A Star Wars Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Bean! More pictures will follow later this week from our Montana Ave. Trick-or-Treat walk as well as pictures of Willa and Eddie (Darth Vader) together in their costumes. 

Days after Willa was born, we received an anonymous Princess Leia costume in the mail. Anyone who knows Bryan knows that he is absolutely obsessed with Star Wars and always has been. After questioning everyone we know, we figured out that our good friends from college (Mike and Emily McNeive) had sent it :)...SO, we've known for a long time that Willa was going to be Princess Leia for her first Halloween.

Fall Fun

Willa at the pumpkin patch a few blocks from our apartment

Willa at the Brentwood Country Mart petting zoo

Mid-clap in her red car

Willa making funny noises with Daddy

If Willa could chose...this is what we would do ALL day. We are thrilled that she loves being read to.

It cracks us up every time we look over and see that Willa has put on daddy's hat. She has an infatuation with hats right now...especially this one. 

Sorry about the blurry photos :)

Last weekend, we met Nana and Grumpy in Atlanta for Jonny Rennels' wedding. These 2 pictures were taken in a bar/restaurant on Friday night.

Willa and Abby (Jonny's neice) in the back of the church during the ceremony...It was so cute- Willa kept feeding Abby goldfish crackers. She would put one in her mouth...take it out...and then put it in Abby's mouth.

This was right before Willa decided to "sing" (scream at the top of her lungs) as the wedding ceremony began. I immediately grabbed her and ran out of the chapel to prevent further embarrassment.

This video was taken at LAX after our long flight back from Atlanta. We were waiting for Aunt Patti (and Eddie) to pick us up from the airport and needed to entertain the bean for a few minutes as she was very restless. 

11 Months Old!

I am once again late on posting this, but Willa turned 11 months old on October 17! We can't believe that in less than a month, she will be a year old. Wow! 

She is holding a jar of the best pickles on the planet. They are from Sarah and Sheila's new company "Gordy's Pickle Jar" and are seriously the BEST pickles we've ever had. Willa even ate some and loved them. 

11 Things about Willa at 11 Months

1. She has sprouted her second tooth after many sleepless nights. It is right next to her other one on the bottom. 

2. Her favorite thing is to be read to. We probably go through at least 20 books a day. Every time we finish one, she immediately points to the bookshelf (meaning more books!). 

3. She is still very happy and giggly, especially after waking up from a nap. 

4. She just started giving kisses. It is so awesome- You ask her for a kiss, then she leans in open mouthed and plants one on your cheek. 

5. She loves to ride in her red car. She definitely prefers this to her stroller. 

6. She lets out a scream every once in a while, usually at the worst times possible. We went to a wedding  this past weekend, and she let out a scream in the church during the ceremony. It was horrifying.

7. She likes to walk while holding her walker. She also likes when we hold her arms as she walks. She looks like a drunken sailer. 

8. She is starting to entertain herself a lot more. Today she played with a single ball as she threw it and fetched it and threw it and fetched it.

9. She continues to go for Eddie's food as soon as she sees it on the ground. 

10. She loves to play with Eddie after her nightly bath. They both get excited and start playing tug of war and chasing each other. 

11. She imitates lots of things that we do- If you hand her a brush, she will brush her hair and if you give her a hat, she puts it on her head. Its so cute. 

Lindsay's Visit

This past week, Lindsay (Mommy's best friend of almost 20 years) came out to visit. Willa (and I) had the best time with her, and we packed a lot in. 

After she flew in on Monday, we went to our favorite Mexican place (Frida's) in the Brentwood Country Mart, then went to Sweet Rose Creamery a.k.a. HEAVEN for ice cream. We burned off some of the calories by walking home through the beautiful residential neighborhood between Brentwood and Santa Monica. 

Willa got cranky in her car towards the end of the walk, so Linds carried her :)

Willa, Linds and Daddy

Tuesday was a beautiful day, and we drove up the coast to Duke's in Malibu for lunch. We ate in the "Barefoot Bar", which is the casual part of the restaurant at a window where we felt like we were practically IN the ocean. We saw tons of dolphins, a seal, and some surfers. 

That evening, we went to the Santa Monica Beach, where Willa was absolutely loving playing in the sand...the wet sand. 

She was getting so dirty, but she was having so much fun...

She was so intrigued by the sand...she even put a handful in her mouth (yuck).

Her clothes were so filthy and caked with wet sand, that I had to strip her naked and wrap her in my sweater. 

Once she was stripped from her wet and sandy clothes, we found a swing on the beach. 

'

Wednesday morning, we woke up and hiked Kenter Canyon. It was a gorgeous morning- Good thing we hiked in the morning, because it got HOT later in the day...92 degrees.

After lunch and nap time, Lindsay wanted to drive through Beverly Hills to see some of the large homes.  We walked through one of the neighborhoods, then stopped by the Beverly Hills Hotel. 

Among the Ferrari's and Bentley's being valeted that day...Willa pulled up in her red car. 

We went down to see the pool and to have a drink at the pool cafe...and Simon Cowell was sitting at a table right next to us. He got up and went to a cabana, and, on the way out, I snapped a quick picture with my iPhone. You can barely see him because I was so far away. 

On Wednesday night, we went to Bandera for dinner. Willa kept standing up in her high chair, so Linds and I had to take turns holding her. 

She ate some artichoke and salmon and loved them both!

Mommy, Willa, and Lindsay before her flight on Wednesday night. We already miss her so much :(

Weekend Fun

Last weekend, Willa was quite the social butterfly! On Friday night, we went to a get together at our friends Colleen & Matt's house. They had several babies and parents over while a children's musician performed. It was fun- He brought toy instruments and bubbles and sang and played the guitar. Willa was the youngest baby there. The other kids were about 15 months old.

Willa swinging in their front yard.

It looks like Willa was the only kid at this party :) This was the end of the party and all of the other kids had lost interest and were running around.

On Saturday, we drove to Orange County to go to an Oktoberfest themed birthday party of a guy (Greg) who Bryan worked with this summer. There were some other kids and babies at the party, and Willa immediately befriended Greg's daughter, Sienna. 

Sienna kept hugging and kissing Willa and plopped down on her lap. It was so cute! Willa didn't mind it at all. 

Bryan and Greg drinking some German beer.

On Sunday, we had a picnic by the ocean with our friends Leah and Chris, and their daughter Ave. Ave is 2 days older than Willa. It was a gorgeous day!

Willa and Daddy

Both girls are in the stage where they point to everything.

Willa and Mommy

"Put me down, Daddy!"

Cuties

Overall, it was such a fun weekend! Good thing we packed a lot in, because Daddy is working all of this weekend :(