First Pumpkin

A few weeks ago we went with Jerry and Trudy , Chris, Leslie, Michael and Brady to get our pumpkins. The place we went didn't have quite the set up that they had the year before so we didn't get the pictures we had hoped. It was also about 30 degrees that day, so it wasn't the best weather for pictures either. But Rylie did get her first pumpkin and we went to Grr and Grr Mom's afterwards to carve it.

Rylie's first little pumpkin

Today we were able to get to the pumpkin farm by our house to get the fall pictures we had hoped to take. It ended up to be a really nice day, so Rylie and I went for a walk through the neighborhood first and then we headed over to Basse's Taste of Country. We're still hoping to get a few pictures in our yard with the leaves...if we ever find time to rake them!

Ready for a walk!

We attempted to carve all of our pumpkins this weekend too, but we only got as far as cleaning them out. Uncle Patrick made sure his was clean enough to wear.

"Talkin"

Rylie has been doing a lot more "talking" the past couple of weeks. Once she gets going, she doesn't stop! Here's a little video I took yesterday after work.

Snow in October?

Well, we didn't actually have any snow here in Germantown, so Rylie has yet to see the snow, but this past weekend, she attended her first snowmobile show...as did I. She sat on her first snowmobile too. We were hoping to see a Kitty Cat there, but didn't have any luck. So she settled for a seat on the big ones with mommy and daddy.

Daddy, you're on the wrong color!

Much better

Those that know me well, know that I thoroughly enjoy my retail therapy. In college, my roommates knew when I didn't feel good about a test I had taken...I came home with several shopping bags. I didn't even need that as an excuse- it was just worse on those days. For the most part, if I walked into a store, I bought. Things haven't changed much. I left the show with new Arctic Cat pants, a coat and a new helmet!

My mom was in town for a long weekend spending some extra time with Rylie. She watched her while we were at work on Thursday and Friday and stayed through Sunday. So she had her first snowmobile show experience too. She was often left with the stroller and the baby because the crowd was pretty thick, but I don't think she minded too much. And what did we do the next day? Shopped at the mall! What else do three generations do when they get together!?!

Three Months Old!

Here are a few of Rylie's 3 month pictures. The first is what usually happens when I put the camera in front of my face. She'll be smiling away, but as soon as I bring the camera up, she looks like this:

What the heck is that?

So I do my best to line up the shot with the camera next to my face.

Here's my foot

Am I getting rolls?

Testing out the Bumbo

Back to Reality

Well, it was inevitable...I had to return to work eventually. I was dreading it and as my friend Sarah said, the anticipation was worse than actually doing it. And it did go much better than I thought it would, but it was still hard. It helps knowing that she is with people she is familiar with (Trudy and Leslie) rather than having to drop her off at a day care center. And Dan does the dropping off, so he is still at home with her when I leave for work and I get to pick her up and hear all about what she did that day.

She also sends us occasional emails with pictures, which always make me smile. In her first week with Auntie Leslie, she got to take the boys to school and pick them up. Big cousin Brady keeps her company and tells me all about the toys she likes and the ones that make her cry. This week, they stopped in at Grr's office to say hi.


My last night of maternity leave...getting in some extra snuggles


First day back to work


Visiting Grr's office


It got cool enough to break out the Bundle Me for the car seat!

Festin'

Rylie attended her first Oktoberfest in La Crosse last weekend. She had a blast of course! As usual we had a lot of food and a lot of drinks. As usual, Patrick and his buddies showed up still hurting from the night before. And as usual, we didn't really see much of the parade. Can't wait for next year!


The family pic


Lovin' the baby bjorn!


With Uncle Patrick, before the hang over set in...


The hangover set in...


Just before he went home for a nap :-)

1st Brewer Game

Rylie went to her first Brewer game on a Monday night. We figured our best bet would be a night game during the week- the crowds wouldn't be as bad and we wouldn't have to worry about our seats being in the sun. We had really great loge level seats, but never actually went to them. We hung out by the pub tables in the outfield so we could keep walking her around in the baby bjorn. She visited the Kids Zone and both apparel stores. We also checked out the Metavante Club and finally called it quits in the 7th inning. They were playing the Cubs and it wasn't pretty.

Ready to cheer on the crew (Thank you Auntie Erika for the personalized onesie). Unfortunately it was a little cool out, so we had to cover her up in more Brewer gear!

Family pic opportunity (thank you usher lady for taking it)

Sittin' in the big glove!

Rylie's Baptism

Rylie was baptized on Sunday, September 20 at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Oconomowoc. She was baptized by the same pastor that married Dan and I, which was pretty special. He was nice enough to drive out to La Crosse on his wedding anniversary to officiate our wedding. Dan and I have visited several different churches in the Germantown area since moving here and just haven't found one that we are both comfortable with (I am Catholic and Dan is Methodist). So the search continues...

In the mean time, we didn't want to wait any longer to have Rylie baptized, so we were very happy to have her baptized by Pastor Greg. After the baptism we had everyone back to our house for lunch.

Getting ready- showing off the ruffle butt tights

All ready to go! My grandma Kearns (Rylie's great grandma) made this gown for her. We had hoped to make part of the gown with the material we had from the train of my wedding gown when it was altered, but there wasn't enough there, so her bonnet is made from my wedding gown train.

Getting baptized!

Both sets of grandparents

Rylie's Godparents- Uncle Patrick and Auntie Leslie


Back at home- picture time with mommy and daddy

The candy

The cake (made by Grandma Wille aka Grr Mom)

Daddy's Birthday

We had the first gathering at hour house, since Rylie was born, for Dan's 32nd birthday. We had some family, friends, and lots of kids come over to celebrate. We grilled out, played bags and had a bonfire and s'mores later that night. At one point during the evening, Dan said to me, "I think we can officially consider ourselves grown-ups- there are 3 mini-vans in our driveway." Trudy made him a LEGO birthday cake. She realized in all of her years making birthday cakes, that she had never made him a LEGO cake (which nephew Michael just had for his 5th birthday). Dan loves helping Michael build with legos.

Celebrating his 32nd with the LEGO cake

Rylie had on her party dress...and matching socks

All of the kids that attended the party :-)