Messy. Cute. Monstrous. In that order.

As promised, here are some pictures of Sydney attempting to feed herself. They don’t really do justice to the true mess that she makes, but I think she looks adorable, even with sweet potatoes up her nose :)



I'm not sure why her foot is all blurry. Maybe it was the smearing of her food all down her leg.



We’re still working on her spoon technique.



And leaving the bowl ON the tray.



Because that’s how her food ends up EVERYWHERE.



More cuteness coming your way with Sydney showing off her new winter hat. I LOVE the tassels!



And last night while I was making cupcakes, Doug called me into the living room to watch Sydney crawl back and forth down the hall chasing after her toys. She was so cute that I had to take pictures.



Yes, she even dragged her jacket with her. I guess Tigger was cold.



I was spotted.



She charged me.



And crawled up on me.




Because she loves her mommy so much, right? And she likes shiny things like the zipper on mommy’s hoodie :)



And COMPLETELY unrelated to adorably cute and sweet Sydney, I had a glorious dream that I would make these witch cupcakes I found on parents.com to bring into work. Aren’t they adorable?



In the beginning there was hope…



That hats are cute, no? Surprisingly there was only one casualty in 2 whole boxes of very fragile Oreo ice cream cones. I should have foreseen the disaster looming on the horizon though right after I knocked over the tub of orange jimmies and they spilled all over my kitchen floor! That is how the hat rims came to have black jimmies on them instead of orange, BTW. I finished making the hats, mixed the green icing, set out bowls with eyes (chocolate chips) and noses (mike and ikes), lips (decorator icing) and pupils and hair (chocolate and white icing in Ziploc bags) and began to decorate.

And here I present to you the monstrosity that is my witch cupcakes. They are special. Special as in they look like they got dragged under the short bus to school special. Don’t believe me? Just look at the poor little witch on the right. That’s what happens when you let me decorate you. I do you so little justice that you dive face first onto the plate to the point where there is no hope of recovery. So I manage to decorate a few more of your friends and hang up my piping bag, well, Ziploc bag with a snipped corner, and send you off to work with Doug because I’m too embarrassed for anyone at my job to know I made such repulsive looking cupcakes.



Answer me this people at parents.com, how in the world did you get the hair to look so nice??? And how did your witches not faceplant themselves onto the plate when you stood them on their sides??? These are the burning questions that keep up me at night.

I guess all I can do now is find another baking project to massacre for Thanksgiving.

That's what she said...

I was washing dishes last night while Doug was feeding Sydney, or rather, Doug patiently watching Sydney trying to feed herself (gloriously messy face/hands/belly/diaper/highchair baby pictures coming soon!) when out of nowhere she yells "Mama!". I dropped my dishes in the sink and turned around and was so excited to finally hear her say it that I ran over and gave her a big kiss, then kept asking her to say it over and over! She did a few more times and it was awesome :)

I can see you that you got other plans but tonight but I don't really care

It's Friday afternoon and I'm STILL sitting at my desk counting the minutes until I can go catch my bus. How on Earth am I still conscious? One word. iPod. If you need a Friday pick-me-up, do as I say. Put on headphones, turn speakers up WAY too loud, hit play and chairdance to your hearts content. Or at least until your officemate comes back from a late lunch. You won't be sorry :)



I seem to keep listening to this song over and over again and imagine I'm at home wearing my favorite pair of drawstring sweats, one of Doug's worn in undershirts (quite possibly one of my FAVORITE things to wear ever - yes, they rank right up there with my $2 ohana flipflops I got in Hawaii and will cherish no matter how much I slide around in them because I have worn them until the tread is as smooth as the ice on the sidewalks in downtown DC in winter) and dancing around carelessly with Sydney in the den and watching her laugh and smile as we spin around and go girl crazy :)

Pumpkins, ships, and jets. Your typical 8 month old's weekend.

Sydney has come a long way in her almost 9 months of life. She has two bottom teeth. See?



And likes to play peek-a-boo with Mommy and Daddy and the dining chair…





Something about this picture reminds me of Officer and a Gentleman where Paula is working in the factory wearing a bandana. I tried googling for a good screenshot, but I got two naked men riding bikes in London. Seriously! I would not lie about something like that. I’m sure my work computer has now been flagged. Too bad it wasn’t Richard Gere from American Gigolo. But I digress. Back to Sydney and her Paula washcloth/bandana. That is where the similarity ends. There will be no driving over the bridge to the base to pick up hot guys and spending nights in a shady hotel no matter if he makes you eggs the next morning :) It also reminds me of Lucy Ricardo. Nice, wholesome, Lucy Ricardo.



So this weekend we were quite busy. To start off, we had lunch with friends and then went to a big antiques barn where we saw this um,well…Indian Superman? I think Yoshie does a great impression!



I personally think Jesus could have used the flowery scarf to bandage his hand so as not to lose his finger. But what do I know.



And then we took Sydney to get her first pumpkin.



Sydney's little pony.



Whatcu talkin’ ‘bout Mommy?



Oh, we're going to decorate it.



Silly me :)



I’ll clean you and paint you and hug you and love you forever and ever.



Giddy up!



Is there anything cuter than a baby’s bottom?



Yep.



Double yep.



Diva in training. Can’t you just see the long hair being shook from her shoulders right before she asks to up her allowance?



This weekend was also Fleet Week down in Norfolk. ROAD TRIP!

There were aircraft carriers (the Ike, even though it wasn’t available for tours).



And amphib ships that we did get to tour. Thank you USS Ponce (LPD-15).



The Ike in the background.



In her rightful spot, the Captain’s chair!



This is the bay where they launch all the smaller boats while at sea. And the nice sailor who gave us the tour. Sorry for the massive sun glare.



On the pier with Daddy.



It was a little windy on the pier.



Daddy, I want to go back on the ship!



But there are planes to see at Oceana.



OK, but I want to take a nap on the way.



And I only want Mr. Snuffleupagus to wake me up.



Daddy, I’m glad you woke me up to see this!



Mommy is too!

"It takes a lot more than just fancy flying." (Bonus points if you know where that is from. It should be painfully obvious for anyone who knows me hehe!)



In case there is anyone out there who doesn’t know what that hugely awesome plane is!!!



Mommy and Daddy take a self-portrait in front of the after burner. How HOT is that?!



Mommy and Sydney in the afterburner!



These next two are for you Garry. It just wouldn't be a road trip without violating something.





Let’s see. Loves baseball. Loves Dirty Dancing. And now, loves the Blue Angels. Definitely my girl!