Good-Bye, September!

I could hardly believe my eyes when I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized we're already at the end of September! I'm not sure where time is going, but this past Wednesday marked the 6(ish) week countdown until Baby Sister arrives. We've been doing lots around the house (more to come on that), and have also really been trying to soak up these last weeks with Jacob before he's promoted to Big Brother status! He's at such a fun age. He keeps us laughing everyday with funny things he says and does!

He's really into his "sun-gasses" right now. Not only does he wear them outside, but also in the grocery store.

He hasn't needed his sunglasses too much since last Friday, though. After an incredibly dry summer, we're finally getting some rain! Jacob loves to play outside, and while he's not a huge fan of actually getting wet in the rain, he was able to make it work with his slicker and shelter from his car. 

The rain had stopped for a while, but started to downpour all of a sudden. Jacob was not happy to be caught with his hood off and exposed to the elements! When I showed him this picture he said, "I sooooo mad!"

Last week we were able to go watch our cousin, Ava, play volleyball. Her middle school team was playing at Cane Creek (the school I used to teach at) so we headed over to cheer her on! Not only did we get to see Ava play, but I was also able to catch up with Aunt Laura, and Jacob had a great time hanging out with his cousin, Will. I can't believe how grown-up Ava and Will are these days! I used to babysit them when they were Jacob's age!



About two months ago, I went through every room in the house, as well as the yard, and made a comprehensive list of everything that needed to be done before my due date. (Scott was super excited about this.) Each weekend and most weeknights, we've been working hard to mark things off the list. One of our biggest tasks has been to clean out and reorganize the garage. We've been working this month to get it done. The main goal has been to create space so I can get both Jacob and Baby Sister out of the car. Before we started working, there was only room to open the back door on Jacob's side. We have a narrow garage and lots of wasted space, but we've made big improvements. Stay tuned for the beautiful after-picture to come! Also, a big thanks to my mom for letting Jacob play at her house 3 Saturdays this month so we could work!



I also tackled a huge item on the to-do list by putting together some freezer meals for the weeks after Baby's arrival. Before Jacob was born, the thought never crossed my mind that I should maybe prepare some stuff ahead of time. I guess I thought life would continue on as normal, just with a cute baby! I had no idea how hard something as simple as throwing dinner together would be once I had a newborn. Well, this time I'm under no illusions! I know with a toddler and a newborn, we'll be lucky to eat anything more than cereal and pb&j if I don't have a game plan. I spent most of the afternoon Sunday putting together some meals and plan to double a couple of recipes each week as I'm making dinner from now until she comes. 

And of course, I have to include some pictures of Jacob's adventures with Kason and Nolan. I'm sad to think this next month is the last one that I'll be keeping them for a while. 

The Mountain State Fair

We had a fun day at the Mountain State Fair! Last year Jacob was really into the animals, but this year he was all about the tractors. (Is anyone surprised?)

We met up with some of his best buddies, Kason & Nolan, mid-morning. The day started off cold and windy, but that didn't stop the boys from having a great time! After checking out some farm animals we came across a toddler tractor play area! There were toddler sized, motorized John Deeres. Of course the boys were beyond excited. The only problem was they didn't quite understand the gas and brake pedal concepts.

Jacob also went on his first fair ride! We attempted the Carousel, but he, quickly and loudly, vetoed that plan. When he spotted the boat ride, though, he immediately said he wanted to ride it. I thought there was a 50/50 chance he'd cry and want off when it started up, but he loved it! In fact, he actually cried when it was over and he had to get off. We got more tickets and let him ride a couple more times.

And here's a picture of Jacob at the fair last year. He's changed so much!

Summer 2015: July

One of our favorite outings this summer has been to the Western NC Nature Center. Grandma Bradley gave us a family pass for Christmas, and we've definitely made good use of it! Jacob and I go about every week, and in July we were able to meet Craig and Lori there before they headed back to Alabama. We also had fun meeting up with friends there. I've been taking Jacob since he was a baby, but he really started to enjoy it this summer. He'll tell you his favorite animals are the wolves, and his favorite thing to do is sit on the tractor. Its a great weekly outing that never gets old!

At the end of the summer, Grandma Bradley was able to go with us! On the drive home I asked Jacob what his favorite thing at the Nature Center was that day, and he said, "GG!" It doesn't get much sweeter than that!

Getting to see the Houston Family was one of the best parts of July! Megan and Zack are both from Morganton, so they were able to visit their families, as well as spend a day at the lake with us. We had fun hanging out on the beach at the Lake James State Park with some of Burke County's finest. The boys played in the sand and water, and we had plenty of time to catch up. Megan and I were both 23ish weeks pregnant, so it was really fun to talk all things babies! Afterwards, we put the little guys down for naps and had some uninterrupted hang-out time. Scott and Zack went out on the boat while Megan and I chatted and ate an entire bag of pizza rolls in the process. When the boys woke up they had a little piano practice before the Houston's had to head home. Even though it was a quick visit, it was a great time and not lost on us that it could be the last time we gather as a party of 6!

Jacob had a couple more "firsts" this month. The movie theater was showing dollar movies this summer, so we decided to try it out. While Jacob wasn't very interested in the movie (Madagascar 3), he was very interested in the theater itself. He loved climbing up the stairs and chose seats at the very top. He watched a little bit before deciding it was more fun to crawl around in the floor with his car. We stayed about an hour, which I considered a success. I didn't take into consideration that Jacob wasn't heavy enough to sit in the chair without it folding up on him. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.

Occasionally, we try to meet Daddy for lunch and when we ate at Chick-fil-la, or as Jacob calls it, "Chicken-yay" he got his first taste of milkshake. He loved it! Scott is disappointed, because now this means he has to share his treats!

And finally, we continued to have lots of fun with Kason and Nolan. The boys love to play outside, so we spent quite a bit of time out there. They love Fridays, because not only do they get to see the garbage and recycling trucks, but they also get to drag the recycling bins in!

They also spent hours in the sprinkler. Kason LOVES water and was happy to let Jacob spray him repeatedly. They also enjoyed playing in the water table and picking cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Jacob continues to love Baby Nolan! He likes to give him toys and hang out with him on the play mat! It's really sweet to watch and gives me hope that he'll like his little sister, too!