Tiger Grins

Happy Halloween from Jason. Isn't he the cutest tiger in town? Jason is 15 months old in these pictures. Which tiger picture is your favorite? I couldn't decide if I liked it better with the hat on or off, so I had to get a print both ways.

Witch Fest

Check out the Witch Fest at Gardner Village. We had so much fun. You get to walk around finding all the crazy witches they have on display. And it is free. Just print off the scavenger hunt before you leave so you can fill it out and get a cookie. I think I'll go back again before it ends.

Welcome October

We welcomed October with a BBQ party at our house with high school friends. Kyle and I were in the same group of friends in high school, so it was fun for both of us to have our old buddies over. In attendance: Danielle, Jeremy, Kaden, Brinnley, and Maggie; Kristin, Wyatt, and Kody; Trisha, Gavin, and Lincoln; Jessica, Ellie, and Cade; Micah and Allison.

I couldn't believe the great turnout we had. Unfortunately, we didn't whip out the cameras before people started leaving. We are so lucky to have had friends in high school who were good influences on us. May all of our children have the same good fortune.

Happy 15 Months, Jason

Jason is 15 months old now. I thought I would record his latest hobbies and milestones.

• Jason loves watching for airplanes and helicopters in the sky. He gets very excited and points when he sees one.
• Now that he has mastered walking on level ground, he is insisting on walking up and down stairs, even though he knows how to crawl up and down them. Kyle and I certainly don't get a break from adventure for very long.
  
• He is interested in stacking blocks and sorting shapes (with a LOT of help).
• TRAMPOLINE!
• Petting animals.
• WATER! (This picture is of Jason at Liberty Park.)
  

• Playing with daddy in the evenings. (Kyle is "wearing" Jason's jacket.)
  

• Current favorite book is Curious George now that he has been to the zoo to see real animals. Previous favorite books were The Jolley Pocket Postman and Mother Goose.
  
• He has at least 20 words last I counted. Our favorite is "money" which means "mommy". I really think he should be calling Kyle that instead. Others include: uh-oh, blueberry, hat, bear, kitty, daddy, church, milk, bite, thank-you, cheese, cracker, cookie, paci (pacifier), keys, grape, tramp, ball, doggy, diaper, up, airplane .... that's all I can think of for now.
• 12 teeth
• 1 nap
• Jason longs for the great outdoors and short car rides to fun new places. We have to get out of the house every morning and afternoon. I have a hard time thinking of things to do now that the weather is turning cold because I don't want to be shopping all the time. A well meaning friend told me I need to have him play with his toys more... if only it were that simple for us.
  
• And he still has the most amazing hair. Fall certainly is his time of year.
  

Half Way There

I got the score from my second exam and I passed! Two more to go.

Fevers, Flowers, and other Fun Tidbits

Jason started walking on August 28th. He had only a couple days to practice his new skill before he got hit with a nasty virus that gave him a fever for 5 days and sucked the life out of the whole family. Kyle and I thought we had traveled several months back in time with frequent baby night-awakenings and a baby who wanted to be held constantly, crying loudly in protest if you put him down even to go to the bathroom. It was an awful week, and from the standpoint of a stay-at-home mother, could not have started on a worse day-- Monday. It was a very long, wearying week. My sweet husband felt bad for me so he bought me some flowers to cheer me up.

Thankfully that is all behind us now and Jason is back to walking again. He still walks like baby Frankenstein with his arms held out for balance. It's pretty cute. He is 14.5 months old now. He loves balls, water, and animals. These pictures are of Jason feeding ducks at the Wetlands park; petting baby goats at Wheeler Farm; and splashing with Grandma Linda, Melissa, and Austin.





We've continued to enjoy having a grill and a backyard. We had my siblings over for Labor Day.


Our lawn is looking much better with the cooler weather. Recently we were in need of a lawn mower. Kyle's grandpa said he had an extra self-propelled mower that we could have. We were shocked when he pulled out this little beauty. It has to be one the first self-propelled lawn mowers ever made. It was built in the 1950s and it has 2.5 horsepower. Kyle tried it out on our lawn. Luckily for us Kyle's aunt offered up her old lawn mower, which is pretty new in comparison. We are too spoiled because 2.5 horsepower was not strong enough. Plus the highest setting on grandpa's mower butchered our already struggling lawn.

Good News!

My good news for the day is that I got my score back for the Financial section of the CPA Exam and I passed!

As an FYI, here is a quick background of the CPA Exam. The exam is split into four portions that take about 3 1/2 hours each. I started with the Financial section and took that 3 weeks ago. Tomorrow I'll take one more. Hopefully I pass that and will only have 2 left.

Wish me luck.