October firsts

October was another great month full of many 'firsts.' Touching moments with friends and family will make October stand out in our memories.

We celebrated Andy & Susan's (my brother/sister in laws) first baby by attending a baby shower in Houston in the beginning of the month. I have never been to a more teary-eyed, sentimental baby shower! There were many thoughtful and special gifts that touched all of our hearts. We are so excited for baby Eli to come.Here are the blankets that I made for him. It was my first attempt at doing something like this, so thank goodness this sweet little baby won't care about all the mistakes I made!

Halfway through the month our department moved into a different building across campus and I now have my very own office for the first time. I really enjoy it!

I also bought my first pair of non-maternity jeans since giving birth. I had some skirts and capris, but not jeans. I kept thinking that I was going to fit into my old ones...but that's not happening anytime soon and I'm slowly accepting that. Life is just too busy right now to worry about it and I ♥ food too much! It is embarrassing to admit this, but I am posting it for all the world to see in case there are any women out there who need to feel better about themselves. Go ahead and use me for that! But I do feel better wearing normal jeans.

I went on my first work trip to a conference in Denver, CO...and this also meant it was the first time to be away from baby Grant for more than a day. It was a great trip. I got to see a lot of cool things and learn a lot of great stuff for my job that I have already started implementing. It feels good to make goals and accomplish them. But I missed my Grant and James dearly. I loved the moments when we talked on the phone and I got to hear Grants sweet voice in the background, just jabbering away.

I took myself sightseeing on the first day that I was there. It was kind of weird and a little scary walking around a big city all my myself, but it was also really neat. I visited the state capitol, the 16th street mall. It is a really cool series of shops along many city blocks...kind of like an outdoor mall. There is a free bus that takes you back and forth between the shops. I saw a guy playing bagpipes, lol.

One of the best parts was seeing so much beautiful scenery!

Later it started snowing on the mountaintops. I didn't even bring a real jacket!

We headed out to Estes Park to visit the Stanley Hotel (the inspiration for The Shining), which was really neat! The mountains were beautiful and so was the old hotel.

Our friends also brought home their first adopted son. He is a beautiful baby and shortly after they came home, we threw a baby shower for them. It was a wonderful time and everyone loved getting to celebrate his homecoming and showering him with love!

Welcome!!!

Everyone admired this sweet little boy.

Look at those dimples!!!

They did a vintage sports theme for their nursery, so I attempted to make a fun cake for the shower. It was the first time I ever attempted anything like this, so I was pretty pleased with how everything turned out. They sure make it look a lot easier on TV! haha.

And to finish out the month, Grant had his FIRST HALLOWEEN! We couldn't decide on a costume, so we went to Babies R Us and held up different ones to Grant to see what he would like. 3 times in a row, he went for the soft brown bear costume. So that's what he was! He couldn't have looked more adorable!

He didn't mind the costume but he still wasn't quite sure what to think about everything. I think seeing a lot of OTHER people in costumes seemed more scary to him than having to wear one himself. He liked to feel the soft fur on his costume.

Our little bear!!!

He had enough at this point. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted! Can't wait till next year!