Holiday Fun!

"He's Making a List... He's Checking it Twice... He's Going to Find Out Who's Naughty and Nice..."


"Walking in a Winter Wonderland..."





"Oh ChristmasTree,
Oh Christmas Tree..."

Our family's first photo shoot!

Enjoying last week's unseasonably warm temperatures with one last fall photo shoot! Now we're ready for winter! Bring on the snow!

Silly Girl

Life as a 10 month old seems like so much fun, it's a shame that most of us have little or no recollection of that part of our lives. What a life... eat, sleep and play. Did I mention play? Not only does Rayna love play time, she has also mastered the art of being silly. So, she can easily entertain herself (and us) for hours. Her latest "silly" talent is playing peekaboo. I actually think she would do it for hours if we kept playing with her. The best part is how she thinks she's hiding from us. It's so cute that I can't help playing it with her whenever she decides to ... which is probably about 10 times a day. Luckily for Rayna, even if she can't remember life at 10 months old, I have plenty of video footage to preserve the memories.

Pumpkin Picking Time

The best thing about having kids... you get to relive your childhood. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to go pumpkin picking. Of course, we usually got our pumpkins from our garden, but even still, a lot of thought goes into picking one that will make the perfect jack-o-lantern. But as we entered the pumpkin patch at Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses (a former employer during my college years), Papa quickly squashed my visions of getting a pumpkin as big as Rayna. "Babies need baby pumpkins," I believe were his exact words. I told him he was no fun, but honestly Rayna seemed just as happy with her "baby" pumpkin, so I didn't put up a fight. We had some fun taking pictures, looking at the goat and watching kids play in the straw. Stay tuned for photos of the finished product... Hopefully I get around to carving it before Thanksgiving.

Party Weekend

For those of you who actually keep track of how often I update the blog, my sincerest apologies. Things have been VERY hectic as of late. I figured I better get on it though or you won't even recognize Rayna...she's growing up so fast. She had a very exciting weekend. Her cousin Abby had her 1st Birthday Party on Saturday, so we drove down to Philly to celebrate with the Huxtas. Celebrate is putting it mildly. We're talking moon bounce, caricature artist, a roller coaster ride and if you count Jack, a petting zoo! Rayna had a blast. She even took over opening presents for the Birthday Girl after Abby crashed from too much sugar and excitement. Hmmm... I guess this means we should start thinking about Rayna's 1st birthday! Yikes... only 3 months away!

The Great Outdoors

Most of you know that Ryan and I love being outdoors. I remember when we first met, we knew we were meant for each other after spending three days hiking 30 miles through Pine Creek Gorge (the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon) in rain, freezing temperatures and 10-mile days...and still coming out smiling and in love. Now with Rayna in tow, those days of our rugged backpacking may not happen as often, but we still enjoy hitting the trails and being in the great outdoors as much as possible. This weekend, we celebrated our five-year anniversary at the place we hold near and dear to our hearts...the mountains. The only thing that made it even more special to us, was being able to share this place of peaceful beauty with our baby girl...and of course Sugie!

On the Move

I can't believe it's happening already, but Rayna has mastered the art of crawling. Goodbye to the days of her just laying on her belly or back and playing. It's hard to believe such a little thing can cover so much ground! It's so much fun to watch her as she explores. We're also finding that our house is still not quite child proof. It's so interesting to me how you can have all these great toys spread out for her to play with, but instead she's infatuated with the the buttons and switches on the stereo system. I guess from a child's point of view that is pretty cool. She will sit and read (more like chew on) her books. Her favorites are "Mr. Brown Can Moo" and "I Love You Stinky Face."

Best Buds

Six years ago, when we were trying to decide what kind of dog we wanted to get, everything we read about Boxers said about how great they were with children. I remember watching her play with my niece and nephew and thinking that we were depriving her from having a constant playmate. She just loves kids so much, and it's even more evident now that she finally has a playmate of her very own. We couldn't ask for a better puppy for Rayna to grow up with. There's just something so special about the bond that's being created between the two of them. I know that they're going to be the best of buds... they're already inseparable.

