Goodbye October, Hello November

I mentioned last month how October started off busy, well . . . it never slowed down.  November is proving to be a copycat of last month.  Anyway, to catch up some, here is just a glimpse of what we've been up to.

 

We went to the pumpkin patch and as we were going in, I told Jackson that we had been to the pumpkin patch, now it was time to leave.

He didn't find the humor like I did.

 

The corn crib was crowded.

 

This is what Katherine thinks of her bows.

She had been moody since we arrived at the pumpkin patch and finally came around once Zach took off her shoes and she started playing in the sand.  If sand and dump trucks made her happy, it's obvious she has a big brother.

 

While Katherine poured sand all over her bow,

Jackson took a couple of turns swinging on the rope.

 

Train ride

 

Pumpkin picking

 

We didn't get our pumpkins carved until the night before Halloween.  The only way for them to "smile" and look at the camera is to make faces.

 

 

And Halloween.



 



 

The T-Rex is not really extinct

 and bumble bees are now domesticated animals.

 

Katherine couldn't keep her hands out of our bowl of candy and had a full bag of treats before we even left home to start knocking on doors.

And we're off!

Jackson loved ringing the doorbell followed immediately by sticking his face in a window to make sure someone was on there way.  He also has the mindset of an old person when it comes to the dark . . . once it started getting pretty dark, he was ready to head home and start passing candy out. 

Now that we're somewhat caught up on pictures, hopefully November will slow down just a bit and this won't be the only post for another month.

October is Busy

We've been busy lately!  We've been to both sets of grandparents the last two weekends.  This past weekend we took Jackson to the Ole Miss game.  It's been a few years since he's been and this time was his first time to stay in the stadium to watch the game!  Too bad it was cold and wet and the game turned out to be a heart breaker!

 On Sunday, we went to the fair with Grammy and Grandpa.

 This was the last ride Jackson and Katherine rode.  Katherine was on the outside of the car, but the operator moved her to the inside and we wondered why.  As soon as the ride started we learned . . . when the cars make the turn, it slings the kids.  And sling Katherine it did.  After the first round, she was almost on top of Jackson.  Thankfully she has a sweet big brother and he put his arm around her while she held on for dear life.  Even though she was on top of him, that didn't stop Jackson from having fun!

 Meet Blue Puppy.

Jackson won him after playing one of the games and Blue Puppy has quickly gained just about as much status as Tom Baby. Jackson also likes to remind Zach that he beat him at the game in order to win the puppy!  Needless to say, we've had busy, but fun weekends.  Now we need to visit the pumpkin patch!

Fun Run!

Jackson's school had a fundraiser race tonight, so we signed up!  I ran the 5k and Jackson ran in the 1 mile fun run!  There were over 600 people pre-registered for this race so it was crowded! 

The three of us after I ran.   Zach brought Jackson and Katherine so they wouldn't have to wait around for the entire 5k and it was sweet seeing them at the finish line.

 

 Waiting for Jackson's race to start!

 

After his race!  Jackson ran the ENTIRE mile!  He's run with me a few times, but never a distance close to a mile, so I expected him to take a walking break at some point, but he and one of his new friends ran the entire time! 

Zach and I are so proud of him!!

After we took pictures, he announced he was ready to go home!

I think the fun completely tired him out! 

Here's hoping we get to sleep in a little tomorrow!

Dirt

Zach has been laying some more sod! 

This time he tackled the backyard and it's looking great!

 Jackson is pretty fond of dirt and all the fun dirt entails,

so he didn't share in our sod excitement.

His favorite place to ride.

 These two pictures remind me of sitting on bales of hay at my grandparents.

 Laying our carpet of green!

 

 Someone slipped in the bucket when Daddy wasn't looking.

When Jackson was around 2 years, we were driving through the Delta to see the grandparents and as we were passing one of the fields, he said, "Look Mama, dirt." The brown stuff still holds a special place in his heart.

 Time to get rid of the shoes.

 Throwing dirt makes him smile for the camera.

 Before we headed inside for baths,

I caught them walking around together for a few minutes.

584 Pieces

Jackson discovered Lego trains and was adamant that he needed one. 

He wanted a speed train, but ended up with a nice little steam engine.

 That nice little steam train consists of a nice little 584 pieces. 

None of which is pre-assembled.

The 5 year old that plays with it didn't last 10 minutes during construction, but he has a grand time playing with it.

 The 5 year old's sister hasn't had too much action on the blog lately.  She's still making us smile and laugh daily at her antics.  The sweet little girl is still little though.  I put some big girl undies on her and this is the smallest size we know of . . . they look like shorts on her.  She's not in the least interested in getting rid of diapers.

A Little Juice

Jackson decided he liked lime juice and poured himself a little glass.

I think, maybe, he changed his mind.

Rawr!

There's a new obsession brewing over here.

Don't worry, he's still just as obsessed with his trains.

Muddy Puddles II

A couple of months ago I mentioned that Jackson and Katherine liked muddy puddles.  That hasn't changed any, and for the last week it's been raining almost every afternoon.  All of that rain sure makes for some good fun!

I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Relaxing."

 They were both so filthy they needed to be sprayed off

before coming inside for a bath.  Jackson was happily waiting for the water!

 The water hose is just as much fun as jumping in puddles.

 It wouldn't be complete if Jackson didn't strip down or rehydrate before heading inside.

School Days

The time has come again for a new school year! 

Actually two new schools this year.

Katherine started her new 'school' this past Monday.

 The sun was so bright on this morning, that neither could keep their eyes open.

I'm sad Katherine won't be returning to the preschool where she and Jackson have been.  We only changed her to a new school to better match the hours that Jackson would be in school. Otherwise, I would spend the entire day on the road and Katherine would never get an afternoon nap. And speaking of nap, it's an adjustment for Katherine. She is now a big girl and is supposed to take a nap on a nap mat. She hasn't done too well yet, so we're keeping our fingers crossed she'll catch on in the next week!

Wednesday arrived and it was time for Jackson to start his new school!

 Although he's smiling in the picture, Jackson wasn't excited at all about a new school.  He wanted his teachers from the past year, didn't want his shirt tucked in, and wouldn't wear his belt.  We knew if we could just get him to school, he would have fun.  When we picked him up the first day, I asked how his day was and he said, "I played and slept."  I don't think it gets much better.

We were up early to get out of the door on Wednesday.  Poor Katherine had only been awake a few minutes when we plopped her next to Jackson for a picture.  She has a dazed look on her little face! 

Although Jackson turned 5 last week, we made the decision several years ago that we would hold him back and let him start kindergarten late.  Over the years, we have heard stories from friends that have older children (especially boys) with a birthday late in the school year that wished they had held their child back in the beginning.  Last year we discovered a 4k program at a local Catholic school that is set up very similar to kindergarten, so we decided to enroll him there.  You always wonder if you're making the right decision for your child, but now that the first week of real school is behind us, we're excited to watch our big boy grow and learn so many new things this year.

You're off to great places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So . . . get on your way!