Lyla at 6 Months

Lyla recently had her 6 month birthday, and Grandpa captured these wonderful pictures of her during his visit!

Lyla's 1st Halloween

Visit from the Ballou's

Aunt Marylee spent a lot of time with little Lyla, playing, pushing her around, feeding her, and just having fun.
We managed to sneak in a letterbox or two in Highland park!
It was kind of cold, but we bundled up.
We did lots of shopping, and on Sunday we got to take a wagon ride and pick some apples. Lyla fell asleep on the tractor ride.
Grandma Ballou loved feeding Lyla!

Lyla: October Update

Lyla is now giggling, smiling alot, and just being a sweet old baby.
She has had visits from Grandma Ballou and Aunt Marylee, and from Grandpa and Grandma Beery.
The has had some fun times in the stroller on cold days, and even went apple picking.
She enjoys standing up, assisted by parent of course, and she is spitting up less. Oh yes, and she likes "zerberts."

Lyla Update: September

September has gone by in a flash, and Lyla is quickly growing. She has lots and lots of smiles for us now.
She even has begun to giggle.
Here she is with her friends Clare and Sophia Cellura
Daddy just can't stop taking hooded towel pictures. Too Cute!!
Sometimes she sleeps with her hands over her head.
Fall days mean cooler stroller rides. Daddy preps her for winter with a "took".
Lots of stuff goes to the mouth now. She likes to "taste" lots of toys, so mommy has broken out the teethers.
How do you get to Sesame Street. Just ask Lyla and her friend Big Bird.

Slippery Jacks

Every family has it's recipes. It has those foods that you just don't get at other people's houses. When new members enter the family, they simply must try this recipe to really become part of the family. In the Ballou family, that food is Slippery Jacks. These pickles are what some might call "tongue pickles." They look awful, but taste great! Instead of the ubiquitous dill, these are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.
I have never made the family's Slippery Jacks before, so when I planted a garden this year, I made sure I planted cucumbers. I let them ripen as long as I dared, and they didn't turn out too big, but I thought I would try anyway. Mom and Dad say that if you let them ripen to yellow, you don't have to boil them as long. I was afraid mine would get eaten, so I picked them a bit green. The look more like eggs after you peel and de-seed them.
After I soaked them in water and salt overnight, I was ready to add the vinegar, sugar, water, and spices and cook them up!
I did already say they look weird didn't I?
They may have needed to cook awhile longer, but I didn't want to end up with mush, so I tried to stop the cooking after they were mostly translucent.
Did I mention I only got enough cukes for one jar! Did I also mention I have never canned anything before in my life?
The end result! Well, I hope to crack them open this holiday season and see how I did. Hopefully I can grow more cucumbers next year and try to get a bigger batch. I'll let you know how they turned out.

Baby Lyla Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Lyla's First Ball Game

Here we are at the Red Wings game! Thanks to Eleanor for the pics.

High Fashion

When Lyla was just a "mango", Mommy (Laura) was happy with neutral colored clothes and simple onsies. Now that we have a "girl," Mommy likes to dress her a bit more gender specific. Pink is no longer out of the question.

Hooded Towels

We got several hooded towels as presents at all of Laura's various showers and as gifts in the mail. We joked we had too many, but you know, they are just so darn cute. Here's a couple.

Growing Baby

Well, Lyla is going to be two months the coming Friday! Some things she is doing:
-smiling
-making sounds
-using her hands more
-continues to spit up
-drinks breast milk and formula
-kicks and wiggles
-almost holds her head up while burping
-sleeps for several hour stretches at night
We couldn't be happier!

Visting the Beery's

John, Laura, and Lyla went to Ohio from July 16-July 21 to have Lyla visit the Beery's, and for John and Dick to go to St. Louis to go to a letterboxing convention. Here are some pics of all of Lyla's visits with family and friends! Great to see you all!


Four Generations




Here's a picture to make you jealous Katie.