Wrestling

My brothers were ALWAYS wrestling growing up… When we knew Josie was a girl I was a little bit sad for Jack. I thought he might miss out on that brotherly bonding. Turns out I was wrong. Josie thinks wrestling with Jack is hilarious. And fortunately (I think) for everyone - she isn't "fragile." She actually holds her own quite well.

We definitely have to remind Jack to be gentle from time to time. But if I'm being honest - Josie has put him in his place on more than one occasion. And her teachers at school report that she keeps all the boys in line there too… Good job, Jos!

T-minus One Month

Until this girl is ONE! Poor Josie...her mommy hasn't even thought about planning her birthday party. And that is the difference between child #1 and child #2. Actually I was thinking we'd celebrate with a big turkey dinner…and some pumpkin pie instead of cake…No - I'm kidding! She'll get a real birthday party (off to look at Pinterest!!).

Happy Pumpkin

We carved our pumpkin Sunday night and both kids seemed to enjoy it. Well, Josie only enjoyed watching - while eating Cheerios. If she's eating AND being entertained - she's pretty happy.

Jack decided he wanted a "happy pumpkin" - so I made some sketches and he chose his favorite. We went with the traditional triangle eyes…and buck teeth smile. It's a classic.

Jack helped me put him outside next to our ghost pumpkin and the "warted" pumpkin (I learned that it's called a "warted" pumpkin on my field trip last week - you're welcome future Jeopardy participants). It's almost Halloween! Hope Jack chooses mommy & daddy's favorite candies...

All Boy, All Baseball (and Josie Jazzercise debut)

Last night the Carstens stopped by to say hi. Jack was SO excited. Of course, he talked Maddox and Jace into playing baseball with him. No surprise there. And they love the sport, too - so it works out well.

As you can see - Jack took on a new position. He found his knight helmet (in the mudroom lockers) and decided to move from Pitcher to Catcher. All the boys were hitting home runs left and right! If we could talk Matt & Julia into moving out here - I think we could really dominate in Little League someday!

And now I present - JOSIE JAZZERCISE! Josie's Halloween costume is ready for it's debut at daycare tomorrow.

Work it, girl! Feel the burn.

Hilger's not Heelger's

We ventured to Hilger's Farm yesterday for some Fall Fun. We thought we'd get pumpkins, but it turns out the best selection for those is Meijer/WalMart/Kroger, etc. The poor farmers got hit from corn to pumpkins this year. Not good.

 Josie took it all in. She was loving it!

 Jack ran through the corn maze, took a hayride, and saw some farm animals.

 Happy Halloween!!

By the time we got home - Josie was completely wiped. Too much fun for her!

And let me explain the title. Anyone who knows me - knows that I am THE WORST with directions. Whoever invented GPS had ME in mind when they did it. Swear. Anyway - yesterday Tyson drove us to Hilger's. We drove down County Line Road to 30 and he got in the Left Turn lane. I spoke up and said, "I think you need to go right." Nope. He took a left. We entered Columbia City before he finally agreed that he was driving the wrong way. Then he claimed that he thought I meant "Heelger's" not "Hilger's" and that "Heelger's" is in Columbia City. All the while…I was pretty excited that FOR ONCE in my ENTIRE life - I had been right about directions. It was a moment in history that needed to be recorded (on the blog) for the future. (PS: for those not familiar with Fort Wayne pumpkin patches - there is no such place as "Heelger's")

Handy Man

One of my (many) wishes for Jack is that he grows up to be handier than his father (and his grandfathers). He's recently taken an interest in tools.

 The other night he was busy "fixing" the little red car.

I think he had a very satisfied customer when he was all finished.

We are SO ready for the WEEKEND!

The pumpkin patch and plenty of baseball are on our agendas. Let's just hope the Tigers can pull it together back in Detroit. Embarrassing.

Go Tigers!

It's the World Series!! And we are READY! Go Tigers!

Magic

Now you see her.

Now you don't.

A present for….Jack?!?

 Yesterday was Nancy's birthday. We were able to celebrate over breakfast and then took a family trip to Target (Nancy's favorite place) so she could buy Jack a tricycle. He and his Daddy put it together.

Josie wanted to help out too - but it turns out, trying to eat screws and bolts isn't very helpful. Neither is playing with tools.

She wasn't happy about being told "NO." And then - to top it off - Jack wouldn't let her ride his bike. Give him a couple years, Jos…the bike will be yours and he'll move on to a Hot Wheel.

