Happy Halloween from the Pensive Giraffe!

Jacob's costume arrived in the mail today. (Thanks, JL!) Though we didn't go trick-or-treating, we'd already had a full day (handing out Breakfast-on-the-Go treat bags in the early a.m. and throwing a party for the neighborhood kids in the afternoon) so we just took a few shots inside and on the porch. You can even see a glimpse of the gorgeous fall foliage outside our window in the background of this photo. I attempted to be all fall-ish and get a picture of him with a pumkin, but he insisted on tyring to bounce it like a ball. Poor pumpkin!



(And no, he doesn't have pinkeye or anything. Just a sty that won't go away. The doctor even checked it out. Hopefully it'll disappear in a few days.)

This thoughtful pose below is my favorite:

"Hmmmm. What sound DOES a giraffe make?"

However you celebrate, whether reclaiming this holiday for Christ who is over all things, greeting neighbors with hopes of sugary delights, perhaps reenacting Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses, or just staying home with the lights off and watching the tube, I hope you've had a wonderful day!

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Finally, an update! (With pictures, even!)

October has flown by. Is tomorrow really Halloween already? We've been busy with parties and appointments and playdates and Apartment Life events, and Jacob has survived all the commotion pretty well, considering the amount of time he has been strapped into a stroller or otherwise restrained. Speaking of being restrained...

On Tuesday, I took advantage of the Advance Voting here in Georgia and cast my ballot. However, I apparently chose the wrong site, since it opened late and I waited over 3 hours. Jacob was with me, and he was very good for the first hour, calmly sitting in his stroller, unlike the other toddlers near us in the line. Then the meltdowns began. I almost left at one point, but I had already been in line in the cold for an hour and a half. Thankfully, there were some very patient parents near me in the line, including one who turned out to be a fellow BSC graduate! They watched the stroller for me while we went on extended walks, shared exciting new toys and crackers, and were generally understanding, considering. Next time, I'm finding a babysitter. As a fellow sufferer commented, "To make it this far, we all must REALLY want to vote!"

I'm just thankful I live in a country where I can vote for whomever I like, especially since they happen to be third party candidates! :)

Okay, enough about that. Here's what you guys really came to see--pictures!

At the beginning of this month, we celebrated Emily Jane's 2nd birthday. Here is Jacob mischieviousy hiding in her new play kitchen:


That same week, "Aunt" Jennifer returned from Brazil! She's getting married to David on January 10th, and has been planning like crazy. We were so excited to drive over to Carrollton to see her one Thursday morning. Our time was short, but sweet! We are so excited to be able to visit with her again soon.

Here they are together--Jacob took to his mom's maid of honor quite quickly:


And here's a shot of the three of us, courtesy of Jen's long arms. I hope those aren't gang signs Jacob is making. I was hoping he would be immune to the influence of high schoolers while in utero! ;)


Jacob also spent quality time with his friend Judah, who turned 2 this month, as well. We attempted to get a picture of them together, but, well, you can see the result. Jacob is clearly not amused.


That day at the local park, Jacob decided to be adventurous and climbed up to and went down the slides all by himself. Here's a picture just before he lets go:


He's actually becoming quite the independent little dude. He wants to do everything himself, include buckle his stroller/highchair straps and open doors. Tonight, he didn't want me to read to him, he wanted "Ja-bah" (his name for himself) to read to me!

And, in case you haven't had enough, here are more Jacob tidbits from the last few weeks:

When he gets overly tired, sometimes he shouts "Run!" and toddles very fast through every room in the apartment, from the corner of our bedroom to the front door to his bedroom and back again, all while giggling maniacally. We've got quite the little crazy boy.

He's also gathering a prolific vocabulary for a nineteen-month old. (I bet if I said "prolific" he'd probably try to repeat it!) I credit all the book-reading we do, but I guess I'm only glad his latest stretch of TV-watching while sick hasn't stunted him in some way. A few samples of his latest words:
sun, moon, stars, circle, Why?, tree, party, mouse, Bible, color, markers, crayon, Tyl-nol (Tylenol), temp-ture (temperature), ther-ter (thermometer...Can you tell he ran a fever all last weekend?!), hurt, an-mal (animal), bird, goose, frog, goat, rooster, wrench, crash!, tractor, plane, monkey, school, and, of course, slide!

He said his first sentence on October 16th: "Caden eat cracker." Way to go, little guy!

We've noticed Jacob's also very sympathetic. Whenever we look at this one picture in his ABC book of a boy who got too close to a porcupine, he always says "Ouch!". And while at the doctor's office on Monday, he heard a little kid crying in another room and said "Sad baby!"

There is never a dull moment around here, and I hope to update a bit more regularly in the next few months just to capture all these mini-milestones before his little brother arrives and steals the spotlight. ;)

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This Sounds Familiar ...

The conspicuous fault of [Political Party X], like the personal fault of [Presidential Candidate Y], was that it represented integrity and reason, in a year when the electorate hungered for frisky emotions, for the peppery sensations associated, usually, not with monetary systems and taxation rates but with baptism by immersion in the creek, young love under the elms, straight whisky, angelic orchestras heard soaring down from the full moon, fear of death when an automobile teeters above a canyon, thirst in a desert and quenching it with spring water -- all the primitive sensations which they thought they found in the screaming of [Presidential Frontrunner Z].

Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

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Ranked

A good weekend for Georgia Tech football:

The Jackets knock off Clemson, 21-17.

Tech finally cracks the top 25. We're 18th in the BCS ranking (if you put any stock in that), and 21st in the AP/USA Today polls.

We're also at the top of the ACC Coastal Division (for the time being).

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Free Randall Goodgame Song

Just in case you haven't heard, Randall Goodgame has a track ("All The Years") from his upcoming EP available for free download at his site. The new album is called Bluebird and releases November 4. As Allison noted, we heard some of Randall's new songs live a few weeks back, and we're very excited about the album.

