October

We have had a very busy month! Every weekend has been filled with fall activities and a lot of Gwendalyn's firsts, which has been so fun to watch. Two weeks ago Gwendalyn and I went to a play group with a bunch of my sorority sisters. We met at the Kansas History Museum in Topeka. There was about 9 girls and their "babies" (not all were babies.) Gwen enjoyed watching all the kids play but sat on my lap most of the time. Towards the end she started crawling around a bit. It was great to see my friends and all the kids, we have came a long way from college. ;)


Kathy, Carter, Gwendalyn and me



Gwen, me, Erin, and Noah

The next day (Sunday) we went to the pumpkin patch. Brandon, Gweny, Grandma V, GG, and our family friends, the Bergans, all went. Gwen slept through most of the trip but finally woke up towards the end. She didn't really care for the pumpkins but loved all the animals there.

The Bergan girls, Sydney and Avery, and Gwedalyn

Last weekend was Maple Leaf. Its a family tradition to watch the parade together on Saturday. So everyone met at GG's and walked down the street to watch the looong parade. Gwen really liked watching all the other children around us. After the parade we tried walking around a little bit, but there was so many people we could barely moved. That evening we went to Topeka for a surprise birthday party for Brandon's mom. She turns 50 in November but during the winter her parents live in Texas, so we all got together to celebrate early. It was great to see everyone. Sunday, Brandon went hunting (and shot a deer!!) so Gwendaly, Grandpa, Grandma, GG and I went back up to Maple Leaf. It was less crowded and much easier to shop. Gweny got a couple new hats.

Gwen at the parade

Gweny in her new hat

Over the week, Gwen has got two new teeth and Tuesday she turned 9 months old. Where does time go? I woke up one day and my little baby turned into a big girl! She is truly a blessing from God! I love watching her grow. And last but certainly not least, I'm going to be an AUNT! A few weeks ago, we found out my sister, Alli, is pregnant.

9 months old!

Happy Halloween!

Fall is Here

Well, fall is here and Gwendalyn has her first cold. :( She also has a tooth coming in so we have had some rough nights this week. Even though she isn't feeling 100% she is still such a happy little girl and we had a busy week/weekend.

Wednesday night we had dinner at Mike and Teri's. Teri left on Thursday to do the 60 mile breast cancer walk in San Francisco. She is a breast cancer survivor and we couldn't be more proud of her!

Friday night a friend of Brandon's got married, so after we got off work, the three of us got dressed and drove to Topeka for the wedding. Gwen loved it, there were sooo many kids there! A few of Brandon's really good friends all have children under the age of one, so it was great to get them all together. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures of them playing together.

Saturday was spent with Auntie (my sister, Alli), while Brandon was out getting ready for deer season. Auntie and I took Gweny to the park. It was a little cold but Gwen had a great time.

Sunday was Gwendalyn's first trip to the zoo. Late morning, Grandpa, Grandma, GG, Auntie, Mommy and Gweny all headed to the Topeka zoo. Gwen is only 8 months old but was so interested in all the animals, she would just stare at them and then would get all excited and start talking to them, especially the geese. She started out in her stroller but after Grandpa picked her up to show her some animals, she wouldn't let him but her back down, so Grandpa got to carry her most of the zoo trip :).



Auntie and Gwendalyn



Gwen and Grandpa looking at animals in the rain forest

The hippo getting a drink. Gwen really liked watching him.

GG and Gweny

Grandma and Gwen

September

Gwendalyn and Daddy love to hang out together.

Gwendalyn's favorite toys are the remote, my hand-held mirror and, as you can see, my cellphone. If this is any indication of how she will be as a teenage, we are in trouble :)

Bath time is Gwen and Brandon's favorite time. They like to splash and spell words on the tub (when Gwen is not chewing on the letters.)

Uncle Chase (my brother) came home for about a week for Grandma's funeral. Gweny thinks he is pretty fun!

8 months old!

The first 8 months

Gwendalyn just turned 8 months old last week! It's hard to believe. She is army crawling everywhere and man, is she fast! She is really wanting to pull up on things, but hasn't quite figured it out. Gwen is a great eater and we have recently started table food. We haven't found anything she doesn't like yet. :) She is one busy, busy little girl, she keeps Brandon and I on our toes and we love every minute of it!

We had one busy summer. We were busy with family functions, weddings, spending time outside, we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary and Gwen's baptism. Gwendalyn had her first boat ride this summer. We spent many weekends at the lake. She wasn't too sure about the water but she was a trooper since Mom and Dad kept making her swim. :) In August, I started working again, as the school librarian, after staying home with Gwen for the first 6 months. We are extremely lucky and my grandma Gorton (Gwen's GG) offered to watch Gwendalyn. Gweny loves her GG and they have lots of fun together and Brandon and I feel at ease knowing someone who loves her so much is caring for her when we can't. We also lost my grandma Abel last week, Gweny and her great granny were great friends! We all miss her so much but feel very blessed that she got to spend lots of time with Gwen and they had a wonderful relationship.

Life as parents is the better then either Brandon or myself could imagine. Gwen is such a joy to be around and makes everyone smile. We are very blessed to have such a great baby.

 Here are some of the highlight from the past 8 months

Gwendalyn at the hospital



Home from the hospital





Valentine's Day



2 Months Old




4 Months Old



4th of July



Swimming with Daddy



Family Pictures



6 Months Old