Pumpkin patch

Today we took the boys to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. We sorta make a deal out of the holiday and even put up some pumpkin lights and floating ghosts. With Christmas so magical for the boys and Ethan so incredibly fascinated by all the lights and decorations, I wanted to get Jason in the swing. There is this great little lot on the way to work that sells strawberries in the spring and pumpkins in the fall....all on the honor system. Tonight when we went, the owner was there and gave the boys a cool white pumkin they can draw on with markers. Killer idea. Involves no knives although Ethan assures us that he can carve his pumpkin all by himself with his own knife. Ya right. Next thing you know, they'll be driving.

Day Out with Thomas

If you have never been to the NC Transportation Museum, in Spencer you need to go. On this particular occasion, Thomas and Bob the Builder were there as well which of course appealed to our crew. Many thanks to Dad and Joyce for arranging this for us and for such an incredible day!

We arrived around 10:30 thanks to some unscheduled stops (hey, we have kids!). We walked through some of the exhibits and then met bob the Builder, Fifi and watched a magic show. We then had a nice lunch, rode Thomas and met Sir Topham Hat. Yes, they honestly had a steam engine that looked exactly like Thomas that took us out on the tracks owned by the museum. They were a one way set that pass a working railroad yard, has the largest roundhouse and turntable in the country and actually hooks to the currently used freight lines. We were not allowed on the main lines of course so there was a diesel engine on the back that brought us back as we reveresed. The kids loved it. Ethan got a tattoo of Thomas on his face and they both got Tootsie pops from the vendors for being so good and patient. We bought them some t-shirts and a puzzle to commemorate the day and they slept the entire ride home (two hours of silence).

Grandpa's birthday

Today was my Dad's birthday so we all went over to play at their place and then went out to dinner. Ethan got to play with his truck and gas tank from his birthday and Jason had his wagon and golf clubs. It is so hard to get them indoors lately. Jason screams and throws himself down. You can hear him 12 blocks away. They start normally at 6:30 in the morning wanting to go out. I can tell you I am not normally ready to start chasing them that early. It doesn't matter. I do love being here in the country since they can run around while you watch from the porch and there is no danger of traffic. With Tanner, the fence and gate, you at least have a good chance of catching them before anyone enters. At Mom and Dad's they have the entire big driveway to ride on and the backyard with grass is a nice draw. I'm working on that at the farm still.

So there is still not much talking going on with Jason. Mama and more, duck and Daddy and sometimes the occasional socks. Don't ask why these seem to be the words of choice. He still signs more, all done, up and down most times. As for teeth, we only have the two bottom teeth and the top two that are over halfway in. He can use them well though...he bit Jeff on the shoulder when he took him out of the car the other day. I think Jason was as shocked as Daddy that it hurt. He hasn't done it since.

Some other observations you have to endure before you get to the pictures.

He loves to take baths. This is a good thing until the bath tub is empty and every time you enter the bathroom, he tries to do a header. Or until you take him out and he screams like you are torturing him. He loves to brush his teeth. However, he won't give it back and he screams when you take it away. Did I mention how utterly piercing this scream is? I have started using other things he loves to avoid this. "Jason, do you want to go say good night to Tanner? We need to get out of the bath to go see him." I better be ready to catch him as he launches his way towards me. Tricky Mom.

"Jason, do you want to open Mommy's bathroom drawer and put your toothbrush away?" I say as he is running out of the room because I had the audactity to reach for it. Ooh...the forbidden drawer.,..must open it and throw toothbrush in....get a peek at the items I can't play with. He comes running back to do it. Score 1 to Mom.

He loves fruit...all kinds. And it is the only thing I can keep on his tray. When he is bored with other food, it gets launched. He could care less about cake and cookies but did have his first lollipop recently. Required an immediate bath.

Bed time. I can't say how easy this is without jinxing us. At 7:45, we get him some milk, read him a story and put him in his crib. Yep, awake. He hugs his puppy and puts his pacifier in and burroughs down and listens to his music and goes right off. YES! He doesn't sleep really sound but moves around a lot and always puts himself back to sleep. We hear from him around 7:15 or so if Ethan doesn't wake him. Now, we are talking about weaning from the paci...will let you know if that changes the sleep habits.

Jason blows kisses, waves bye bye to everything and everyone and gives the best hugs. He is fascinated with the horses and loves throwing the ball for Tanner. He can play Simon Says and knows his body parts and animals if you ask him which is which in his books. He hasn't learned as many words or objects as E had at this age but he is fabulous at following multi step commands and doing puzzles. They each have their strengths. Lungs are equal on both. Drat.

Jason can run now and is all over the farm. Comes with me to the barn, walks down the driveway and is very independent. He waves bye to me like I am going to let him go off by himself. Ya right. Not until he is 21. :-)

Pee-Pa's birthday

My grandfather (and the boys great grandfather) is 92 years old today. Brought back lots of memories of Grandma and all the great family get togethers around their anniversary. With losing Joyce's Mom recently and having Grandpa now under hospice care, it is the end of an era so it is bittersweet. Ethan helped him blow out his candle and open his cards and Jason sat in a big boy chair for cake to be near him.




Jason can use a fork....and has no intention of sharing cake with Uncle Teo:





My Dad bought Ethan some funny glasses for Halloween:

Naked babes

Just a few fun shots of our nightly bath ritual. Note we still don't have much hair but we sure have a great smile and lots of personality....and we can eat our toes so he must be either slimming down or his legs are getting longer.

Playtime at the homestead

Been crazy busy summer with the three boys but I wanted to post a few pics. He is growing so fast. I love how happy and affectionate he is. Except for mornings. When he first gets up, all he wants is his Daddy. I don't start looking good until breakfast when I am carrying the food.

