Fall Fun

The weekends around Halloween are always full of fun activities. The city is full of Fall Festivals and other events that are perfect for families to enjoy.

We kicked off our fall fun with Jude's school Fall Festival. He got to dress up in his Halloween costume for the parade. He kinda loved it. Can you tell?

And Jonah was dying to get in on the action too, so my little toe walker kept dashing out into the parking lot while we were waiting for the parade to start. He's a wild child these days.

Then there was our neighborhood Fall Festival. They go all out and it is always a fun and free event. Eli was dressing up for a "green screen" picture here:

That night, I took Eli and Jude to the FSU Halloween circus. Both boys were perfect gentlemen at dinner and at the circus. Jude took his role as my date very seriously!

The circus proved a little too scary for Jude at first, but once it got going, his tears stopped, and he enjoyed himself. This was Eli's second year watching it, and he loved it again. 

There was more fun to be had the following day at the Pope's annual costume and pumpkin carving party. Eli went as Zeus with a last-minute-thrown-together costume. He did not stay in costume for long and was glad to have a change of clothes. 

We hadn't planned to carve a pumpkin there, but the next thing I knew, Eli was hard at work on one. He was happy to carve for another family and ended up coming in first in the kids carving contest. He was thrilled.

Finally, we kicked this week off visiting a different pumpkin patch. Eli and Jude had a great time mastering the maze and then running through it again and again. I let each boy pick out another smallish pumpkin to carve or decorate later this week. (A decision I may later regret...)

Theo has been the chillest of chill babies during all of this fun. He slept through most of it and even stayed home with Daddy (and Jonah) while we went to the circus.

This is just the start of our season of excitement and fun. There is a lot more fun to be had with Halloween and birthdays and Thanksgiving and more birthdays and Christmas ahead.

Pumpkin Patch

The boys and I made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last Friday. I decided to just let them go and do their thing for the most part and try to grab pictures of each of them when I could. 

Check out this big boy! 

It is always a fun challenge to find the biggest pumpkin and pick it up.

This cutie would barely stop moving. He was having so much fun!

The group shots were more challenging as no one really wanted to stop exploring to pose. We made it work and there were no tears shed...theirs or mine. Success, right? 

All in all, a laid back and fun visit to the pumpkin patch. Each boy got to pick a small pumpkin to bring home. They have since colored on and decorated them with Sharpies. Yay for pumpkins! 

two months old

Happy two months to our sweet little Theo! Another month....gone...just like that. 

Some fun facts about Theo at two months: 

Yes, he does still sleep most of the day. It makes life a little easier for me, I won't lie...but I almost worry he has been sleeping TOO much. Nah! And besides, he does the sweetest things with his hands when he is sleeping. I just love it. 

On top of sleeping all day, Theo sleeps well at night too. So far he has slept through the night twice and comes close to it most other nights. I cannot complain. 

We had his two month check up this week, and he weighed 12 pound 3 ounces and was 23 inches long. That is up a little over three pounds and two inches since birth. He is still our longest babe by far, but he is no longer the biggest. He is growing well and doing great.

Definitely not a fan of the three shots though. Yuck. He settled right down after they were over but was fussy and ran a fever for a couple days afterwards. This first round always seems to be tough on my boys. 

Theo remains a very happy, content, and laid-back baby. When he is awake, he is very easy-going and enjoys interacting and smiling with us all.

All of his brothers love him and are helpful with him. Eli is getting great at calming him, Jude likes to make him smile and tickle him, and Jonah likes to help out with his paci.

Goodness gracious, we just can't get enough of this sweet little gift. He has been lovingly nicknamed "Theo-boy" by Jude. Jonah picked up on it right away. The two of them like to sing it to him over and over when he gets fussy in the car. 

We sure do love you, Theo!

 

For fun: Jude & Jonah at 2 months

Go Jays, Go!

The Blue Jays are in the playoffs for the first time since 1993 ending the longest active postseason drought in North American sports. It has been a long time coming and true fans have been patient through the years. We finally have something to celebrate!

Since the Jays have clinched, I have been seeing blue jays in our backyard almost everyday, and I even found this feather walking out to my car one morning. Coincidence? I don't think so! The feather is my official good luck charm for the postseason.

This team has been so much fun to watch and root for...especially since the All Star break. Because our AL East champs were going to be in Florida, we couldn't resist a spontaneous road trip to go see them play the Rays in Tampa. I was giddy at the thought of seeing these amazing players in person. After a couple of late Friday phone calls, we were set to go see them play on Saturday evening. We threw some things in a bag, loaded up our boys (who could honestly care LESS about baseball games...what were we thinking????) and headed south.

Besides the challenging car trips (too. many. potty stops.) and the fact that our boys don't like watching baseball, it was great! Seeing these players we've watched and listened to all season long play in real life was worth it.

There were many crazy moments trying to keep the boys happy and content at the game that are easy to laugh about now. Matt and I questioned our decision at times, but we made it until the bottom of the 8th. And even though we didn't bring home a winner, I was so in awe of getting to see this team that has truly "Come Together" up close and personal. Go Jays, go!

And since we were in the neighborhood, Pap Pap and Gramma Lil offered to put us up for the night. Always a treat to see them and spend time with them....even if it is only a few hours.

*****

Not only are our Jays winning, but our Gators are also playing well...pulling off a major upset of #3 Ole Miss on Saturday. 

Go Gators! and Let's Go Blue Jays!!

Theo Smiles

Theo has been smiling for a couple of weeks now, but the first smiles are always so unpredictable and quick that they are hard to capture on camera. You think you are starting to get some good ones....

....and then you get the money shot. 

Try to look at that face and not smile. I dare you.

Oh! And by the way, this is also the face of a boy who has successfully slept through the night. Maybe that is why he's smiling so much! It may have been a one-time fluke, but I hope not. Here's hoping....