All work and no play...

I am busy trying to get all of my papers finished so that I can pass my classes this semester (which ends in just two weeks), but I do try and take time everyday to just play with and love on Jake and Mari (and James)! Next weekend is birthday party central around here, so I am sure there will be tons of pictures then.

I laugh every time I walk past this sign. It is just so stereotypical of what comes to mind when I used to picture MSU.

It is two weeks before Mari's first birthday...

and she just walked across the living room floor. Yes, I said WALKED!

NO NO NOVEMBER!

It seems that the past three Novembers I have been excited to see. Three years ago we were expecting Jake in November, the next year we were celebrating his first birthday and I was so excited he was growing up, last year we were expecting Mari and so we were of course terribly excited again, this year I am facing the birthdays of my two babies and it means they really won't be my babies anymore-that is not really something I am looking forward to. On November 24, Mari will turn one and the next day on the 25th my big baby will be THREE! I can't believe I will soon be the mother of a three year old. I am not sure where all the time went. I think their birthdays make me feel older than my own birthdays!

Things I actually look forward to in November are this silly election FINALLY being over and my semester ends December 5th, so by the end of November I should be mostly through with this first semester.

Little Miss Muffet and the spider that sat down beside her...

Blogger is doing crazy things. I uploaded these pictures in one particular order (chronological), but they came out in a different order.

What is that spider doing in the kitchen at Carrie's Coffee House?

Here is Corrine as a cute little chick at our church 'trunk or treat'!

Above, Jake enjoying some candy and below James and Mari are checking out the food options at the Coffee House!

We had a fun Halloween. Wednesday we went to 'trunk or treat' at our church, and then Friday we passed out candy to other trick or treaters and our house and Saturday evening we went to the Coffee House to see Nana and Papoo (who was dressed like a pirate). I think it anything should be controversial about Halloween it should be Jaw Breakers. I bought a mixed bag of candy to hand out and it had Jaw Breakers in it. I thought it was gum (I was too tired to read) and popped it in my mouth. I don't honestly understand the point of them. I am sure that if i had finished eating it I probably would have damaged my teeth. I have been carefull not to let Jake have any and I guess I will be more careful from now on when buying mixed candy!

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

The carving of the pumpkins!

James started cutting the tops off and hollowing them out. Mari was very intrigued but a little timid (which is really unlike her). Her curiosity was peaked and she wanted to stick her hand in the pumpkin like James was doing, but you can see from the looks on her face she just isn't too sure what will happen!

Here she touched the edge, but then quickly moved her hand back and zoomed back in her little scooter/walker.

Finally, after a few "fake outs" she sticks her whole hand in (all the way past the elbow).

Mystery of what's inside the pumpkin solved, she puts the lid on it!

Jake puts the unlit candle inside Mari's Jack-O-Lantern.

Jake keeps trying to blow out the lighter while I am trying to light the Jack-O-Lantern, so we let him practice blowing out "birthday candles". Mari was taking pointers from the sidelines.

Jake watches his daddy, before drawing a face (which I cut out for him) on his pumpkin.

A trip to the Fairpark (Tupelo) Swingpark

Choo Choo!

While in Fairpark on a walk this afternoon, we heard a train whistle and so we rushed over to the tracks in time to see a very loud and noisy train go by!

Both Jake and Mari were enthralled!