Raven's first Thanksgiving was a success.  She watched some of the Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade.  Then she went to her grandma and grandpa's and then over to Aunt Gwyn and Uncle Tony's house.  She showed off her slow crawling skills, her ability to say "Hi dada", and the art of clapping.  Her favorite moment was trying bacon for the first time.  She literally freaked out from its tastiness.   She also tried some turkey, but she was pretty indifferent to its taste.  I think my favorite part was being able to have Raven in a high chair next to me during dinner.  I felt like my heart was whole being surrounded by my family and baby.  I hope your Thanksgiving was as pleasant as ours.  It's pretty obvious what I'm thankful for.  Now if I can get Raven to take a nap with me today, I'll be even more thankful.

   Well it's happened, we have a crawler!  A slow, clumsy crawler but our babe is scooting!  We have only had her crawl on her area rug in her nursery since we have all hardwood floors that aren't the cleanest (do they sell baby cloths with mops on the knees?)  The advantage of the hardwood floor, though, is that Raven can REALLY speed along in her baby walker.  She is also stepping very well when we hold her hands, and she absolutely loves it.

  We have begun the process of baby proofing due to her mobility and curiosity.  For instance, I had a little square vase filled with rocks and branches that had to be retired from the living room.  Despite my best efforts, Raven was able to get to her hands on a branch and attempted to chew on it.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do about our Christmas tree and all our glass ornaments, yikes!  JD said maybe we shouldn't have a tree this year but I am determined to have my beautiful adorned tree that can somehow be out of Raven's reach.  First world problems.  Oy.

These are so true.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/what-no-one-tells-you-about-becoming-a-parent

   We still do not have a crawler.  Whenever I try to practice crawling with Raven, she sways on her knees then falls flat on her tummy with her limbs out like a sky diver.  Soon after, she starts to pull her body in circles which she quite enjoys but unfortunately does not propel her forwards.  Raven just can't comprehend moving her knees forward to crawl.  She can stand holding onto something and she is a champ at stepping (walking with her hands held), but crawling is a no go at this point.  I would say at least this buys us more time with baby proofing, but Raven can get into a lot when she is in her walker so baby proofing has already begun.  Maybe Raven does know how to crawl, but prefers us picking her up everywhere and is holding off on showing us she is capable of moving forward on her own?   

    I am having a hell of a time trying to keep socks on Raven.  She loves to take them off and gets mad when I try to put them back on.  She has been in a lot of footie pajamas lately because her feet get so cold.  I still do not understand her attraction to chewing socks.  I guess there are a few things I still don't understand about her behavior, but I feel like I will never understand everything she does.  Oh well, at least some of her odd habits are entertaining!  Now, if we can just get her to crawl!

http://www.studentbeans.com/worldweirdweb/a/wins/23-best-pics-from-reasons-my-kid-is-crying5650.html This link shows toddlers crying for certain silly reasons.  It reminded me of our pizza box incident the other day.  Silly kids.

I just wanted to point out that my child went through a half hour screaming/crying fit today because I did not let her gnaw on a pizza box in our recycling tub.  I also had to take away a manila folder from her that she found on a small shelf the other day and the screams ensued.  I love that she has independence using the baby walker, but she is starting to test my limits and I have found myself saying "NO don't do that!" a lot.  We put baby locks on our low kitchen cabinets because now she has found the ability to open those.  Raven also loves to quickly grab her own dirty diaper which can be quite disastrous if it's #2.  I also believe the days of 1+ hour naps are over, at least for now.  With all that said, she has gotten very entertaining with her various facial expressions and reactions.  My baby is also FINALLY growing some hair, hallelujah!  I can't wait for the day I can give Raven little pig tails.  That's all for now, mama is tired and thankful for a reluctant baby asleep finally.  Until next time..

Raven enjoys the simple things in life.  She likes to eat her socks.  She loves to play with empty soda bottles.  Towels provide lots of entertainment.  I feel like as a society, we spend SO much money on stuff for babies when hand-me-downs work just fine, store brand formula/diapers are just like the name brands, and soda bottles can be more entertaining than a $20 sensory toy.  At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if she is wearing Burberry and $50 headbands.  If Raven wants to spend the day in sweat pants possibly from 1985 that were her father's, she will.  She is happy, well fed, and loved.   I hope my daughter always has this mindset.  Whether she is rolling in dough, or barely paying her bills, she finds pleasure in the simple things like she does now (though eating socks at 21 might look a little awkward).

I would say that Raven had a pretty spectacular October (even though she won't remember it).  She got to go to the Boo Zoo with her mom, aunt, and nana in her fabulous dragon costume.  She was quite comfy in it and did not fuss once.  She also visited our friends' house Halloween night for baby treats in her dragon costume!

Raven got to go to a bonfire and went on her first hay ride.  She loved watching the fire (hopefully she doesn't become a pyromaniac) and Grandpa held her on the hay ride which she seemed to enjoy.  She was snug as a bug in a rug as you can see:

Even though Raven is far too young to carve pumpkins, we got a baby pumpkin and carved it for her.  I think we carved a pretty good face on it depicting Raven when she is cranky.

As Indy residents know, trick-or-treating got pushed back to Nov. 1 due to the storms.  Since it was a bit chilly, we decided not to take Raven out but we did have lots of trick-or-treaters (we ran out of candy, whoops!).  Raven really enjoyed all the kids coming to our door since she is a naturally social child.  She was happy and giggling all evening as seen below.

Raven also loved all the Halloween decorations at the stores, it seems that nothing really spooks her.  I guess she does have our genes as Halloween being our favorite holiday!  I'm looking forward to her trying a little turkey in a few short weeks...then we will be on to Christmas.  Where is the time going?!  At least I know that Raven's first autumn has been a grand time.

Raven has learned to clap and is quite pleased with this development.  I like it because I can say a joke and she claps which makes me feel like I'm an incredibly witty person although she probably doesn't even understand what I'm saying.  In fact, I talk to Raven all day because she is the only one around, similar to that of a crazy cat lady.  I have a feeling Raven will be the type of toddler who says very inappropriate things in mixed company in which I'll have to tell her that's not appropriate though I will be laughing on the inside.  She does have this gene, I cussed in front of the president of Purdue once and although mortified, he told me "It happens to the best of us."  As of right now, Raven can only mumble which furthers my theory that babies are similar to little drunk human beings.  I just hope her first word isn't a cuss word.