First stop: visitor's center
Second stop: get some food
Third stop: find a hotel with a heated pool
Graydon was thrilled when we got into the hotel room. He did not sit still for a second. So much to explore. We weren't there for long before we made our way down to the pool.
We swam that night and the next morning. Before heading down, we were looking all over for the room key. Bella said that she had it in a safe place.
Yep. I'd say that's pretty safe.
Besides stopping at multiple parks for Bella to play at, we visited the Air Mobility Command Museum. The kids got to try out the little airplane. 
And sit in some bigger ones. Bella and I did a simulator where we actually flew and landed the plane. I managed the controls and watched the screen to see how I was doing. I actually landed it without crashing - something I was certain would happen. It was a proud moment for myself.
Then we took a look at all the planes outside.
And watched them take off.
It's always nice to get away for a little bit.
Bella's birthday is a week from tomorrow. The first gift officially landed on our step two days ago. This girl was pumped!
Uncle Jeff, Auntie Steph, and Sydney sent Bella this Mariposa Barbie. Here she is out of the box and put together.
Bella showing off her new toy to Graydon.
She even slept with it that night. I think it's safe to say that she likes her gift.
Here's a couple of pics of Graydon and Daddy being silly together. 
I forgot to mention last week that Graydon had a doctor visit. It was supposed to be his 9 month check-up, though he was actually 10.5 months at the time. These are the new stats:
Height: 29 inches, 70th percentile
Weight: 19.6 pounds, 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 18 inches, 40th percentile
I was surprised by his weight percentile. Up until the last appt., he was 50th percent. or above. He's also pretty much the same size Bella was at this stage and she was never below the 50th percentile. I guess that's the difference between the boy charts and the girl ones. Our pediatrician didn't seem too concerned though. He's just predicting that Graydon will be tall and skinny. We'll see!
Oh and one other thing. He earned himself a lead test since our house is so old. We have to take him to the lab to get some blood drawn. Poor baby.


Graydon watching her - content to chew on his toy.
And here he is distraught after Daddy took it away. He was trying to get a picture where we could see Grady's face. That clearly backfired.
Here's a few of the pics we got back from Olan Mills. These were taken at our church for the directory. This is the actual directory photo. We got a free 8x10 of this. I think it is just OK. Bella has her fake smile and Graydon is so serious. The photographer didn't really engage the kids and it shows.
This one turned out a little better. Again, Graydon is so serious. We couldn't use this one for the directory because it didn't have the blue background. Truthfully, I wasn't the hugest fan of the red. I don't know how he decided on that color when our outfits were blue and green. I will say that it has grown on me since then. I hardly even notice it. This is the one we had printed for our home.
We got Graydon smiling here, but Bella had been smiling for so long that hers got that tired, unnatural look.
These were the best ones. You should see some of the outtakes. I have a cd full of them. Maybe I'll be them up on the ol' blog sometime. :)
Bella sure thought it was great!
Piles of fun!



We've had some beautiful days this week and our goal is to get the most out of them before the winter weather sets in and we're stuck inside for months. Happy Fall to everyone!













































getting ready for bed. . .
at the park. . . 
can't forget to buckle her in. . .
off to the pool (in Hershey). . .
at ballet class. . .
in the wagon with Graydon. . .
in the high chair (notice that she's wearing a bib here). . .
apple picking. . .
This is just a summary of photos. I don't have pictures of baby at church or the grocery store or in bed with Bella at night and the tons of other places that baby shows up at. She is pretty much another member of our family.







The fall fun didn't stop there. We took our freshly picked apples. . .
. . . and made mini caramel apples. I cut up an apple with a melon baller and inserted toothpicks. Bella took care of the dipping. She loved this project.
We also made some homemade apple pie! Bella's job was to load on the apples.
Our end result! Yummy! 
