A Monkey Halloween

Jack's second Halloween has been so much fun!  We played at the Greenwood Community Center on Friday night after having yummy lasagna at the Smolas.  They were hosting a Halloween party that was actually sponsored by Endress + Hauser!  Jack and Asher were a little bit too late to enter into the costume contest, but they enjoyed running around in the empty gym when it was over.  We must have taken at least a hundred photos of Jack in his costume, but most of them show him running from us with his cute little tail!  You can see Lion Asher running ahead of him in the picture below.

We spent Halloween driving from house to house to see the grandparents.  At Grandma Karin's, Great Grandma and Blaine came to check out our little monkey too!  He got a vintage Jack-o-Lantern that belonged to Karin and then John as a child.  It had some cookies and a banana inside.  Jack bit the banana right through the peel because he was so excited to eat it! 

Then it was off to Grandpa and Grandma Norma's.  He got another treat bag filled with books, socks and cupcakes.  He got to visit with butterfly Michaela too.  We loved the costume because it was just like a puffy hoodie and pants he can wear anytime!  Jack helped us greet trick-or-treaters once we arrived home.  Halloween was certainly a success when you look back at last year:

Anderson Orchard

We took Jack to the amazing Anderson Orchard this Saturday.  The weather was sunny and perfect.  We got up early, packed a cooler and headed to Mooresville.  Jack was only in the stroller for a few minutes before we saw these beautiful rows of mums and saw a great opportunity for a picture.

Of course I had to come in and snag a kiss!

We've always called Jack our little pumpkin!  One of the pumpkins we bought was 15 pounds and the other one was about 12 pounds.

Jack got rather attached to this baby pumpkin and didn't want to let it go!

This is one of the only pictures we got of him actually looking in the direction of the camera.  He was so excited and wanted to touch and see everything!

Here's John picking some ripe Golden Delicious apples.  Apparently that is about the only apple left in the orchard this time of year.  We plan to go back in August next year to get a better selection of apples.

We walked up and down a few rows picking out some apples before we wised up and drove until we found some apples we wanted to pick.   When we were leaving and showed the guy our apples so we could pay, he made fun of us!  Since our bag wasn't full, he said there are bag filling lessons at 4:30 in the morning.  Haha!  We didn't need a whole giant bag of apples.

We visited the store and concession stand before we left.  I wanted a cider slush which was delicious!  We bought a couple of pumpkins and a gorgeous mum for decorating the house.  John got some apple butter, and we were on our way.  We left feeling very satisfied with our trip and proud of ourselves for providing such experiences for Jack! 

Finally, a Chair for Jack

This chair is mine!

We were recently at a birthday party for a two year old who had a small wingback chair.  Jack spent lots of  time at the party getting in and out of the chair, so we knew we needed to get one.  After much thought and research, we got this one from Pottery Barn Kids yesterday.  He loves it!  As soon as we got home tonight, it was the first thing he went to.  Maybe he will start to sit down for a few minutes now....who am I kidding?

15 Month Photo Outtakes

As you can imagine, the monthly photo is getting more difficult to take each month.  Everything is more interesting than posing for the camera.  He likes to grab for the numbers, hug his bear, and try to get back down to the floor.  Here are some hilarious photos of the not-top choices:

15 Month Photo

So he had a sore, runny nose, but he is pretty cute anyway!  I love the tractor shirt and striped socks!  He has some great clothes for this Fall. 

14 Month Summary

At 14 months Jack started saying "Thank you."  I have also figured out that "Baba" that he says all the time is his version of "Mama."  I was taking a nap in our bedroom with the door closed a couple weekends ago, and he was banging on the door, saying "baba."  It clicked to me that he had been saying that all along for me!

Jack also likes to get in confined spaces like Duke's house and behind the chair in the living room.  So, I bought a little playhut with a tunnel that he hangs out in all the time now!  We took down baby jail finally!  We found we didn't need it anymore. 

Jack is also quite the walker now and almost a runner! He liked chasing John's remote control Corvette in the driveway one Saturday night.  It was a sight to see!

Jack has loved getting in his buddy Duke's house lately!  I have to keep the door closed so he won't get all covered in dog hair. 

Jack and Grandma were taking a walk when I got home from work a few weeks ago.  He didn't mind the grass this time!

Here is "Linus" Jack and Terry hanging out in the famous monthly photo chair.  He had such a nice visit with his grandparents September 17-18!

I can walk down the hall all by myself!

We love the shark towel Grandpa Steve and Grandma Norma got him for our Gatlinburg trip.

This is our new sleeping position, tush up in the air.  Notice the passy fell out of his mouth!  The pillow in the background is from when Jack was a little baby and had his Echo at St. Francis.