the suspense is over

I have been excited about a certain present that I knew I was getting from Ryan and yesterday... it came! I have to apologize because I tried but couldn't get a single good photo. (it's too small to focus in on and the metal reflects the light) anyway you'll get the basic idea. This is our version of the shoe necklace - where you have a baby shoe with birthstone for each child. I saw a ring like this in the Sundance catalog and we just built on the idea.
The circle is our family and Belén is represented by the single Amethyst (her birthstone - February). As the years pass and we add kids to our family we'll add their stones to the ring - they'll all contribute to the shape and value and uniqueness of our family and this ring.

then and now...

I had some work to do today so Ryan put Bel down for one of her naps. As always when ryan spends time with Bel he snaps some amazing photos. This one we couldn't help but see the similarities between her at 2 days old...

and now at 267 days old...

she's still the same charming baby with big bright eyes, but now with more hair and more personality.

And now a few random sidenotes about life in general... it's raining outside - i love that sound, bel has 2 teeth (she knows when we are trying to photograph them, so you'll get to see them when she's not so protective), they've started playing Christmas music at Walmart, i've been jogging a few times and actually enjoyed it (weird), i'm so excited for Thanksgiving! (and i updated the fun facts about us on the side bar)

Umpire Face

Wearing her dad's hat and making this face I think Bel looks just like a baseball umpire.

corn mazes - revisited

Happy Halloween!!! blue skies, 70 degrees and sunny in Kirksville - the perfect day for a family outing.
I have to give Ryan a lot of credit for being such a good sport all the time - he will humor me in whatever activities I want to do (he even took me to Phantom of the Opera in Las Vegas in my wedding dress last year! Now I've gotten to wear it 3 times and the price per wear is a little more reasonable)
Anyway this was not so extreme and we had so much fun! So here's the story... Ryan and I both experienced the worst dates of our lives in corn mazes. Since we started dating each other we've been meaning to redeem corn mazes by doing one together and the good news is - we did it! and it only took us 6 years to do it - I think Bel made it a little more exciting too.

We all had to dress up of course - afterall what is Halloween in regular clothes??? Here we are, a boy scout, a ghost and me in my favorite overalls (farmer / train conductor / cowboy - take your pick).

The corn maze was a train theme with train trivia questions throughout and when you got half way there was a whistle stop - what a thrill!

Going strong...

My favorite part of the whole outing was the huge straw pile - mmm totally irresistible - Bel is too young to enjoy it and Ryan is too mature, so somebody had to get our money's worth out of the deal - I really was obligated to take advantage. (sorry this video is a kind of long and a little embarassing)

We also enjoyed walking through a riddle of a hay bale maze, shooting a corn cannon and talking to the locals, all with no violent flashbacks to past nightmarish experiences. I'd say it was a smashing success.

Meet Belén the friendly ghost...

...and her happy goose gourd.

I carved a big pumpkin a week ago at Mandy's, which promptly froze the first night and rotted the next day - so here is the miniature version of the first one. (same candle though - thanks mandy we didn't have any here)