pigtails

Audrey's hair finally got long enough wear pigtails.  When the pigtails were in, they looked really cute.  But every time I looked away (or every time she was mad at me), she pulled them out. This caused a huge problem, since when the pigtails came out her hair was an absolute mess until her next bath.  We've since decided to trim her hair, but the pigtails were cute while they lasted.

Halloween 2013 (and 1984)

Here's a few pictures from our pumpkin carving this Halloween.  The kids liked their Ernie pumpkin, although I failed to take a picture, apparently.

We had a fun Halloween party with friends the week prior to Halloween.  This is the third time Susan and Jackson have hosted and it's been fun every year.  

Jackson

On Halloween we planned on meeting up with Aunt Christy on Fountain Square.  It turned out to be a rainy day, so we grabbed lunch with Daddy.  We thought that there was a break in the rain, so we ran over to the Square after lunch.  We missed Aunt Christy and ended up in the rain.  But the kids had fun!  

Meow!

Jack got to wear the same costume that Jacob wore when he was little.  Grandma Mink made this cat costume in 1984!  When we were trying to figure out what Jack would wear this year, Jack was pulling for Nemo.  But when Nana showed him this costume, he was sold.  He fell in love with the tail and was so excited to wear his Daddy's old costume. Here's a look back:

2013 and 1984

Our Reader

Audrey has hit that phase where she likes to read the same book over and over.  I remember Jack doing the same thing with Send It! She's a fan of a few of Sandra Boynton's books, like Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!, Blue Hat Green Hat, and But Not the Hippopotomus.

I'm happy to read to her as much as she'd like, and I love it when she pulls out her books and reads on her own.

It's fall!

I love this time of year!  There are so many great family friendly activities all over town and we've enjoyed taking advantage of the weather and time together.

Recently we took a trip to Burger Farm with a group of moms from church.  The hayride was a huge hit and so was the puppet show.  Jack reenacted the puppet show for a whole week... every bad joke included. We each took home a little pumpkin and we bought a few at their store, too.  We've now got plenty of pumpkins and Audrey has enjoyed playing with them as we leave and return from the house. I hope they survive long enough to carve for Halloween.

We've enjoyed time with friends at the zoo:

Owen and Levi Gould

Our whole family took a fun trip to A&M Farm in Midland.  It was a hot day in October, and we were sweaty and uncomfortable in our fall clothes.  But I'm so glad we did it.  I love being able spend time with each other - just the four of us.  I feel like we are always busy!  We like to fill up our free time with friends and family, so a quiet morning together is rare. It was great to connect and get refreshed together!

Cracker, the imaginary friend

Posing together

              

 Pointing to Cracker on the floor

  

Meet Cracker. He's Jack's new friend, and he's stopped by the house the past few nights during dinner.

In case you were wondering, the 'r's in his name are silent, so it sounds kind of like Cacka. 

Who is this friend, you ask? Well, Jack filled us in when he first introduced him to our family: 

He's small. Very small, actually.  In fact, at his first visit we had a hard time finding him. Jack picked him up and put him in Jacob's hand after calling for him to come out.

According to Jack, Cracker is two months old. And "he lives in College Hill with us."

Jack is a good friend to Cracker. While we were getting ready for bed on Tuesday, Jack put his hand up to his mouth and called for Cracker, shouting, "Cracker! Come inside, now! It's getting dark outside!"

So now you know about Jack's new friend. We've read that imaginary friends are common among firstborns and bright kids. Maybe he's just showing us his intelligence? We've decided to not make a big deal about it and not bring him up unless he talks about it first. 

It's been a fun peak into Jack's vivid imagination. I can't wait to see what he's  pretending next!

What a gentleman

Jacob is doing wonderful job training Jack to be a gentleman.  I've been blessed by the way Jacob treats me, and I'm thankful that he's passing this along to our son.

One simple example is that Jack always holds the door for me when we're leaving the house.  It's a huge help when I'm getting out the door with both hands full!  While holding the door, he often says, 'I be gentleman, Mommy."

Here's a picture I snapped last month of Jack pumping gas for me.  The kids typically sit in the car while I do this, and it's a time for me to quickly clean out any garbage and straighten up my car while the tank is filling.

As I was getting out of the car on this day, Jack said, "I do gas for you, Momma."  Perhaps his intentions weren't as sweet and pure as I'm making them to be.  Maybe he just wanted out of his seat to stretch his legs.  But I'd like to think that somewhere in that sweet little heart of his, he knew he was doing something kind. We'll leave it at that!

Jack has become quite complementary lately.  Recently, after a long day in yoga pants and a t-shirt, no make-up, and probably messy hair, I decided to throw on a sundress before Jacob came home.  Jack walked past the bathroom as I was putting on my make-up.  Without missing a beat, he looked into the room and said, "You look good, Momma." He kept on walking, but it melted my heart.

This morning as the kids were eating breakfast, I came into the room after getting ready for church.  Jack looked up, with a mouthful of english muffin, and said, "Where you going in that dress, Momma?  You look pretty."  

Seriously?  What a sweetheart.  Jacob has always done a great job of telling me that I look nice and complementing me both when I'm in sweats or all dressed up.  Jack is obviously paying attention. Thank you, Jacob.  

Spaghetti Dinner

Tube shaped pasta makes for the perfect finger food.  Add in some spaghetti sauce, and this is what you get:

Norris Lake with friends

We took a fun trip to Norris Lake with friends back in September.  We had 8 adults and 9 kids in the house which made for a busy weekend.

It was so nice to spend quality time with these dear families.  We are thankful for their friendship - whether they live in Cincinnati or far, far, away in Minnesota.


You have to stop at Waffle House on vacation!

Lake life with friends:

Margot and Annabelle

Margot and her daddy

Can I go back?

Buddies with the same blankie

Jack and his twin Graham

Juicebox!  Delicious. 

Dan Larson is nuts!

Our tour guide

Most of the kids.  How did I miss Lucy????

Sweet Annabelle reading to Audrey