Happy Halloween!

I can never remember the order to put the pictures in so they follow a sequence SO, start at the bottom and then go up.

1. Jack enjoying his new bike from Tracey and Tyler. He had the great idea to bike to each house. This worked so much better than me pulling him in his cart (which he barely fits into anymore) or just walking. We got to visit twice as many houses as we did last year.




2. Jack got dressed in his Thomas the Train outfit each time he got off his bike. Bravely approached each house like he lived there and proudly shouted out, "Trick or Treat!" We had several light devices with us to keep us safe with all the cars driving around.




3. Our last stop of the night, to trick or treat Daddy! Jack got a big kick out of ringing our doorbell and seeing his Daddy open the door and give him tons of treats.




4. Jack checking out his bountiful haul of candy. This was definitely the most candy he has gotten in his 3 years of trick or treating. He got to each 3 pieces before we sent him off to bed. Now we know that sugar before bed zonks him out!




5. We watched a bit of Shrek's Halloween special while eating our candy. It didn't last long, Jack wasn't too happy with the spookiness of the show. Maybe next year he'll get into the creepy stuff.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Hot Wheels Jeep

Our dear friend Angela Holloway has given us so many things for Jack over these past 3 years. Her latest contribution is this super cool Jeep! It is a Hot Wheels brand Jeep, has 2 speeds, can go in reverse, and is really easy to steer.

You can tell by the delight in his face how much he loves this Jeep. I see many hours of Jeep riding in our future. He always fastens his seat belt when he gets in, it's simply to yellow strips of fabric with velcro attached. When he gets out he forgets he is strapped in!
Practicing his turning skills around the trees in the front yard. He only hit one of the trees and has since become a pro at steering to avoid a future Jeep-tree collision.

Thank you Angela!

Underwater Shot

Aqua Boy getting his first underwater camera shot! Kevin is holding on to him and he dunks just below the water line. Such a brave boy!

Swimming

On a trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Johnson to see how they were recuperating we decided to swim in the pool one last time before the weather got too cool. After a short adjustment period (BRRRRR!) we had a great time floating, sinking, kicking, and playing in the water.

Jack enjoys sitting on the steps to get deeper and deeper in the water. He made it down to the third step this time with the water rising just below his chin. He was very brave and enjoyed testing his limits with how comfortable he felt in the water.
Taking a few moments for some reflective thinking....
Wish I knew what he had going on up in that head of his, probably wishing he had his cars with him to play with in the pool!

Such a face! This is when he had just gotten in the pool and he was getting used to the cool water.

Jack was finally brave enough to ride around the pool in his guitar float. He is sitting on the mesh part so part of him dips down into the water. It even has a little pillow to lay down on and put your feet up on the strings. I walked around the pool several times while Jack lounged and enjoyed the cool water.

Birthday Party at School!

So in all the craziness of planning Jack's birthday party we almost forgot that he was going to take in treats on his actual birthday. Luckily I had some sugar cookies in the pantry so Kevin and I did some team work and make a bunch of cookies for Jack to share with his new classmates. His teacher was so sweet to take pictures for us since we were at work when he ate the cookies with his friends. Can you tell he is so proud to be 3?

Birthday Boy!

The birthday celebrations were so much more fun this year because Jack understood what was going on. He knew we were planning a party, his friends would be coming, and he would get lots of presents! He was so excited to turn 3. The party day welcomed us with beautiful, chilly weather and crystal blue skies. We had the party at the Hal Brady Rec Center playground and hosted about 25 guests.

Jack sporting his new Gator helmet. He starts to hum the fight song when he wears it.

I created t- shirts for us to wear that day. Jack's shirt had the number "3" written all over it. My shirt said," Mothers hold their children's hearts forever, but their hands only for a short time." The gel flattened as it dried so it wasn't as clear as I had hoped, but it was a lot of fun to make them!

Time for our annual family photo. We can never manage to have all 3 of us looking at the camera. Oh well, we look cute.

At the party pavillion singing "Happy Birthday" to Jack. He was so excited and he sang along with us. We decorated the tables and hung streamers, put noise makers everywhere, and had pizza delivered for everyone to eat.

Found a great idea for "gator" cupcakes online. The eyes are gumdrops, white chocolate chips, and black icing dots. The nose ridge is a green Sunkist gummy. The nostrils are Reece's Pieces. All the kids got a gator cupcake and we made a dozen more for the grown-ups to enjoy that just had sprinkles on them.

New Playground (to us)

In my attempts to plan Jack's birthday party, I have been scoping out the playgrounds around this area to see what would be the best location. I had just about settled on the little kids playground in Alachua when someone told me there was another was down the road a bit. We decided to take our Labor Day to check this park out. It is for bigger kids but Jack and Jolene had no trouble finding lots of fun here.

