Happy Halloween

We decided the poor plant has lost enough leaves to Brandon's curious hands, so up went the baby gate.  Isn't our little "curious george" soooo cute???

Kevin carved our pumpkin to resemble Brandon's smile.....this is exactly how his teeth are coming in!

Brandon had fun as a monkey this halloween.  He watched some of the world series with Kevin and I passed out candy with our neighbor (Brandon's daycare provider), Catherine.  Next year we are hoping to make the rounds in the neighborhood.

Growing big and tall

Brandon weighed in for his 9-month check up at 23 pounds, 12 ounces and was 31 inches tall (although his legs were not completely stretched, so we think he is closer to 32 inches tall).  He dropped down to the 85%ile for weight but is staying in the 95%ile for height and head circumference.  We are officially wearing 18-month size clothes since he has outgrown the length of the 12 months outfits. 
He received his booster flu shot like a champ and did not even seem to feel his big toe being pricked for the anemia check (which he was not anemic). 

9 months

Brandon still loves his monkey....and he is big enough now to drag it around. 

This is about as good as it gets for us trying to get Brandon to sit next to his monkey for a picture!!!

Splashing around

We have officially graduated to the big bath tub!!!!  Brandon loves to splash around.

Like my new hair-do??  Soon we'll need a haircut.

Brandon loves the spout cover, he just sstands there and opens/closes the lid. 

Madera Canyon hike

It was a beautiful day for a hike in Madera Canyon with Brandon, Kevin, Grandma Payne, Aunt Gail, Uncle Brian, and cousins Easton and Taylor.   We saw turkey, deer, skunk, squirrel, and a few dogs along the way!!!

Uncle Brian and cousin Taylor having a snack.

Cousin Easton had tons of energy and was so excited to see two skunks get into a fight!!!! 

Kevin's Aunt Gail is visiting from Alaska.  We can't wait to see you again at Christmas

Pumpkins in Willcox

Just waiting for the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. It was a very windy day, not so great for being outdoors.

Kevin and I have been coming to Apple Annie's pumpkin patch since 2003 (when we started dating). Technically this was Brandon's 2nd trip to the patch, last year we came when I was pregnant!

Our pumpkin was just a bit smaller than this one. We can't wait for next year when Brandon will want a little pumpkin of his own. Next year we are hoping the entire Payne family will be able to go with us!!!

Bonding with the dogs

Lilly is so patient with Brandon, sometimes she acts like such a little mommy.

When Brandon wants something, he just goes for it, no matter what might be in the way!!!

Brandon loves to spend time with Jake and Lilly....

Cuddle bug

Favorite activities

Here he is entertaining himself, since he can't reach anything on the end table (and he really tries, getting on his tip-toes and reaching as far as he can). He's had fun over the past week with Kevin and I since his daycare provider was out sick. Hopefully he'll transition back to her routine with minimal fuss. It's been so much fun just spending our days together. I can't believe he'll be 9 months old in a couple weeks! I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how tall he is. Hopefully his monkey costume I bought him will fit by the end of the month!!!

Brandon has been enjoying our walks, now that the weather is cooling off. Jake is doing much better since he started taking medication for his valley fever.

Reading my book

We have a favorite book to read (and chew on).

Watching the world go by

We still like to sit in the front room and look outside. Lilly and Brandon are usually putting nose marks on the window for me to clean off.

Brandon is feeling much better these days. He has been quite the talker and is figuring out how to squeal with delight or just to make noise. We think he has been saying dada and mama appropriately but it may be too soon to really tell.