But for now…he's pretty excited about his new "birthday" present. Happy Birthday, Nancy!! XOXOXO

Practice Makes Perfect

Jack practiced baseball 95% of the weekend - and tennis 5%.  He's actually hitting the baseball really well these days. Like - it's a shock when the ball comes flying back at you with force. We've been sending videos to Uncle Devin & Aunt Kristin, so we will try to capture Jack's hitting technique in action.

And Josephine did a little practicing of her own….in the walking department.

It was Grandma Nancy's birthday today! We celebrated with her…but more on that later this week.

And in case you need something to watch tomorrow night (Monday) - our mighty Lions take on Grandpa Jerry's Bears. Dee-troit!

Pantry Thief

When we lived in Royal Oak - my mommy friends would complain about how their kids were always getting into cabinets in their kitchen. For me - this was never an issue. Our kitchen was the size of a half bathroom and I'm pretty sure Jack didn't even know it existed.

Fast forward to our new house - and Miss Josie is making herself right at home rummaging through places that she has no business rummaging through - like my pantry. I was cooking dinner last night and heard things falling off shelves…never good. "Oh, heeeey Mom. Nothing going on in here. Just looking for the Cheerios."

Fire Safety Week

Last week was Fire Safety Week in Kindergarten.  I won't lecture you about the importance of that…but the former Insurance Agent in me would like it if you changed the batteries in your smoke detectors.

 Josie agrees.

She is sporting a portion of Jack's Halloween costume. The kid is OBSESSED with fire trucks. 

Proof that Jack eats healthy foods - like apples. He really loves apples.

And of course a side of CHEEEEESE!

Chicago

This weekend Tyson and I were in Chicago for my best buddy, Kelly's, wedding! I was reader #1. I didn't make it to rehearsal, so I was pretty nervous. Luckily, I didn't trip walking up to the podium.  Kelly was gorgeous and the reception was a blast! This is me with my Alpha Phi sisters: Georgianne, Kelly, Lauren, and Kassey.

When DePauw alumni get together - we still remember how to have an AWESOME time! The bride & groom aren't pictured here…but we are excited to add Kel's new husband, Eric, to our growing group!

I just hope he's ready...

Small Window

I feel like working full-time - gives me SUCH a small window each day with my kids. We have 2 - 2.5 hours each night before they go to bed…which is why the blog is suffering. Sorry.

Josie is such a happy girl. She is so easily satisfied. It's been fun watching her personality develop.

I swear this child eats more than just popsicles. I just happen to pull out my camera EVERY time he's eating one. Mmmmmm, orange.

Josie loves her daddy! And he's pretty crazy about her, too.

Put On a Sweatshirt

Growing up…my Mom & Dad had a thing about turning the heat on too early. I guess there is an unwritten rule somewhere. Their response to my pleas for heat - "Put on a sweatshirt."

Guess what - heat is expensive. And my kids are sporting sweatshirts.

3:30 Wake Up Call

Here is a little Jack story for you. Last night Tyson and I were SOUND asleep (duh)… Our door opened at 3:30am and I heard someone walk in.  I assumed it was Tyson, getting a drink of water. The dogs came in too and jumped right in our bed. Of course, this made me mad at him (Tyson) for: a) letting the dogs in and b) not kicking them back out.  Tucker loves to sleep on legs and he settled right down on mine. Anger. Except I was too tired to fully wake up and unleash that anger.

Next thing I know - I hear a voice say, "I wanna watch a show."  I swore it was coming from the monitor. NOPE. Mr. Jack had crawled into our bed, was sitting in between us, under the covers - proclaiming that he wanted us to turn on the TV at 3:30am.

No dice.  He was sent back to his bed.

Sunday Dinner

Grandma Shirlee made a pretty fabulous dinner for us on Sunday night. Jack was excited to go see everyone and talked all day about his "Uncle Joe, Uncle, Jon, and Uncle Gina." While we were there he took a few laps on my old tricycle. I'm pretty sure he needs tetanus shot to ride that thing.

Josie spent most of her time smiling at everyone and sucking up to her Grandpa Jerry.

Oh and EATING. (No surprise there.) Josie discovered homemade pumpkin pie AND homemade whipped cream… Let's just say, she's already dreaming about how awesome Thanksgiving will be.

Bladey was sulking because his best buddy, Tucker, got left  at home. Maybe next time, Blade.

Sunday Mornings...

are best spent jumping/flopping on Mom & Dad's bed.