Elephant out on the loose!

He knew exactly what he needed to do....

"Trick or Treat!"

All of a sudden he started to actually walk like an elephant...



The rest of his crew.

All in all it was a perfect Halloween.

This weekend was cold and rainy the whole time - a good weekend to relax, organize, cook and stay at home. It was cold enough to make the first fire of the season. Half way through October already which also means that I am 34 weeks pregnant.....it's getting closer!

And congrats to Ginny who is expecting her first baby in May!

Sound of Music

Marie was here last weekend and carved this nice pumpkin for us. Miles seemed a bit confused at first when she started cutting it up thinking she was messing up his pumpkin. But now he really likes it.

We spent many hours at the Richmond Folk Festival both Saturday and Sunday hearing music from all over the world - Korean drumming, Indian slide guitar, peruvian sounds, blues, etc.....It was a great time.

Inspired from all the music, Miles got busy with his own drumming back at home. Marie showed him some nice beats.

A little music man in the making.

Big Boy School

Miles started his new "school" this week. He has adjusted well so far. He is most excited about his lunch bag that he gets to take every day. Supposedly he wouldn't let go of it the first day and insisted to taking it into bed during nap time.

Rewind: mid-August

Drove down to Charleston, SC, to visit family back in August - the last time before baby Melodie arrives. It was the first time all the little cousins on my side of the family were together: Alicia, Antonia, Louise, Violette, and Miles. It's a special occasion since half of them live in Germany.

Miles closely observed what the big girls were up to.

Miles met some big fish and other sea creatures at the Aquarium.

Sleep interrupted

I realize that stress impacts sleep and that being nearly 30 weeks pregnant doesn't help. The frustrating part is that I wouldn't be as stressed if I could just get a full night's sleep. I wake up consistently every night and can't go back to sleep for several hours - last night 3. During those dreaded hours I stress out about that I am not asleep and how tired I will be the next morning. My mind just won't shut up. Argh. Hopefully that will pass once this big work thing is over. I have also read that it's the body's way of preparing for the newborn infant sleepless night stage that I will be facing very soon. At this rate, I should be very prepared.

In other news, Miles has graduated to a big boy bed. A twin mattress on a wooden platform his papa built. The transition has been surprisingly smooth. The first couple of mornings, he would still call out our name, as he used to do when sleeping in his crib, letting us know he was awake and ready to be picked up. I had to remind him that he could now get out of bed himself! By now he happily comes out of his bed in the morning and walks over into our room. The only difference now is that he likes to keep the light on when he first falls asleep - but that might be because he can reach the switch to the lamp near his bed which he couldn't do before. He definitely likes to do everything himself "my did it" (his way of saying that he wants to do something himself), which is everything. He is 2.5 years old afteral.

Rewind: early July

Earlier this summer, gramana, came to visit. We went to visit Thomas Jefferson and his mansion together. Amazing place. He was quiet the gardner.

Taking notes for our future vegetable garden.

Admiring the vineyard.

Exerting all that toddler energy after studying the Declaration of Independence and the house tour. The rooms in the mansion are very small (maneuvering through the rooms with a stroller was a real challenge. We almost had to trade in Miles when Frank bumped into a 18th century door with the stroller, the tour guide didn't like us too much). Jefferson had many children (I think 12 total) and it was hard to imagine them all hanging out in these small rooms together.

Once in a while I get to be in a picture too.