She Won't Stop Talking!

I'm trying to teach Ella Kate sign language. We've chosen the first few signs and work on them everyday. The problem is that if she wants more, she just looks at me and says more. No signing involved. She wants a bottle? She says bottle. We're still working on it, but she picks up the word much faster than the sign.

When we're at home alone at night, I talk to her to keep myself going crazy. I talk to her constantly. I guess she's just picking it up early. Or, she really wants me to stop talking so she's learning to talk back.

Everyday she surprises me few new words. Last night we had a mini conversation.
- She crawled into the office calling for me - "MAMA!"
- She saw me, sat up, waved at me and said, "Hi!"
- She crawled over to me, clibmed my leg and said, "up."
- I asked her if she wanted to go night night, and she pointed toward her crib and said, "nightnight."

Really? Already? I need her to be a baby for a while longer. Ten months old IS still a baby, right?

What Does A Puppy Dog Say?

If you're curious, cows say MMMMMMMMMM and Piper says Woof Woof.

Pullens At The Pumpkin Patch, By Ella Kate

Mommy and Daddy took me to pick out pumpkins last weekend. Truthfully, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. It was a long way away, I didn't feel well, and overall I wasn't too impressed. Mommy wouldn't let me crawl around and explore, which ruined the trip for me.

All dressed up and ready to go!


Why did Mommy dress me up like a pumpkin?


I really wanted to crawl and eat the sawdust!


I'm a funny girl!


Daddy helped me pick out our pumpkin.


I'm trying to tell them that I'm done with this pumpkin patch business.


Hey, I wanred them. They took too, too long. They deserved this.

Happy Fall Y'all

Since the weather finally turned cooler, EK and I have been having so much fun outside. We stroll around the neighborhood, touch trees, pull up blades of grass, "talk to" Piper and Penelope in the backyard, etc. She loves being outside. Here are a few pictures of her in her autumn attire.

EK in her farm dress. Can you tell it's very early in the morning? We bought this one for her Poppi in honor of his farm, Cottonwood at Huckaby Hollows. :)




Now that she's crawling, dresses aren't that practical anymore. I'm always looking for adorable playsets. This one is precious AND functional. A mom can't ask for more.

The Fruit Anniversary

Today marks four years since I married the most amazing man on the planet. Richard knows absolutely everything about me, and loves me anyway. That's saying something!

Apparently the traditional gift for a fourth anniversary is fruit. Sounds strange, but it's cheaper than jewelry.

Happy anniversary, Higgins! I can't imagine my life without you.

9-Month Photo Shoot

Due to popular demand, here are a few selections from Ella Kate's 9-month portraits. I'm putting together a movie with more, but these can serve as a teaser. :)

Notice her tongue. At least half of the pictures have her tongue sticking out. Ordinarily, this would drive me crazy. But, that really is how she looks these days, so I'm considering it a moment frozen in time...

Sweet Home Alabama

My fellow Alabamians:

Those of you who live in/around Huntsville. How do you run errands? Richard and I looked at neighborhoods all over Madison County and were disappointed with the lack of immediate errand stores around the subdivision alleys. I absolutely must have a Target/Wal-Mart/Home Depot/Lowe's/Kroger etc within 5 minutes. Otherwise, you spend an hour just traveling to and from stores. Is this normal, or am I tremendously spoiled with our neighborhood?

With the massive growth in Mad Co, wouldn't you think the retailers would wise up and start building? If I'm going to live in an old cotton field, I need some retail outlets to keep me sane!