weight & height: 23.6 pounds and 31 inches long. You've already bumped yourself into 12-18 month clothes because you're so long and just keep growing! eating & sleeping: Your appetite has been HUGE lately and you've been loving your baby food meals and bottles. We're still working on getting comfortable with harder textured foods but are making progress every day! You've also just recently started sleeping in until a little after 7AM and we are crossing alllll of our fingers that you keep that up! ​exciting firsts/milestones: You gave mama your first intentional kiss this month, and although it only happened once I'm still soaking in all the feelings from it since you really only say my name when you're sad and reserve saying "dada" for when you're happy. You also had your first Thanksgiving this past month, and enjoyed trying the fresh sweet potatoes most! things I love: You're happiest when you're on the move and getting into mischief. You're obsessed with things like blinds and the one kitchen cupboard that holds our cleaning supplies, but also enjoy playing with toys like the play kitchen, balls, and toy cars. Emery is still your favorite person for the most part, unless she's trying to pull you away from something you're trying to get into. You also LOVE bath time, and your enthusiasm for it is definitely contagious!  things I don't enjoy so much: Right now the thing that you continue to enjoy the least is being kept still when you just want to be up and moving. This continues to make things like getting dressed and diaper changes a challenge. You've also gotten to the point where you'll get mad and throw a monster sized fit at Em, me, or Dad if we've done something to upset you complete with a mad (but still adorable) face and very direct yells.   mom & dad's biggest parenting lesson so far: ​I don't know if it's that we've just finally gotten worn down enough to care less about things that would've stressed us before or if we're actually learning something new, but this past month we've really learned to just go with the flow and to not stress it when things don't go according to how we'd originally planned them. That means that our floors no longer get swept every night and toys will sometimes be left out too, we're rarely ever on time to anything, and the monthly photo updates will not always be centered because *someone* just wanted to scale the chair and not sit still 😉, but as long as we're trying our best and teaching you and Em to be your best, kindest selves, that will always be the most important thing. 

weight & height: 21.8 pounds and 30 inches long. eating & sleeping: We finally seem to have reached a point where you enjoy eating pureed baby food and have an appetite for it regularly throughout your day! You usually eat baby food for lunch and dinner, and then stick to your formula for the rest of the time. You still don't like sleeping in past 6:15/6:30 every morning, but when the time changed with daylight savings this past month you still woke up at 6:15 AM on the dot so at the very least you're consistent.  ​exciting firsts/milestones: This past month has been a big one when it comes to new milestones for you. You officially made the transition into full-on crawling, and with that have also learned how to quickly climb the stairs. You also made the official move into your own room and crib, and even though mom was really sad to send you in there earlier than planned, you've been sleeping better because of it which is a good thing for everyone. You've also pushed through your two top teeth, and from the looks of it are working on more! Last but not least, you also had your first Halloween and made all of our cliche dreams come true by dressing up as the cutest little pumpkin! things I love: Your favorite thing right now is to explore and get into EVERYTHING that you're able to reach. Garbage cans, kitchen cabinets, dresser drawers, toilets and bathrooms, and electrical outlets have all made (and been checked off of) your bucket list thus far. You love playing with toys but always with other people in the room with you, and have taken to your father's love of electronics, specifically, laptops, iPads, phones, Mama's watch, and Daddy's xbox. You LOVE baths and splashing in the water, and love playing with your big sister more than anyone else.  things I don't enjoy so much: We're learning that you are a very opinionated baby that makes your likes and dislikes known quite loudly. So, whether it's getting taken away from somewhere/something that you were trying to "explore", getting dressed in the morning when you'd rather be playing, getting put down to bed when you're tired but don't want to miss out, or are trying to be fed carrots and peas for dinner instead of something more desirable, you let us know about it in no uncertain terms that you disapprove.   mom & dad's biggest parenting lesson so far: ​This past month has brought so much growth for you, and with it has given Mama finally what feels like a better understanding for you, your personality, and how you communicate your likes and dislikes to me. You're very spirited which can be really fun or really stressful depending on the situation, so knowing a little bit better how to keep you happy and best communicate with you has helped a lot to try and minimize the stressful times and focus more on the fun. Also, I'm kicking myself for not being better organized with our cross-country move and losing all of our outlet plugs/other baby-proofing items, so baby-proofing, along with trying to stay organized has been another big learning curve for this month. 

