Spooky's!

First pony ride at the pumpkin patch!

With India nearly a month behind us, we are finally owning up to the fact that fall is here. It has been extremely difficult to switch my wardrobe to long sleeves - sometimes even wearing a coat - when my mind is still swirling with memories of fresh lime sodas, palm trees, and 90 degree temperatures with a humidity to match.

With our first post placement visit under our belt, we are finding a pace that seems comfortable for our family and which actually includes trips to the gym using the nursery, eating dinner out at restaurants and not having to bring the Hoover to clean up afterwards and, if you can believe it, a date - complete with babysitter and everything! (the babysitters were my dad and his friend Gail, but it still counts!)

The wonder of discovering the world through a child's eyes is probably the best part of my day. Devi notices everything. I love to watch her process information as it enters those deep brown eyes, after a moment of pause comes the furrowed brow, as she ponders the situation, and finally the breathy smile that now shows all 3 of her teeth, two lower and one upper. When she is really excited we also get the bouncing from her little chubby thighs emphasizing her enthusiasm. All this over her first touch of a corn stalk or finding the tiny speck of lint I happened to miss while vacuuming. :)

Mornings are spent waking up in our big bed, after daddy gets her from her crib. There is something so satisfying about watching the weather across the globe, on the television, with your little one sitting, leaning back on your chest, contently humming and sucking her thumb...always with her cute little ankles crossed the same way everyday...right over left, toes haphazardly wiggling from time to time. We discuss breakfast, scrambled yolks are her current favorite with sliced bananas, of course!

I love to swing and go high!

So goes our days, but we've added words. Devi now says mama, da da, yum yum (over scrambled yolks!) and I think I heard "Hey" the other day. She knows the meaning of several words, like "NO", but also has learned selective hearing :). Devi also loves playing with her Oma at least once a week and daddy all the time, of course.

Picking out my pumpkin at Spooky's pumpkin patch

Our big outing over the past weekend was to Spooky's, our favorite pumpkin patch. We have yet to carve our faceless jack-o-lanterns, their features still melding with the creative juices in our own noggins. Something tells me, as Devi turns 11 months old today, that all 3 pumpkins faces will be smiling ones this year!