Halloween

Lillian's first Halloween.

Two kitty cats. One just a little happier than the other to have their picture taken.

Their first Halloween together. Harper is a frog and Lillian is a kitty.

We made many Halloween stops, of course one to see Rosabel as a mermaid.

Harper's grandma Carol has been visiting from Howell for 3 weeks. She spoiled Harper, her folks and us while she was here. Thanks grandma Carol for all the good cooking!

Lily was a trouper today and after all of the trick or treating
she was ready to get her hot costume off and play.

A little something to melt your heart......

Lillian has a few new things.....this is one of them that just melts Colin's heart. She loves to sit on your lap and turn and look glaringly into your eyes above her whilst reaching for your face. It is one of the sweeter moments of our day.

Airplane with or without toys. Good for baby and good for mom's abs!

Finally a full back to stomach roll and ending propped up on her elbows to complete the roll. We are so proud. Look at those buns with that outfit....how can you not just want to pat them right there?

A wave while on her tummy. Ok not really, she is actually reaching for toys while on her stomach.

Lastly and very sadly she is too big for this tub. Remember when we had to hold her up in it to keep her safe? I ask the question every mother has asked the universe, 'how can I bottle her up and keep her safe in my arms at this size?' Instead of waiting for an answer I will embrace her ability to explore, learn and grow and I may possibly shed a few tears of joy and sadness to celebrate her along the way.

Go Michigan State (speaking in Raspberry language)

Lily frequently entertains herself now with endless
raspberries.

5 months old!

5 months old and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Doesn't everyone show up in costume to the pumpkin patch? I love the goat eating Colin's shirt in the back.

A contest between us and my parents and sisters to see who came up with the best pumpkin patch/apple orchard pictures. I am sure we won. Chelsea and Marty were in town from North Carolina, Rosanne thought it would be best if we all went in costume and so she was sweet enough to bring us a few things to wear. (Left to right- Colin, Julie, Lily, Uncle Jim, Count, Mark, Rosanne, Chelsea, Marty and Aunt Sarah.)

Holding hands after a rough game for Michigan. MSU won for the 3rd year in a row (finally).

Colin had the best day ever.....an MSU game on TV, watching it with his daughter and wife and later that night a big show.

Lily is doing many new things.....touching our faces, shaking everything as if it were a rattle, giggling and putting the binki in her mouth all on her own.

So cute in the Ergo with her way too small pumpkin-hat-hand-me-down
that Katie knit for Rosie 4 years ago. We still don't know if her eyes will stay blue because some days they look so dark.

So big!

We were able to get all the babies together this weekend to watch the Duck game....well the dads watched the game. Lily wasn't feeling well from her vaccines so there was a bit of baby juggling going on. Quinn, Lillian and Harper (front to back) are all getting so big.

Who doesn't love baby buns? If only there was a way to reach out and pat them in this picture.

We finally had our 4 month doctors appointment which entailed more vaccines so this weekend was a bit rough. Our almost 5 month old little girl now has a few new stats: 16# 7 oz (86%tile), 25.5 inches long (75th%tile) and 17 inch head circumference (88th%tile). Colin and I are both floored that we have a little girl who is now 6 inches longer than her birth length. So much has changed for all of us and we have loved every step of this journey. Here she is wearing one of the onesies made for her at my baby shower.

Last weekend we celebrated Rosabel's 4th birthday! She had an amazing party with a real pony! It was a princess, pony and yellow submarine birthday party- a theme she came up with on her own. Of course we could not resist getting Lily on her very first pony, she loved every second of it.

Bath time

Lillian has always been a kicker but recently it is all
she wants to do. She gets this look of pure determination
and just goes to town. This is her focused look. She spent the
entire bath time kicking. I know every baby does this but
this video makes me laugh every time.

3 month old photos

A friend of mine came by around Lily's 3 month birthday and took more pictures. She is taking pictures every 3 months for the first year for us. If anyone needs a photographer let me know, she will work with what ever you want. So these are about 4 weeks old now.

This is a classic Lily face, the face she makes when she is laughing,
excited and contemplative at the same time.

This picture melted my heart when I saw it because I have the very same picture of my grandma's hand on mine the first time she saw my engagement ring and the last time I saw her weeks before she passed unexpectedly.

Who doesn't love baby feet?