Happy Halloween

Yesterday was beautiful and Jake and I went for a really long walk. We love the park near our home -- it has wetlands and a forest.


Then it was time to carve the pumpkins!



This morning Wydeko came over for a playdate.
Hugging goodbye.
Then when Mike got home he and Jake raked the leaves.
Okay, Daddy raked, Jake had fun.


Our pumpkins waiting for trick 'r treaters.
Jake saying hi to Kami while in his wizard cape.
Then he goes over to Theo.


So we had 19 kids come to our house this year for treats, the most ever in a long time. These past few years the weather has been HORRIBLE on Halloween, causing all but the brave few to stay indoors. Today was perfect, though, dry and in the mild 50s. We handed out organic fruit leather sticks and got a variety of comments. One mom of a 3 year old girl said "finally, something she can eat!" when she saw them. A 4 year old boy looked at them and said "that's not candy." I laughed so hard when I closed the door. Overall people really liked them and I am happy to eat the few leftovers. Actually, Mike's finished most of them off already!

New Car!

Sorry no post for awhile, things have been quiet yet busy around here. That seems like such a contradiction, but that's how I feel about the last few days. :)

On Friday night I finally found the car for which I had been been checking craigslist everyday for 3 weeks. It had been posted at 8:40pm and was exactly what we were looking for -- right price, low miles, and good records/care, etc. The ad also said to please only call between 9am and 10pm. I looked at the clock and it was 10:10pm Shoot!! It took me awhile to go to sleep because I was so happy with what I found and totally nervous that someone else might get to it before we did. I even dreamed that I woke up at 10:30am and missed calling right at 9. Sigh. Fortunately I woke up on time, called them right at 9am. We went to see the car at 10am, and by 11am it was ours!

We are now the proud owners of a 2001 Toyota Prius. I am so giddy that we actually own a hybrid! It's the perfect commuter car, and Mike will mostly drive it. We're keeping our other car, as we've been needing 2 cars for awhile. We call the other car Subie, and Mike decided to nickname the Prius Sippy, you know, because it "sips" gas. Ha ha.

Sippy
Yeah, we're going to have to do something about those stickers. If there's no way to cheaply remove them, then we're going to have to find something to cover them up. I've always wanted bumper stickers so maybe this is my opportunity :) But if anyone knows how to remove them in a way that doesn't involve a paint job, please let me know.

I have been taking a break from the camera recently, but it has been beautiful fall weather these last few days with lots of sunshine, and I took this picture of Jake in the backyard. Unfortunately I wasn't able to crop Mike's backside out of the picture.

Jake's been doing great. I helped a friend host a baby shower yesterday and Jake was so nice and sweet, and did very well in a house that actually had lit candles at his eye level when we first walked in.

Computer Games

Mike and Jake like to play flight games together :)

Tennis Balls!

I played tennis yesterday, and left the balls in the kitchen after. Today I thought Jake might enjoy playing with them, and he did! They kept him busy for 45 minutes.

16 Months and a Busy Weekend

Last night Mike, Jake, and I went to a local restaurant and met old friends at a TMOS reunion. We had a great time, great sweet potato fries, and a cute 16 month old walking around.
He was on the go for about half the time we were there, and Mike and I took turns following him. He is holding a bunch of crayons in one hand.
Today we went to a costume birthday party. Jake has on his wizard cape that Grandma Jean made.
There were lots of balloons at the party, which the kids loved!
Madden and Jake both want the black balloon!
Jake spent a lot of time munching on an apple. Yum.
Jake checks out Ruby in her cow costume.Jake leaning back looking all cool for Ruby.
Ruby giving me the munched-on apple while Jake looks in the background.
Later he sees Ruby and asks "What are you eating? That doesn't look like an apple."
He leans in closer to hear Ruby's reply. (You can see the gold star on his forehead that I drew to match his wizard cape.)
Ruby points to Jake's apple and tells him to keep eating it.
Then she goes back to eating her pumpkin, trying to convince us that it tastes good!
Later that night we went to a TMOS dinner/auction. Jake did so well, playing at the table at first and then having a great time wandering around and entertaining everyone.

Today Jake is 16 months old. He is so wonderful and we are loving every moment. Here's what he looked like a year ago. This is one of my favorite pictures.

Occupational Hazards

So one of the hazards of Mike's job is caulk. He normally comes home with caulk on his clothes or his arms, but his hair? That's not such a good thing. I had to cut his hair and then attempt to make it even on both sides of his head. Oy.
And an occupational hazard of being a toddler... last night Jake was eating from a bowl of grapes. The bowl was empty and before we went to bed for the night Mike and I looked all over for any wayward grapes as we don't want to attract ants. We found a few and disposed of them. This morning I caught Jake eating a grape! Then I found them...
Of course, grapes sit perfectly in the holes made for the little people!
Jake looking very innocent while eating his grape...

Funny Jake

Today Jake was being funny and showing me his different funny faces!




Then he was having fun wearing his moccasins and walking around.
Then Jake and Theo listened to Daddy read a book.