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-BOO! and a Happy Halloween to all of you! from Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother, and a pumpkin so stinking cute that he might just be magical. 😉 This is our first Halloween in our new home state and Ashton's first Halloween ever, and we've been having fun this month making them count! This past month we were able to visit two pumpkin patches (one as a family here in Oregon and then another in Utah while the kids and I made a visit to my family), paint pumpkins, make a "haunted" halloween gingerbread house, read lots of fun Halloween themed books and fit plenty of Halloween activities into our preschool activities, dressed up twice for ballet class the week of the holiday, and made it a point to try just about every seasonal autumn/pumpkin themed treat that Trader Joe's released this year to figure out what our favorites were. Emery seems to have officially reached the age where she understands more now how Halloween works and has been SO excited for it, asking almost every day if it's here yet so that she can wear her costume and go trick-or-treating!

Since Em was the one with the most enthusiasm for the holiday this year, I thought it only fair that we let her pick out the theme for our family costume. She's in a stage where she LOVES Cinderella right now, so when she told me that she wanted to dress up as the classic princess from her favorite book & movie the rest of our costumes just fell into place! I was going to have Ashton originally be "Gus-Gus" the mouse from the movie, but then found this stinking adorable pumpkin costume on sale and couldn't say no to it! Since a pumpkin is a fairly important part of the Cinderella story line, I figured we'd go along with it! Dressing your baby up as a pumpkin for his first Halloween may be cliche, but dang it's so cute!! Just look at that face!! 

I honestly almost didn't do a family costume this year because aside from pictures and maybe on actual Halloween for trick-or-treating we didn't have anywhere to wear them. In dental school we'd always do a huge party with friends where everyone would dress up, so this year I was kinda bummed out thinking that we weren't going to have that same fun tradition anymore, then Kyle found out that he needed to dress up as "Woody" from Toy Story for work, and the thought of having to put together two costumes for him for the sake of him being able to fit into two separate themes left me feeling discouraged and wondering if it was worth the hassle. Once I finally decided to take the plunge though and just put together the costumes, I was SO glad that I did. We made the skirt, necklace, and headband for Em's costume while at my parent's house in Utah, and the second Em saw herself in a mirror with everything together she gasped with the sweetest, "Oh, it's PERFECT!" and then proceeded to twirl and dance around the room until I told her she had to take it off to get ready for bed. When we were all getting ready to take these pictures Kyle was being a grump (surprising since he LOVES pictures...not haha), but all grumpiness melted away the second Em saw all of us together and started bouncing around with excitement telling all of us about how Daddy was going to be her Prince Charming and Mommy was her Fairy Godmother and Ashton was going to turn into a beautiful coach! 😂 Kids really do bring so much more fun into the holidays, and I'm especially grateful this year for Em's never-ending enthusiasm to lift me up when my own is feeling down.

We'll be spending our actual Halloween night this year taking the kiddos trick-or-treating with our new friends in our new(ish) town in our new community of people that we're already coming to love and appreciate so much. We definitely miss our sweet dental school friends and traditions, but finally feel like we're starting to find our groove here in Oregon and are so happy and excited to be able to start making and enjoying new traditions with our little family of four.

