Fall in the Commonwealth

How is it already close to the end of November?  I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is around the corner.  Our little Jakob isn't so little anymore...and Jeffery...well...he becomes a more spirited and confident Viking Toddler by the day.  It is exhausting keeping up with both of my boys but SOOOO wonderful!

Jakob is full of smiles and coos these days.  He is starting to really become more alert and responsive.  And...he LOVES watching his bigger brother.  While Jeffery is my monkey.....Jakob is my bear.  He is a snuggly little baby (Hallelujah!!) and only cries for 1 of 3 reasons: 1) he is fighting sleep, 2) he wants people to be near him, 3) he is hungry.  He is such a quiet baby that you are apt to forget he's even in the house.  But when he comes out of his hibernation with an empty stomach...he is sure to remind you of his presence!  :)

Enjoying his quilt from Aunt Vicki Harris

Not a huge fan of Tummy Time -- surprise, surprise!

Found his niche for naptime

Cuddling with daddy

The tradition continues.  I wore this shirt when I was a baby, Jeffery wore it, and now Jakob!

The Stig wearing his Stig Onesie!!!  LOVE!!!!!!!

Brothers!!!!

We've had a beautiful...if rather late...fall here in the commonwealth.  And as we head into the final week of November, many of the trees outside my window have lost their leaves.  (With our property...almost a 1/2 acre...incorporating MANY large oak trees, you can't imagine the amount of leaves we have.  It is constantly raining leaves.)  But the last part of October and first of November were just stunning.  It has even been pretty chilly (a couple nights with lows in the 20s) so we were able to have our first fire in the new home.  LOVE!!!!!

First fire in the new home

And of course....there was Halloween.  I was a horrid mother last year and simply forgot about the holiday and Jeffery ended up without a costume.  It didn't matter much as we had church choir practice that night and he was only 15 months old.  But I wasn't going to allow such a travesty to occur this year.  He had his choice of a monkey or a cow costume and he chose the cow!  He made quite an adorable cow, if I do say so myself.

Moooo to you!

Jakob was a Lobster...a costume that some friends bequeathed to us and he was awfully cute...though he slept most of the night.  

My Virginia Lobster

We took the boys to about 5 houses around our neighborhood and let me tell you....our subdivision knows how to do Halloween!  At our old house across the river, we were lucky to get one or two trick-or-treaters.  But here....the families were out in droves starting at about 6:30pm.  Everyone was walking with lanterns (there aren't any streetlights in our neighborhood = VERY dark) and some people waited for the kids outside in front of huge bonfires.  It was FANTASTIC!

Everyone got in on the Halloween fun!  :)

We then went over to our friends' house...where Jeffery ran amok.  (Note to self: one bite size chocolate bar sends Jeffery overboard!  Good grief!!)

Jeffery the monkey, dressed up as a cow, holding a fox, at the Fox's house

Jeffery and Daddy then gave us a VERY entertaining recital of some Nat King Cole Songs.

Duet time

I kid you not.  Click on this link and play the video (make sure your sound is turned up).  I laughed so hard my sides hurt.  Jeffery was VERY into his music making with daddy.  I sent this to my parents and they said they played it about a dozen times that morning.  And who wouldn't?!!!!  It was a wonderful Halloween.

That following weekend, we joined our friends, the Fox family, for an afternoon at Maymont Park....my favorite spot in the city.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and Maymont was showing off her fall beauty!  Jeffery didn't care about fall foliage.  He just wanted to chase after his friends.  He certainly got the wiggles out that day!

Attack!  Attack!

Japanese Maple in the Japanese Garden

Jeffery and Daddy walking in the fall beauty

The Womping Willow :)

Courtesy of Miss T. Fox :)

Jeffery and Daddy watching the clouds overhead

And before we knew it....our little Jakob Becket was turning 2 months old!  Ahhhhh!  How can time be flying by soooo quickly?!!!

2 months old!

The traditional cupcakes

He is such a sweet little boy and we are so lucky he is here.  Is he sleeping through the night yet?  No.  He has given me 2 nights with a 6 hour stretch between the start of feedings but normally it is 3-4 hours.  Yawn!  But even still, I adore my little Jakob bear.

So, Thanksgiving is next week and then we get busy busy busy with concerts and holiday festivities.  It is my favorite time of year...made even better by the knowledge that our trip to AZ after Christmas is getting closer and closer.  Woooo-hooo!!!!  Although, I'm already praying for strength and patience...for both Dave and I and the passengers on the airplanes.  A 2.5 year old viking toddler, a 3.5 month old baby and 2 adults wrangling them....God help us all!!!  :)