Down on the Farm

This morning, Jason, Russell and I headed out to a local farm that was SO much fun! We will definitely be going again next year. Even Jason said it was worth the $16 (total) entry fee, which means a lot coming from him ;) Some of our friends joined us as well, which made it that much better.

There wasn't a single part Russell didn't enjoy. From the time he got out of the car, he was so happy to explore the fields, pumpkins, and tractors on the grounds.

Of course, when Russell saw the swings, that was it. This kid loves to swing. Our friend Jeff tried to get his son Scott to swing also, but that lasted only a few seconds. Made for a cute photo though :)

We managed to get Russell off the swings so he could find a new love: the see-saw. He was so excited - another thing he could have stayed on all day!

Up until this point, I was a little worried that we could have just gone to a playground for Russell to be this happy :) But with our entry fee came tickets to some toddler-friendly rides. Russell just loved them! The first one we did was the cow tractor ride. He rode it once with Jason and once with me. Funny how he hates riding in the car, but loved this thing!

Here's Jason and Russell - it was a little funny to see Jason squeeze into that small cow seat!

We also rode a little hay ride, which we could all go on together (and our friends went with us) - here's Russell looking serious, but he really did enjoy it (oh, and the tears on his cheek are from a mini-tantrum pre-ride):

We had such a fun time! And Russell took a great nap when we got back - a major plus :)

Now, we're resting up for costumes and parties tomorrow night! Happy Hallo-weekend!

Strong-Willed

Our child can sometimes be seen around the house with no pants. This is because he throws a fit if he has to lay down too long for a diaper change. So if we're just staying around the house, it doesn't bother me to leave him pantsless.

The pants thing is just one example. Just say the word "no" to him - you don't have to yell, just say it - and he sits down and starts red-faced screaming.

I say all this not to pick on my kid, who I dearly love, but to try to give myself a new perspective. I read recently something about how strong-willed children are "the ones who set the world on fire;" how more passive kids probably won't become president. Russell is surely paving the way to be a leader and a world-changer! :)

Another picture - not being strong-willed, he just looks so big here to me!

Jamaica, mon

Our 5-year anniversary was Friday, October 15.

~5 years ago, we were in a beautiful old church, nervous as could be (just because of all the people!), whispering our vows.

~4 years ago, we were in Charleston for a weekend celebration.

~3 years ago, we were touring a nearby winery.

~2 years ago, we went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

~1 year ago (with a 4-month-old at home), we went to Macaroni Grill and a movie.

And just when I thought our anniversaries were getting less and less extravagant...

on Friday, we woke up here:

That was the view from our balcony.

Jamaica was wonderful. Relaxing, sunny, great food and great company ;)

We filled most of our days with beach-laying and eating, and most of our nights with nice on-resort restaurants and listening to live Jamaican bands.

In between, when we got too hot, we played several games of Ping Pong and Othello:

Oh my gosh, there was so much food. I didn't feel one bit guilty about eating it, either. According to the doctor's scale, on Oct. 13, I had lost 4 pounds since I got pregnant. I'm sure I've gained it back and then some.

My favorite was the French restaurant. The atmosphere was quiet and sophisticated, and the food was the best. One thing struck me as so funny: they had a pianist, and every song she played was one that I've played numerous times, using the exact same arrangement. Made me want to get up there and take over for her :)

Here it is, the French meal. I wish I remembered the full description of it. Quail on top of split peas and some other stuff.

I decided to take my first Baby #2 pregnancy picture right after the French meal. Maybe not my best decision ever, but we started taking belly pics with Russell at 6 weeks, so I felt remiss. So here I am at 14 weeks and 2 days pregnant (and SO much bigger than I was with Russell!):

Somehow, this is the only picture Jason and I got together - and it was on our actual anniversary, before dinner at the Grand Gala:

I will say, as nice as it was for this stay-at-home-mom not to be rushed when I eat, and to shower whenever I wanted, and to READ AN ENTIRE BOOK, I really, really missed my little guy. And so did Jason. He was definitely in good hands with both sets of grandparents, though, and I know they all had a great time.

And it's a good thing we went, since I have a feeling we won't be doing another one like that for a very long time!

Russell Update

Well, since I'm not doing monthly updates anymore, I feel like time has slipped away from me and I really haven't written about what Russell is up to now. So before any more time goes by, I want to write down what Russell is like at 15 1/2 months old.

With some random pictures.

This kid cracks us up daily. And you better believe he knows it. When he finds something that we laugh at, he does it over and over again with a proud grin on his face. So cute.

I definitely should have written about this a few weeks ago, but at the beach, Russell took his first solo steps! He has gotten much better since, although he still crawls a lot. He can't stand up unless he has something to pull up on, though. I think when he figures that out, he'll be off and running.

During a (very, very rare) non-moving moment:

Russell says only a few words consistently, and only when he wants to. Dog and daddy are favorites, as are yeah and okay. Occasionally he'll say Fuzzy (it comes out uhZEEEE), which is what we call his lovey that he sleeps with. And often he'll copy something that we say, but then never say it again.

Oh, and he's become a typical picky-eating toddler. You can give him something one day and he'll gobble it up, but the next day you give it to him, he looks at you like you're crazy. However, he does weigh 24 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile) and he still eats a lot - it's just a guessing game as to what he'll eat each day.

Random photo: crazy hair, waking up from an after-church nap:

So there's the update - a little snapshot of his life right now!

Old House, New House

We are settling in to our new house! After a whirlwind move last Friday with a few awesome helpers (Jason of course, my dad, Jason's cousin, and a friend), we headed to the State football game the very next day. And then Russell and I got sick. Hence, I've been the MIA blogger.

Anyway, since we've been here about a week, I now have a good idea of things I like better here versus things I liked better at our condo (shockingly, there are a couple). Here's a list.

Condo:

• more closet space - the house we're in now was built in the 40s and there is seriously no closet space.
• more bathrooms - believe it or not, 1 and a half bathrooms sounds like a lot now ;)

The house is still way ahead.

House:

• huge floored attic that is not shared with a neighbor (yes, our attic in our condo was shared with our neighbor - crazy and stupid)
• 3 bedrooms!
• awesome area: near the best shopping in town, great schools, close to our church and Jason's office
• 2-car garage

Oh, and I have a few pictures (not very good quality, I was in a hurry) of some of my favorite things:

This kitchen isn't updated, but it is about 3 times the size of our old kitchen (obviously this is only part of it), which makes me love it.

Older houses have such sweet charm. We have an actual, dedicated dining room with adorable built-ins (these decorations aren't staying):

I love love love having a fireplace and a real mantle! Can't wait to hang our Christmas stockings there in a couple months.

We've still got so much to do: window treatments, still boxes to unpack, blah blah. But we are loving our new place!