Our little pumpkin patch

Well the flurry of October activities is over and I have to say I'm not sad to usher in a (hopefully) quieter November. October was just very busy for us, which was good in many ways because it flew right past. We enjoyed many fall outings and all things pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin seeds, growing our own little pumpkin patch. Well, we didn't grow actual pumpkins but did have two of the cutest pumpkins around (biased! biased!)
We took the boys trick or treating last night and things went quite smoothly. This is the first year that Will understood Halloween and all its glory. We prepped him that the uber-useful "trick or treat" combined with a winning smile will net extra candy and he picked that up right away. He remembered his manners for a while but as the night wore on, and the excitement grew and grew, it became almost too much for him. He was on a sugar high without having actually eaten any sugar. :)
It got to the point that he was running as fast as he could from house to house, screaming "trick or treat" as soon as he set foot in the yard. No need to wait until he's at the door! Once he even forgot his trick or treat manners all together and just screamed "candy! candy!" as he went barreling up the driveway. It was quite entertaining! Needless to say I was not surprised when he asked if he could go trick or treating again "next day", which is Will speak for tomorrow.




Archer also tagged along for the trick or treating. But his lack of teeth and inability to hold on to anything for more than 15 seconds meant that he had to skip the candy. I was hoping we'd get extra while we paraded around our cute baby, but sadly, no one took me up on that. I'll have to rethink my strategy in the future. Anyway, Archer made an adorable pumpkin and just chilled in Dad's arms while we made the rounds. I think all the excitement did wear on him though; he was one tired little pumpkin by the end of the night.


On Friday we got to go to Will's school for the Halloween costume parade. All the kids paraded around the school in their costumes and then sang Halloween songs in the classroom. It was very cute. I'm not sure how long they've been working on the actual songs though because none of the kids seemed to know the words. There was a kind of low mumble throughout most of the songs; only Miss Sue could really be heard singing. Luckily she can carry a tune!

Rolling right along

What an exciting weekend! Keith came home on Thursday after finishing Shooter school in New Jersey. We're glad to have him back, if only for a few weeks. I told Will that Keith was coming back and he asked if Daddy was going to "wake up me" after nap. :) As a matter of fact that's just how it turned out. Will was so excited to see his Dad. I think Archer even remembered Keith too!


Archer decided to get on the move this weekend by rolling over for the first time. But he didn't do it the normal way, which is front to back. Instead he started rolling from his back to his front. Normally this would be great but since he can't roll front to back yet, he gets stuck on his stomach and is less than enthusiastic about it! I guess we need more tummy time so he can learn to roll the other way as well. Then he'll be rolling all over the house. Watch out, cats, there will be 2 little ones on the loose! Archer's also been smiling and laughing a lot more. He has the funniest "sideways" smile...it isn't always a full smile but tends to raise up more on one side (although the sideways smile eludes the camera!). I'm a tad partial but it's pretty cute. :) And I love his little laugh...it isn't a giggle like you'd expect from a baby. It's more of an old man "huh-huh-huh", kind of deep and throaty. Kind of Grandpa Rick-like. I guess it's in his genes. I wonder if he'll always have that laugh? As you can see, Archer has also been brushing up on his reading skills. I expect him to conquer Moby Dick any day now.



We've been having fall fun galore over here these past few weeks. I took the boys to Hunt Club Farm, where Will played in the giant straw pile and "drove" the antique tractor. He thought that was pretty cool. Will painted some pumpkins last week while Archer and I looked on and admired his Picasso-like skills. Then this weekend Keith and Will carved a pumpkin. Will was all about scooping out the insides of the pumpkin and did a good job separating the seeds from the rest of the mess. He even liked the roasted pumpkin seeds (what's not to like?).

We're gearing up for Halloween this coming weekend. Well, right after the Chesapeake Wine Festival on Saturday. First things first. Check back for pictures from Halloween!

And counting...

Well Archer turned 3 months old this week and I can hardly believe it. In most ways it has flown right past. I realize I really took these days for granted with Will. I didn't know how quickly it would go. But this time I'm trying to slow down and enjoy each moment. That is, until both kids are crying at the same time, begging for my attention, and I need an extra set of hands. Then I want these days to just fly right by! Archer continues to grow and grow. By our home weigh-ins, he is already over 13 pounds. At this rate he'll double his birth weight soon. He's not sleeping all the way through the night yet but he does go for 6 or 7 hours at a time, which is great for me. He continues to get stronger every day and likes to practice lifting himself up in mini-pushup style on the floor. He's also spending plenty of time in the Bumbo chair, preparing for real sitting down the line. He's such an agreeable baby. I just can't complain.

We spent the past weekend in DC with Keith, Aunt Jill, and Matt. Keith drove down from New Jersey and we visited the Air & Space Museum (not as fun as we had anticipated due to Will's rotten attitude that day) and Cox Farms in Centreville, VA. The farm was amazing! They had a ton of huge slides for the kids (and fun loving adults!), a corn maze, a hayrack ride, apples, cider, and plenty of pumpkins. Note the giant prize-winning pumpkin. We can guarantee Will will never reach that weight! We had a great time soaking in the fall atmosphere, even though it was 80 degrees. Come on, fall temps, let's go! I'm so tired of warm weather.


We drove back home on Monday and resumed life as usual. Keith will be home from training in a few weeks. We're still waiting to hear what his final deployment schedule will look like. I'll keep everyone posted when (if) we ever figure it out!

