Halloween is coming!!

We tried out the costumes today and Jake is getting excited for Halloween! It should be lots of fun. Decided to take pics of them today in their costumes.....before Jake's is covered in chocolate! He's really pumped to go trick or treating.....little does he know that most of the candy from his efforts will be consumed by mommy and daddy!

Our lil' punkin

I was so happy that Mia was small enough to fit in the pumpkin because I've been wanting to take one of these pictures for a long time! We did get a HUGE pumpkin and she really didn't mind being stuffed inside of it, as you can tell from the pics! We tried bribing Jake to stand next to her, but he wouldn't have it.....and after she was in there for a while, she started using the pumpkin as a giant teether, so we had to take her out. She's so cute, I could just eat her up!

LAST trip to the patch for 2009!

Third and FINAL trip to the pumpkin patch! We had to make sure Daddy got a turn to go with us! We picked out a BIG pumpkin and enjoyed a beautiful fall day with the kiddos!

Cookies!!

Jake and I made sugar cookies together for Halloween in the shape of a big candy corn....he even used his own rolling pin and cookie cutter! He frosted by himself and the favorite part was definitely doing the sprinkles.....or "sprinklers" as he calls them. Can't wait until Mia is helping out too!!

What Mia is up to....

She's getting the hang of eating her rice cereal.....

She has found her feet.....hasn't started putting them in her mouth yet, but sure plays with them a lot!
She's bound to be a gymnast.....at 4.5 months, she has figured out how to escape the bumbo even though her feet don't touch the floor. She does about 20 backbends and eventually (as you can see in this "action" shot), she tosses herself out. Don't worry, we don't leave her unattended on the counter while in the bumbo!!

Trip # 2 to the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with our playgroup as well.....our 3rd year doing it! The only thing about this pumpkin patch was that there were so many other "attractions" there, that the kids were hardly interested in pumpkins! Jake rode the ferris wheel and mini roller coaster all by himself. Mia was hanging out in her "usual" spot....her carseat :) Next year she'll be chasing her big brother around the patch!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

We had Jake's first preschool fieldtrip......it was a fun day at the patch! The kids got to pick a pumpkin and play around. As you can see, Jake did not want to be in the class picture. It was fun to hang out with my big boy and his class. Mia spent the morning having fun with Becky (thanks Becky!).

Bath Time

Well, Mia has graduated to the big bathtub......she liked being in the water, but wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing. Jake was trying to show her the ropes. I'm sure in no time, I'll be referee-ing the splashes between the two of them!

Some Pics

Nothing too noteworthy going on 'round here, but thought I would post a few pics! Mia is 4 months now and doing great. She's found her hands and feet, and is starting to "play" with toys. She LOVES her big brother, which is so adorable. And he continues to be sweet with her.....he's the official "binkie getter" if she is crying. She officially moved into her crib over the weekend......of course, she is fine.....and I'm coping with the fact that she's no longer a newbie that needs to be next to the bed (sniffle, sniffle). Jake continues to entertain us with his daily "Jake-isms".....his language is amazing and the phrases he comes up with are just too funny. Here's one for you......we were going in the hot tub so Brian asked Jake to go and get one towel for Mommy, one for Daddy, and one for himself.....then asked him "how many towels does that make".....Jake's reply "hmmmm.....(finger tapping lip with a deep in thought expression)....thank makes sense!". Funnier in person I'm sure, but still cute.

3...2..1... BLAST OFF!

One of Jake's favorite sayings.....and he got to put it to good use today when we had an official rocket launch! Brian spent nearly the entire weekend shopping for rockets, assembling them, and then finally shooting them off......I'm fairly certain that he had more fun than Jake, but watching them do it together was fun for me! Grammie and Gramps joined us for the big event and Mia got a front row view from her carseat. The first rocket landed in someone's yard.....retrieving it did involve a bit of trespassing and I was shocked (and entertained) that Brian was the one to get it back. We lost the big rocket after a few more launches and despite a fairly thorough neighborhood search, we did not locate it. However, Jake was on the hunt for the rest of the day.....we went to an open house in Pleasanton after we launched the rocket and Jake looked up at the real estate agent and said "I'm lookin' for my rocket.....can't find it anywhere". He searched the whole house and yard....shocking that we didn't find it there, but it sure kept him busy while we looked at the house! I'm sure that this will end up being the first of MANY rocket launches in the years to come!

Rice Cereal for Mia

Mia is 4 months old now, so we decided to introduce rice cereal....I'll let the picture speak for itself. We'll try again soon and eventually, I'm sure she'll like it! Jake watched the whole thing play out and was clear to tell us that Mia does NOT like the cereal :)

Mia's first swim

Well, it was getting to be the end of summer and we realized that Mia had not actually used her bikini (thanks, Kathy!).....soooo, we decided it was time for a swim! She was initiated into Julie and Tim's pool, just like Jake was two summers ago :) She didn't seem to love it, but didn't cry either....and the water was chilly! Jake did his version of cannonballs into the pool (jumping into the pool yelling "CANNON (submerge in water) BALL"! He can "swim" on his own now with a life jacket on....jumps in, swims to the end, climbs out, and repeat! Great bbq and swim day with Auntie Julie and Uncle Tim!

Weekend in Monterey

Brian decided to take a couple of days off from work, so we headed down to Monterey/Carmel and had the BEST weekend!! We went to the aquarium, which was a big hit with Jake (and us). On Saturday we went to Point Lobos to go tidepooling....turns out that there wasn't much to see, but Jake had plenty of fun anyhow....as far as he is concerned, seaweed is exciting sea life! We also went to the beach in Carmel and could not have asked for better weather! Jake loved the guys surfing in the ocean and he of course "surfed" as well....this consisted of him jumping in and out of a sand hole for about 30 minutes yelling "woohoo" each time. We realized that almost ALL of the pics from our weekend are of Jake...poor Mia.....but she was literally in her carseat or the stroller the entire weekend....or living it up in the Baby Bjorn :) She was a trooper! Such a fun family weekend!!

Jake's first day of preschool

Jake started off his day with a good breakfast and his "you are special today" red plate. He was excited for school and marched right into the classroom with his backpack on, handed our forms to the teacher, and headed off to play. Ahh, just when I thought I was in the clear, I heard the cry of one two year old in the room.....and then they ALL started! The teachers were blocking the door and "catching" kids who were trying to escape, as the mothers (who are also crying), try to squeeze through the door while prying their child's hands from their legs. I'm fairly certain that Jake stopped crying by the time I reached the car.....of course I still had a few sobs left in me, but I know it's good for him and he'll do great in the end. Mia and I enjoyed our morning together and I arrived back at preschool 15 minutes early, to make sure I was there RIGHT when the door opened (shocking, I know). Only 7 out of 16 kids actually made it through the class....the others didn't stop crying after awhile and had to be picked up. So, I guess the day was a success.....I'm proud of Jake....such a big boy!