the world around him that it's nearly impossible to get him to finish an entire bottle. Corey has somehow mastered the skill of getting him to finish it in one sitting but the rest of us find ourselves getting creative to get the formula down in a reasonable time frame. (I swear he's just being stubborn and holding out for the good/"real" stuff). He hates it when his food or a toy he has proudly acquired gets taken away, when water is poured on his head or when he's gassy/needs to burp. 

Did I mention he likes food?

What? You've never seen a 9 month old dominate a BBQ rib before?

Ray got "appetized"

This past weekend we celebrated Ray's baptism. Lill was very excited to "go to church" for RayRay to get "appetized". One of the ladies with another baby being baptized noted how "delicious" he was and how "meaty" he was. Don't have to tell us, people ;-) We also want to eat him up on the regular.

We also got to fit in some QT with our dear friends Justin, Carly and Chris while they were in town for the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Ferrier also came in town for the festivities. No complaints from this girl with so many of my favorite people in one place :-)

God bless you, sweet Ray!

Ray with is Godmother, Carly, and Godfather, Justin

The cousins exploring after the baptism

Milestones

A few milestones to report from the Bruno household!

A week or so ago, right around the same age as Lill did, Ray started crawling. He had been getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth for a couple of weeks and occasionally would move one of his extremities but hadn't quite mastered coordinating all four extremities in such a way to make a move. He's now crawling from one room to the other and getting into every possible shoe, cord and toy of Lilly's. Remind me again why I was looking forward to him starting to crawl... ;-)

And just as Ray started receiving cheers and clapping from the parental units, Lill decided she wanted in on the celebrations. I'm happy to report that we have not needed a diaper (other than while sleeping) for her in nearly a week! She's very proud of her big girl underwear and likes to check out the potty at any and every place we go.  "I go pee pee at school. I go pee pee at Schnuck's (grocery). I go pee pee and poo poo at the restaurant".  The last one she felt the need to also announce to the entire dining room of said restaurant. She doesn't quite understand that the excitement and clapping ends at her immediate family and friends :-)

We are not above a little bribery/encouragement.

We did a little potty bootcamp the first few
days and basically lived in the bathroom

Baby Nolan

One of my dearest friends that I've known since middle school, lived with in college and experienced all that is Chicago with, is expecting a sweet little boy in December. This past weekend our high school friends all met in Chicago to celebrate Baby Nolan. Kelly came from Michigan, Vicky from Indy and me from St. Louis. The other girls all still live in the Chicago area. Our friend Victoria, who I've known since kindergarten, brought her sweet new baby, Amelia for us to snuggle and oooh and aahh over. It's crazy to think that we've known each other since we were nearly our kids age. And it makes my heart smile, oh so big, when we all have a wonderful excuse to bring us all together.

Luckily, we have even more to celebrate in the coming months as Carly recently got engaged. Babies and diamonds and showers and weddings, oh my!

Baby Amelia resting on Baby Nolan

Firehouse Openhouse

Our neighborhood firehouse had their open house earlier this month. Kids could climb on the fire trucks and ambulances, check out their uniforms/gear, practice putting out a 'fire' and watch the fireman put out an actual fire. Taylor and Carter came over and we all walked up to the event. As expected, Tay climbed right on up on the truck with no fear, whereas Lill was propped up there and just about froze, looking as she had just seen a ghost.