Happy Thanksgiving

Old Friends and New Ones

Katy, Meghan, and I have been friends for about... gulp... 25 years now. We've stayed friends through different schools, different states, marriages, kids, and everything else that life has thrown at us. We drift apart for a while and then when we talk it's like no time has passed. Meg now lives in Chicago so it's been a long time since we have all seen each other, over 5 years to be exact. So when she decided to come East to visit there was no option, come hell or high water we would get together. And it was so much fun!!! Just like no time had elapsed... we might have been sitting on Katy's bed in middle school giggling over some boy. I hope it's not another 5 years before we can do it again!!!!

And our three munchkins played so well together. Linds is exactly 9 months older than J who is 9 months older than Riley so they're all in the terrible twos and threes but they did really well for never having played together.

**It was REALLY hard to get the three of them to stay still!**
I hope that someday they can appreciate the power of friendship that has kept their moms so close for so long! Love you guys!!!!

So Fast

I look back on the last two and a half years and can't believe that it's already been that long. Jumpin' J used to be my itty bitty baby and now he is such a big boy with his own thoughts and opinions.



And then I look back just 36 weeks and think that I now have an almost full term baby in my belly and marvel at how fast that has flown by too. I am such a lucky mom to have such a wonderful big boy and a new baby on the way.



Happy 2.5 years my big boy! I love you!

Why?

I think this question might be every parent's worst nightmare. It certainly was mine. Jumpin' J is officially using it for everything now. And I try to answer him honestly as much as I can. But after the fiftieth "Why" I found myself answering this age old question with an age old answer...

"because I said so".

I guess this makes me an official parent now!

Happy Birthday Auntie Laura and Cousin Jeff

Happy Birthday to two of our favorite people. We hope you both have a wonderful day today and always. Here's Jumpin' J enjoying the wonderful weather your birthday has brought to Massachusetts!!!



Check out the Cookie Monster shoes!! (Almost like Jimmy Choo's right Auntie Laura?)

Only 6 More Weeks

Jumpin' J is such a funny and smart little boy, he constantly amazes me.
Today in CVS I was getting a little frustrated looking for iron supplements which I need for the pregnancy. And J pats me on the arm and says "It's OK Mommy, only six more weeks."
I burst out laughing and gave him a big smooch.
Just think, in about 6 more weeks I'll have another little child to love and hug and give big smooches too!
Only 6 more weeks!!!
I love you Jumpin' J!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jeff

Happy Birthday Uncle Jeff!!! We hope you have a great day!!

Halloween Pictures

Halloween '09 is upon us! We went to a WMM party already this week and Jumpin' J is getting psyched up to go trick or treating on Saturday! Here are a couple of shots from our official photo shoot today.

Grandpa Gary's Mini Vacation

Jumpin J is a very lucky boy because 3 of his 4 grandparents (not counting his greats) live about an hour or less from our house. The one exception to this is Grandpa Gary, Mommy's dad, who lives in Colorado. He usually only makes it out here to see us at Christmas time unless there is a family function so we were very excited when he announced that he was coming to visit for a few days.

He flew in on Saturday and spent the night with Uncle Andrew and Auntie Kim. And then Uncle Andrew brought him to our house on Sunday and he just left this morning. Jumpin' J and Grandpa had a great time reading, playing trains, playing animals, watching Peter Pan, and just hanging out. And Grandpa got to go with J and I to our WMM Halloween Party and Parade so J got all dressed up and off we went. A very entertaining time for all I think ;)

It was sad to see him have to leave again so soon but he'll be back in a couple months for Christmas and by then we'll know whether Jumpin' J has a baby brother or sister.... see you then Grandpa Gary!

Jack and Lantern

Carved up our pumpkins ...


Happy Jumpin' J sized one and Scary Daddy sized one.

Now onto toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pies!!!

Touchdown Daddy

Since Daddy and Uncle Jeff have season tickets to the Patriots whenever there is a home game we send Daddy off with some tailgating goodies and then later watch the TV to see if we can see him. Jumpin J thinks that Daddy PLAYS football when he goes so whenever the Pats score he says "Touchdown Daddy"! Daddy is the best!!!

Puffy Stickers

Grandma P is a self proclaimed collector and now that she and Grandpa are going to be selling their big house and moving to something easier to manage she's been cleaning out her closets and we've gotten all of Daddy's collections. One of these collections is of stickers, especially those 80's classics the PUFFY STICKER!!!

Today Jumpin' J discovered them and we had a blast playing with the race car ones! He decided that our bed had the best race track and we raced them all around for the better part of the afternoon. I am sorry to say that they are no longer sticky but they were great little race cars.

He shared with his baby...

And with Mommy...

And had some to race himself...

As well as some to decorate his arm, the bed, and Bethie (the doll). All in all a great adventure!

Pure New England Fall Joy!

Honey Pot Hill Orchards... a fall haven of goodness.... a maze, apples, pumpkins, apples, animals, apples, cider donuts, apples, hay rides, and did we mention apples?

3/4 Cooked

Here's a belly shot for those that have been patiently waiting to see the hugeness.... 10 more weeks to go!!

