October wanes

Sorry we've been a bit rubbish about updating! There haven't been a lot of departures from routine this month. But with D-day for Pockets coming in just four weeks, we decided we ought to try to get in one more trip to the zoo, before we are on Blacksburg lockdown for a long while. So off we went this past Saturday to Mill Mountain!

Fall foliage in Blacksburg: better by far than that in Maryland, but I'm still jonesing for some of the brilliance of upstate NY... ah well. At least there isn't the ridiculous Indian Summer of the Baltimore area. Temperatures feel quite right for late October.


So, without preamble.... A Zebu!

These guys are delightful. M. thought so too.


Someone get this monkey some Prozac... he was the only critter that wasn't happily frisking about on this crisp morning. Most of the animals seem to vastly prefer the Autumn, and I don't blame them.

Miles' old friends, the Noble Goats.



If you ask him why the leaves have turned color, he says "Because a-Fall!" I'll miss it when he ceases to separate words and phrases with "a-". His grasp of official grammar is growing daily, which is both impressive and sad, for me.

Miles contemplates the view.

Ok, if you had asked him anything about what he planned to do at the zoo, what animal he would see, etc, you would quickly learn that the TRAIN (da 'Rain!!!!) is the Number One, Only Real reason to go to a zoo.

He looooves it. Rode it twice, wanted more, that's all there is to say about that. His favorite zoo animal: the 'Rain.

Evening was pumpkin carving time! This is his first time.

He participated about as much as his strong aversion to getting yucky would allow. In THIS respect he is too like me, I'm afraid.
Doesn't the smell of pumpkin take you back to childhood? Every time?

Jon pretty much did it singlehandedly while we watched in admiration. Papa's a hero.

About as much physical interaction as he wanted with it, though he loves to talk about the pumpkin's facial features and is quite fond of it now.

We lit it for him at night and tried to get him in a picture next to it... yeah, he wouldn't go within five paces of it when it was lit up and the lights were off. I suppose it is a bit creepy. But that's kind of the idea, after all.

Coming up: Our second Halloween in Bburg!

A very bountiful Autumn's Saturday

Happy October! Probably...well, among my top three favorite months. We fit in a whole lot of fun before naptime today!

We started off at Price House Nature Center, home to so many of our Saturday morning memories in Blacksburg.
Said "Good morning" to the turtles...

Wished the bees luck as the hunker down for winter...

And got going with Miles' new favorite Price House activity, animal tracks in the sand:

You can make them with ink too, but Miles prefers the tactile experience of the sand:



They've got about 10 different animal paw molds that you can use to make tracks. Just one more simple and brilliant activity at Price House. I am such a fan of that place.

Next, we were off to the Montgomery-Floyd Public Library Fall Festival! Appropriately, it was completely free!

The events were at a branch about 25 minutes' drive from Blacksburg, so we might not have heard about it if I weren't fortunate to have the head childrens' librarian for a friend. Thank you, Sarah!


First stop: festive face painting. Miles requested to be made into a puppy dog, and he astonished us both with how still he sat getting it done...

Didn't phase him. Maybe he's ready to get his hair cut outside the house after all...


Almost done...

Plus whiskers, and a passable puppy dog. He was pleased as punch, anyway.

Next: to the hayride! I was sure it was going to be a tractor deal, and was pleasantly surprised by the real equine deal.


Thrilling! We even went off roads a bit and he trotted the horses so that we really felt like authentic hayriders. Whatever those are :-)

Next, the part I'd been promising especially all week: pettable goats!


Here is Mom Pygmy Goat:

Below are her three-week-old babies! It was very educational; they were nursing babies.


I wanted to snatch one. They were super adorable.

Bonus: a cage of chickens (non-pettable) nearby...

We played several games. Miles tended to play a modified version:

He's not much of a thrower, but he was a very successful reach-er!


At another game, we won this pumpkin. He adores it; it's in his room "watching him sleep" as I type.

We all enjoy all the free bluegrass concerts we've been running into down here.

They actually played "Man of Constant Sorrow," as well as "Let the Circle be Unbroken." It was so fun!

Miles perfects his jig.

How could this be more fun?

I have two maternity sweaters. I'm kind of hoping I won't need more, but I might be kidding myself. We're not in Maryland anymore!

Among the attractions were a real, live fire truck and ambulance. As a child, I would not have bestowed a second look at either.
I have a boy, all right. He and Papa enjoyed themselves getting a tour while I went to get some *free pie.*
!!

And, okay, we had to take one more hayride. I sat this one out to chat with our friends, but I got a couple of shots:




One of my favorite moments was when this guy was on his cell phone and also driving the team. I heard him say, "No, I've gotta go. I'm giving a hay ride." How often do you get to say that on your cell phone?


Two happy guys.

Thank you for (mostly) holding off, rain! What a great kickoff to October! Too bad the Hokies game isn't going as well as this morning's activities.

32 weeks and Fabulous

...Or, look at me, I'm vertical!

Quality Time

Hoorah! Fall is here! Well, not officially, but in every other way. I haven't liked September this much in a while. Maybe I'm just grateful to have a job I love and which doesn't make me frantic like the beginning of the teaching year did, but I rather think living somewhere where September feels like Autumn has a lot to do with it.
We have been making small supplements to our collection of Fall-appropriate, 2T sized clothes.

Look at me! I've gained two pounds in less than six weeks! My pediatrician will be so proud of me!

My Papa already is.

Check out Jon's gift to Miles this summer: cool bike seat (acquired new) and helmet (acquired at yard sale! Cheah!)

The Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg has been a good friend to these two.

Miles is so proud to have the same headgear as Papa.

My job is to pick them up at the end of their trips... well, we live at the top of a steep hill.

This is actually from two weeks ago. At my 30 week appointment this past Wednesday (which finally occurred at 6:30 pm... long long wait to see celebrity doctor), I was measuring 31 weeks. Whatever actual meaning that has. Pockets is alive and well and seems to be head down! She favors the same position that Miles did when he was Tootles, butt on my left ribcage, feet in my right. She's not been quite as assertive about trying to take out my ribs with those feet as was her brother, but give her time. I'm giving her 10 weeks. :-)