40 Weeks

Favorite activity: Crawling everywhere!

Favorite food: Tofu cubes and yogurt crunchies
Favorite spot: anywhere on the floor
Naughtiest moment: Poking cousin Logan and possible pulling his hair!
Cutest moment: Playing with her buddy Grady
Important milestones: First Halloween!
How Mom's Feeling: Excellent. We had our second vacation this month (2, I know! Crazy!) We went to Angel's Camp in Calaveras County (Gold country). We had a great time, went wine tasting (only came back with a little less than a case of wine, as opposed to two and a half cases, like the last time we went on one of these trips!), toured a pretty awesome cavern, hiking in a Sequoia redwood tree grove, explored an old mining town, and visited with friends! Our condo/timeshare we stayed in was great. Two bedrooms, a big kitchen (better than my apartment in San Francisco!), a living room and two bathrooms with a balcony and a window seat. One of the funniest parts about this trip was that Lorelei wouldn't sleep in the room with us. Too distracting. So we put her pack and play in the walk in closet, with the door propped open! Just the right size! Plus, we just got a kick out of saying we're putting the baby in the closet!

The caverns we went to were amazing. This was the first big thing we did (well, the first thing we did was go to the grocery store and nap...). Lorelei was strapped to us, and since we were the first tour of the day and it was the off-season, we were the only people on the tour. Score! We got our own personal tour guide! It was beautiful and amazing. We really want to go back in Spring, when we can see the caverns filled with water!

It was also really great to see some friends. Sandi and Grady came up for a day and a half, and Mel and Logan even got to come for dinner and stay the night before heading home in the morning! It was so cute to see the little guys all together. Lorelei really loved playing with Grady and Grady was just so sweet. He would feed her goldfish and Cheerios while saying in a super high pitched voice "Hi baby!" Lorelei seemed genuinely sad when they left!

In addition to going to Angel's Camp, we also celebrated Lorelei's first Halloween! It was pretty mellow, all things considered. I carved our pumpkin during Lorelei's nap, then we put her in her costume and took pictures. Tonight (Halloween), we put her costume on again and took her over to visit the neighbors. This weekend is her big "Halloween" where we will take her to a Halloween Party with our mom's group. I felt a little silly taking her out trick or treating, when she is really too young to do it (plus, I don't really have a costume for her). Next year, for sure, we will take her out trick or treating with the masses!

Here are some pictures from our week:

Our trip to Angel's Camp!

View from our balconey

Lorelei enjoying lunch in our condo's kitchen

Getting ready to explore some caves!

A very long exposure of the caverns

We survived the caverns!

Exploring Big Trees National Park

Look at those beautiful fall colors!

Brian's favorite picture!

Lorelei was amazed at the huge trees!

A quick, post-hike cuddle!

Hanging out at the wineries!

The wineries were all decorated for fall

So many pumpkins!

A fun visit from cousin Logan!

Lorelei can't wait for Logan to be big enough to play with!

But she'll try playing with him, anyway!

She'll play with Grady instead!

Sharing already!

What do you think? True love?

Hanging out at Columbia, the old mining town.

Lorelei really liked the chickens!

And the leaves!

Looking for her buddy Grady!

There he is!

Mmmm...sticks and leaves are delicious!

Grady prefers to throw the leaves!

Playing with Uncle Brian!

Practicing standing up!

Daddy cuddles are the best!

Getting Ready for Halloween!

Playdate at the park!

Sharing toys with Emily

Look at Mommy's silly pumpkin!

This hat is weird, Mommy!

Happy Halloween from Lorelei, the little Boston terrier!