Sweet Teeth

It's amazing how much can happen in just one week, but Rayna had a very busy one! Her two front teeth came in all the way, she is sitting on her own, and she took her first crawl (sort of). Plus she turned 7 months old on Tuesday! She had a doctor's appointment and we found out she weighs almost 18 pounds and is just shy of 28 inches long (she's in the 90th percentile for height!) So you can see we had a very busy week, which is why it took me so long to make my weekly updates. Plus, we just got back from a day down on the farm freezing sweet corn. Rayna had fun playing with her cousins. It won't be long before her and Nicholas are chasing each other all around. This weekend, I actually reached a huge milestone... I spent a night away from Rayna! I went to Atlantic City with my girlfriends, and Papa was in charge of baby girl. I'm happy to report that everyone survived!

Look Alike Contest

So the question we get the most frequently from friends, family and people we don't even know is "So who do you think she looks like?" We usually say she's a nice mix of both of us... she has my hair color and eyes, and she has her papa's unrulely cow lick and his signature single dimple. But we still have fun competing over who she looks like more. So now is your chance get in on the fun. Does she look like her mama or her papa? Place your votes in the poll to the left. We might have to pull out baby photos if there's a tie!

Rock 'n Rolling

Our baby girl is growing up so fast! Next thing we'll know she'll be driving! OK... maybe she's not growing up that fast, but she has entered the early stages of crawling. She just loves rocking to music (to the Wiggles when she's with Mama and to ALO when she's with Papa). If she does want something that she can't reach, she just rolls to it. I'm actually not looking forward to her being mobile... she'll never want to be held anymore! Well enjoy the show!

Sugar Nanny's On the Job

There was a request from a certain New Yorker for more photos of Sugar on the blog. So here's one of Sugar and Rayna having a stare down. Sugar loves her baby sister, and even got the nickname of "Sugar Nanny," because wherever Rayna is, Sugar has to be right there with her. Ryan and I are amazed at how gentle she is with the baby (for those of you who know how hyper she is, you understand). It's fun watching as Rayna becomes more and more attentive to Sugar... she'll laugh and talk to Sugar while she's in her exer-saucer. The one morning I thought she was talking to the TV (she gets to watch Sesame Street once a day), but I peeked in at her and she was facing Sugar and just squealing away!

Puppy Love

Rayna had her first date this weekend... play date that is. Fife, Chrissy and Gavin came over Saturday night for dinner and needless to say the kids were the entertainment. Gavin just LOVED "Baby Rayna" (that's what he calls her)! He wanted to kiss and hug her every chance he got ... and Rayna didn't mind one bit. I can see why Fife and Chrissy call him their little "lover boy." Rayna was totally infatuated... she couldn't keep her eyes off of him! She was so exhausted trying to keep up with Gavin that she crashed hard that night and didn't make a peep until 7:30 the next morning. Maybe we should have little Gavin over every night! But of course papa is being protective of his baby girl, saying that he's going to keep a close eye on Gavin... he doesn't trust those Peddigree boys!

Happy Trails

To celebrate Rayna's six-month birthday this past weekend, we wanted to do something special. It had been a really long time since we've done any hiking so we decided to break in Rayna's new back pack and hit the AT. It couldn't have been a more perfect day... blue skies, low humidity and mid 80s. We did one of our favorite treks along the Conodoguinet Creek a little west of Harrisburg. We all had a blast, especially Rayna. She sang and talked the entire way, except while she was sleeping. The bumpy ride on Papa's back didn't seem to bother her one bit. Whenever we're hiking, it's been tradition to call each other by our trail names. I'm Mama Cicada, Ryan is the Blue Blazer, and Sugar is Crazy Legs. But of course we can't agree on one for Rayna. I like Cricket Kicker (she rubs her legs together like a cricket when she gets excited)... he likes Drools Like Moose. Hmmmm... I really don't see any competition here, but I'll let him have his fun. Feel free to give us your ideas on a good trail name for baby girl.

Slaps and Raspberries

I made a promise early on not to rush my baby girl's milestones. While I anxiously awaited her first coo, first smile and first giggle, I tried not to wish they come any faster. Instead, I discovered it's even more fun to watch her hone the skills she needs to do the "bigger" stuff. Rayna's latest thing is slapping when she gets excited. At the sight of mama or papa she starts slapping her knees and grinning from ear to ear. If we're holding her we usually get a slap or two on the face. She's also been very focused on blowing bubbles (raspberries). She intently furrows her brow in deep concentration, and goes on for long stretches of bubble talk. I can't wait for the day when Rayna give me hugs and kisses, but in the meantime I'm just as happy with slaps and raspberries.