The past couple months.....

Me, Susan and Spencer cheesing for the camera. We celebrated Spencer's birthday and thought that a picture was appropriate! Happy 17th birthday Spencer!

Susan and I - best friends forever!

Spencer decided that he wanted a haircut while he was over. Andy was kind enough to give him one, and help him clean up afterwards :). Maybe not the most typical clean-up method, but definitely made for an interesting memory and picture!

Spencer and I - moments before the haircut. What a good looking pair :).

Spencer and Susan cheesing it up.

Rayna got all dressed up to go outside and play in the snow (we added a coat after pictures in case you were wondering). She also wanted to take her new book "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" outside with her, but after much negotiation we left it inside. It took us 20 minutes to get ready and 2 minutes to get sick of the snow! Just like her momma!

Rayna smiling for the camera!

Rayna looking like a cute snow bunny! She's wearing her new outfit that Auntie got her for Christmas. She looked so cute with her pigtails and pom pom boots!

Grandma set up a stool that Uncle Spencer had made for Rayna to eat puppy chow from. Rayna sure thought that she was hot stuff standing that tall!

So precious! She LOVED the puppy chow!

Is it just me or does Rayna look so grown up in this picture?

Rayna LOVED her Elmo that she got for Christmas. It is the "Tickle Me Elmo" version, and she loves to hold it close to her when it is shaking. She must like the vibrations from it or something!

Rayna has started making this funny face when she smiles! I'm not sure where she got it from, but it sure is cute!!!

Rayna sure made out on Christmas morning! Santa knew just what she wanted and liked!!

She loves her new ballpit and sit-n-spin. Also, she got a new playhouse that we set up in the basement. She loves to ring the doorbell and run in and out of the house, shutting the door behind her. :)

Rayna got a new play tent from Grammy for Christmas. It stays at Grammy's so that she can play in it all day, everyday when she is all Grammy's. She just loves it!! It's her very own Princess castle!!

Rayna really got into opening presents this year. It was so fun to watch her and her expressions as she opened them!

Santa was kind enough to stop by Grammy and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve. Rayna still didn't love the idea of Santa up close, but she was definitely better with Santa the second time around compared to the mall. Plus, Santa kept jingling his bells, and she was really interested in those! Next year I bet she will run up to Santa and won't want him to leave!

Grammy and Grandpa with Santa.

We went over the Purdue Union. They always have a HUGE live Christmas tree, and this year they had a life size Gingerbread house for the kids to play in. Rayna loved it, and was awfully attracted to the candy attached to the Gingerbread house. I thought this picture was so funny!

Little Miss Gingerbread!

Naturally Rayna was drawn to the "dawg" and kitty laying beside the Gingerbread house. I don't think she quite knew what to think - was it real? Was it not? :)

Rayna also liked looking at the snowman.

The family by the Christmas tree. I believe I read that it was 27' tall this year, which was much smaller than previous years. Can you imagine? I wonder how they string the entire thing with lights, too!

Rayne loved our porch Christmas tree. It was just the perfect size for her! Maybe in a few years we'll get a miniature tree for Rayna to put in her room because she certainly seemed to love all the Christmas trees we saw this year. She would instantly point to the top of the tree (I assume at the stars she would see) and just gawk for a few minutes. She wasn't quite as fond of Santa, though. We went to visit him and she clung to me for dear life. Oh the memories!

Some pre-Christmas pictures of Rayna in her Christmas outfit. I just love putting her hair into piggy tails, and is she photogenic or what? What a little ham!

Everything is going great with us! We hope that everything is going well for you and your family, and best wishes for a FABULOUS 2010!!!!!!! We sure can't wait to see what it brings!

Halloween 2009

The family on Halloween with our cute little butterfly!!

Rayna was practicing "fluttering". haha!

Her little wings were adorable!!

I need to give my pumpkin a kiss momma!

She was all smiles around her pumpkins that Grandpa painted for her!!!

My favorite shot of her!! Is she not the cutest butterfly you have ever seen?

We decided to throw on our jackets and spend the evening outside because it was so nice out (one day in October). Grandpa had dropped off some pumpkins that he had painted a couple days before - are they cute or what? Thank you Grandpa (Dad)!!!

