Lively Ladybug

For Halloween this year, Rory has assumed the role of "lively ladybug", a part that requires more than just an adorable costume. As this video demonstrates, Rory works hard to ensure that her ladybug is indeed the liveliest of them all! Rory and 30 of her closest friends stormed the J.W. Tumbles in Alexandria for a very active Halloween Party. (On Friday evening, Rory wore her costume to a party at her mommy and daddy's work, but her parents forgot the camera for that outing.)
Rory was lonely on the teeter-totter, so she called out to her friend Ava to join her.
Ava was dressed as a little lion. Fortunately, Rory wasn't at all territorial about this activity. However, that couldn't be said for the ...
slide! When Rory climbed to the top of just this one, she claimed it as her own. Perhaps she was tauting the other tiny tots to a game of "queen of the hill"?

Fortunately, there were many slides to climb. On this one, Rory enjoyed a game of "peek a boo" before ...
... her mommy "encouraged her" to take a ride on the slide so that the other kids could take their turns.
On this slide, Rory took a little tumble when her (bad) daddy took his eyes off her for a minute (mmmm ... halloween candy!).
But the tumble didn't deter her from getting right back onto the slide for some more fun.
This trapeze entranced Rory for some time. She wondered: when do I get to play on this toy?
The answer came a few minutes later when a oblong cushion was loaded onto two of the trapezes, giving Rory a fun "horsey" ride.
From "horse" to train, Rory tamed them all. However, after a long afternoon of jumping, shouting, climbing, sliding, and riding ...
... Rory collapsed on the floor with exhaustion. Ya know, sometimes it's hard to know exactly what Rory is trying to communicate to us. This time, it was clear: take me home and put me to bed!

New Skills & Services

Wow, do we have an energetic and adventurous little girl! In this new video, Rory demonstrates her new skill (climbing on top of her work bench) and her new vocabulary. Rory's languages skills are really amazing to behold. Unprompted by us, she is using dada, mama, hi, bye, bird, ball, up, go, all done, dog, apple ("ap-pa"), diaper ("die-pa"), and Elmo (see below). She is also a good mimic, repeating back many other words with some practice.
What is it about Elmo that makes this muppet such a favorite of kids?! Rory loves him. However, ...
... she likes to read her books in style, perched on her bench with a sippy cup to keep her company.
Given all of Rory's development, her daddy figured that it was time for Rory to start paying her dues to the household. I mean, it's only fair that she start carrying her weight around here, right? Rory, however, was not too excited about being "asked" to wear her own backpack!
Fortunately, Rory was convinced that the backpack really did make her even more adorable and sophisticated.

Third Cousins

What's a little girl to do when the Halloween decorations give her the spooks?...
... Call in Claire, leader of the "Third Cousin Brigade" (the great grandchildren of Bud and Rosemary Eveslage).
Claire introduced Rory to some of the other Brigade members, who swarmed the Halloween decorations together.
Rory gives her daddy a smile, knowing that she's got the Brigade members on her side.

Another Alabama Wedding

Rory is looking very nonchalant as she prepares to make the 16th airplane trip of her young life. This flight is taking her to Alabama for (another) family wedding.
The little (lovely) town of Fairhope was hosting an art festival that gave us a fun activity on Saturday. What's got Rory so excited?...
... Not the art, but the pound puppies and shelter dogs ("dog" is one of Rory's 10-word vocabulary).
Later in the day, while mommy was getting her nails done with Aunt Chelle and Jenny, Rory took a walk by the edge of the wading pool at the hotel.
Unfortunately, she ran straight into the water before her (bad) daddy could catch her. Fortunately, there was a fun porch swing on which Rory could bask in the sun and dry off.
When mommy returned, Rory changed into her pink party gown and hung out on the balcony watching the birds (another one of her vocab words).
Rory was on her best behavior during the wedding (Tim's cousin John married Elibeth), but afterwards, she enjoyed running back and forth over the AC vents.
Pictured here is Rory's immediate family! End note: Unfortunately, Rory's 17th flight (her return trip) was not an easy one. She was too distracted to take a nap, which created a fussy little girl.

Autumn Fashions

Can this girl strike a pose, or what? Now that the temperature has cooled a bit in Washington, Rory has been sporting some very fashion-forward jeans, sweaters, and coats. Her mommy has had a lot of fun clothes shopping with her daughter!
Pippin got very jealous when I told Rory that she was "as cute as a kitten". Rory got back on his good side when she took time out of her day to read him a few books.
Rory bundles up in her new coat when daddy scoops her up for their weekend walks. But do note: those white shoes in the picture definitely did not stay white for very long ... not with all the hours that Rory is getting at the park.

Pumpkin Picking

Why is this girl smiling? Because she went on her first hayride at the Homestead Farm in Maryland on Saturday.
Rory enjoyed the ride through the barnyard and out into the pumpkin patch ...
... where she searched for the perfect pumpkin for daddy, mommy, and Rory.
Rory takes her pumkpin inspections very seriously!... Much more seriously than last year's pumpkin selection.
The little pumpkin princess also got to ride on daddy as they admired the scarecrow and prepared for their trek through the apple orchard.
Rory was joined in the apple orchard by three of her friends ... Aidan, Greta, and Dahlia.
Later, the dynamic foursome enjoyed a picnic lunch prepared by all of the mommies.
Who needs a high chair when you have your mommy's legs?
When Rory saw this doggy sign, she knew it was time for the petting zoo!...
... where we discovered that Rory has quite a penchant for billy goats. (See the next posting.)

"Share the Goat"

On Saturday, at the Homestead Farm, we learned that Rory loves billy goats. She gave this one a big hug!
Her hugs made all of the billy goats jealous, as they rushed in to get their turn with Rory.
Unfortunately, as this video demonstrates, Rory got a little territorial when it came to her new goat friends. She turned into the Lil Thug.
So, given her new-found love of billy goats, Rory was treated with a trip to Cox Farms on Sunday, where hundreds of goats live.
While mommy shopped at the mall, Rory and her daddy ventured to Centreville, Virginia, where they found many goat friends for Rory.
Rory took a special liking to this handsome white goat. They chatted for several minutes, and Mr. White Goat even convinced Rory to give him a ...
... goat massage! During their lively banter, Mr. White Goat told Rory about his friend, Mr. Long Beard ...
... whom Rory met later in the afternoon. They too became fast friends, despite Rory's desire to tug Mr. Long Beard's fluffy mane.
Ah, but Rory's constant chatter finally put her goat companion to sleep. Rory tucked them in and wished them a fond farewell.