Mastering the Dog Door

 Of course Jason and I both thought it was hilarious that Aspen started to go through the dog door, but we weren't sure if others would have the some response. Since the picture seemed to give a lot of people a good laugh, here she is action on video.


Enjoy!

Pumpkins Please!

I love this time of year. Sometimes I wish I lived up north where you really feel like it's fall with the weather and the leaves changing colors. However, I still have to embrace all the fall activities and I get to bring my husband and daughter along for the ride!

We were going to go to a large pumpkin patch this year, but we ended up looking up the "activities" online and for the almost hour long drive it just didn't seem quite worth it for Aspen's age--definitely next year! So we went to our neighborhood "Fall Carnival". I didn't take many photos because it was really crowded, but Aspen had a good time. Most of the activities were for older kids, however Aspen did win a stuffed animal in one game--another one to add to the collection!



Today we walked to a local church that has a pretty nice pumpkin patch set up. We went there last year with Aspen when she was only about 2 1/2 months old. Boy has she changed!





It's really hard to get her to even look at the camera sometimes, forget about smiling always. We have been noticing lately what an observer she has become when she is in a place with lots of people. She loves to just watch; who knows what's she's thinking!?!



Aspen and Mom in October 2009.



1 year later...



It was a nice weekend--just spent time together, doing things around the house and enjoying some fairly nice weather. I love these next two shots--just had to include them!

Enjoying a bath!



Jason and Aspen enjoying a smoothie--Yum!

Being Sweet

Lately Aspen has started to learn to "give kisses and hugs". Yes the kisses usually are open mouth or sometimes result in her deciding not to give a kiss and she whacks you in the face instead. However, when the little cutie does lean in for a smooch, it's fantastic!

This afternoon we watched my niece Jessica for a couple of hours. The girls are about 2 months apart. Jessica wasn't very happy about her mom dropping her off, but Aspen was determined that she have a good time. I kept telling her to give Jessica a kiss to make her feel better and she would lean in.



I had to post this picture too because it looks like Aspen is trying to choke Jessica, but I swear she was giving her a hug. I'm so glad that Aspen is being a sweet girl to her cousin (most of the time!).



The girls are definitely still to young to understand the concept of sharing, so there were a few battles over some toys. All in good time they will learn to share, be away from their mom, and have a blast with there cousin!

P.S. I gave the blog a nice fall feeling-what do you think?

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

It was a gorgeous morning and we had a wonderful day at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower plant sale.



Aspen was able to roam around, smelling all the flowers and explore.



Everyone working the sale was really friendly and they had a great selection of different plants and wildflower seeds.



The fresh air really wore Aspen out. It was a great way to spend our morning.

Fall Weather Brings Some Joy!

We have been enjoying some nice weather in Texas the last week or so. This has made trips to the park more enjoyable for everyone.



Lately it's hard to get a picture where she is just sitting still. Majority of the day she is on the move!



She is learning new things everyday and I love to wonder what she is thinking about when she gets her "serious" face.



She is still my silly girl and I love to make her smile and laugh any chance I get.



Hopefully the cool weather keeps up so she can dress like this more often--don't you love the hat? We got it when we were in San Fransisco.



I got the idea of piling some pillows and letting Aspen run and jump into them. I had no idea she would have so much fun with it--this lasted about 30 minutes!

Bellybutton

The last week or so Aspen has been extremely intrigued by her bellybutton. She will pull her shirt up and just check to make sure it's still there. She also loves to see if other people have bellybuttons.

This morning we were hanging out in the living room and I said to her, "Aspen, where's your bellybutton?". She pulled up her shirt and pointed to it. I was so impressed! I didn't really expect her to know what I was saying. Of course I had to catch it on video.

What a smart girl!



Aspen also has started quite the collection of stuffed animals. I think we are up to about 20 of them. It's getting a little crazy.

Hugging on her new three bears



Last night she had a few of her favorites in Layla's dog bed (my dad's pup) and was having quite the lengthy conversation with them all. I love watching her use her imagination--just like her mom (I had quite the collection of characters/stuffed animals/imaginary friends when I was kid)!

Playing in the Fountain

This past Saturday Jason, Aspen, and I headed down to the Palmer Events Center to go to a consignment sale my sister-in-law had told me about. We got a couple of things from the sale and we were in and out in about 15 minutes. Since we were down in the area, we decided to walk around and enjoy the park.

There was a fountain for kids to run through right next to the event center. Aspen was very curious at first, but then she decided to go ahead and cool off.



Even though Aspen often will take some time to check out new situations, she usually gets over any hesitations and ventures out. She seemed like such a "big kid" to me watching her playing through the fountain.





I took a little video of her playing. Of course right after this video was taken Jason had the thought--maybe we should take her dress off? We weren't sure if she was going to go in, so we left it on. It didn't get to soaked and she had a blast in the end, so that's what matters!