Daddy's Home!!

We had been looking forward to this day. Some may not think two weeks is a very long time, but with a MUCH more active boy than his 8-months-pregnant Mommy, two weeks can feel pretty stretched out. We had a really good time, and tried to do as many activities as we could to keep us both busy, but we still struggled a bit with Brad being gone. Jack went through an angry stage, where he wouldn't even talk to Brad on the phone, but we knew he would be excited to see him when he finally got back home.

Friday night, we made Brad's favorite cake to get ready for him to come home...

I don't have a picture of it, but Jacks ran about 50 yards once he caught a glimpse of Brad at the other end of the airport. I have to admit I cried. Seeing him running full speed ahead yelling "DAAAAADDDDYYYYY!" was pretty awesome. And it felt like everything was going to just be better having Daddy back home.

Jacks helped Brad with all of his luggage...

So excited to see Daddy!

I mean, can you tell he didn't want him to leave again!? He insisted on riding the suitcase on the way to the car.

YAY! Daddy's HOME! Now no more trips until Baby Hove arrives.

fARRRRRgo

Last weekend, since Brad was still away, we went to Fargo to visit Kas. I had full expectations that the majority of our time would be spent swimming, but it was even more than I thought. Jacks had a great time, although LOTS of swimming, and NOT so much sleep took a toll on all of us!

The first night we got there, before we even had dinner we spent 2 hours in the pool!

And here is why...they had a big pirate ship with slides, so Jacks was in heaven! I love that you can see Kasey's head from the hot tub in this pic...

My Mom took the trip with us, and it was so nice to have her there. I tried to keep up with Jacks as much as I could, but it was great to have some help!!

This makes me laugh...this was how we all felt all weekend. Jacks jumping as hard as he could, and us shielding ourselves from the aftermath! He did a great job swimming, and really didn't need much help, but he still makes me nervous since he has NO FEAR.

Another one of his favorites...the ENORMOUS popsicles they had by the pool. Kid cracks me up.

When we weren't jumping in the pool, we were jumping in the room!!

We took a quick trip to the mall, and for the first time ever, Jacks REQUESTED a picture. He wanted one with Grandma by the Bison.

But soon after, he had obviously had enough pictures...."Please, Grandma....no more".

We had a great time. We just wish Kas (and Kip) lived closer so it was easier to visit!

Dreaming....

So - as you know, Jacks is not a great sleeper. Part of the reason the sleep clinic thinks he doesn't sleep well is because he has such vivid dreams. Brad and I often laugh about what he says in the middle of the night, but last night was pretty funny. I was laying awake for a few hours (Man, I love pregnancy...) and heard heard him chatting up a storm with himself. When I really listened, I heard things like "Oh, Avery...oh my...you look so pretty. You look just like Sleeping Beauty. That dress is so beautiful. No, I'm a boy...I don't wear pretty things like that."

I think he has a little crush on the girl. I don't yet have the heart to tell him that you can't actually marry your cousin. Oh - and I HAVE seen him in a Cinderella dress a time or two when they're together!

Man, I love that kid.

October!?

Just so we don't forget what it actually did look like when we woke up on Monday, October 12...

One word - YUCK. OK and another two words - TOO EARLY.

I was hoping there wouldn't even be snow before baby came...hmmmmmmm....too late.

Pumpkin Painting

Jacks and I have been trying to do as many activities as we've been able to do since B has been out of town. We decided it would be fun to paint pumpkins! He did such a great job, but was a little disappointed when he realized two things...number one - paint does NOT taste as good as it looks, and two - when you mix two colors together, sometimes they just make brown. It was pretty funny.

Here is how Pete's turned out. I would have taken a picture of mine, but apparently mine was frozen at the patch, because when we woke up the next morning, it was like water...and it smelled so bad I couldn't even snap a pic. I wish I had, since I made a face on it with some black hair, and Jacks said it looked like Newman....so funny. And if you know me, you KNOW my painting skills are not in tip-top shape, so I'm sure Newman would have been very impressed. :)

Fall and a Fall

In a last ditch effort to do something "fall-ish" we decided on Friday that we were going to the pumpkin patch before Brad left. Well - this baby had other ideas, and since I was sick again, we decided to wait until Saturday morning. Little did we know we'd get our first snowfall on Friday night. All of our leaves fell off of our tree still green, so Brad raked them up for Jacks to jump in.

Have you ever seen such a pile of green leaves? Breaks my heart...where was fall!?

Here is Jacks at the pumpkin patch. It was SO much colder than we thought it would be, so of course I only had him in a vest....NOT the best idea I've ever had. They had most of the pumpkins tarped because it was so cold!

Brad doesn't seem to be having a good as time as Jacks.