Download "All The Years" here.

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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Just now I was working on a large sign to announce some upcoming events at our apartment complex. As I was coloring in the letters, the phone rang, and so I talked to my friend while I worked. Jacob was watching the whole time and kept asking to "color" as well. I gave him some paper at the coffee table and moved to another table to work. Apparently, I had left my phone where he could reach it because I soon overheard this:

"Hewo?...Yeah, milk.......color..."

:) I look over to see Jacob with the phone cradled between his ear and his shoulder (like Mommy!) and having an imaginary conversation while he colored his drawing! So adorable! And I thought it was hilarious that he threw in the "Yeah, milk" as if he was answering the question, "So, what do you like to drink?"

Can I just say that I love being a mommy?!

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Polls? Who Needs 'Em?!?!

Warning: rant ahead.

So, nevermind the fact that Tech put the hurt on Duke this weekend, 27-0. (Sure, Duke is the perennial whipping boy of ACC football, but they're looking much better this year -- honest! They've already won more games this season than in their last three combined!)

And forget the fact that our star running back and our main receiver each had career best outings this past weekend.

And don't mention that our starting QB was out with an injury, so our backup had to play -- and he was named ACC Rookie of the Week.

Despite all of this awesomeness, Tech is still relegated to the "Others Receiving Votes" section of the weekly polling. Yet somehow, a team like Auburn is still in the top 25. Even though they have one more loss. And they just barely beat a team (Mississippi State) that we creamed.

Okay, enough ranting. Despite the lack of love from the pollsters, Tech is looking really good this season. We've got a chump game this weekend (Gardner-Webb), but after that, it's the heart of our ACC schedule. Plenty of opportunities to prove our mettle.

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Mommy Tag

Because it's not just kids who like to play.

My friend Sarah tagged me days ago and I am just now emerging from The Cold/Sinus/Cough Monster That Won't Go Away (it's still hanging around, but at least I can BREATHE now), so I'm just getting around to this.

I'm going to tag two other moms I know who blog: Kami and now, Kitti!

Here ya go!

1. How many children do you have?

One, with another on the way!

2. What are their ages?
Jacob will be 19 months old on Thursday. How time flies! His baby brother is due on February 5, 2009, so I'm somewhere in the sixth month, 22 1/2 weeks pregnant.

3. What time do you start your day?
Usually between 6:30-7:30, with an occasional sleep-in until 8am. (Jacob slept until 8:30 this past Sunday morning! Woo-hoo!)

4. What do you eat for breakfast?
Lately, I've been trying to eat more protein, so I've gotten hooked on making my own homemade version of an EggMcMuffin -- English muffin, egg cooked in a ramekin in the microwave (be sure to spray liberally with PAM and cover it while cooking!), a slice of cheese, and sometimes, Canadian bacon. It didn't help that I had a whole package of English muffins left over from a brunch. It's either that or scrambled eggs and toast, or oatmeal. On weekends I might make pancakes.

Bonus: Jacob enjoyed eating scrambled eggs for the first time last week! I'm not sure why he wouldn't eat them until now, but I'm just glad he sticks his fork in his mouth and says "Mmmm, mmmm!" afterwards.

5. Do your kids watch TV?
See, Jacob doesn't really watch TV. It's always been there in the background, from when I was nursing him his first year or if we're at the grandparents, so he mostly just ignores it. We still try to make a habit of keeping the TV cabinet closed during the day, though. However, since I've been so sick lately, a few kid programs have snuck in: Curious George, mostly. (He says "Monkee!" whenever he sees that it is on.) But he won't sit still for more than 10 minutes at a time, even if he does have his milk cup!

6. What are their favorite activities?
Jacob loves playing with his blocks (of many varieties) and a car set we got from a friend. He's also taken an interest in "ba-ball" (his word for football) and we will go outside behind our apartment building and kick and throw around his little GT football. He likes to color, too, and this week he's been really into "mak-ers" (markers).

7. Do you get a break during the day for some you time?
Yes, I get a nice break during our morning walks while Jacob is happily buckled into his stroller, and I enjoy the few hours during Jacob's middle-of-the-day nap. (His naptime is sometimes the only chance I have to take a shower.) Lately, though, I've been using his naptime to take a nap myself!

8. How do you end your day?
I usually tutor online in the evenings after Jacob goes to bed, and then Gaines and I will watch one of our favorite TV shows, like Pushing Daisies, or something on a DVD. Then I'll read for a little while before finally falling asleep, while Gaines studies.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip?
For young babies...you cannot love them/hold them/cuddle them too much! If they trust you when they are little, they will be more independent when they are older. (Or so I've heard! I'm still waiting to see how this all turns out...)
For toddlers...Be consistent with your boundaries, but make sure they are flexible enough so your kids can still explore and experiment and learn about their world within those parameters.

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October Happys

1. Watching Jacob attempt--and finally succeed!--at blowing his first bubble all by himself! (I couldn't quite get a picture of the actual bubble, but you get the idea...)



2. Hearing The Weepies' music on television, even if it is in a Barack Obama political ad.

3. Watching the leaves on the trees outside our window slowly become tipped with gold and orange as the fall season visibly approaches.

3. Playing with my new Canon Selphy CP770 printer! Thank you, HouseParty.com! (And no, it is not some fancy electronic diaper pail even though it might resemble that just a wee bit.)





5. Listening to old-school Bebo Norman while driving around town with the windows down. For some reason, Ten Thousand Days always makes me think of fall.

6. Being able to breathe again (and get a good night's sleep!) after weeks of a miserable cold.

And finally...

7. Georgia Tech Football's winning season. Let's Go, Jackets!
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