Winter is here!

I am not sure there could be a cuter kid! All bundled up for the cold- she's laughing at the snow and the dog running around in it. This picture must have been just the right time- I don't think the gloves or hat made it more than 5 minutes on her outside.

So, I have been a very bad blogger over the last month. I realized today it has been more than a month since I updated Kelsey's blog, so I am vowing to be better at it. We'll see how that turns out. Animal crackers are one of Kelsey's favorite snacks right now. She loves to carry the whole jar of them around with her. She runs into the pantry and points to them.

The pictures here this post therefore span a bit of time, but give a flavor of what we have been doing the last month. Here is her Halloween outfit- she was a ladybug. We did not really trick-or-treat this year, we just visited different family and friends.
Kelsey starting wanting to feed herself this past month- here she is very proud of her fork that she is using by herself for the first time. Funny, it is actually much messier with her feeding herself then it is with mom being involved. The food seems to take a detour between the plate and her mouth, a lot of the time ending up on the floor for the dog.

In return for the table scraps, Quinsi has agreed to let her share his bed- sometimes at least- sometimes he gets annoyed and wanders away.

The blurry image and the surprised face say it all in this one- she had no idea that the chair was going to rock once she got in! Several days later though, she has mastered this and can climb in and out of it by herself. The little monkey can also get up and down the couch, the kitchen chairs and just about anything else lately.

Gabby came to visit at Thanksgiving. The girls had fun together, though it is funny the things that you don't realize about your own child until you see them interact with another- Kelsey is much more organized and neat than Gabby and likes to put everything away when she is done- and away where it "belongs". Gabby is much more carefree. The girls had fun stealing toys from each other and having Grandma & Grandpa dote on them all week.As for the subject of the post- this is what our backyard currently looks like! Not tons of snow, but enough to cover the ground and let Kelsey go out and play over the weekend, and it looks like this is going to stick around a while. She was not sure about why being in the tube would be fun, but I think Nick had fun pushing her around the yard.

Fall Fun!

We took Kelsey to the local farm a few weeks ago -goats, bunnies, hay bales to play on top of and lots of pumpkins and other kids. She liked the hay bales the best- not real clear in the picture but she is on top of a 4 foot hay bale walking around. I can't believe how big she is!

Below she is Kelsey playing in a cornfield (well, there is no more corn, but she doesn't seem to mind at all, I guess the dirt is pretty interesting)

Kelsey loves apples! She learned the word and now insists on eating them at least every other day.

We had a bit of a cold snap here for a few days, so we had to bring out the winter boots! How cute! Quinsi is still doing well, even though Kelsey likes to sit with him on his new bed. I guess since she brings him treats most of the time she is welcome to hang out.

Apple picking with mom!

But much better to take the apples and walk around and eat them! She wasn't real thrilled with being up in the tree!

Very hard work to re-arrange the pumpkins all over the driveway. We have about 10 pumpkins, and a lot of little gourds, all of which need to be constantly rearranged according to Kelsey's plan.

And a busy visit from a whole bunch of mom's friends from Georgetown, who came to visit us and see Kelsey in September! We miss you all!

Fort Lauderdale!

Here Kelsey is in her pretty sailboat dress in Ft. Lauderdale- where we went for Auntie Jamie's graduation! This is right before getting ready for bed after the celebratory dinner, but this is my favorite photo of her from the trip.

Splashing in the pool with mom! Kelsey loves the pool and to swim around, as well as jumping off the sides.

Plyaing in the pool with dad- she learned to climb in and out of the pool while we were there, which made watching her a bit more difficult!

Ahh, breakfast outdoors, and for good reason! The corn muffin ended up as much on the lounge chair as in her mouth. She did love being able to have breakfast with mom out on the patio in the morning and to watch the birds and the planes fly by.

Below Kelsey is at Jamie's graduation- about 2 hours in! She made it well through the ceremony until her name was called and then she had a small breakdown, but one package of goldfish, some puffs and an empty seat in front of us made the time passable, with a smile!

