John Thomas - November 8, 2008

Fall Fun

November 8, 2008

We have had a lovely fall so far. John Thomas has loved jumping up and down and upside down in the leaf bags, to pack them down for more leaves. He actually tore one of the tines off of his mini-rake he had been using it with such gusto.

Getting into place for the camera.

Cleaning up the leaves with Mom.

Excellent use of the tripod for a family picture.

Since John Thomas couldn't stop talking about the farm since we went for a visit back in August, we planned to go back Thanksgiving weekend. We went just for the day, as John Thomas had his ice skating lesson the next morning. We were at the farm for about half an hour and then headed to the Norwood fair. We had gorgeous weather, John Thomas got to pet some animals, run around with his cousins, and go on a bunch of rides.

Ready to ride the dragon coaster with cousin Benjamin.

Riding the elephant

Motorcyle ride!

On the Carousel the first time.

Riding the dragon coaster the second time, with Daddy.

After a full afternoon/evening at the fair, we headed back to the farm for a couple of hours. John Thomas got to feed some horses, jump on the trampoline, and have lots of fun with his cousins.

As Halloween neared, we pulled out our decorations. John Thomas loved them! He would talk about them and point them out nearly every day. We took out the pictures from last year, and he started talking about wearing his toolbelt all the time.

But, come Halloween, it was Luke Skywalker all the way.

Darth Vader, Padme Amidala, and their son, Luke Skywalker.

Ready for battle.

He kept up with the older kids on the street for about an hour before he started to wane. Much longer than last year where he only got to about 10 houses. Nan and Nanna Fran were handing out candy while we were trick or treating, and he was very happy to take off his costume and sit with them to have some "hot tea" once we got home.

Relaxing with his grandmother and great-grandmother and a cup of hot tea after a hard hour of trick or treating.

We are seeing small improvements in his potty training. When naked or "commando" he will realize that he needs to use the potty and run there in time. Most of the time he is content to use his diaper or pull-up if he is wearing one. He has started to use the potty to go poop more often, and we're glad to see this progress.

After progressing each of his first four skating classes, he seemed to slide backwards his next couple. He would stand up, then it seemed like he thought that he couldn't do anything there, so would just sit down. He did this for a couple of lessons, but at his last lesson he actually took a couple of "steps" on the ice. Tomorrow is his last lesson for the year, and we're hoping he'll continue progressing.