Meet Jack

Compared to last year, Marie has been much more interested in all of those fun fall activities this time around. She has been talking about pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns since September.

A couple weeks ago, we caught up with our friends Brian and Laura and their two little girls, Rosie and Lilly on a Sunday afternoon. Marie and Rosie are close in age and got to go to the pumpkin "patch" to pick out pumpkins. The "patch" was a bit comical to me seeing as how we needed to ride a wagon to what turned out to be an open grassy area where others had placed already picked pumpkins. No stepping over vines and the like this time around. But, the girls loved it all the more because then they could run around chasing each other without being hindered by plants, ruts, or holes.



The following Sunday, Marie and I decided to give our pumpkin a face. She knew exactly what "Jack" should have, two triangles for eyes, a square nose, and a big WIDE smile. She even helped to scoop out some of the slimy pulp...though most of that job was reserved for me. By the time we were finished, it was starting to get dark, perfect timing for lighting a candle. She was so excited to see the "glorious sight" and ran to the end of our driveway to make sure that she could still see "Jack" from there.




Marie has really been enjoying our walks lately, seeing all the colorful leaves that have fallen, and making them go "crunch, crunch" beneath her feet. We've been having some rain lately, so puddles are an added bonus. Thank goodness we found some rain boots on clearance a few weeks back.

Joey is continuing to grow. He's got two solid teeth on the bottom, but nothing on the top so far. He is pulling himself up more and taking a few steps along the furniture. He LOVES the stairs and can go all the way up (with mom or dad following closely behind). He has even started to figure out how to come down...sliding down on his belly. He seems to have a little bit of an ornery streak...he knows he's not supposed to go up on his own and laughs in delight when we have to come retrieve him. He loves balls and tackling anyone who happens to be laying down on the floor. He's also started to realize that he can get things if grunts and points, a skill that he tends to use when he wants toys or the ever-popular Cheerios.

September Rewind...Labor Day Weekend

To start the whirlwind month of September, we took a Labor Day weekend trip to Pittsburgh. We went to help celebrate the baptism of our new niece Grace. She was baptized during the Sunday morning service, and didn't even make a squeak!



After mingling with the church-goers over cake and punch, we all went to Uncle James and Aunt Jaclyn's house for a cookout and party. The Ambrocik's (Jacyln's family) were also able to make the trip. We hadn't seen them since James and Jaclyn's wedding, so it was a great chance to catch up again. The weather was beautiful so the kids, big and small, were able to play outside quite a bit.


Since all of the Shibata's were together that weekend, and that doesn't happen all that often, we decided to really pack in the parties. James and Jaclyn hosted an early celebration for Marie's birthday over lunch on Saturday, complete with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. The golf game from Grandpa Shibata was quite the hit. So far, we think Marie's golf swing technique surpasses her baseball skills.


Also since we were all together 9and to fulfill a birthday request for Grandma Shibata), we undertook the task of getting a professional group photo of the whole family. We were well past due, since the last family picture was taken before Marie was born. We've added five people to the family since then! It was a bit challenging to get all of the kids to look at the camera and have relatively happy faces all at the same time, but we got a few good shots. They much more enjoyed playing with the props and other toys laying around.






Somewhere in there, Marie also got to squeeze in some quality time with her godmother. She can never get enough of that.



Our trips to the 'burgh are always so full, so fun, and oh so worth it.

September Rewind...Hanging Around

When we weren't gallivanting around on the weekends, we filled our September days with playing outside, harvesting in the garden, canning green beans and tomatoes, making freezer marinara sauce, rehabbing my hamstring, and attempting to trim Joey's hair. While he looks like he is relatively happy in these pictures, the contrary is actually the case. We didn't capture any photos where he was screaming and VERY unhappy with us. Needless to say, we didn't get much trimming done.






September was also the time to take Marie for her 3 year doctor's visit and Joey's 9 month visit. Both of the kids did very well. Joey is the same size as Marie was....when she was almost a year and 3 months old. They both got flu shots. Marie was very brave. She didn't even hardly flinch when she got her shot...not even a whimper! Joey on the other hand didn't like the shots at all!

This month Joey also started crawling. Now there is no stopping him. He is quite quick and follows Marie around everywhere, particularly up the stairs. We don't really let him get that far. Marie, being the big help that she is, usually promptly reports that, "Joey is going up the stairs." He pulls himself up on the furniture and I think would really like to walk if only he could balance and support all that weight of his!

September Rewind...Katie & Matt's Wedding / Trip to IL

Over the 2nd weekend in September, we took another fun-filled trip down to Illinois in order to celebrate with cousin Katie and her now-husband Matt. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Unverferht! It was another beautiful day and everyone had a great time dancing. (Are you noticing a theme here?) We kind of like getting to see all of the family every few weeks!!




Rather than turning right around and spending another full day in the car with the kids, we decided to take Monday as a vacation day and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday. That meant fishing in the afternoon and Marie really getting to drive Grandpa's tractor. Well, her feet were too short to touch the pedals, but she did get to steer. Joey also enjoyed the ride and did his best to catch the shiny ball on the steering wheel as it went around. Even though we were losing daylight, Marie got to help Grandpa dig a few sweet potatoes. It was a full, but relaxing day.

September Rewind...Marie Turns 3!

In case it wasn't obvious by the title of this post, the telling of all that went on in September is going to happen in reverse chronological order. So, first (aka last) up is Marie's 3rd birthday!

Her actual birthday was on a Saturday, which made it nice since Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart were able to drive up to Michigan on Friday night and be here when she woke up on her special day. Marie had been asking to go to the apple orchard for some time and the weather was nice. We decided to go, despite running the risk of establishing a precedent that we go to the orchard on her birthday every year. I could think of worse traditions. Since we went on a Saturday (as opposed to a Friday last year) there were more extra-curricular activities going on. Marie had lots of fun playing on the inflatables and petting the animals. We brought a picnic lunch and then rode the wagon out to the apple trees to pick apples, with lots of help from Grandpa. They weren't picking pumpkins yet, but Marie was still able to pick out her favorite even though she couldn't bring it home.







We were all pretty tired by the time we got home, so most everyone took an afternoon nap. Mark and Sarah came over for dinner and to celebrate with Elmo cake and cupcakes and the necessary gift opening. All in all, Marie very much enjoyed her birthday. She has since asked more than once when it will be her birthday again!

Whew!

What happened to September? In our busy-ness and coming and going, we seemed to have missed it. But, more on that later. We should start with the most wonderful culmination of the last month and a half....Mark and Sarah's wedding!

Despite the rainy forecast, the showers held off and we had a wonderful day. At least from my perspective, everything went off without a hitch. There was a gorgeous bride, a handsome groom, and the most adorable little flower girl, if I do say so myself. Marie absolutely loved the whole thing, getting her hair done, the dress, and especially all the attention. She did great, walking down the aisle like she had done it a hundred times. At the front, she got into a little mischief, stealing the bride's Kleenex to touch up her own face, "helping" to straighten out Sarah's train, and then during the vows she walked right around to the front so that she could get a better view!








After a beautiful ceremony and a few photo opps, families, friends, and guests gathered at the Dexter KC Hall for a night full of good food (and drink!), great company, and even better dancing. It sure was great to have so much of our family in town for the event. It will hopefully be the first of many future trips to Michigan! :)







Many blessings to the happy couple...may you have many, many happy and joy-filled years as husband and wife!