Although I shared the dr office experience, I didn't share how he's grown. He weighs 34 lbs (68th %) and is 38.75in. tall (72%) and his BMI is 15.9 (49th %). He is one solid guy!
Jim fulfilled a dream by catching this BIG ONE. He also didn't bring anything to carry the BIG ONE home in so he laid it on top of the kayak in the van on the way home. Not being completely dead, the fish decided to try and make a fin for it and flopped off the kayak and into the van on the ride home. Jim had some nice carpet cleanup to do in the van over the next few days until I was sure the smell was gone :-) But it was worth it for Jim to fry up this big guy. Almost 5 lbs of bass! Jim said it put up a great fight, even swimming under his kayak trying to tip him (okay maybe not the fish's goal, but who knows?)
Halloween was a fun time this year- each year it gets funner as the kids enjoy it more. Nicole was Super Woman and Michael was Thomas the Train. We had a Halloween playgroup at our house and we carved our pumpkins. Nicole and Michael used spoons to get the guts out and this one had a lot!
We had a mini parade in the backyard. The funny part was we originally told the kids to march around the lawn but they just walked into the neighbors lawn and then looked back like "where are we going?" Eventually it turned into soccer and running and just playing around. The weather was so beautiful (compared to the rainy Halloween night) it was perfect for the little ones.
Michael and Nicole scoping out all the activity in the backyard. Nicole is still growing tall like her daddy. She weighs 44 lbs (76th %) and is 47in tall (off chart) and her bmi is 14.1 (17th%). My favorite thing about her recently would be during piano lessons. She just learned
p (soft) and
f (loud) and when she has to name the notes aloud
forte she sings them with a total Southern accent. It's hilarious, I'll try to get a video sometime. She loudly sings "
Saye (C),
Daye (D)...." and totally doesn't realize.
Jacob the cow! He kept pushing his hat off (his head wasn't big enough) and of course he went after the balls.
After reading some Halloween books, carving pumpkins, and the parade, we frosted Halloween cupcakes! Michael had three or four. Of course. And Jacob just licked all the frosting off (he goes for the good stuff and doesn't bother with the extras).
One peaceful morning after dropping Nicole off at preschool, the boys went upstairs to play in the playroom. After a long time I noticed their sounds of play were getting quieter and quieter. Finally, the mommy instinct kicked in (a little late if you ask me) and I went up there. Looks like Michael wanted one up on all the stores and to get the Christmas stuff out even before they did. He even started testing our lights! They took apart just about every package of Christmas lights, clips and decor we own. I hope this picture does it some justice. Mommy learned her lesson and now keeps all decorations behind locked doors.
Halloween night was rainy, so after taking Jacob to just a few homes I brought him back to pass out candy with me. He completely charmed any of the girls coming by, it was fun to have such a cutie to help me out. He would put candy into his bag and then sit on the rocking chair clasping his bag with a big grin on his face.
Nicole and Michael loved going trick-or-treating, and, despite the chilly rain, wanted to keep going on and on. They came back reluctantly, but had lots of fun looking at their candy and warming up by the fire we had going in the fireplace.
Michael is in gymnastics for a few months, and although I probably won't do it again (we got a groupon deal to make it cheap), it sure has been fun to watch. The class is a little too tame for him with a lot of waiting turns and very little action (for his energy level). As you can see, the only pictures I got of him were blurry since even standing on his square he has to be moving.
He's learned a lot about following instructions and he tries really hard to obey his coach. My favorite is the parallel bars. He is so buff and can pull his feet to his hands effortlessly again and again while the other kids try to do it once. He might not be able to do a forward roll like everyone else, but it sure is fun to watch his strength! I've enjoyed the different classes he's been in and seeing what he likes to do. The variety really helps him adapt and obey, something that for an active guy like him is definitely a learned- not automatic- behavior. On the way to every class I tell him I love him and how good it feels to obey the coach. He's so used to this routine now that every time I pull into the parking lot of a class he shouts "obey the coach! obey the coach!" :-)
Thanksgiving Day always provides an interesting diet for kids. Michael ate most of the snacks and as much of Grandma's pineapple dip as possible! Grandma Kathryn is visiting for two weeks and the kids love talking and playing with her.
Joe, Megan, and Addie (10 months old) drove down from Ohio to spend the holiday with us and we had so much fun with them! They were in charge of the potatoes and gravy and did an awesome job. We did a lot better with things than the last time we all got together. Since I've cooked so many smaller chickens in the past few years, the turkey wasn't any problem for me and I didn't mind taking out all of the innards. Times sure change us!
Addie is sweet and fun. She loved all of the action her cousins provided and they really loved entertaining her too. Jacob was even trying to teach her words.
Joe and Megan brought their XBox Kinect and we had a lot of fun rafting, dancing, and playing together. Nicole was at least a three star dancer once she got the hang of it and she loved the rafting game.
We hung our Christmas lights on Saturday and the kids ate snacks (yes they snacked all weekend) while Jim and Kathryn did the outdoor lights and I did the indoor decor.
Have no ladder? No problem, a trash can works great!
Voila! Simple and done! This is our first year in a home where we actually put up lights. Makes it feel much more like home!
