Happy Halloween

Hope everyone had a nice Halloween. After another weekend away, it feels really good to be back home with Dan, Nora, and Rusty knowing we're not going anywhere for a while.

We had to dress Nora up and take some pictures of her first Halloween! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!!

my little duckling

I'll take one of these and one of these.

She held onto the Milky Way for a long time

wiggle waggle

9 months

9 months and crawling, pulling to a stand, cruising, and getting better and better at all of them. She's quick now... you really have to watch. Starting to get more independent. She's a girl who knows what she wants and is beginning to tell you. She's learning the word "no". "No, Nora. Those are Rusty's bones." "No, Nora. That's Rusty's pillow." "Nora, no. That's Rusty's water." Are you noticing a theme? Love her. Love watching her grow.

"oh I remember doing this."

"ok, one outfit was fun, but now another?! I've got things to do."

"Excuse me... out of my way."

"YES! Made it."

"Oh mom. You really think this book is going to distract me enough to keep me here while you take a picture?"

"I don't think so."

Las Vegas

Dan and I spent the weekend in Vegas. It was my first time there and let me tell you -- that place is like no other. Where else can you see the Eiffel Tower and Egyptian Pyramids in the same place? I'm not much of a gambler but I did enjoy putting money (and winning!) on the Badgers. I think sports betting was by far the most fun. Saw the Cirque show "O"... bizarre but I enjoyed it. The Bellagio was, I think, the best hotel there we saw. The fountain show was very impressive. The most adrenaline pumping activity had to have been "The Big Shot" ride. It's a ride that's on the top of the Stratosphere -- similar to the Tower of Terror -- you get shot up in the air and brought back down again about 4 times.... very high. I almost chickened out. Dan went first (I said, sorry... can't do it) He told me it really wasn't all that bad and I could do it so I went... hung on for dear life, but I did it! We had a great time together but I was also happy to get back home to give Nora a kiss. Dan will be there until Thursday evening. Nora and I skyped with him this morning and she kept touching the computer screen trying to get at him -- super adorable... as per usual. :)

Anyway -- here are the pics in no particular order.

This is the wedding chapel featured in the movie "The Hangover"

Jimmy Buffet was putting on a concert.

The Bellagio at night

One of the rides on top of the Stratosphere. Goes over the edge... no way.

The ride I was referring to shoots up this spire.

Blown glass ceiling at the Bellagio. The artist is a man from Madison.

The fountain show

The Stratosphere -- 1,149 feet tall

Carving Pumpkins

Tuesday night we carved the pumpkins Dale bought us. Nora was not really in the mood for it so I did the carving for her (I suppose it was safer that way... babies and knives...) so we put her to bed and carved the rest of the night.

She did NOT want to touch the guts again -- once was enough!

Nora's first pumpkin was a HUGE one. Thanks, Grandpa!

All lit up on the front stoop

And a few other pictures from the past week or two...

feeding her dog leaves

Mad Town

The family took a mini road trip today. We bundled up for the first real fall feeling day and headed to Madison to visit Greg. It was great to spend some time with him and finally get to see one of his college places. I love the atmosphere in Madison but I must say, when I saw his roommate on the couch studying... I don't miss that.

We got to take in the farmers market, which I haven't done in years. And still, I came home with some old favorites -- hot and spicy cheese bread (didn't come home with much left though!) and peanut butter chocolate chip bread! Delicious! Then we walked to the Henry Vilas Zoo. Nora's first zoo trip. It's a neat zoo -- small, but you're really close to all the animals. Kinda creepy when there's only 10 feet and a chain link fence between you and a tiger! Allows you to see how large they truly are. Finally, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. Nora did very well despite being exhausted at the end. She fell asleep within 3 minutes of pulling away from Greg's!

Wisconsin State Capital

Nora's hand compared to a male orangutan.

The giraffes were separated from one another because they had been sparing.

Polar Nora

Me, Nora and Greg with a huge bear in the background.

We had a great time at the zoo

but it was nice to get home. Rusty was glad to see us, too.

Once we were home, we had a little time to play.

Then it was time to get ready for bed with a bath...

You can see her two teeth in this picture!

and books.

sleeping soundly in halloween pjs (after all, it is October) after another great day.