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In his thirty-sixth month, Jonas is: still saying the darnedest things (“It’s okay, Mommy…be brave…it’s time to be brave” and “Mommy, what would be a good way for me to keep you in my room?”); taking a break from potty training; skipping out on his afternoon nap more often than not (although most of the time, when Mommy builds him a good “nest” on the floor with all of his pillows, blankets, and stuffed animal friends, he can’t resist a good long snooze); starting to spend a little more time enjoying playing with Xander instead of trying, in so many not so nice and at times downright mean big brother ways, to keep Xander from getting into all of “his” toys; getting really good at riding his tricycle downhill AND uphill; and delighting in Dr. Seuss books.

Halloween night in our neighborhood is so much fun…it’s a big costume street party. Jonas dressed up as Batman, Tom as Robin, Xander as Superman, and I as Lois Lane.

The boys were so excited to be outside as the sun was going down and as the moon was coming up…especially Xander. He kept running down the sidewalk towards the moon, cape flaring behind him, pointing his finger, and excitedly saying, “Moo, moo!”.

Jonas was an old pro with the trick or treating, saying “Trick or treat” and “Thank you”. And Xander picked it up really quickly…muscling his way up to the door, holding out his pumpkin bucket, and saying “Ticka, Ticka”.

As the night turned colder and darker, Xander went back to the house with Daddy to help pass out candy before tucking into bed, and Jonas stayed out with Mommy to trick or treat the houses of a few more friends before coming home to cozy up in warm pajamas and covers for a good night’s sleep.

Here are a few pictures taken on the beautiful fall morning we spent with MeMe and Papa at their new home, sharing a delicious breakfast and going for a leisurely walk together along the creek.

We all enjoyed spending a cool fall morning, walking around downtown Franklin, for Pumpkinfest…the boys loved trick or treating the arts and crafts vendors, jumping in the inflatables, and petting the animals at the petting zoo.

The boys and I had so much fun at our neighborhood mom’s club Halloween Party today. This picture makes my heart smile and well up with thankfulness for the community that we are privileged to be a part of here. What precious children (and mommies)!!!

Jonas had a really fun week this week at preschool…

On Tuesday, at PumpkinFest…he got to go outside and rotate to different stations (face painting/tatoos, arts and crafts, storytime, pumpkin painting, snacks, and games) with his classmates and teachers. He had a blast (and I did too…I volunteered at the snack station and enjoyed watching my little man in his preschool element).

On Thursday, at the Halloween Parade…he got to wear his costume, walk through the parish hall hand in hand with his precious classmates (much to the delight of all of the picture-taking parents), and go trick or treating in the administrative offices. Here he is as Batman and with his sweet little class.

Here are a few pictures of Jonas and Xander with Harriet the Hamster (Jonas’ class pet that we had fun taking care of over Fall Break).

Here’s a picture of our sweet growing baby at 19 weeks…

The boys and I drove out to Pratt’s Orchard this morning for an apple picking adventure…

Farmer Pratt was kindly welcoming and instructed us to walk to the tenth row of fruit trees (past the peaches and most of the other varieties of apples that had already been picked) to the Arkansas Reds. It was so sweet to walk up and down the rows of apple trees with the boys, enjoying the peaceful quiet, the soft morning light, the warmth of the sun, and the coolness of the breeze. They absolutely loved picking apples, delighted to find that most were right within reach, and piling them into the basket. (I ended up only picking a handful because they were having so much fun doing it themselves.) We all enjoyed the taste of a farm fresh apple on the way home and look forward to making MeMe’s apple crisp this afternoon. Yay for pick your own farms, yay for little people to enjoy the adventure with, and yay for fall!!!

Tom and I took the boys to the pumpkin farm this week, and they LOVED it…riding the train, saying hello to the farm animals (Xander puckered up and cried when the baby cows mooed at him…bless his heart), picking out pumpkins, sitting on the tractor, checking out the well, inspecting the sunflower and cotton blooms, etc.

So, I visited my favorite blog, “Fun & Engaging Activities for Toddlers” (http://engagingtoddleractivities.wordpress.com/), over the weekend and saw the cutest fall activity ideas. Here’s one that Jonas and Xander had a lot of fun working on…

Jonas had a BLAST using watercolors to paint the little wooden cars that Grandma Jackie bought for a fun craft (Xander did too…he was just more interested in trying to put his hands in the little container of water/getting the watercolor palette out of the tray…haha.)

Tom took this picture of Xan-Man and I at the park last week…it makes me happy.

At thirty-five months, Jonas is: enjoying choosing books from the shelf at the library each week (he surprised the librarian by going to the shelf and finding Dr. Seuss’ “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” to match the bookmark he gave him at checkout); flooring us with a crazy amount of pre-reading skills (identifying books by name on and off the bookshelf, reciting entire books from memory, etc.); drawing his first few letters (“I”, “O”, and “T”); loving music class; learning how to share his space, his toys, and his heart with his little brother (a life-long lesson in progress); and showing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s leadings by saying the most precious prayers for family and friends who are on his heart each night before bed.

We are delighted to announce that we are expecting the arrival of our third child on (or around) March 12, 2012!!!

My dear husband, so full of surprises, surprised me with a trip to Grand Cayman!!! We had a wonderful, relaxing time and are so grateful and indebted to Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Phil for taking such good care of the boys for us at home while we were away.

In his thirty-fourth month, Jonas is: coming up with more one liners every day (one of my recent favorites is “Look, Pooh Bear and Waggles are pretending to be a V”); entering what seems to be a pre three year old phase (fussy, demanding, particular, not easily satisfied, etc.); taking his plate to the sink after meals; dressing and undressing himself like a champ; still skipping out on his afternoon nap more times than not; and having a blast at preschool.

So, here’s my baby…my big boy…on his first day of preschool. We made it through with tears in the beginning and smiles in the end.

Jonas will be starting preschool next week!!! Unbelievable. He met his teachers, saw his classroom, and hung out with his classmates at Get Acquainted Day (an hour visit with Mommy and Daddy) this week. He took to it all surprisingly well (me on the other hand…I was as nervous as I would be on my first day of school).

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a simple dream…a vegetable, herb, and flower garden. So, my dear husband is building me a raised bed in the backyard!!! Yay!!! I am VERY excited and the boys are too…they both love tootling around, checking things out, and pitching in to help pull things together. I can’t wait to see how much they’re going to enjoy the finished product.