Weekend in Charlottesville

We headed to Charlottesville over the weekend to visit Daddy's alma mater, trick or treat on the Lawn and go to the UVA/Miami game.

Here we are entering Virginia. Yes, we know it borders us- just an hour away-but Daddy gets very excited whenever we go!

At UVA, there is a place called the Lawn in the middle of campus which is a large grassy space with the Rotunda at one end and two parallel buildings that run down the sides with small rooms. The rooms are coveted places for the upperclassmen to live. It is a tradition for the students to open their rooms for trick or treating on Halloween. Daddy had never been so he didn't really know what to expect but it was CRAZY! Thousands of people were there, lots of students and kids dressed up! Here Daddy and I are coming out of one of the rooms...
I loved the choas, the candy and the perfect weather!

We brought our soccer ball to kick around but as you can see it was quite crowded.

Here I am checking out my stash. Mom thought it was pretty dangerous that I didn't like anything with chocolate- not good to have all that lying around a pregnant woman!

Uncle Jordan was on his way to DC for a party and stopped by!

Daddy, me and Jordy with Thomas Jefferson- Daddy's idol. I think he wanted to name me Thomas Jefferson Councill but luckily mom won out.

First Virginia Game!

Saturday we headed over to campus for my first ever college football game! It was mom's first time to one at UVA and since my dad played football at UVA he was pretty excited to show us around. I wore my jersey Grandma and Grandpa gave me for Christmas last year.

The Councill men- Daddy, me and Grandpa
We did alot of tailgate hopping so Grandpa was nice enough to give me a ride.

We stopped in at the FanFest. Here I am a few years from now.

Dad and I taking a break...

We visited the tailgate of Amy O'Donnell Noland, a friend of mom's from her KaBOOM! days. Amy is due a week before mom. Here they are comparing bellies.

And here is what they look like from the waist up :) It was really fun to catch up with Amy! We know she and Josh will love having a little boy come February!

Once we got in the stadium, I was ready to sample the fare. I started with a corndog. Yummy!

And then Grandpa bought me some ice cream!

I shared it with Grandma...

and Grandpa.

We cheered as hard as we could- lots of Wahoo Wa's!

But we lost in overtime!

Daddy was sad but it was a great time anyway! We loved visiting Charlottesville in the Fall and can't wait to go back again soon! I think my brother or sister will enjoy a game next year!

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.