Kevin attempting to get inside the rock wall mountain. Jack is trying to push him through the peek hole.

Daddy! Here I come down slide!

No playtime is complete without our good buddy Jolene around.

Jack showing off his daredevil skills while he rides around the merry-go-round in the middle and with no hands!

Super secret dinosaur fossil under the rock wall. Jack is really into dinosaurs now so this was cool to see.

All in all I think this is the best choice for Jack's birthday party. The bathrooms are much cleaner here, the playground is more centralized, and it has a bigger pavilion and parking lot. 4 more weeks till the party!

First Movie: Winnie Ha Pooh

We of course had to go with our very good friends, the Brown family. We posed with Jolene after the movie to always remember this fun day.

Say Cheeeeeeeeseburgers!!!

Jack learns all about buying candy before we go into the theatre. We mixed these with some smuggled in goldfish crackers for a perfect movie snack. We also got a large popcorn and 2 drinks for the big kids. Way too much food for an hour long movie.

After the movie we had a yummy dinner at our favorite place, Moe's! We all ate way too much and were waddling back to our cars when we were done. Jack was holding Jolene's hand to make sure she was safe.

Big hugs as we said goodbye!

I like Daddy!

Jack grabbing Kevin's glasses one day and trying them on. It is really funny when he tries to walk when he is wearing them.

Hoggetown Creek

Hunting for Sharks Teeth

Nestled behind a neighborhood in the center of Gainesville is a sleepy little creek. It has several different arms wiggling its way through an area full of trees.

We brought buckets, sifters, and shovels to help us dig for sharks teeth. Jack is a pro shoveler and quickly filled up his bucket with sand.

We always have to much fun with Jolene! They play really well together.

This is the last shot of both of them completely dry. Soon after this they both fell in, getting soaked from head to toe. The first time was an accident, every other time after that was for pure fun.

Cedar Key Visit

I had heard about this little beach from a few of my friends. It is exactly how they describe it, small, not crowded, and incredibly relaxing. Just an hours drive from our house!

Jack digs into some oranges as we take a break from walking in the water.
Such a brave boy, walking in deep water all by himself! He wanted to hold hands at first but then decided he was a big boy and had to do it alone.

The view from the beach. There's a rope blocking off any kayaks or boats from coming into the swim zone.

Jack and I walking towards the rope, he wanted to touch the "beach balls". The water was so warm and the sand was squishy.

There was an amazing playground there too! After we spent a bunch of time in the water Jack put his shoes on and tackled the big kids playground. Huge slides, a fish ladder, and fun swings kept us busy.

Flowers & New Tree

The red maple Gail gave us is doing very well. It's exciting to see how much it has grown since we planted it.
One of the sunflowers that sprang up this year. None of the seeds I planted did well due to the drought, but the ones that had fallen from rain fall last year are doing great!

More of the sunflowers that just popped out in the middle of our yard.

Wild flowers, so unique.

The only seeds that sprouted this year were the wildflowers. Orange petals with mini yellow flowers in the middle.

New Pool

We decided to splurge and buy Jack this deluxe pool for him to play in this summer. It has a slide, basketball hoop and ring posts for him to throw at. Thank goodness we have the compressor to make blowing up this pool an easy job. The slide had tie downs for it to stay in place and Jack quickly found a fun way to crawl onto the slide to go down. He likes sliding down on his belly, landing face first into the water. My main goal, other than having tons of fun, was to keep Jack comfortable playing in water so that when we start swim lessons in the fall, he will be raring to go.

Fractions are Hard (and I hate them!)

Did you know research has shown that fractions are one of the most difficult concepts for us to understand? My online course is currently focused on fractions. I spent a total of 4 hours trying to figure this out so I can post this picture to my course instructor. Bleh!

Dinosaurs Love Underpants!

In January as we were preparing to start potty training I came upon a book about dinosaurs and underpants. Being a teacher I know how powerful a book can be to teach a new concept to someone. So I snatched it up and read it to Jack. In summary, it details that dinosaurs love of underpants was ultimately the reason they became extinct since they fought so much over each other's underwear.

Spontaneously the other day Jack spies his dinosaur that Chuck bought him and cries out, "Dinosaur needs underwear!" Jack ran to his room and picked out a pair of his new Lightning McQueen underwear to share with the dinosaur.
We did not cut a hole for the dinosaur's tail but might alter a pair of Jack's underwear that he is too big for now if Jack keeps insisting the dinosaur wear his underpants.
This dinosaur is now one of the chosen few animals that sleep on Jack's bed every night.

Such a cutie!!