Random October Musings...

Can you believe it is October already?? I seriously cannot. When did all those months fly by? Is my baby really 7 1/2 months old already? I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Seriously, time flies like CRAZY once you have kids. I'm pretty sure it's because they grow like crazy. It's hard to keep up... and sad that you always feel like you miss so much - even if you're always there and paying attention.

My baby Jolie can CLAP! Not sure if this is technically a milestone, but I'm still so proud. So is she. I'm pretty sure the first day she did it was October 1st. Here's a picture to prove it:

Notice the fact that she just might be getting hair now! Another milestone?? ;) And below, she is grinning at James- her favorite person in the whole, wide world. Really, she loves him so much.
Here's another clapping picture, this time when she was dressed and ready for the day. I actually took a whole bunch of pictures on this day (last Friday, I believe it was). It was just a lazy day... love those.

And here is a series of pictures I will now title "How To Get Fabulous Pictures of Your Children"... aka: "How Hard It Is To Get Kids to Cooperate for Pics." :)

1. Both kids are barely in frame... I'm pretty sure it was James who would not stay put.
2. Hey, everyone look at James' feet! Yes- perfect! :/
3. No, I said SMILE, James, not ROAR! (Side note: Jolie totally growls/roars like a dinosaur with/at James. It's their communication, apparently. It's pretty adorable, albeit not-so-ladylike.)
4. Okay. Good enough.

Here's another of my pretty girl... blow this one up to see it better. She's got such pretty eyelashes, such feminine features. Don't you just want to eat her up? I really do. Mmm... those cheeks!
Later that day, Daddy came home. He wanted to nap, but both kids just wanted to jump on him. I think they were supposed to be snuggling, but mostly they were just playing on Daddy. (Hop on Pop, anyone?) Check out this pair of photos... Watch Jolie.

Before...

After!

Funny, huh? Poor James. Good thing he totally deserves it! He pesters her all the time... lovingly, mostly. It's only fair that she occasionally returns the favor. :)

And in case you didn't get your fill of videos from the last post, here are two more. This one is of Jolie clapping for the first time (well, as soon after I witnessed it - after the time it took to snag the camera and shoot). Disregard the awful lighting and crazy shadows. The front door was wide open, letting in some warm, wonderful sunshine. Unfortunately, my camera didn't know how to "read" it... making it appear super dark and weird. Still- she's cute. So enjoy!

And this last one is of the crazy kids we do Preschool with. A handful of moms in my neighborhood (on my street, really) got together and decided to teach a basic intro-to-academics kind of preschool to our kiddos. We trade off every week, thus having to teach only about once a month- though the kids get school twice a week. James is LOVING it! This last week, I taught for the first time. It turned out really great, actually. (I was nervous.) The kids are really well-behaved, sweet kids. I think that contributes hugely to the success we've had so far.

This video is one I ran to record after observing their crazy, kid-directed game (we were in transition from snacks to washing hands to waiting in the living room... apparently they got bored and invented some fun). :) It was especially enchanting to me because I hadn't realized that kids this age were old enough to invent activities all on their own like this. I love the creativity that James (and his peers, it seems) is developing lately. Love, love, love.

Anyway, here's the video:

It's been a great October so far... and it's only the fourth! We had a busy, enjoyable weekend just barely- full of General Conference that is always so peaceful and sweet and harvesting/canning out at Jon and Ashley's (aka: Julie's) place. Canning in and of itself isn't the bomb shiznat, but the results sure are! Mmm... Homegrown and handmade really do take the cake. Or, er, jam. :)

Okay. Derek is home from class, and I need to get moving to get ready for work tonight... so I'm gonna jet. But hooray for October... bring on the fun!