Grammy and G'pa were here to help usher in the fourth glorious year of life...and cake.

It's a Teddy Bear Picnic!!! Thank you, Gramma and KooKoo!!!

Note to all Teddy Bear Picnic hostesses: When in a pinch, little sisters can double as T-bears with a little creative accessorizing.

Hello! Quick update from the Winona and Jezebel team...

W: I'm introducing Jezebel to the finer things in life, like Berenstain Bears literature...

J: ...and I'm entering into the world of SOLID FOODS! Rice Cereal is the first thing on my menu. Not terribly exciting compared to what I see the rest of the family eat, but I'll get there. I'm pretty luke warm about the whole thing, really.

W: I pledge allegiance, to s'mores... We celebrated the gorgeous fall weather by heading out to the arboretum for a fall festival, featuring Smokey the Bear, art projects, tree climbing and three campfires over which we could roast hot dogs and marshmallows. The guys giving out the food were funny, bellowing things like, "Hot dogs and marshmallows--we promise not a single trace of nutritional value!" "Come get your sugar and filler! Don't tell your parents!"

I happily obliged.

Then we got to pet horses...and take a nature walk. Great day!

J: I'm just over here getting bigger, stronger and more vocal. I've discovered my high vocal range which I thought would come in useful this morning to be sure that mom was awake. Yup. She was. She must like it because she said something about being lucky I was so cute...

Last night we had Kid Party Fun at our house while our friends' parents went out to a concert. With 6 kids under the age of 5, we didn't get a chance to take any pictures (!), but we had a blast!

Aunt Jenny, This one's for you.

This picture indicates that I forgot my wings last night. BUT! I remembered my excitement...

J: Happy Halloween! We're taking naps right now, gearing up for a night of Trick-Or-Treating. Below are some pictures of the wind up to tonight's festivities...

My official costume is a pirate, but the zebra costume has made a few appearances this season.

A few nights ago, we went to a friends house to carve our pumpkins together. This is the gang.

W: I liked digging out the guts. W: We were pretty proud of "our" creations...

W: I am a Funky Fairy.

Big Halloween Party last night...

And here is Happy Pants:

Rode the rails this weekend, folks. We felt so very "east coast" or "euro"--and had a blast!

Waiting...

Here it comes!

On the 2.5 hour journey north, I made silly faces,

rocked out on my air guitar,

colored while Jezz ate mom's scarf,

and held my sister.
J: I checked out the world...

...and smiled. W: Mom kept exclaiming over the colors and the day and the Fall. I would occasionally give in and say, "Yeah! Beautiful!" but this is just mom's thing... I could take a tree green, orange or leafless.

W: This is mom's friend Jason. He's my friend now, too. He's funny.

We went to a party in celebration of Gamma Birdie's marriage to sweet Ben, but mom forgot the camera. In a word (give or take), it was delicious--full of wonderful people and gorgeous food, in a cozy, beautiful home. Great trip!!!

W: Tonight we made SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLY Jack-O-Lanterns,

...SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARY Ghosts...

Then glued them together and hung them around the house to get into the spirit... no pun intended. :)

W: The changing of the seasons offers us a grand opportuity to stop and reflect on all of the changes we're experiencing. From my perspective, Big Sisterhood is the Big Shift--and I'm adjusting with grace and humor and ginormous amounts of love and affection for the wee babe. It's abundantly clear to me and to my parents that I am no longer a baby. Jez is the babe, I, my friends, am the BIG KID! I demonstrate this most notably with how I'm talking to people and what I'm choosing to say; for example, a sampling from today:

"I'm going to go brush my teeth now. You change Jezzy's diaper, Mom. That's the deal."

"Mom, could I get the cleaning rag and spray bottle? The fridge is kinda a mess. No biggy, but it's kinda a mess. I'll do it, Mom. You take care of Jezzy."

"Dad, I'm pushing your buttons to make you laugh."

J: What I would most like to see change is my position in the front pack. A few inches higher, please, mama. I'm drownin' in here! But...pretty trees, huh?

Julie: For me, the biggest change is, no shocker here, having TWO! Sometimes it feels like herding cats (are you sure there are just TWO?) and other times it flows so gently and sweetly. Mostly, it feels like it's always been this way. Although I'm pretty sure the pace used to be a tad bit slower. And I vaguely remember needing an alarm clock to get up before 8. So, change... yes, it's sort of strange how number two changes things exponentially. Yet, even more strange is how there is time and energy and humor enough for that to happen...and for it all to now feel just about perfect. Just like the colors on these trees!! And fall! I love Fall.

J: I roll over now. Front to back. Add it to the list: Drool. Giggle. Roll.

Although, to give myself a tad bit more credit, I am just beginning to round the corner from infant into baby. Yeah, you know the corner. The one that makes me a little more receptive, interactive, interested, and smiley. They didn't think I could get more smiley. I did.

A fact which, I realize, is not illustrated here. I'm a little perplexed by the camera and think it should be gazed upon with skepticism at best, cold and steely malice at worst. (Mom edited those out; she gets a little frustrated when I am super giggly and sweet and she runs into the next room, only to return to the "'Not the CAMERA' look" My sister, as you'll notice in the following posts, has an entirely different reaction to the emergence of the camera from its case...)

W: I totally knew the answer.

This is me being sporty.
J: Tummy Time!

W: At the farm, on the hayride out to pick out our pumpkins...