Memory Lane

Those of you who read my blog know that I am notorious for uploading old pictures of J. I love to see how much he has grown! I also have that nostalgic side of me that really misses my little guy being a baby, yet, I love watching him go through each new stage. I am one of those moms who really likes the baby/toddler/preschool years a whole lot! Well, some of my favorite pics of J were at 11 mos. in October 2008. As I was blogging yesterday, I remembered that I had many pictures with a similar pose from two years ago. Here are a few:

11 mos.

34 months






11 mos.

34 mos.


22 mos.

34 mos.


Here's a glimpse at the different stages all three years:

He tried to eat the pumpkins the first year!

He tried to throw the pumpkins the second year!

This year, he understood the concept of picking out a pumpkin!


LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY :)




This is one of my favorite pictures in my collection over three years of J's life....

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took a trip to a local farm/pumpkin patch. All three of us agree that this was the best one we have visited. J loved the whole experience more this year than ever before. They had so much for him to do! He got to decorate a baby pumpkin out of the Pumpkin Hospital, play in the corn feed, take a hayride, run through a corn maze, feed live animals, eat snacks, and pick out a pumpkin. We think his favorite part was the hayride with decorating the pumpkin as a close second. Even better, one of his little buddies came with us. He actually lives in our neighborhood, and they really like playing together. Here are a few pics from our fun day!




J was a little unsure of the big animals. They had this HUGE bull that he quickly gave a piece of bread to, and he had no idea the donkey had moved this close to him. It was hilarious how fast he moved back when he realized it was there!

Hmm, which pumpkin do want to take home with us?

Putting their thoughts together about the pumpkins

J picks out our pumpkin!


Pumpkin Hospital




Finished! Classic J look when he is proud of himself!

Here it is Ladies and Gentlemen...the finished product...weighing in at exactly 1 lb. and named Donald. We have the birth certificate to prove it...I'm not kidding!


Always time for a little football!

Driving the tractor takes serious focus!

A Masterpiece of Our Own

J, you are growing up so fast! I can't believe that you are almost two months away from being THREE years old. Each day you bring us so much joy and love! If I could, I would keep you a little boy FOREVER. There is so much that I want to remember about you, Sweet Boy!

-You are such a snuggle bunny every night before we take you upstairs for bedtime stories.

-You love to be a happy helper and take your jobs very seriously...Miss Catherine's Bible carrier and our little garage door opener.

-You love music, especially songs with motions and the cd with your name in it...36 times!

-You love to ride in your little red cozy coupe outside.

-You want to throw and catch the ball with Daddy almost everyday. Your catching skills are quite impressive!

-You take boo-boos like a true champ!

-You love praise! We think you are our "words of affirmation" guy!

-You like to sort and match pieces. I love to watch you do these things! Thank you for letting me be your teacher!

-You love playgrounds. You climb on anything and everything. Your favorite slide is the tall, enclosed one, and sometimes you would rather slide down on your tummy.

-You like to pretend you are reading books,especially the repetitive books by Eric Carle or anything that you see with words on it. You understand the very simple concepts of reading and counting objects.

-You are a cautious boy with some things at first but rarely scared to try something.

-You work so hard at producing sounds and words correctly-something most people take for granted. You already show so much perseverance at such a young age!

-You have an amazing smile! I hope the small things in life will always continue to bring you joy!

-You show an unbelievable amount of confidence in the water. We are so proud of you and happy that you have already found a sport that you LOVE!

-You are such a sweetie to your pals, teachers, and us! God has given you an amazing sweet, gentle spirit.

First Day of School

Today was J's first day of school. It was quite different from last year. There were NO tears...from Mommy or J. However, J's willingness to pose for the camera was even shorter this year.



Mommy, I am saying "cheese"...come on, let's go!

Take a look at J a year ago on his first day of school!

Seriously, Mommy?!?!

Our blog is the main way I can record neat things that J can do, yet, I unfortunately don't always have a camera around to capture it or take the time to record it. My sweet husband sometimes can't figure out why I record some things in J's life! If you are a teacher, work with young children in some way, or just track your child's development, you will understand the video below. This summer, J started to really like stringing blocks, beads, etc...good news to this mommy of a little boy! I love to watch his hand-eye coordination as he concentrates on this task!! Too bad you can't see this in the video since I started recording too late. Even better, he is so proud of himself! I think he might be our "words of affirmation" child. Check out his smile at the end!

Beach Vacation :)

We just got back from our final vacation this week. :( We went with my parents to the beach for a week. Dave and I were talking about how thankful we are to see the excitement in J on vacation, yet making it even more difficult to leave. He got to spend some quality time with Grandpa and Grammie and became Grandpa's little sidekick for the week. J got to play his first game of miniature golf, went on a boat ride, rode some fun rides, played in the sand & ocean, and SWAM with Grandpa for the first time this summer. These are some of my favorite pics...couldn't decide what to post, so here they ALL are...