Golf Lesson

Jay pulled out one of his clubs last weekend and Lilla took a real interest in it, so she received her first golf lesson! Jay is determined that one day she is going to learn to play golf and be able to play with him.

Our Little Lightbulb

Well, yesterday at the grocery store, as we were walking down an aisle, a woman stopped us and starting gushing over Lilla. She said that Lilla was so bright and shiny that she looked like she had swallowed a light bulb. Jay and I hadn't heard that yet, so we thought it was pretty funny. I tried to find a recent picture of her to see if there was the "lightbulb effect." I guess this picture, in which Lilla kept kissing Jay (which I could never quite catch because our camera is too slow), captures it as well as any picture could.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving. We realized that everyone is healthy and safe and happy, so we had many blessings to be thankful for.

On Wednesday, as family started to arrive in town, we took Lilla to see the horses near Mike's house. She was a little hesitant at first about such a big animal, but wasn't scared to touch them at all.

Most of the horses had been taken away because of the cold weather, but there were still a few left to pasture. We ran into one of the field hands who said we were more than welcome to go out in the pasture and see all the horses.

So we did, and one horse took a particular like to Jay and Lilla. He kept following them around and trying to nuzzle Lilla's hair. We suspect he thought it was some type of hay.

When Jay got Lilla on his shoulders and away from the horse, the horse calmed down. Lilla was still a little tense, and clutching Jay's hair.

Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious, and because we went out to eat, there was no cooking or clean up, which made it even better! Haynes and Lilla had a fun time at lunch together.

We did try and get some pictures after lunch, but once we got home, and close to naptime, Lilla would have none of it. While I tried to snap a picture, she clung to Jay's leg and cried, which made us all laugh a little.

But then she got over it, and I was able to get this quick picture of her in her cute smocked dress.

Hiking

We had such a fun weekend! The weather is amazingly still rather warm...in the 60's most days. I got Jay an early Christmas of a pack for hiking to carry Lilla in, so we tried it out this weekend.

Jay made us bundle up, because he knows how quickly feeling cold transitions to being unhappy for us two girls. So, we were hot on the way up, and chilly on the way down.

We ate lunch at the top and rested and then got cold.

Lilla loved every minute of it. She was quiet on the way up, just taking it all in and observing, and looking at me with a smile. And then she talked and squealed all the way down. She was so happy the entire time, which made it so enjoyable for us. It was a great family outing.

Reading

I turned around the other day and found Lilla sitting on the back door mat reading. She has a basket of books right there, but my intention was for her to take a book and sit at her little table. I guess leaning against the door suited her better that day.

Happy Halloween

We had a really great Halloween. It is not our favorite holiday, but it was fun this year with Lilla. She loved her costume, and looked so cute in it. I almost could not stand it. She loved the pumpkin carving we did the weekend before.

Then we went a Halloween party with my job. There were about 100 people there, most of whom were under the age of 18, and all dressed up. We were worried that Lilla might be scared of all the costumes, but she did not even flinch. She just watched, took it all in, and even danced.

She was really interested in the kid that came dressed as Mr. Potato Head. I still don't know who was under there, but Lilla liked him. I hope he won best costume.

And trick or treating was really fun. She walked the first bit, and then we mostly carried her. At first, she would take candy out of the bowl and then put it right back. She eventually understood to take the candy out of the bowl and put it in her bag.

At our first house.