Anyway, here is JT at 15 months.

Fishes

Here are a few shots of the boys swimming with Shannan and Ramin, Nicholas and Claire. Christopher had more fun with all the little ones than I thought he would and we had a great time with pizza lunch and wonderful hosts. Ethan is jumping and diving in these days and Jason will just launch himself in as well given the chance. He is floating well and trying to kick and would probably be able to float on his own if he wasn't drinking the water.

I'm a walkin....

So for a while now we have been doing the cruising and taking 2 or 3 steps with encouragement. But this week, we all of a sudden got confidence and found our feet. We are walking across rooms, running into arms and just having a big time of it. And we are still eating Mom out of house and home. I compare him with our teenager Christopher and think they are on par for overall amount in a given day. CJA eats neater of course. But Jason is dangerous with a fork and spoon these days and he actually leaves his food in the bowl. Progress. Still no top teeth at 14 months but it does not seem to deter. I just am amazed how different the kids are. Jason is so much more easy going but not nearly as motivated to communicate or walk as E was. But he is incredible at puzzles, problem solving, and his sign language is quite good. He is also my climber although so far, the crib is still a safe holding place....phew.

Some of my favorites are how Jason says "more" and "all done", how he waves hi and bye and how he gives high five. He claps and dances to music and likes to point at what he wants and is very insistent if you get the wrong item or don't look and see what he sees. He loves to play with the cats and the dog and even tries to throw the ball for Tanner. I love his giggle and how he runs for me when I pick him up at daycare. I love how people stop me in restaurants to tell me how gorgeous he is and what a sweet baby I have. I love how he gives his stuffed Doggy a hug and kiss and rocks from side to side as he hugs. Mom took him shopping the other day and he just had to have this Bear on the shelf at the Hallmark store. He pointed and pointed and said uhh...uhhh and so she just had to buy it. When you ask him about it, he grabs it and hugs it tight and just grins! I love how he says uh uh uh oh when he drops something and how he does something anyway when you say no. Of course he has to look at you to see what you are going to do about it.

On another note, I gave JT his first haircut last week and tried to shorten the Mohawk. Not sure it helped but I have his first little blond cutting saved away. For what? I don't know but I have these cute little keepsake boxes that say "First Tooth" and "First Curl" so you go with the flow. I am sure I do enough to damage my children and want to avoid hearing "And I can't BELIEVE you didn't save my first tooth" the first time they storm out of the house at 16. :-)

Look-alike Meter - Jason

A friend used this on her blog and I found it hysterical so had to try it as well. The results are very interesting and not at all what I expected.

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Look-alike Meter - Ethan

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family search

He speaks

Last weekend we went to Uncle Mikey's for a swim and Jason wouldn't get out of his raft much less out of the pool. He did have it quite nice with all his toys and
buckets and we practiced saying "turtle". Now to be honest it sounded a little more like "urtle" but he just kept repeating it and it was so cool. He hasn't said duck (duh) in a while so this was a breakthrough. He does babble more and more and it looks like he is about to get a new tooth as well if the drool measurements mean anything. I am getting very impatient with only two teeth...he seems not to mind so much.

In school news, Jason moved up on 6/10 to his new classroom and is sleeping on a mat instead of in a crib. The transition seemed to go well but drop offs are a little rough right now. I know he will bond again but it does pull on my heart. He is basically down to one nap a day at school and a brief snooze on the way in. My little boy is growing up. He is also riding forward facing and gets to hold Ethan's hand in the car. It was a rude awakening to me that he wasn't an infant anymore. I know Ms Alex misses him dearly but I love that he has Ethan's first teachers now. They told Jeff that when he wakes from his 3 hour nap and they are setting up snack, he crawls over to the table and gets in his chair and is ready to eat. Why doesn't that shock me? And why don't I get 3 hour naps when he is home on the weekend?

He is doing great with a few signs (more, all done and bye) and is also trying to say "down" when he is ready to get out of his highchair. He does have a very straightforward manner of communication. When he doesn't get something he wants, he points and if that doesn't work, he throws himself back and arches his back. I am constantly watching out for things behind him when he has a fit. Did I mention that he screams? When he does it at the daycare center, you can hear him in the other wing and everyone knows who it is. Yep, I got two of them.

Disney with the Duo

Be sure you check out Ethan's blog where we posted the pictures from our Disney trip with the boys. I have only one thing to add here. Everyone warned us on the difficulties of traveling there with an infant. They so missed the mark. Where are the posted disclaimers for parents having to travel with a 3 year old?

If you are interested in viewing more pics, we uploaded a huge amount from May and June to a Kodak album. See our gallery.

Jason's First Birthday

My baby turned 1 today. The year went too fast. Jeff reminds me of the sleepless nights and the crazy first few months but you never remember that. You remember the cute clothes, the little fingers, the nursing late nights when it is just the two of you. I miss that and he seems to have gone from a small 3 month baby to a woddler!




That being said, we did have a really nice day today. Jeff cooked out for everyone and the friends and family abounded. Our neighbors and their baby came, Mario, Shannon and Emerson, Tracey and Nina, and all the family on both sides. He was so spoiled with new clothes, pool toys, and a wagon for all his travels on the farm. We gave horse rides to the kids, played in the sand table, the turtle pool, and made monster drawings. Jason loved his first bit of cake (ok, ok, I know...what DOESN't he eat?) and looked adorable in his birthday hat. We had invitations and plates with jungle animals and I decorated the cakes. Anyone who knows me can confirm I am the most unartistic person around but I took great pleasure in making it an original anyway.

Here is a link to the pictures Mario took in addition to the ones I am posting here.