Trunk or Treat

I had my first trick or treating experience last night! For weeks, I have refused to put on my costume but after watching the Halloween Barney DVD Maeve sent me (thanks Aunt Shannon!), I was ready to be a frog! Mom and Dad had no idea how long I would keep the costume on but they ventured out to church for the annual Trunk or Treat.

Here I am getting ready! Excited to be a frog!

Walking into church, ready for some treats!

We all gathered in the gym for some games while people set up their trunks. I was very excited to run into some of my friends. Here I am with Bryce, the giraffe.

Ben, the chicken and Brooke, the dinosaur

Bryce's brother Weston was also a giraffe-don't you love those cheeks??

A friendly frog tackle

My new and much older girlfriend, McKenna

Taking a snack break with Dad.

It was a great night! I loved being a frog and got the hang of trick or treating. As you can see from the collage above, I was front and center grabbing the candy. I even started saying some version of "trick or treat" by the end of the night and I always said "thank you" after I got the candy! Mom and Dad can't wait for Friday when they take me trick or treating on the Lawn at the University of Virginia!

North Carolina State Fair

Mom and Dad took me to the NC State Fair yesterday. Now Mom grew up going to the TN Valley Fair, heck they even gave a day off of school for it! But she had never seen anything like this NC fair! They didn't know what to expect or how long I would last but 4 hours later we were still having a great time! I loved it! Let me tell you about it:

First we saw the animals- goats, pigs, cows (huge!), horses, chickens, you name it they had it. I loved making all the animal sounds and petting the ones I could.

Then we came across the Bobcat Dealer- yep, right in the middle of the fair they had every Bobcat known to man and I "drove" them all. I call all tractors "po pos." Mom has no idea why.


Along the way, we sampled lots of fair food. Mom said since she couldn't go on any rides, she would just eat her way through the fair. Between all of us we had pizza, corndogs, candied apples, roasted corn on the cob, french fries and a bloomin onion. Yummy!

There were a few rides I could go on. I loved this train and mom was really nice for squeezing herself into it with me. The man even gave her permission not to wear the seatbelt since it wouldn't fit across her belly! When we got off the train we ran into Josh Hamilton who played for the Rangers this year with Goose. He lives here in the offseason. Mom introduced herself and he remembered Goose telling him that we were moving to Raleigh. He was very nice and we chatted for a while before he had to go chase his kids. Small world!

I demanded to go on this obstacle course/giant slide multiple times. Dad was worn out by the end but I had a great time!

Well maybe I was worn out too! I fell asleep before we even got on the interstate, apple in hand. Ah! It was a great day at the fair!

Ready for UVA/Furman

When I was born, our friends The Albas gave me this North Face fleece and matching shell. I was so tiny and it was so big Mom never thought I would wear it. Well the time has come! I still have some room to grow into but when Daddy snapped this shot on his Blackberry and sent it to Mom she couldn't help but smile. All I need are some croakies and my New Balance and I will be ready for UVA or Furman!

In other BIG news, my cousin Maeve has a blog now!! Aunt Shannon finally caved and started it last week and we have to give her props b/c she has done a really good job so far. Check out The Schupps on the list to the right.

Jack's First Volunteer Project

My Dad has been working hard to plan a volunteer project with all the Home Depots in the Raleigh/Durham area. The project took place on Saturday at an elementary school right by his store. There were over 100 parents, teachers and HD associates there. Mom and I joined for most of the day and I was a trooper!

Here I am completing my first HD Kids Workshop- a football stool. If you don't know, every Home Depot holds a Kids Workshop on the first Saturday of every month. Every child gets to build something- a different project each month. And best of all it's free!! You should check it out at your local HD.

Taking a break- Mom is looking rough- it was cold and early but Dad could have at least told her to fix her hair!
One of the projects we did was build an outdoor classroom. Here is the before:

And here is the after! A great change!
I am proud of my Dad for taking an interest in the community around him and spearheading this project!

A little late...

While we were on vacay last week, I (Jennie) didn't do my usual blog reading so I have been catching up this weekend. I saw on some that last Wed, Oct 15 was National Pregnancy and Infant Loss day- a day to honor the children lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, etc. The website I read asked those who have experienced this to post about it to share their stories so that women (and men) who may be in the same situation know they are not alone. It is definitely a lonely place to be and we know that.
We lost our first pregnancy in November 2005 at 8 weeks. Exactly a year later, God blessed us with Jack- who as you know is the light of our lives! This February, we lost another baby at 13 weeks. I do not believe it is a coincindence that we are due with this sweet baby inside of me in Feb 2009. After our first miscarriage, we did not tell many people, nor talk about it much to those we did. I worried that that was my only chance and that we would never be able to have children. After our second, I worried that Jack would never have a sibling. Clay and I would love to have a large family but we know very well now that is not in our control. After our second miscarriage, we had already told people we were pregnant so we had to go back and tell them about the loss. Sharing the story led to many others telling me of their experiences with miscarriage. It is not something you wish upon anyone but it is always nice to hear that there have been those before you that have gone on to have healthy children.
We relish every day we have with Jack and know what a true miracle it is when a healthy child is brought into this world. I do not know how anyone, especially someone who has carried a child, could think that life does not begin at conception. There is definitely a tiny life up under my rib cage at the moment and I am very aware of it! We are thankful for the challenges we have faced, are sure there will be more and know that God is teaching us something in all of them.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and headed up to Hillridge Farm in Youngsville. What a great place! Not only do you get unlimited hay rides and free pumpkins, there is also a huge slide and a petting zoo not to mention hay mazes and inflatables. We had a great time!

