Staying Busy

It's almost mid February and not much is new since our last post. We've been staying busy with a lot of indoor fun and getting out on the warm days to the playground or riding our bikes. Jake continues to grow almost daily and is loving school, finally. Lee and I are staying busy as usual.

Jake and I made play dough for the first time in a while last month. We played for hours. I love the colors. The homemade stuff really is so much better than store bought.

Look at me!  I made a caterpillar.

We have also done a lot of playing games.  Jake gets how to play most of them now and we don't have to let him win, most of the time.

To beat the winter boredom, we signed Jake up for a Gym class.  I'm not calling it gymnastics, because it's more about sports skills, but it's a little gymnastics.  Either way, he's loving it.

There are only 4 other boys in the class so they each get tons of attention.  This is Jake's first class without a parent in there with him.  To be frank, he plain didn't want to go.  But after the first class and a little ice cream bribe, he looks forward to every week.

Enjoying the ice cream!

Hope every one is staying warm and busy this winter!

Christmas 2011

Meet the king!  Jake played one of the three kings in his Christmas play at school.  Actually, I had to ask the dumb question of who were the kings.  I grew up knowing them as the three wise men.  Anyway, it actually was a very sweet production.  He played his role perfectly.

Here is Jake in action singing with hand movements of course.

His class and the other 4 year old class. 

Proud parents. 

Here is one of the only pictures we took on Christmas.  I really dropped the ball.  But it was nice just to be in the moment and watch Jake's excitement when opening gifts. This castle was one of his favorites.

Jake with Granma.  I can't believe how big he looks here.

Grandpa being silly. 

Lee putting together the pirate ship.  It took all day.  This thing has so many pieces to it, but it was so worth it.  Jake has played with this and the castle for hours on end.

We wish all of you a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Fall Wrap Up

Fall is coming to a close with Winter officially starting in a few days. Here are a few things we did to wrap up the season.

We all attended a University of Maryland Football game in October. It was a game to honor the veterans that attend the college. We got free tickets and brunch, so of course we went. This was Jake's first football game and my first in a long while. We had great seats behind the end zone. Go Terps!

At half time the verterans went on the field to be recognized. Jake went with Lee.

I actually caught the jumbotron when the camera was passing by Lee and Jake. What luck! It's a little blurry, but it was across the field from where I was was.

Jake has been playing school for months. Lee and I are getting a little tired of being the students. Jake won't give up his teaching position often. It's actually very cute to see him imitating his teacher at school and what they do all day.

Meet his student. Sleepy bear in the far distance, Teddy, Troublesome truck and tiger chair. And of course me. We were practicing writing our letters here. And guess who has to write for all these pretend students. Yep, me. Jake takes this very serious and sets up his classroom for us. Maybe he will be a teacher some day.

Jake has been enjoying the fireplace. He is on a coloring kick, which is perfect for sitting in front of the fire.

The highlight for Jake was going to the Strassburg railroad to see Thomas the Train. I had to work, so I sent Lee and Jake for a boys day/night out. Jake really thought he went to the Island of Sodor. That's where Thomas lives for all those not so informed about this as I am. They had a great time.

Lee is in the midst of finals. Two more to go and he is done until he starts his winter class. I've been getting ready for Christmas and am excited to say I am done. Now to enjoy the holiday season! Wishing everyone the warmest of holidays!

Fall Fun

We love the fall. Maybe since we haven't experienced it all that often, but we love everything about it. The following are a few photos to recap our fall so far.

Jake's school does a pumpkin patch trip every year. They do a great job and all the kids and grown ups have fun.

Jake feeding the animals.

Our self portrait picture. Pretty good I think!

Jake excited to pick his pumpkin! He was very serious about it. He had to pick the best one.


Jake was obsessed with leaf piles this year. Last year he picked up and saved boxes of "special leaves" that we couldn't throw away. This year he just piled them up to jump into or ride his bike into.

I guess the leaf liked him too. It was stuck to his shirt and just hanging there. Last week the landscapers came to pick up our almost 2 acre yard of leaves. No more piles, but we are still having fun outdoors.

This was the first year we carved a pumpkin. Jake drew the picture and helped poke out the pumpkin sections. He wouldn't touch the inside slimy part though. I thought he would like it, but what do I know.

