Happy Halloween.

Happy Halloween!
From...

Jack & Diane

Little Ditty...

(Whose pants weren't actually highwaters.)

And John Mellencanine.

John Wilkes Photo Boothe.

One million years ago, I wrote this entry about my darling cousin's wedding 

and how it was such an elegant affair.

 (I have not had as much fun since.) 

Finally, finally, the photos from the photo booth have been posted.

I'm not sure what I will do with all my free time now, 

as I have spent the last month clicking "refresh" every 5 minutes between the hours of 6 pm and midnight.

They are totally worth the wait!

Handsome groom, sons W&R, and beautiful bride.

My brother and his wife, their sweet children, and my grandma.

The wedding was in Septembeard Septembstache, but I still wanted to look feminine.

...Ok, we both wanted to.

The next several are the reason I waited so impatiently.
Us with L (my little sister) and J.

When we are together...

...we usually laugh...

...but only a little.

Definitely always love.

My uncle-ele and cousins. All beautiful.

Bestie. Too kind.

Please don't let the questioning look on my face alarm you.

R went with a sweeter sentiment, obviously.

More cousins. More fun.

Love and the groom were in the air.

Heels over head for each other?!

firsts.

{ 1 }

Climbing! The world is our girl's jungle gym. She climbs over toys, coffee tables, parents...She has even made it up a few steps all by herself. Note the excellent use of motivation, below.

{ 2 } 

New words! E started saying, "kitty." There is a cat where she goes to daycare, and now she knows what that is. I tried to show her a picture of a cat from the internet, but she didn't really care. Basically, it's just the repeating. Still fun! And consistent. Actually, it sounds more like, "ditty." So apparently our blog is aptly named.

{ 3 } 

Kissin'! We no longer have to ask for kisses. Just make a kissy face, and Little Ditty will just plant one right on 'ya. She has even given me a couple kisses that she initiated...no kissy face necessary! Melt my heart.

{ 4 }

Pull-ups! She has been pulling herself up for quite a while now. But on Saturday, she kept herself awake at the start of her morning nap because she was getting up in her crib. And she was kneeling again when I went to wake her up. We lowered the mattress but still found her like this next time:

{ 5 }

Sharing! She has been sharing for a couple weeks now. Last night, she became The Sharing Queen. During our nighttime prayer, E took out her pacifier and offered it to me. Wow! I figured it was a fluke so I tested it - she's offered it to me repeatedly since.

{ 6 }

Brusha brusha brusha! E has two "big" teeth - the bunny ones on the bottom. Well, there are four - count 'em four - more on their way right now. All four of her top front teeth. The outer two already poked through, and the middle two (central incisors) are visible but not yet through the gum tissue. I figured it was high time to start brushing. So far, she loves it!

whatta weekend.

We enjoyed a couple of fantastic, eventful days. 

On Friday, we grabbed some friends and headed north for a hockey game.

(While at the babysitters' house, our Little Ditty crawled - real crawling - for the longest distance ever.)

(Proud mama.)

Anyway...north to hockey.

I freaking love to watch hockey.

There's something wonderful about the game. 

I like it nearly enough to Google-learn the rules.

Maybe next time.

Our traveling companions, D&B. You can read more about their stint as E's first babysitters here.

As he is a die-hard Microsoft man, 

B and I spend most of our time arguing about the awesomeness of Macs. 

I like to think I win.

As D works at an elementary school, 

here is how she and my husband spent intermission.

Their first-ever planks! So proud.

 Celebrating their achievements.

I love us.

(We won 3-1, by the way.)

Saturday morning, I got ready bright and early to participate in the American Diabetes Association's annual walk. My sweet sister-in-law (in red, below) is diabetic, so her family got a team together:

Team Kara. 

Not that I'm partial, but I thought it was an excellent choice.

It was a full morning of events, including inflatable games. 

Some people enjoyed those more than others...

but pretty much everyone enjoyed them more than my nephew did.

I think I had a similar sense of adventure when I was his age. Sweet boy!

 I dare you to tell me he's not the cutest.

One of my brother's nieces. What a ham!

Sweet little niece, B. 

Me with the guest of honor.

We walked 1.8 miles.

My dad joined us right before the walk began, so we needed to update our photo.

That is my brother right in the middle.

My dad is to his left.

Later that evening, we had dinner at C&K's.

Always love spending time with them!

All the babies playing.

"Uncle R" and our nephew, M, played basketball for a solid hour.

Little M (not quite 3 years old) just got the hoop earlier that day, but he was an amazing shot!

Victory dancin'!

So...how was your weekend?

nine months old.

Our little E has now spent the same amount of time "walking" the earth as she did waiting to be born.
Nine whole months!

It's getting increasingly difficult to take a picture - she just doesn't want to stay still.

She's taken a couple of steps crawling,  but then I can see a look in her eye, as if to say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And she drops down to scoot superfast on her belly. 

 She also seems to prefer standing/assisted walking to all other postures now.

What else has our E been up to? 

Helping her mama with crafts.

Trying to get out of jail, Monopoly style.

Breaking a sweat.

Baking cupcakes.

 And definitely chatting. She's talking nonstop these days. Here is a little sample: