my first halloween!

With Whitney decked out as a darling duck, we participated in all sorts of fun halloween activities this weekend. Saturday was spent at the Lincoln Park Zoo with what felt like a couple hundred thousand others. On Sunday we attended the neighborhood parade / trick-or-treating. The weekend was made extra special with Uncle Pat, Aunt Laura, and cousins Henry, Oliver, and Nathaniel visiting. Whitney's good friend Mona was in attendance for the festivities as well.

The eventful weekend was kicked off at the park with the Kellys.

Whitney and Mona taking time out at the zoo for a photo shoot.

Mona making sure Whitney's beak was properly adjusted.

Whitney thought she'd rest up a bit during the parade to save energy for trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-treating with Mommy

Mona's dog, Rory, begrudgingly went along with the farm animal theme.

Mommy's little ducky.

Daddy made sure Whitney had a suitable first-timer's stash of candy.

Whitney got her own pumpkin designed especially to resemble her (big smile with 2 bottom teeth)

trip to MN for Drew's 2nd birthday party

Whitney and Mommy just returned from a long weekend in MN. Unfortunately Daddy had somewhere else he had to be and wasn't able to make the trip. While up there we celebrated both Uncle Brian and Drew's birthday.

Drew wasn't so sure about sharing his chair with Whitney despite her efforts.

However, he came around at the playground and shared his rocks that he collected.

Whitney also got in some quality time at Grandma and Grandpa Carlson's house.

visit at leah's

Leah and Pete welcomed baby Henry to their family on September 16th. He is sweet as can be, and both Whitney and I were immediately smitten with him.

Good friends Jenny and Kristin were able to stop over with their kids for a visit too. Trying to get a decent picture of a baby is difficult enough, but getting 5 kids to cooperate is impossible! Nora and Maddie are absent from the photo, and you may notice baby Henry up in the cheap seats completely bored.

Whitney and Viviana had the same due date, but Viviana was born 2 weeks earlier than Whitney. It's always fun to get them together since they're so close in age. They were kind enough to pose for a nice picture but then quickly resumed wrestling. Older sister Mirabella had to get in on the fun too.

6 months old!!

Whitney turned 6 months old on October 18th. She's busy rolling around, trying new solid foods, working on talking, as well as growing teeth (she's up to 2 on the bottom). The above photos were taken while playing "dress-up" at Leah's. When people ask who Whitney looks like, we always say Grandma Carlson. So much so we'll occasionally refer to her as "baby shirley". Leah thought it would be funny to check out Whitney in an adult hairdo and see if the resemblance increases. We thought it did!

Happy Birthday Nana!!

Thank you for coming to visit so I could see you on your birthday! I had such a fun time at your birthday party and love you very much!

fun at the park!

Whitney had a special visit from Amanda and Seamus this weekend.

Last week Whitney had lots of fun at the zoo and out to dinner with her buddy Mona.

my very first tooth!

Whitney has been busy passing lots of milestones these days. She cut her very first tooth this week and enjoys feeling it with her fingers. While it's been over a month since she started rolling, she now spends a good portion of her day rolling around trying to reach toys or checking out things from a different perspective. She can't quite sit up on her own, but she's getting close with the help of her bumbo chair. It's difficult to tell from most pictures, but she's actually growing a thin layer of (very transparent blonde) hair. However I think it'll still be some time before we need to get her a professional haircut!

my first trip to the apple orchard