Baby G at 10 months

Forget the army crawl -- he is on the move now. And you can tell that he's not going to be satisfied on all fours for much longer. You should see him move when the bathroom door is ajar! It's fun to watch how proud he gets when he connects signing with what he's trying to tell us. He is very determined and not easily distracted. And his giggle when he's getting tickled can make all of the frustrations of the day melt away.

Halloween 2010

I think I've decided that from here on out I'll do the special Halloween dinner on the night BEFORE Halloween -- it was too crazy trying to eat and get out the door. Here are some of our festive highlights:

Carving Pumpkins

Beggars' Night

So. Much. Candy. Seriously insane. But C was loving it. I think he really caught the vision and joy of Trick-or-Treating this year. We went with our neighbors and C told every house, "TRICK OR TREAT!!! I'm a dragon -- and these are my neighbors!"

And yes, that is the same costume he wore last year, and it really was pulling down on his face because it was too small. But hey -- who am I to stand in the way of a boy who wants to be a dragon?

I also got to go help out at Lydia's school for the Halloween Parade. She had so much fun walking regally around the neighborhood as a Russian Snow Princess.

Ward Halloween Party

My parents and sister just returned from China and sent these matching costumes the day before the party. They were perfect. C loved the braid hat and Q made sure to teach him the proper way to bow as a Kung-Fu fighter. We have a photographer in the ward that set up and took shots of everyone who wanted -- how sweet is that?!

Q and I were the American tourists.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

('tis the season?)

Visitors and Catching Up

October and November were FULL of visitors to Ohio. We were definitely feeling loved.

Q's parents visited while the Fall colors were most vibrant.

My mom was an angel as always and helped me tackle some of the daunting projects that pile up between her visits.

My sister Dani was able to spend Thanksgiving with us. I'm sure she was thankful for the boost we gave her immune system! As we were about to start work on her welcome sign I asked for C's input on what we should say. He thought for a moment and said, "Patience, Dani." Nice. I agreed that it might come in handy while she was here in all of our chaos and excitement.

We also bribed our friends the Oliveros to come into town in exchange for some OSU tickets and it worked! I can't believe we didn't even get one photo with them here though!

So there you have it -- my excuse for having disappeared for a while. Don't worry. I've got quite a few posts to catch up on so you'll be hearing a bunch from me soon.