Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

I cleaned some photos off the camera today from the last few weeks. I had sort of forgotten about some of these. But also included are a few shots of a cute pumpkin patch excursion, Halloween costumes, and some quality time with Nana. Judah wearing his new Halloween shirt. Bob the builder! Or maybe just a random construction worker. Whatever you call him, he's awfully cute. Pumpkin patch! Sometimes when he won't look at the camera, I'll ask him where his eyes are. This is why he is pointing at his eye. Honestly, I didn't do this on purpose, but I love the lens flare on this one. Judah and Nana made biscuits together one day a few weeks ago. I'm glad Judah is learning the art of the biscuit early.

I've actually managed to do a bit of sewing/crafting in the last week. At this point, short and straightforward is the way to go. Even though I sort of wanted to do a somewhat elaborate Halloween costume this year, I realized that Judah has enjoyed the yellow hard hat he got from his gramma and likes all things construction/machinery related. So I quickly sewed up this handy little tool belt. We'll put it on with some overalls and a shirt we already have, and he will become a very cute Bob the builder/construction worker. Easy. Last year I bought a canvas tote to decorate as a trick or treat bag, but never got around to it. I couldn't decide how to decorate it, so I just did two easy things, one on each side. A few friends and I got together for a very fun craft night a few weeks ago. We made burlap wreaths using this tutorial . Except for the part where I managed to slice my thumb open while cutting open some refreshments (lesson learned: cut away from yourself...

Apparently, when I'm working, Jeff takes Judah to some fun places. Like the train yard. When they went the other day Judah got to watch them putting a bunch of train cars together. He was a big fan. I'm not sure why I don't ever think of going there, but maybe I should....

It was a long busy work week, but here is a brief video of Judah counting. It's a little funny because he was actually counting the five oranges that the hungry caterpillar eats. When he counts to ten, he says this: "one, two, three, four, six, seven, NINE!"  

I remember so well how during my last pregnancy, I was not going to complain. After waiting and praying for a long time to finally be pregnant, I was not going to mind the nausea, the heartburn, or whatever other aches and pains came my way. And so I didn't. This pregnancy has been different. Of course, I'm two years older now which I know makes a difference. Plus I'm chasing around an energetic two year old. (Although I'm working less than I was then, so I'm not really sure how that evens out.) But this has overall been a tougher pregnancy for me. Maybe it's just my attitude. This was a completely unexpected pregnancy, one that surprised us after we were well on our way to expanding our family by adoption. Since we weren't exactly looking for it, it is easier to forget what a blessing pregnancy is. And so I find myself grumbling, grumbling about the nausea that seemed worse this time, the pelvic pain and low back pain that makes walking painful, the he...

We just had a wonderful week with Jeff's parents. Judah warmed up to his "Amma" and "Appa" right away. We spent the week renting a lake house up on Lake Keowee which was delightful. Judah had been talking all week about playing trains with "amma" and "Appa". They were both happy to oblige. Judah also loved playing "worsey" (horsey) on Granpa's leg. We got lots of time on the boat. We had a couple of cloudy days and one very rainy day, but it was still warm enough to ski and swim. Even Dad got up on the skis. And had a few falls. It is sort of crazy to think that the next time we see them, there will be a new member of our family!

 Jeff found out about this tiny park with an awesome view of downtown. I can't remember the name. He also found another cool park right on the water where we could watch the sunset.  One night we added another baseball stadium to our lifetime list.  We ended up getting really great seats. One of the coolest things was watching the roof cover us when it started sprinkling. I've never been in a stadium with a retractable roof.

We really managed to cram a LOT of activities into our time in Seattle. here are my favorite shots from the hike we did outside the city. We first tried to go hike around a lake, but apparently they were doing work on the lake and it was mostly drained. We looked for something else to do on the smart phone and found what was called "an easy hike" not to far away. We haven't done much hiking, so it didn't feel easy to us. But the view at the top was awesome, and the forest we hiked through reminded me of the planet where the ewoks lived in Star Wars. Fun times.

Judah has gotten to a fun stage where he really enjoys helping. He has started to help me unload the dishwasher and pick up his toys. But his favorite chore is feeding the dog. I love watching him scoop the dog food out so carefully, carry it to the bowl, and slowly dump it in. He is quite diligent about not spilling any. It's adorable.

I know I posted some of my iPhone photos of our trip, but as I was editing I came across some other good ones. We really had a wonderful time. It was nice getting away, especially since things are going to change a lot around here in the next few months. The first day we woke up reaallly early (thank you, 3 hour time change!) and were actually out of our hotel before 7. I figured that since Pike's place market is sort of like a farmer's market, it would open early. I was mistaken. It doesn't open until 9.  Thankfully, the original Starbuck's does open early, so we stopped there before the crowd arrived.  Then we walked down by the water and took a ferry over to Bainbridge Island before coming back to town where we could then enjoy the market. The ferry was probably was of the most fun things we did in Seattle - we had awesome views of the city, the island, and a very hazy, ghost-like Mt. Ranier.

I got Judah a cute little golf set recently. Jeff used to play golf a lot, and was recently hitting some golf balls around the front yard. Judah tried to do it with Jeff's enormous club, but that was very difficult. The toddler-sized version was much easier to use. He now often asks to go outside and play "bolf."

We had a fabulous time with Jeff's parents. I know Judah will miss his "Ama" and "Appa". I started to download the photos from the week so I could do a little editing and realized I had over 600 photos that I haven't yet downloaded. Going back to late August. Oops. Since they weren't off the camera, they obviously haven't yet been blogged. So I'll be doing some blog updates over the next few days to catch up. We decided to put Judah in a nursery school this year. He goes three mornings a week to a local Baptist church. I think he really enjoys it. His teacher is wonderful and he is already talking more. I was fairly conflicted about it, but I've had to work more this fall and I knew that Jeff would appreciate having a little more time to get his work done while I'm at work. Jeff has been preaching at two different churches this fall, plus he recently started teaching a Wednesday night Bible study so he has needed it. I am also enjoyin...

We are having a great time this week getting a little R&R at a lake house with Jeff's parents. There is no internet access there so I (obviously) haven't been able to update the ole' blog. Judah has especially been loving all the attention. On Sunday we had a big dinner and both his Nana AND his Gramma (Ama) were there, plus his Papa and his Grandpa (Apa). He was in hog heaven with all those people around to love on him and play with him. Sadly, I had to work this afternoon so I couldn't enjoy the apparently beautiful day we're having. It rained all day yesterday, but today looked nice. I will admit that during our long, hot summers I get very tired of living in South Carolina. But it does occasionally have its advantages - like being able to swim in the lake (comfortably) in the month of October.