Rayna Lynn went to the doctor on October 29th - she is growing great! She weighed in at 22.5 lbs and was 32 1/2 inches tall. The doctor indicated that she is in the 39th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height! Poor little girl had to get 4 shots in the leg (routine + flu) and then had to get blood drawn for the first time from her arm (routine @ 15 months + lead testing because our house was built before 1960). Poor Rayna is scared to death of the doctor, so you can imagine it was a LONG half hour for her! I had brought her favorite lunchable and Dora cup, and snacks and water made her feel all better. Plus, we got a new "Dawg" at the store, which has been her most current obsession, along with clocks. She is saying the following words: dawg, clock, down, diaper, stinky, kitty, daddy, mommy (which is a rarity), Di-Di (which is Dora) and bi-bi (which means bite to her). There are some other words that she's starting to put together, and she seems to know everything you ask her! To me she seems soooo smart for a 15 month old, but maybe that's the prejudice mother in me :). She is ALL over the place, and is crawling up on EVERYTHING these days! Life is good and even better with her!!!

It's Fall Time and We Celebrated at the Pumpkin Patch!!!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago. Doesn't she look so grown up? It's hard to believe she'll be 15 months this month!!!!!

Rayna in her Halloween jammies!!! Trick or Treat :)!

We went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Michael, Heather and their daughter, Riley. We of course wanted to get a picture of the girls together, and this was the best we could come up with. Neither of them would look at the camera for anything! Also, Riley and Rayna both walked away with "treats" - Rayna a piece of Indian corn and Riley a gourd.

The family at the pumpkin patch. I am so excited for Fall!!! I LOVE the holidays, and am so excited to celebrate them with Rayna!

I just love pumpkins!! If I could afford it, I'd decorate with all different kinds of them! I just couldn't resist taking pictures of them!

Rayna with Daddy and her beloved piece of Indian corn!

Rayna picking out her pumpkin. Will this be the one???

Trick or Treat

Rayna running around the pumpkin patch. Of course she had on her light jacket, and it took me a while to realize that when she looked up the hood would cover her eyes (hence the reason she is walking with her head down). haha...I felt really bad that it took me about 5 minutes to catch on to that.

So many choices, So little time!

Go Irish!!!

Rayna and Bear Bear sitting patiently, collecting their thoughts and cheering strategy!!

She was getting excited just thinking about the game, as you can see!!

She was apparently clapping her hands in this one, but it almost look like she was contesting a Purdue touchdown! "No way ref - they did not have both feet on the ground!!!"

She loves to point her finger. We figure she must being doing that here to symbolize that "Notre Dame is #1!!!"

Rayna Lynn went to Grammy's last Friday dressed up in her Notre Dame gear to support the Irish!!! Grammy took some super cute pictures that I just had to share!!! Can we say future Notre Dame Cheerleader???

Fun at the Zoo with Grammy!

Grammy loved her shirt that I sent her in that day. It says "My heart belongs to Grandma." Rayna sure loves all her grandparents though!! Her face just lights up whenever she's around Grandma and Grandpa Werner or Grandma and Grandpa Long.

Grammy said that Rayna was singing to her sheep the whole time they were swinging. haha! I can just imagine!!

Grammy was trying really hard to get Rayna to stand by the butterfly so that she could take her picture, but as you can see, she kept trying to run away. But what a cute picture!! Kind of shows her mischevious nature!! haha!

And she's getting ready to take off again! haha! I can only imagine that she's laughing at Grammy and saying, "Can you catch me?" haha!

Fun at the Lake

A couple of our friends are getting married in October, and they had a couples shower at the lake. It was a beautiful day, and Rayna really enjoyed herself! She played the maraca's (sp?) and played "bags" with the other little kids. It was a great time had by all!

Kaden and Rayna playing their maraca's together! They were so cute!

She was awfully proud of the music she was making!

Chewing on her blanket, as usual!

Rayna was reaching in to get the bags back out to play again! haha!

Rayna and Daddy walking around at the lake. Doesn't she look like such a little lady?