On the up and up

I've been putting Archer to work on his tummy quite a bit lately. Tummy time is hardly relaxing as he tries to lift that big old head off the ground. He's doing pretty well with it! He seems to have a pretty big melon, as he's already outgrown a bunch of hats, so I don't doubt that it's hard to hold that thing up for very long! (Perhaps I should be glad for the c-section!) He's also started squirming so much while on his tummy that he'll shimmy all the way to the edge of his blanket. He kind of drags his face while he does it so it can't feel very good! I guess he's got places to go; just can't hang out in one spot very long. I don't doubt that once he becomes mobile, he'll be a mover and a shaker just like his big brother. Then I'll really have my hands full!

Will has become really helpful with Archer in the last few weeks. He loves to show Archer his toys and "share" them. Will is also very interested in Archer's baby toys. Who knew a rattle could be so exciting to a 3 year old! In fact, yesterday Will was jealous that Archer got a new rattle so Will shoved the rattle in his pocket and ran off so that Archer couldn't play with it. Aaah, brotherly love. It's so refreshing! I'm glad Archer isn't yet old enough to realize what's going on. Now where did I put that book on sharing...

We're heading up to DC to meet Keith this weekend. It's the halfway point between home and Lakehurst, NJ. We plan to hit the Air & Space Museum and maybe Natural History as well. That's our favorite. Pictures to follow!

Beach weekend

We spent the last weekend of September enjoying the sun and surf at the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival. It was pretty cool. There are a ton of activities but the main attraction is the sand sculpting competition. It's pretty impressive what these guys and gals can do with sand. Somehow I managed not to get any pics of the actual sand sculptures (oops!) so you'll just have to take my word as far as their impressiveness. :) Will did enjoy making his own creations in the sand. I wouldn't say they were quite Neptune Festival quality but he gets an A for effort!

We enjoyed some time with Aunt Jill and Matt as well. The boys always get the royal treatment when Jill and Matt come to town and this was no exception. Will rode carnival rides, got an awesome monster truck tattoo (if that's not a sign of living in Chesapeake, I don't know what is!), and even met Scooby Doo. Archer just took it all in and, as you can see, zonked out halfway through our fun. I guess he wasn't in the mood to party that day. :)

Speaking of Archer, he continues to grow and change every day. He's recently taken an interest in Will. Every time Archer hears his big brother's voice, he'll stop and listen (and I don't think he's wondering when he'll get hit over the head next!). It's actually very sweet to see them interact. Will is slowly getting more gentle and enjoys entertaining Archer. Aunt Jill brought Archer an awesome "Future President" onesie. If that's not putting on the pressure, I don't know what is! Maybe he can just be the future Class President or something like that.

Keith leaves Sunday to go to Shooter School and get training for his next job as a Shooter on board the USS Truman. Once he returns, he'll spend a few weeks at home before deploying in early November. I'm sure I'll have more to report on that front as we go.

Before my eyes

Well it seems the boys are growing up right before my eyes. I can't believe Archer is already 2 months old! Where did the time go? At his 2 month check-up yesterday, he weighed in at 11 pounds, 14 ounces (around the 65th percentile) and was 23 inches long (55th percentile). He's getting so big. He's really been "talking" up a storm. He'll stare at me (or Keith) and just "ooh" and "aah" nonstop for a few minutes. He's very engaging. His neck control continues to improve and he's almost doing mini-pushups during tummy time. It won't be long and he'll be mobile so I think I'll enjoy this time while I can!

Will went back to school this week. It's hard to believe he's in the 3 year old class already. He seems so grown up when he straps on his backpack, grabs his lunchbox and heads for the door! We've only had one bad morning so far, when he didn't want to go to school and cried the whole way there. Apparently playing with his trucks at home was more exciting! His teachers, Miss Sue and Miss Jennifer, both seem lovely. Many of Will's classmates from last year are in his class again, which is always fun, but he'll also get a chance to meet new friends. There are quite a few boys in his class too, which I love since most of his friends are girls. We need to balance all those Barbies with some rough and tumble boys! I'm sure I'll regret saying that when he comes home wanting to wrestle again this year. :) So far Archer and I are really enjoying our mornings together. I'm much more productive and Archer actually gets to nap in his crib instead of the car seat. It's a win win!

Labor Day fun

We had a very exciting Labor Day weekend, as both Keith and our good friend Kristin Manning ("Auntie" Kristin) flew in on Friday night. Yay! Finally some adult conversation! The boys were both SO excited to see Keith; Will had started asking where he was about a week before he came home so it was nice to finally say that he was coming home. Archer saved a bunch of smiles for his dad and even started giggling over the weekend. He laughs at Keith's funny faces. So sweet! We got spoiled with Keith actually being home over the summer (a benefit of cancer? only in the military) so it was hard to have him gone for a few weeks. At least Keith was able to see some good friends while in San Diego.

Kristin's visits are always a blast. Will loves Miss Kristin (and her counterpart Mr. Brian, although he wasn't with her this time). Not only does Kristin send the best gifts, she knows just how to spoil a 3 year old. It was great! Archer took a liking to her as well so we know she's a keeper. :) Kristin and I enjoyed a lot of girl time, as she was nice enough to help me shop, and shop, and shop for a new living room rug. No success was found but we managed to spend a lot of time looking. We also got away for afternoon tea and a night on the town (although we were still home by 10pm so that's definitely a sign of our age...) We capped it off with a trip to the aquarium. Will had been asking to go pet the stingrays (they have a tank full and you can sometimes get ahold of one). So we spent 20 minutes or so at the stingray tank...unfortunately, every time one got close enough for Will to touch, he got scared and withdrew his hand. Oh well! Next time! Thanks Kristin for an awesome visit; see you soon!