Cousin Gabby met up with us on Monday for Dad's birthday!

Snoozing kiddo- the sun and the water tired her out all week!

Mmmm, new things we tried this trip- Doritos (cool ranch) and cheetos- both of which Kelsey loved- we have to make sure these are "vacation only" foods :)

Kelsey and Gabby playing by the pool!

Auntie Moe, Jamie and Dad with Kelsey at the Mexican restaurant for Dad's Birthday!

Dancing with Jamie- Kelsey loved this restuarant- I think becuase none of us have ever been to a louder place- seriously- she fit right in!

And she like fajitas.....chicken and rice mostly, though the salsa seemed to go down OK as well

Gabby givin her cousin a kiss goodbye- hard to see, but Gabby's kisses are all toungue- like a dog licking your face.

And last, who could resist uploading the embarassing picture of nick with his cake with a firecracker on it the mexican hat, several shots and a margarita! Happy birthday was sung to the tune of La Bamba by the staff, while disco lights went off and horns and other noise blared over the speakers-hysterical!

More Beach Pictures and Birthday Party!

Here is Kelsey running around the beach in Maine. It is wild to see how much she has learned and changed this summer- she went from crawling to running. Most pictures of her on the beach have this shovel in them- we're not sure why, but every bucket of sand toys we get, she goes for the shovel- no rakes, pails, or sandstamps for her- just the shovels!

Classic picture of her smiling up with her pretty blue eyes.

So the party was a little after Kelsey birthday (it was August 9th), and then we have been busy running around for a month or so, but finally, here are the pictures from her birthday!

While not apparent in this photo, she really didn't like the cupcake- she is not one for sweets really, but her dad and uncle painted her face with the frosting to make it look like she eat it so that we had the typical birthday picture.

Pre-face painting....
and the cupcake cake that mom made- not too bad for a first attempt if I do say so!

Kelsey dragging around her presents the next morning in her pajamas as she & mom opened them.


Again, here is another shovel that came with a wagon and blocks- but the shovel is her favorite! We had a great party overall- lots of friends and family!

Happy Birthday Kelsey!!

Kelsey turned ONE today! It's hard to believe that it was a full year ago that she was born. Here she is on her new bike. She loves it! It's one of those bikes that has a handle behind it for mom to steer, and then the handle and the extra restraints come off to make a tricycle. Here she is looking very concentrated on the ball! She has great balance now and runs around bouncing the ball. Kelsey's cupcake cake- a little pig!
Here she is trying the cupcakes- I think this is one of the few bites that she actually took- the rest went overboard to the dog. Quinsi loves cupcakes-we'll see how sick he gets tonight.

Almost one!

It's hard to believe that Kelsey will be one in less than two weeks!

She is now running around the house, constantly in motion picking things up and throwing them down (and at the dog). Quinsi still loves her, and maybe appreciates her now that she can throw food out of the high chair down to him on the floor.

Here is Kelsey and Gabby sharing some Cheerios. We couldn't quite get a picture of the bulldog on the dress, but Go Hoyas!We spent the 4th of July in Maine, and even with the rain and clouds the girls seemed to have fun on the beach. Grandma was sure to buy lots of toys for them to play with!

Here she is looking at me like, "Mom, what are we doing next?" Constantly on the go! Gabby was content to be buried in the sand.

Here are the girls on a slightly sunnier day (though you can still see the clouds in the backgroud). Kelsey loved the water, even though it was absolutely freezing.

Practicing her dance moves! She loves to dance around the house!

And of course, rooting for the Red Sox- or at least against the Yankees! Who would ever know that they made such a shirt- it's definetly cute!

Look what I learned to do today...

Walking, Walking, Walking!

Mom came home from work today, and look what Kelsey learned to do while she was gone! This video is right before bed, so it is only a few steps, but today she put together all the pieces and walking all around. I'm so proud of her.

And while I'm posting, a few cute pictures from the last few weeks....

Mom and Kelsey matching!

Dad and Kelsey reading

Swimming in the pool- her first swim! She loves to go in the pool and to splash all around.