And so it begins....

Chad: John Randall, did you turn off the t.v.? (He is not allowed to touch the t.v.)

JR: I don't know.

Chad: John Randall, did you turn off the t.v.?

JR: Nope, Charlie did.

More Conversations...

Lately John Randall loves playing with his cars. He will spend lots (and I mean lots) of time lining them up, rolling them back and forth and playing with them on his car table. The other day our conversation went something like this...

Mom: Why do you line up your cars?

JR: It makes me happy.

Simple enough...right?:)

Conversations with a Two-year old....

JR: Momma, that shirt makes me sad. Put on the pretty shirt.

Guess I need to make some changes to my wardrobe?



These are a bit late to post, but still fun. One Saturday before Halloween, Caroline and Rebekah came over to make and decorate Halloween cookies. JR and Caroline had so much fun dumping the ingredients into the bowl, eating the cookie dough (don't worry - made without eggs), and of course, decorating the cookies (actually eating the icing). Can anyone say "sugar high"?






Charlie has been eating rice cereal for a couple of weeks now. He has done a great job eating from a spoon. However, I think he is over the bland rice cereal...so time for us to move on to new foods. Any suggestions? I have already forgotten what to do next!

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!