And here is Captain Pirate Jake! He has been obsessed with pirates since the summer, so of course he was one for Halloween. We thought he looked a little like Captain Morgan . . . maybe because of the color scheme.

Enjoying his booty. We still have candy. I think he forgot about it, and that's fine with us!

We are now gearing up for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to the long weekend to relax and eat.

Twinkle Twinkle

I have been going through and organizing all of the pictures and videos we have accumulated since Jake arrived. Man do we have a lot of pictures. Anyway, I came across this video and had to share it. Jake was 2 1/2 at the time. I'm still laughing. If only he still sang like this. And no wonder one of the strings on Lee's guitar is broken.

Our Turtle Friend

I don't think I blogged about our turtle before so I will share with you a little story.

In the spring I kept finding holes in my freshly mulched gardens. I at first thought they were squirrels, until Lee spotted this! Digging holes in my garden no less. I guess I am a little naive when it comes to turtles, but I didn't know they could dig with their back feet. Or that they lay eggs in the ground and bury them. Poor thing was exhausted. She had made some test holes the previous few days and then decided this was the right place for her babies. They were suppose to take 45-90 days to hatch. And another tidbit for you. Did you know the temperture of the soil determines the sex? Nope, I didn't either. Thank goodness for Google.

We had almost given up on them hatching. We even had our house guest watch for turtles when we were away. Then on our way home from dropping Jake off at school for his first day we noticed a turtle on the walkway! Frankly, I almost stepped on it. Then we peeked in the hole and there were the other 3 waiting until it was safe to come out. It's sort of hard to see in the picture. Now I now why the mama turtle chose the mulched garden. You can see it's head below the small white rock in the center of the picture.

This is the little guy I almost stepped on. I had to keep him to show Jake, so he spent the morning in a Tupperware container filled with mulch. Truly, I was more excited than Jake, but what a cool experience! Hope she comes back next spring. We'll be watching!

Visit to South Carolina

Still trying to catch up with the summer we had! The following are from our visit to my parents in South Carolina after we left FL.

Jake made fast friends with Miss Kitty. As you can see she was thrilled.

Jake and I stayed at my parents for about 6 months last year while we were in transition to MD, so it is always fun to come back. So many things to do and see. We really love the area my parents live in. Very family friendly.

Trying out the swing Grandpa fixed. It gets the stamp of approval from us.

All summer Jake tried to catch a butterfly. All summer. They were always a bit elusive for him, until he met this one. The thing wouldn't go away. Even after trying to catch it for 20 minutes. It kept coming back.

So eventually Jake was successful. He was so happy. And it still came back after he caught it. Those must have been some good flowers that grandma grew!

We went back to our favorite Children's Museum. Really is the the best we've been too. We could have stayed all day. And Jake is now big enough to go on the 2 story climbing thing, with out me. Yikes! He was very proud of himself!

Maybe we have a future grocery store clerk. Why do kids love this part so much? It's really not all it's cracked up to be.

The music room is always fun and loud. We only stayed a few minutes. Some very cool instruments though.

My dad built this foot bridge to get to Jake's sandbox. Well, that wasn't the only reason, but the only one Jake noticed. And my mom stocked the "creek" with fish for Jake. He loved it.

And then there was the humongous watermelons. My mom planted one plant to "fill in" an area on the side of a small hill. Little did she know how big they would get or how many she would have at the end of the summer.

They were half as big as Jake and almost weighed as much!

The big reveal. You never know if it's good until you try it!

Which Jake gladly did. It was yummy!

We also decided to take in a ball game. The Greenville Drive, a minor league team, play at this field, which is a mini version of Fenway. We had great seats and met Evandor Hollyfield (who threw out the first pitch, random huh. I didn't even know who he was.) We watched a few innings until we all got too hot. I think it was only 3, but just enough time for us.

Lastly, we went to Chimney Rock state park. The only one we didn't see when were here before. Lake Lure is in the background, where they filmed Dirty Dancing. Beautiful day!

We stopped at a historic hotel to check it out and they had this in the bar area. I think every bar needs one don't you? Wonder if it was local?

Hope that we can go back soon. We had a great time as always.