Note Jacks in this picture...see his hands tucked into his vest to keep them warm? Well, about 20 seconds after this picture was taken, Jacks pulled a Rachel and fell so hard. And believe it or not - he wasn't even running! He got a double-bloody nose, a super fat lip, and I thought he had knocked out his two front teeth because there was so much blood. Thank goodness he didn't, but he was certainly a wounded soldier.

You can't tell how fat his lip really was, but it was sticking about a half inch off his face...poor little man. If only Mom had a coat on him...

This was taken about 2 days later...you can see the scrapes above his lip. That, combined with a trip into the bushes at daycare, and he looks like he's been attacked by a wild cat (I'll try to get pictures of those scratches too....they're quite the sight!)

More Sports!

For three days in a row last week, our home was consumed by MN Sports. It was an exciting few days! Brad and my Dad have a ritual - I think they call each other after almost every Twins game...so when they won in an exciting game on Sunday, they immediately were scheming up a way to get tickets to Tuesday's game. They both tried for a couple of hours, and finally my Dad was able to get four tickets. They were pretty excited to go, no matter where the seats were. Brad said it was definitely the most exciting game he has ever been to in his life - I'm so glad they all got a chance to go.

Here is a picture of Eric Hanson, Dad, Brad, and Newman at the game...

Another reason this game was so exciting - my Dad's losing streak is finally over. The last NINE games he has gone to, the Twins have lost. It was a big decision for him to even go to such an important game. My Mom text him when the game went into extra innings and told him maybe he should go to the bar and tell the boys he would meet them after the game! He was pretty excited to FINALLY see a win again...

Skol Vikings

In preparation for the big Monday night game against the Packers, we dressed up in our purple and gold and headed to the Newman's for tailgating. (Who says you need to be at the game to tailgate!?)

I realize I just look like a big purple grape, but hey - what do you expect!?

Despite the cold weather and rain, they had a pretty great turnout, and we all had a really great time.

The Last Supper

Last night, Brad and I got a sitter and had dinner together. I called it the Last Supper, since this was the last long conversation we were going to be able to have until the last week in October! Brad is leaving for India this weekend...

As I said before, I'm excited to spend some time with Jacks, but of course being almost 34 weeks pregnant, I'm a bit nervous at the same time. I know nothing will happen, but just the thought of it gives me a little panic attack! Thank GOD I have such a great support system here in case I would go into early labor or anything...

After dinner, we went to Lowes and got a few things for the nursery - it's finally getting decorated!! Not much time to spare, but Jess and I are going to hopefully get it done while Brad is gone. I'm so excited to get it done - I think we've put off that last room in our house long enough, don't you?? It was so nice to go to the store without having to spend 15 minutes trying out all of the lawn mowers with Jacks. That's typically how our Lowes trips end up!

Jacks and I have a few other fun things planned during Brad's time away, and of course I'll keep the blog updated so Brad can see!

(One last note - I think Brad licked his plate clean....ha!) Of course his favorite - Mexican!

Critter's Wedding

I realized how bad I'm getting at taking pictures. I have THREE pictures of the wedding we were at last weekend. THREE! Usually I would take about 300! I worked with Chris (Critter) at Boomtown for a couple of years in Mankato, and he and Lindsey started dating shortly after Brad and I did, so it was fun to finally see them get married! It was a gorgeous fall wedding, even Brad said it would be fun to get married in the fall!

Amanda and I were excited about the carmel apples as favors! And after seeing this picture, I can tell I'm starting to get more and more bloated....this may have to be the last picture of me until baby comes!

Here is the one and only picture I have of the couple. Seriously - who have I turned into!?

Little Pete in Training

A couple of Sundays ago, dressed in their Vikings garb, B decided it was time to show Little Pete how to play football.

I was cracking up so hard at how serious Jacks was about his technique. He listened to everything Brad said so intently, I think he knew he could tackle at the end of the lesson!

Definitely Jack's favorite part...lots of tackle time with Daddy. Brad loves having a little guy to practice with, although I think if Petey was a girl, she would have to learn too!

Night with the Newmans

On the first Saturday evening we had free in a long time, we had the Newman clan over for dinner. This was fun for a few reasons - they have gotten so busy with Jess going back to school that we don't get a chance to talk nearly as much as we used to. You know, it's gone from three times a day to if we're lucky once a day. Another fun reason - we could fit ALL of us at the same table! No more card tables in the cramped condo, it felt so good! After some good food, we went back to their house for a fire. On the way there, Tate decided he was ready to try the bike without training wheels....let me just say this kid is getting too big for this auntie.

He had a great cheering section! The kids were so excited for him.

It looks a lot darker in these pictures than it really was - I swear it wasn't the middle of the night!

Beckers and B

Jack asked us when we left if we could have a fire at our house...just add to the list of things we'd like for our new house!

I love this picture - Jacks asks for a hug every time the kiddos leave....SO CUTE.