I Love November…

So I may be completely partial to November because of my birthday, but today is another reminder why this month is awesome! It is SOOOO beautiful outside right now!

Spencer and I took Saylen to Kelsey Creek Farm this afternoon to soak in the nice sun. For those of you that aren’t from the area, Kelsey Creek is an awesome park/farm right in the middle of Bellevue. They have all your basic farm animals, play toys, trails, and Saylen had a great time. We went over the summer with Aunt Kate, but this time he really seemed to notice all the animals!

Another reason I love November is the kick off of the holiday season. I am not a huge lover of Halloween, but from now until January 1, I am a happy girl, and can’t wait to share that with Saylen.

There isn’t much to get excited about with Halloween for an 11 month old, so we had to make it interesting. Saylen painted his own pumpkin (with some help of course)…

Then we took him to Gymboree on Halloween night for their special party. We had planned on making a few stops at some stores in the mall for Trick-or-Treating, but it was WAY too busy! It was a really nice night out, and I couldn’t understand why so many people chose the mall for their night out, oh well… note to self to not go there next year :) Saylen had fun at Gymboree, though it was a little young for some of the activities… I can’t believe I have blogged twice in one week!! Don’t get too used to this… I plan on taking the weekend off :)

Almost 1?

Believe it or not, Saylen is just over a month away from turning one! Where does time go?!? I know you are all hoping for a Halloween post, and it will come, just not right now. I just compiled the recent set of monthly pictures, and I am amazed at how much our little guy is really starting to look like a toddler, and not a baby.

Some fun things Saylen has been showing us lately…

*He is a “cruiser” – for those of you not in mommyland, a cruiser is someone that walks along furniture, but not independently. No signs of first steps, but he can stand freely, and bend down to pick things up without holding on.

*He has 8 teeth!!! CRAZY, I know! I am glad the final front tooth poked it’s way out this morning… maybe we will get back to sleeping the night!

*He still thinks he is a dog! He cracks us up with his desire to hang out in the dog beds, play with their toys/bones, and lately, if he is given the chance, he will “play” with their water bowl (in other words, spill it all over the floor). For awhile we also had hints of a first word… DOG! Haven’t heard it lately, but Saylen definitely would look at Ruby and Turq and say “dgg, dgg.”

*We have been having a blast at swimming lessons and music/gym classes at Gymoboree. I have been going to swimming with him on Mondays, and he is consistently comfortable with submerging completely underwater. Spencer and Saylen have a great time at the Gym classes, twice a week.

*We let him eat just about anything. Obviously no nuts or cows milk, but most everything else is fair game. He loves anything he can put in his mouth himself… specific favorites are pears, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, deli sliced turkey and Ritz crackers. I am against any sweets until his first birthday, but we did let him have half of a Halloween cookie :)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the theme for Saylen’s First Birthday Party, and we can’t wait to celebrate!