Happy Halloween to all of our sweet family & friends! We love you all dearly!

weight & height: 22 pounds and 30 inches long. Almost everywhere we go people assume that you're older than you actually are, and mama is already wondering if she should've sized up more when buying your fall/winter wardrobe since you seem to be getting taller every day! eating & sleeping: A little before you hit your seven month mark we'd switched to a soy formula to try and help with tummy troubles, and a little over a month later the formula is still working well and you're a better fed baby because of it! You've become quite the early bird this past month and we've had a hard time getting you to sleep in past 6:30 in the morning. The early starts to every morning are exhausting, but one plus is that Dada has never once slept past his work alarm at 6:45 so at the very least you're helping him stay punctual. 😉 ​exciting firsts/milestones: You're still army crawling all over the place, and this past month have started to let us know that we need to start officially baby-proofing our house by standing up against things and climbing up a couple of stairs. The main thing you've learned how to stand up in has been your bassinet, which also means that it's been time to start moving you into your crib! things I love: You love being close to the people you love more than anything right now - mostly mommy but you also love playing with Emery and will cuddle with Daddy when he's home from work. You love playing with toys that you can hold in your hands, and have really taken to balls and the wheels on toy cars. You also LOVE bath time, and we have a hard time keeping you from trying to crawl into the bathrooms at any given time and going straight for the tub/shower.  things I don't enjoy so much: Teething has given you a ROUGH go this past month, and the discomfort from that has made you pretty sensitive and random moments. You also don't like being left in a room by yourself (even with toys), and will immediately start crying and crawling to follow to wherever your people have gone off to so that you don't miss out on a single thing.   mom & dad's biggest parenting lesson so far: Between you and Emery and teething, growing pains, allergies, bad dreams, and whatever else could interrupt a person's sleep, getting a solid night's rest has been a real challenge for mom and dad this past month. It's really hard to not feel burned out or discouraged with the constant sleep interruptions followed by still busy days, but we're working to take things one day at a time, and have both appreciated earlier bedtimes for everyone in the house to try and get everyone as much rest as possible until things (hopefully) settle down. 

You weight & height: 21.5 pounds and 29 inches long. eating & sleeping: Typically you'll go to bed around 8PM and wake up around 7AM in the morning, a little earlier than we're used to but you're always so happy first thing in the morning that the wakeup call is still pleasant. We've officially jumped into the realm of pureed and solid food and so far you've enjoyed it! You love bits of banana for solids and apple & spinach has been your favorite puree! We're STILL trying to find a formula that doesn't upset your stomach, but recently switched to a soy-based one that (fingers crossed) seems to be working, making us wonder if we might need to watch out for some sort of milk/dairy intolerance in the near future. ​exciting firsts/milestones: This past month you have really started moving & grooving! You can now sit yourself up and stay there unassisted, and are constantly rolling, army-crawling, and lunging yourself across the floor to get to where you've set your mind to! Every day you've had us on our toes thinking that you're about to start full on crawling, but we haven't gotten there quite yet!  things I love: You LOVE the independence that learning how to move has given you, and that along with your love for grabbing onto things with your iron-clad grasp has made you quite mischievous! You love playing with toys and books and are so curious about the little details of them. Emery is still your favorite person for playing and laughing with, and Mama is still your favorite person to cuddle up with come bedtime. things I don't enjoy so much: You do NOT under any circumstance like being left alone in a room while awake. You could be surrounded by toys and completely content with mama or Emery playing separately in the room with you, but the second people get up to leave and go somewhere else you'll go into full meltdown mode until mama comes and picks you up to go into whichever room she was originally headed. mom & dad's biggest parenting lesson so far: As much as I hate to admit that it's taken me seven whole months to get to this point, I'm learning now more than ever how important it is for me and dad to adapt how we do things to you personally instead of just trying to do whatever worked for Em at this same stage. You and Emery do get along so well, but are so different in personalities, strengths, struggles, and needs, and we've found that when we really pay attention to taking care of your needs in the way that is best for YOU, things go a lot more smoothly. From your diet, milestones, schedule, etc, you show us more every day how much you're growing into your own person, and we absolutely love you for it!