Happy Halloween...

From our little cupcake! After a 2 hour flight delay we didn't have much time to Trick or Treat, so we just made a few stops! Here are some pictures from Bella's first successful Trick or Treat stop at our friend Everette and Natachia's house:

Patiently waiting cupcake baby!

"Trick or Treat"

"Ooh yummy, blow pops!!"

Our lil Cupcake Baby didn't know what to think!

A great way to end her evening...

Bella walking with her toy!

Visit with Friends and Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we headed to Severna Park to hang out with some friends! On Saturday, we enjoyed a great dinner with our friends and Bella made a new best friend whose name is Elizabeth! They played all evening, Bella was so entertained! She loves Elizabeth and we hope we see her again soon! On Sunday we all headed to the Papa John's farm. This was Bella's first trip to a pumpkin patch and we had a great time. Bella took her first hay ride and loved every minute! And she was so proud of the pumpkin she found. Thanks to our friends for a great weekend!

Elizabeth giving Bella her bottle

Bella with some shades!

Bella and Elizabeth as pumpkins!

Hay, what is that?

Bella wanted to stand and hang on to the side the whole time!

Is this the one?

Yay my pumpkin!!

We found a tickle spot!

Sorry it's sideways, couldn't figure out how to get it the right way...

8 Months!

Bella turned 8 months old on Monday! It's hard to believe that in 4 months she will be ONE! YIKES! 8 months is such a fun age, she is crawling so fast, pulling up on anything she can, talking talking talking, and pulling stuff off of any shelves she can find as well. She is one curious baby! Needless to say, our days of sitting in one spot are DONE, as you will see in the many attempts it took for me to get her 8 month picture, haha.

Attempt #1: Obviously, she wanted to stand, not sit!

Attempt #2: She wanted to hold on to the side and look over

Attempt #3: SUCCESS (minus the drool coming out of her mouth, haha)

Bella crawling under the high chair

Playing with her favorite monkey!

Looking around wondering where she will go next...

Those Gamecocks wore her out...

Funny faces!!!

Asking Bella if I could have some of her snacks!

Bella Crawling

Visit from friends and other happenings

I think it is fair to say that fall is finally here! YAY! I love the fall, let's just hope it doesn't get too cold. So Bella is keeping us very busy these days, as she is very mobile! She is truly crawling (video t0 come) and loves to pull herself up to standing on anything she can find. It's so cute, but also keeps us busy watching her every move. I think this baby girl will be walking before we know it.

Last week we went and had lunch with Daddy at work. It was great to see Daddy during the day and also to see all of his fun co-workers. Here are a couple pictures of Bella playing around the office.

Climbing under the desk

Playing with Daddy

On Saturday we had a special visit from my friends Amy and Jack and their precious baby boy, Jacob! Jacob is 16 months, so about twice Bella's age exactly. I met Amy when I was living in Charlotte. She lived in my apartment complex when I first moved there and we have remained friends ever since. It was so great to see her and meet Jacob. He is so sweet. The babies had fun playing together at our lunch date. It was too cute!

Taking turns slapping their hands on the table, it was hilarious!

I think Jacob was a little scared of Bella's loud yelling, haha!

Also that same weekend, Fran and I took Bella to eat outside at our favorite pizza place. Fran dressed Bella so cute before we left! She had on her pretty red sweater and her cute USC sneakers! GO GAMECOCKS!

Ready for dinner!

As I mentioned earlier, Bella is so mobile these days! So we decided we needed something to contain her in our condo. If not, she is trying to pull stuff off shelves and I can't get anything done with her on the loose. So welcome to "Bella's World":

She loves it!!

We just throw her favorite toys in there and she is a happy girl!

Who knew...

that shopping at Target would be so much fun to a 7 month old. I am just glad she loves Target as much as I do. She loved riding in the buggy and looking at everything! Looks like Bella will be my new shopping buddy!

Bad Hair Day

SC Wounded Warrior Game

This weekend Fran, Bella and I headed down last minute for the SC/Aurn Game, which was also the wounded warrior game. We had a great time visiting with our family and friends. Bella even attended her first tailgate and she loved it! Most importantly, we were given the distinct honor of spending our weekend with one of SC's own Wounded Warriors, Lt. Nick Morris and his wife Caroline. Fran was asked earlier in the week if there was anything he could do for Nick as he is a SC graduate and a huge SC Fan, as is his wife. Timing was perfect, as we knew this weekend was the Wounded Warrior game! Long story short, Fran was able to arrange for Nick to be a part of all the pre-game and halftime festivities. Nick was one of 6 Wounded Warriors that was honored at Saturday's game. All of these men are heroes and it was such a humbling experience to be surrounded by them all. They should be an inspiration to everyone! We all had a great weekend, it was just an unbelievable experience.

Nick and his wife are currently living at the Bethesda Naval Hospital as he just had his right leg amputated 2 weeks ago. Nick was injured while serving in Afghanistan this past June. He was just one month shy from returning home from his deployment. Nick sustained some very severe injuries but is on the road to recovery. Nick will be getting his prosthetic leg in the next few weeks and will begin therapy so he can start running again! His wife Caroline is one of the strongest young women I know and she has not left his side since he got to then Walter Reid back in June! Fran and I have made friends for life and we look forward to spending time with them as they are right here in DC with us. I am sure we will be watching some football together!

Our first little Gamecock family picture!

Bella Tailgating

All dressed up for big game, thanks Mimi for the shoes!

Our Wounded Warrior heroes!

Lt. Nick Morris, his wife Caroline, and Coach Darrin Horn

Lt. Nick Morris getting honored during halftime, he stood up, it was awesome!

Bella waking up