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!