Sky Top Orchard

This weekend we took our annual family trip to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock. Despite the cold weather and big crowd, we still had a great time. We started off with a hay ride around the orchard and then visited the goats, sheep, and ducks. Jacob loved running through the bamboo forest and playing with Daddy on the playground while I stood in line for fresh, hot pumpkin doughnuts! We packed a picnic for lunch, but decided we were too cold and ate in the car on the way home. It was a sweet morning together, just the three of us. I'm feeling really sentimental about these last outings together before Baby Sister arrives. I'm coming up on 38 weeks, so it won't be long now!

During the past couple of weeks we've been keeping busy and enjoying Fall! Jacob picked out his "punkin" and is really excited about it. He's also decided his favorite chore is to help rake leaves. However, his version of raking leaves includes very little raking and lots of jumping in, kicking, and throwing leaves instead. He constantly brings me armfuls of dead leaves and says, "These for you, Mommy. They're from Ingles." He also really likes to wear his Halloween bucket on his head and pretend to be a Fireman. I'm crossing my fingers he'll agree to wear his Halloween costume when the time comes. So far, he likes to play with it, but refuses to put it on.

I was finally able to snap a few un-blurry pictures of Jacob and Kason where both actually have genuine smiles! They were busy "talking" and "texting" (or as Jacob says, "taking a text") on their phones.

This picture was taken about a year ago in the same chair. Its crazy to see how much these little guys have changed and grown. They really have gone from babies to boys!

Jacob had his flu-mist last week and was such a big boy at his appointment. He hasn't been to his Doctor's office since his two year appointment in May, which was a complete disaster. Last time he started panicking as soon as we walked in the door, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but he did great. We talked about it a lot beforehand, and I think that helped. Its really amazing how much he understands now compared to 6 months ago. Recently, he watched Scott and I get TDap shots. Afterwards, he said, "Mommy and Daddy be brave." I asked him if he was going to be brave when he got his flu shot, and he said, "No. I going to cry." While he did cry some, it was not nearly as dramatic as it could have been. I told him he could pick a place to get a treat afterwards, and he chose Rita's. However, when we pulled up in the parking lot we found out Rita's had closed and was completely gone! I'm sure you can imagine how well that went over with him! Luckily, "Chick-a-lay" was nearby, and after a milkshake all was forgiven and right with the world again!



Last Thursday, Scott's office had a little baby shower for us during lunch. It was so kind of them and fun to celebrate Baby Sister with his co-workers. Jacob was really excited to go to Daddy's work and entertained everyone by singing, "Boy on the Bus" about 30 times! His favorite part of lunch was the cupcake, of course!

I absolutely love this picture of Jacob and his best friend, Monkey. Lately, he's been giving Monkey bottles, changing his diaper, putting him down for naps, and putting him in time-out for jumping on the furniture. He's taking Big Brother preparations very seriously!

Jacob has always loved books and being read to, but this past week he has started "reading" to himself and to us. It is the cutest thing ever! He's memorized parts of his favorite books and "reads" with lots of inflection and emphasis! I've tried to catch it on video, but no luck yet! Right now, Boy on the Bus is his favorite. He also really likes Baby Beluga, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Is  Your Mama a Llama? (we have no shortage of llama literature), Curious George Goes to the Restaruant, and Baby Brother. As a former English teacher, and book lover myself, it makes me so happy to see him enjoying reading!