Next Time Won't You Sing With Me?!

Here is a little clip of what I get to see on a daily basis - Charlie fully entertained by John Randall. Just so you'll know, Charlie is laughing at JR throwing beads onto our coffee table. Ah, the simple things that entertain a baby!:) And don't you just love that sweet little smile and laugh?!



This is rare, but I finally got John Randall to perform for the camera. He loves singing the ABC's and the Gingerbread Man song. Excuse the chewed up cracker in his mouth. We are still working on manners:)

Trick or Treating

We were skeptical that John Randall would wear his monkey costume since he refused to try it on before he actually wore it on Halloween night....but he did...and LOVED being a monkey. I wish I had gotten a better picture because the costume was adorable with a curly tail and a banana in the pocket. Charlie was the cutest pumpkin, and Caroline was a tiger. John Randall and Caroline really "got" halloween this year or at least the whole trick or treating idea. They ran to each house (even taking some tumbles on the way), knocked on the door, said the greeting and collected their candy. After each house, JR would show me his candy. At the end of the night, they were pooped and didn't argue too much when we said NO to more candy. It was a fun night!

Beach Vacation

A couple of weeks ago we took our annual beach vacation with Nana and Papa and Kara, Adam and Jack. This was our second year to go to Perdido Key, Florida, and we had such a great week. The weather was beautiful, and we took full advantage of it! Jack (my nephew) and John Randall loved playing in the pool and building sand castles on the beach. Charlie, however, did not like the pool. The water was a bit too cold! John Randall became obsessed with Jack's bike helment. Can you tell by some of the pictures? By the end of the week, we had to hide it. We also took an outing to the putt putt golf course. John Randall had a ball! He loved playing, and he actually did quite well. Maybe golf in his future? He played all 18 holes and threw a fit when the last hole swallowed his ball. Charlie played too! Chad and I even got a few hours to ourselves, which we throughly enjoyed! It was a great vacation. We came back relaxed and ready for the rest of a busy semester. Thank you, Nana and Papa, for such a great week. We appreciate you both and all that you do for us!!

Lots of Updates

We are still going private - it is just taking me forever to do all the work to get us there - so in the meantime, I am going to update you with our recent happenings.

Potty Training: After two weeks of big boy underwear, John Randall began having multiple accidents. So after a few days of me carrying him to the potty with his arms flailing and him sitting in his wet/dirty underwear and not even caring, we decided that he was not ready. So we went back to pull ups, and John Randall has not once asked for his big boy underwear. I had a wise friend tell me that if we had to go back to not worry and to let it go. So we will try again after the new year...and maybe he will be ready then?

Charlie: I posted a four month picture, but he is now almost five months. He is now more interactive by playing/grabbing with my face, hair and clothes. He also loves to grab for my cup of water...and he stares at all of us as we eat every meal around him.....which is why we started him on rice cereal tonight! (more pictures of that event to come) He loves playing/standing in his exersaucer and his johnny jumper. When on his tummy, he is already scooting! He is rolling over too. We have a very active baby boy on our hands! Oh, and did I mention, he is getting his first tooth?!







The other day I caught a glimpse of what may come, and it almost brought tears of joy to my eyes. Charlie and I went into John Randall's room to get him up from his nap. Charlie was sitting up and began to squeal and "talk" to John Randall. John Randall thought it was so funny and began laughing. Charlie loved JR's reaction...and they began going back and forth with each other. It was so sweet and fun to watch them interact!



My mom came into town earlier this month, and we visited the Arboretum for our annual Pumpkin Patch pictures. Getting Caroline and John Randall (more JR) to sit still and smile is getting much harder these days. We managed to get a few good ones though. We had a great time with DeDe and always appreciate all the ways she takes care of us when she visits!

Going Private

We have decided to make our blog private. I would still love for you to follow our everyday shenanigans so please just email me at jadascruggs@hotmail.com or post a comment with your email address. In a few days, you will get an email that invites you to read our blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy our growing family!

Charlie and John Randall Live

We got a new video camera, and I love that I can now capture sweet little moments with my boys. Charlie loves to be tickled and kissed!



Tonight John Randall looked through a Party City magazine, and he decided that he wanted to be Batman for Halloween. Of course, I have been talking to him about being something really cute like a monkey or a dragon...but he was pretty clear tonight that he wanted to be Batman. The funny thing is that he has never seen any movie/cartoon/book about Batman!

We spent Monday morning at the Mommy and Me Monday at the Arboretum. They offer free face painting for the kids. Caroline and John Randall waited patiently in a very long line. Caroline was a pink tiger, and John Randall was a panda bear. He was hesitant at first to have his face painted, but once he committed to it, he embraced it and has not stopped talking about it since!

PT: Day 5

Well, it is the end of the week, and I am SO thankful! It has been a hard week...cleaning up pee and poop, smelling pee, being peed on, being spit up on (by charlie), stuck at home, and then stuck inside due to all the rain. BUT the payoff has been good. John Randall is about 80% potty trained! I am so proud of him and glad that this week is behind us. Of course, I am still telling him ALL the time "Tell Mommy when you have to go potty." Hopefully, in a few months, all of this will be less messy and he will be more independent in going to the potty. Thanks to those who have left encouraging remarks, emails and phone calls - they really have been appreciated!!