Recap...

Halloween went great! Thanks to mom for helping me come up with a costume for Jacob. It was hard to come up with an idea because it has to be something he would willingly wear on his head (or that didn't have a head piece). And, it also had to be something that we could make warm, since you never know what kind of weather we will have up here. Luckily, the jersey came in in the nick of time (the DAY before Halloween) and I was able to have it personalized on Halloween in an hour and half at the Trophy Trolley - who charged half of what they wanted to charge on the internet - score! Talk about last minute... maybe next year we can figure things out sooner. We ended up doing the downtown thing, then dinner and the neighborhood thing. Jacob was really good about saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thanks"... it was adorable. He also carried around his hockey stick and pumpkin the whole time all by himself and even used his hockey stick to knock on doors! There were two events that were a little too scary that Jacob decided their candy just wasn't worth it, but luckily we didn't have any bad dreams that night! This was my first time doing the neighborhood thing since I was a kid and I discovered quickly why the men often "volunteer" to take the kids around and "let" the moms stay back and pass out candy... we were offered 'adult' beverages! I don't know if it is like that everywhere though... maybe Jason and Janet just have really friendly neighbors! The highlight of the night though was when we all happened to be looking up at the stars when the brightest shooting star streaked across the sky. It took our breath away and the tail seemed to stay in the sky for about 2 mins afterwards... we all stood there in disbelief!

Debby and baby Robert came to visit us Monday through Thursday and it was so fun to visit. Monday evening we took the kids to Olive Garden and boy was that an experience. 3 adults + 3 kids= table for 12 in a private room... not sure what was up with that. The meal was like a scene from a movie... at one point Aaron was chasing Jacob around the room and under the table and at another point (after Aaron had already taken Jacob to the car), Debby and I are laughing hysterically trying to soothe two screaming babies. Then, the entire 30 min ride home Robert was crying hard and Jacob was having a ball imitating him. Again, with Debby and I laughing so hard in the front just at the complete chaos of the situation... oh, how things have changed :) Tuesday we went on a little scenic tour around the sleeping bear dunes. Poor Robert was such a trooper, despite trying to tell us he hates scenic tours! It was a beautiful day and unfortunately, I forgot my camera - check out Debby's blog for pics! Wednesday we went over to moms for lunch and a visit with my aunt and Lisa and the boys. It was a fun visit with lots of phase 10, snacks and laughter and tears - (mostly from the boys - :).

Brody News:
I took Brody to the doctor on the 30th to have his cradle cap checked out. Thankfully, the doctor gave us a prescription for an ointment and an antibiotic (folliculitis) which has made drastic improvements for his poor little (big) head. He weighed 20lbs 3oz, but he was fully dressed.

Brody is cutting his top two teeth and boy does it look painful :( Tylenol and Orajel seem to help most of the time. Unfortunately, Brody has also started biting. While nursing. It's only happened three times (three times too many), so we'll see. Brody might be weaning sooner than we thought!

Despite the teething, we continue to hear "Is he that happy all of the time?" And yes, he really is a happy guy most of the time, unless hungry or tired. Although, he is becoming much more difficult- err, normal, in that he prefers to be held (as opposed to sitting and playing by himself) and he doesn't like it when you walk out of the room/turn your back on him. Maybe he is just trying to tell me "Mom? You aren't really going to leave me alone with this toddler, right?" The second most popular question we hear all.the.time with Brody... Where does he get that red hair from?!?! Jury is still out on that one.

Jacob News:
Not too much new with Jacob. We had one bad week in October with Potty Training and now he is doing awesome. Besides a nap accident here and there, he is a champ. I took him to an open gym at a local gymnastics place that I thought he would love since he loves to tear my living room apart and jump around on everything. It didn't go so well. He played with a shopping cart the entire time and had NO interest in any of the cool gymnastics beams, bars and tramps. Which has now resulted in a shopping cart being placed on his Christmas list, which Aaron is just thrilled about :)

Aaron and I:
We enjoyed a date last night! First dinner at Outback with Adam and Danielle. It was very peaceful and we enjoyed the adult conversation, although it always ends up coming back to the kids! Then we did a little Christmas shopping at TRU. Brody is now done and Jacob will find a shopping cart under the tree... Shhhhh! The BEST part of the night was that Jacob did not cry when we left. It is always hard for me to enjoy myself when the last image I have of my child is him terribly upset. I think (hope) we have finally turned that corner... just in time for Brody to start having attachment issues! At least Brody will have Jacob with him though. So maybe it is time to try the church nursery again?!