Here's Mom and me on the hayride.

Last year at Burt's Pumpkin Patch in the North GA mountains- still our favorite!


And this year- look at what a big boy I am now!

So many pumpkins, so little time...

This is the big slide. You could ride as many times as you wanted!
Daddy took me lots of times.
Mommy just tried it once- the walk up the hill in the 88 degree weather was a
little much for her.

There was also a Corn Hut. It was a big playroom filled with corn kernels. I wasn't so sure about it at first...

but then I had a great time throwing the corn on Daddy.
It was a great day and we are glad we made it out there before the cold, rainy weather came today.

Wild Dunes

Every October, Mimi and Goose rent a house at Wild Dunes, outside of Charleston. We love that they let us join them for a few days but were sad this year that Maeve, Shannon and Cory couldn't come. We missed them alot but it was a "Just Jack" show all week as you can imagine. I had a great time playing with Mimi and Goose. The weather couldn't have been better (sunny and 80s) and Mom and Dad even got to enjoy a nice night out in Charleston and yummy dinner at Virginia's on King. If you are in Chas, check it out! Thanks Mimi and Goose for a relaxing vacation!

Here I am enjoying my chair Mimi bought me. I loved the beach as well as snacktime.

When low tide came, there were lots of tidal pools that were just deep enough for me to swim in. I loved splashing around and running through them.

Mom wouldn't allow any pics in her bathing suit but here is a glimpse of her growing belly.
On the way home, Dad told us about this place called "South of the Border." He has fond memories of stopping there as a child on the way to Disneyworld. Mom had never been on that stretch of 95 before so she was excited to see what the hype was all about. Um, quite disappointing but still worth the photo opps.

Wild Dunes

Check out my sweet swimming skills. There were lots of tidal pools on the beach and they were made for me! Oh and notice how I point to my stomach/chest and say"baby" like I do when I pat Mommy's belly.

Furman 10 year Reunion

We started off our vacation with mom's 10 year reunion at Furman. We drove to Greenville on Friday and stayed with the Wallaces for the weekend. I had a blast with Emslie (3) and Virginia (1). Friday night Mom took me and Dad to campus where all the student groups were building their floats. It was fun to walk around and see them all. The Chi O one was quite a disappointment but they were paired with the TKEs and well, what do you expect? :) On Saturday morning, we had a brunch at the Wallaces with lots of my mom's fun friends. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with a group of people that she shared all her 4 years with but rarely gets to see. And everyone brought their kids which was even crazier!

Here is my mom with her roomies- Ginger VanSkiver Wallace and Susan Caudell Harris. The top pic is on graduation day May 1998 and the bottom one is from Saturday. Not bad for 10 years and 4 plus kids between them!

The gang- Susan, Ginger, Kevin Harris, Jeremy Snyder, Jennie, Gant Sowinski, Kem Wilson and Travis Hooper. We missed Lance and Bryant!!

Some of our offspring-it was hard to corral the kids. Henry Sowinski, Emslie Wallace, Virginia Wallace, Jack Councill and Thomas Harris. Maysie Snyder refused to be in the pic :)

Here I am in front of the Belltower on campus. This is a famous landmark on campus. Just sign me up for the Class of 2028!

20 weeks!

Mom went for her 20 week ultrasound this morning and it is a ..... BABY! HaHa! I helped her pick out this shirt to wear just so the doctor would be sure not to tell us. The baby looks great but would not stay still long enough to get a good photo for you folks.

Coincindentally, Betsy and Aunt Ann both went for their ultrasounds this morning too! And they are both having boys!! We are very excited for them!

Happy Birthday Maeve!

My cousin Maeve turns TWO today! Mom and I went to Knoxville last week to celebrate with her and go to her fun party!

Yummy and beautiful cake!
Thanks to Uncle Ryan who was my buddy at the Pump It Up party. Mom couldn't go on anything so Rhino spent the morning hauling me up the slide and such. I had such a fun time!
Aunt Shannon took some great pics of me and Maeve. Mom got knocked out by a bad cold and Mimi, Goose and Shannon took great care of me so she could rest. Goose took me to Waffle House for breakfast and to the fire station where I got to ride the firetruck and even turn the lights on! Then we went to Tataru's (a gymnastics place) and Chik-fil-a for lunch. It was a great day!