Busy Saturday!

Friday night we brought burgers home for dinner and Jack took mine right out of my hand! He loved it :)

Saturday we were very busy! Jeff's dad and brother were over helping add some storage space to our garage "attic" (we need somewhere to keep all Jack's outside toys over the winter) and also installing our new microwave!!!
Here's Jack checking out what's going on up there with all the pounding! He wanted to help too.

I made a big pile of leaves for Jack to jump in - but he wasn't too into the whole "jumping into leaves" thing.....

driving his car into the pile...

"mom get me out, I can't find my legs!!!"

Maybe next yeat he'll enjoy it more.

To finish the busy day Jack went over to Grandma and Grandpa B's for dinner - mom and dad needed to out for a nice quiet meal after all the hard work of the day!

Family Pictures

Yesterday afternoon we went down to Jeff's parents house to take family pictures. We got lots of good ones. Jack was as well-behaved as could be expected - we got a few smiles and then he was off and running!

Jack had a wonderful day playing with everyone :)

Here are a few...

Jack checking out the wind chimes (he loves wind chimes!)
Jack running crazy with Grandpa around the pond!

Jack with his cousins, Chase and Jillian

Is It Fall? ...or Christmas???

Yesterday we had a very busy day!

We started the morning with some car maintenance - oil change and a car wash! This was Jack's first car wash. He was quite apprehensive through it all, until he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, then he smiled. But before then we was very mervous/scared - his little legs were shaking. I'm sure he'll LOVE it next time!

Then we headed over the Fleet Farm for opening day of Toyland!!!! It was so much fun. We weren't there very long, and we only bought a cheap little plastic snow shovel for Jack - we were mostly looking for Christmas ideas for Jack. And we (and Jack) found a few good ones :)

Al's Run & Walk 2009 !

It was cloudy, it was windy, it was cold, and it even snowed (I saw two flurries after we got home this afternoon).... but we still had a wonderful time at Al's Run for the third year!!!

We got an early start by meeting over at B's at 7:45. And after loading the cars... food, stroller, dog, etc. we were off. Jeff dropped off me, Katie and Jack near the starting line and then went to park the car and take the shuttle with Will. That was soooo much easier than lugging Jack, stroller, and all our stuff on to a school bus !!!

We hung out with Auntie Katie and Cesar at the starting line while we waited for the rest of our team to arrive. We had some snacks, listened to the Marquette band and walked around. It was fun!

After our team was assembled we slowly made our way towards the starting line on Wisconsin Ave. We hung out and heard some music, saw some cheerleaders, had some more snacks and tried to stay warm!

And at 10:30 we were off and walking. We did the 3-mile route this year because it was so cold. (The weather had been more promising when we first arrived... but the sun soon disappeared and it failed to get warmer....)

Jack did great. He took a nice nap before the start - for over an hour in his stroller. I was very surprised the music, loud speaker, and just being around so many people didn't wake him up. But he was wrapped up all comfy cozy and warm. He woke up just before the start. While we were walking he just laid in the stroller all covered in blankets - poor guy couldn't come out because it was soooo cold.

After the walk we had a nice tailgate lunch back at the cars. It was delicous. We didn't hang out too much longer than it took to eat because of the weather. Oh well.... we'll hope for warmer temperatures next year.

We can't wait until October 9, 2010 for the 33rd Annual Al's Run & Walk - hope you can join us :) A huge thanks to everyone who walked with us and everyone who donated money! Over the past three years we've raised over $2,300 for the NICU in memory of Jonathan!

Playing with Auntie and Cesar

It was cold! We really had to bundle up.

This year's team t-shirt!

Just before we started walking - Jack was still asleep.

Some of our team walking ahead.

Apple Picking!

This morning we took Jack apple picking at Barthel Farm in Mequon, the same place we've picked strawberries the past few years.

It was a cool, damp, cloudy day (we had to get Jack's fall jacket out!) - but the picking was good! And there were quite a few other people picking as well.

We picked all different kinds of apples. Some just for eating, some just for baking, some for both, some we'd never even heard of before!

It was a lot of fun. Jack was really good the whole time. He helped pick and even put a few in the bag. He ate one or two also! He ran around the apple trees and looked at the pumpkins.

We came home with a "bushel" of apples - so as soon as we were in the door I started peeling and cutting! So far I've made two apple pies, an apple crisp, and a large pot of applesauce. That's all I could handle for one afternoon! But we still have tons of apples left so there will be more baking in the days to come.


Running around under the apple trees!
Dad found a good one to pick!
Picking with mom!
Look at that big pumpkin!
Eating an apple at the end of our adventure!

Jack's Horsey!

I got my rocking horse out for Jack this week. It's been buried in the basement and I thought he might be able to sit on it without tumbling off right away by now! He is still a little too small to make it rock much on his own - but he had fun. We'll keep it out in the basement for him for a while.

It's such a nice horse, it shouldn't be buried in storage :)

Home Improvements - Part 1, Complete!

Our new doors and woodwork are complete! Wow - that was fast :) It was a lot of work (by many hard-working people!) and a little messy, but it sure looks nice. We love it all. The doors are beautiful and so quiet. It really amazing to have doors that done creak everytime you touch them.

We still have to get the new living room window installed in a few weeks, but after that the living room is done and then it's on to the kitchen.... :)

Jack in the puddle!

When Jack sees water what must he do??? He must get wet!!!

On Sunday we were over at G&G B's for the day and Jack found a puddle on the driveway and just had to get rid of it - how would he get rid of it? By splashing all the water out of course!!! He was having a blast so I had to take some pictures. (And his shoes are still soaking wet 24 hours later...)

What a cutie!

Home Improvements have started!

This isn't really a "Jack Adventure"...but still exciting. This past weekend we painted the living room and hallway, and Jeff's parents were over helping to stain wood work and put up our new doors. As of now we have three door installed (all closets), all the painting is done, and I've done some new decorating. There is still a lot to do - 4 doors, all the trim, baseboards, and touchup painting... but it's coming along really well and a lot faster than we originally expected.

New paint - it looks more green here, but it's really more brown.

New decor for the living room! I was very ready for a change and I think it turned out great.

Jack's very first sleepover!

This past Friday night Jack spent his first night away from home. He stayed at Grandma & Grandpa B's so mom and dad could paint the living room and hallway - and get it done all at once, and actually do it together, instead of taking turns painting, and this way there were no paint mishaps caused by Jack! I was so sad to leave him and missed him all night. But I knew he was having much more fun playing with G&G than being around a painting mess!

And we got a lot done here at home - and slept really well!

Jack does not travel light!
Jack's in the car and ready to go!

Jack & Grandpa waving bye to mom!