It only looks like a bed

On a rainy Wednesday morning it's so much more than that.... It's anything a 2 year old can imagine...

A place to eat pretend blue and brown lollipops
A racetrack for his cars
A boat to drive his friends in
A pillow bridge
A tent
A sandwich counter serving monkey food and milk
A place to pick blueberries
A trampoline
A whole slew of pillow luggage and "backcacks"
A house

And finally a car to take himself, Mickey, Minnie, and Mommy to Disney World
But first we all put our seat belts on
Look behind us to make sure there are no cars
Fill up the car with gas
Hear fire engines and pull over to let them go save people
Wave hi to Uncle Mike in his police car
And then WE'RE OFF!!

See you soon!

Let's Hear it For Some...

FOOTBALL!!

Jumpin' J is very proud to have a "Jersey" like Daddy's

TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS!!

Pasta Sauce

Tonight Daddy and Mommy helped Jumpin' J make his first pasta sauce. He did a great job putting the spices in and stirring. And he loved eating the raw onions!


He's going to be a great cook!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Gary

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!! Have a super dooper day and we hope we get to see you soon!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Potter

Happy Birthday Grammy! We hope you have a fabulous day and we will see you this weekend for a fun time on Block Island!!!

Pickles and a Concert

Yesterday my brother and I took our mom, aka Grandma Laurie, to a Chicago concert for her birthday! Since J's dad is on a business trip J got to tag along, well for dinner anyway...


Then J stayed at Miss Laura's house (one of Grandma's friends) while we went to the concert! I hadn't realized that Grandma saw them in the 70's too so it was like a flashback for her. And since Uncle Andrew and I were almost the only people there under 50 it seemed like there might be some serious flashing back going on. But it was great! They played a little of their really early stuff for Uncle Andrew, some of their 80's stuff for me, and all of their great 70's stuff for all of us! Did you know that Chicago has the second highest number of albums after the Beach Boys, guess we were raised on the classics!!! Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Who's Got the Blues

Not J that's for sure!!!

While you wait for me to get in gear and finish the vacation stuff here's a couple of pics from our trip to the local bank.....

Sunday: Wolves and a Lion Hunt

We started Sunday with a giant buffet breakfast in the hotel and then J was still sleepy so he took a nap while Daddy relaxed and I went to pick up a few things for snacks and breakfasts for the rest of the week.

When we all reconvened we headed to Lititz to the Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania. We got to see a huge pack of gray wolves, a smaller pack of grays, a pack of 4 timber wolves, a couple of lone males sharing space, and one gorgeous arctic tundra wolf. They fed all the wolves while we were there and we got to learn a ton about wolves in general and this sanctuary in particular. J loved seeing them but he was just as fascinated with the little black kitty that kept coming around the group hoping for snacks.

After seeing the wolves we decided to go on a "lion hunt" to see what we could find around the area. It was really exciting to see our first buggy as well as a church letting out, some Mennonite girls playing volleyball, and Mennonite boys playing softball.

The Mennonite lifestyle is similar to the Amish one but they tend to be more permitting of things such as patterned fabric, bicycles, and sometimes even cars.

We were a little disappointed to find out that almost everything, including non-Amish attractions, are closed on Sunday but did find a little petting zoo and playground that entertained J for quite a while.

The playground behind us we headed back to the hotel for a nap. Then we went to Plain and Fancy Farm for dinner where we had our first taste of shoo fly pie along with some great fried chicken, mashed potatoes, local corn on the cob, raisin bread with icing, and a ton of other food. It was a fun dinner as it is served family style and we got to sit with a family of three from Germany and a mom, grandma, and two boys from just north of NYC. The conversation was lively and ranged from energy utilities to Harry Potter.

We got back to the hotel long past J's bedtime and all fell asleep immediately... until tomorrow!

Saturday: Sesame Place

Being out the door of the house before 6 was a good move since we got to Sesame Place right when it opened at 10. We jumped right into our bathing suits for the waterpark and started with the giant rubber duckie ride which J was initially not sure about but by the end was yelling to go back on again.

We played in all the different splash pools and sprinkler parks which was a blast!! J loved the little train ride that he got to push and pull his own car with a hand peddle. We went on the lazy river and then had lunch near the new Count's castle that dumped a huge bucket of water every few minutes or so.

After lunch we got to watch the daily parade and J was almost knocking his dad over bouncing and grooving to the music up on Daddy's shoulders. Once the parade was over we went over to check out the nets and while Mommy stayed on the ground to take pictures, J and Daddy went up to the third floor nets to climb across them.

J looked so little way up there but he was a pro and did a great job. Then J got to go on a giant bouncy "bed". And we finished up the day on the teacups. It was a long but very fun trip to "Sesame Street".

We drove to Lancaster to eat dinner and check into our hotel and we got J in bed at about 8 and then Daddy and I followed not long after... until tomorrow!

Mountains and Sandwiches

Life gets more interesting every day with Jumpin J as he gets older and more aware of life! Just this morning he decided to take all the pillows on our bed and make a mountain out of them for Matilda to drive her tractor up onto and then make a "J" sandwich. He also showed me how to jump on the bed properly. We finished up the morning making and J and Bethy sandwich on the couch with his Grandma Blanket.