Here's the Diehl

Maybe it's a woman. Or a dog. But there is definitely something on the wall/ceiling/mirror area of Schuyler's changing pad bookcase. That is her happiest spot. She always looks up, coos and smiles, and wiggles around. It's beginning to get a bit creepy...and it's not because it's Halloween. We think there may be a ghost at our house! Or maybe an angel. Jean Diehl, whom Schuyler's middle name is after, believes that babies can see angels and ghosts. Hopefully it's an angel!

A girl just like her mommy. I can't tell you how many times I watched Annie. Julia is totally into it now. She loves the songs and is singing them all the time. It is just the cutest and sweetest thing. I have to say, though, after watching the movie again a few times...Carol Burnett is a bit racey. She's wandering around in lingerie and drinking booze and singing about how she hates little girls. Sign of the times, I guess. I never thought anything of it when I was a kid. Same idea applies to Flashdance and the whole "dance club" thing. That wasn't a dance club...it was a strip club! Anyhow...enjoy Julia's singing!  

We've mentioned Julia's shutterbug tendencies before. Here is one of her latest frames. I like her use of the abstract.

Already? Really? A month? Geez. We fear this baby will grow up faster than the first one. Yikes.

Kicking soccer balls is great in the fall! If only the field wasn't so close to the massive distraction of the dog park. It's really fun to watch this crazy bunch of three year olds kick soccer balls. But it's even more fun to watch the parents, who pretty much all are doing the exercises too. Dedicated parents, I say. Thirty minutes of soccer drills is just enough to wear a girl out.

Friday was the fall festival at Julia's school. There was a petting zoo, a pumpkin "patch", scarecrows, tattoos, donuts, cider, and lots of dancing. Check out the moves of Julia and her friend Kailyn in the video. And here's a link to some more photos of the cute kids at Abra preschool. The best part? The pony rides!!! On a pony named Tinkerbell, no less. Abra Fall Festival  

Wait, who is that?

At swim lessons this week, Julia got to try and swim all on her own (with a little help from a float belt). Check out these really bad videos...they at least give you the idea.   

Julia has been learning about Halloween in school and she understands it much more than last year. She keeps asking "is it Halloween day today?", to which I reply, "Not yet, it's on October 31st." She's starting to get the hang of the fact that the day is getting closer. We spent one day decorating the house for the big trick or treat day and Julia was so proud of the decorations. It's making me very excited to carve pumpkins with her...that should be fun!

And so begins the double trouble bath time for the Diehl girls. Schuyler seems to like the bath. Julia definitely loves having her sister in the tub. At least until it's time for her to practice her swimming and under water skills. Schuy doesn't quite know what to think of all the bubbles...but she smells much better and her hair gets two shades lighter after a nice shampoo.

 The big adventure of the weekend was heading to Butler's Orchard to go pumpkin picking. It was great fun and we actually went at a time of year when there were pumpkins left in the patch. We picked a mommy, a daddy, a Julia and a Schuyler pumpkin. And a few extra white ones. Schuyler cooperated and slept through the whole thing. It made me wonder what next year's trip to the patch might look like. I'm guessing I won't be able to get any photos because we'll be busy corraling crazy girls! Looking forward to all the days between now and then...or at least the ones when we get some sleep. Which we did not have this morning and still somehow managed to get to the pumpkins without any emergencies.

Well, we can't complain about Julia not being active. She wants to play outside a lot...even in the rain. So we loaded her up in her raincoat and boots, and she had a blast jumping in the puddles. It was so much fun, I even got a big thank you hug when she returned inside.

Aren't they just so angelic when they sleep?

We are constantly being told not to compare babies. How pregnancies, babies, recoveries and behaviors are all different and varied across the board. Maybe that's why there are so many right and wrong answers about how to deal with baby related items? So, we're trying not to compare babies. But we can compare baby photos. We notice more and more that Schuyler is looking more similar to Julia at the ripe old age of 2 weeks. Here are a couple photos that are safe to compare. There are definitely similarities!