Joshua Charles Mola

For those that don't know, my best bud Christie and I were pregnant at the same time. Our due dates were only four weeks apart... she was due in mid November, and I am due in mid December. It was really awesome getting to share the experience with a friend. No, we weren't talented enough to plan it that way, it just happened.

This is the last picture of us before she had her baby. I was 35 weeks pregnant, and she was 39.

And then... after more than 24 hours of labor... and ultimately a c-section... Joshua Charles Mola was born on November 20, 2009 at 11:30 pm. He weighed... get this... 10 lbs, 6 oz, and was 22.5 inches long! I am so proud of Christie for being so strong through it all. Because of all the swine flu hype, the visitors rules are crazy at the hospital right now, so I couldn't be there, but we texted each other all day long, and Brian was able to post updates on Facebook. Thank goodness for technology! It was hard not being able to be there for her. But, we got there as soon as we could the next day and John and I both got to hold sweet Joshua, take some pictures to show everyone, and congratulate our friends. As an added bonus, I got to see the new private recovery rooms, since they aren't allowing tours through there right now.

Naturally, we were back again the next day, and I couldn't believe how much he had already changed. His skin was clearer and his color was different, as you can tell.

We introduced him to Jenna.

And while he was sleeping so soundly I took the opportunity to set him down in the boppy and unswaddle him enough to sneak a peek at those tiny fingers and toes... my favorite!

Fall Fun

I took these on November 11. It was a sunny day, not too cold, and it was fun to go play in the leaves. I try to do a little photo shoot like this once each season and take a ton of pictures. It was a little too sunny, actually, I had to get her in some shade before she could even look up at the camera without being blinded. But, here are some of the better ones I got. Can't believe how big my girl is!

Her eyes are so blue in sunlight!

Can't have a photo shoot without the wrinkled nose face!

My favorite. The genuine smile.

Now that she knows how to say cheese and smile on demand when you pull the camera out, I get a lot of those fakey smiles. In this case, I believe I was dancing around like a crazy person to get her to laugh at me and smile for real!

One of the last dandelions of the year.

She kept laying down in the grass, but denied being tired of course!

Pulling apart my flowers that have gone to seed.

She was stripping them clean until she realized they were sticking to her sweater. And they were reluctant to come off!

She called these seeds berries and would have eaten them, had I not intervened.

Not too happy about having to go inside. She can put on a show, let me tell ya! Don't believe it for a second!

Pathetic. :)

Trick or Treat... We Found Nemo!

Our church did a Trunk-or-Treat for the first time this year and it was a lot of fun. People parked their cars all in a row, opened the trunks, decorated them, and then passed out candy. They had some games and hot dogs, popcorn, and hot chocolate. It was perfect for Julia to trick-or-treat there because it wasn't too far to walk or dark outside yet.

Kristen dressed up like a clown.

Thank you Roxanne!

I'm rather proud of Julia's costume this year. Nemo is her favorite movie and I found this one at Once Upon a Child. $12 for a Disney Store costume! It has a hat, but Julia wanted to wear her new winter hat since she was wearing the new winter coat. I keep meaning to put the costume back on her just to get a picture without the coat underneath, but we'll add that to the list of things to do and see if it happens!

Look Mom, candy!

How to Carve a Jack-o-Lantern

Step 1: Scoop the pumpkin.

Step 2: Remove the seeds and place them, one by one, in the bowl. Each seed must be removed individually, or the quality of the jack-o-lantern will be compromised!

Step 3: Hold up a handful of guts and make a face to show how disgusted you are.

Step 4: Take a lunch break. Get over how disgusted you are with the pumpkin guts and try sneaking a taste. If you like it...

Allow your aunt Kristen to feed it to you.

Step 5: Help Daddy carve a face in the pumpkin using a chunk of pumpkin.

Step 6: Pose for a picture comparing your face to the pumpkin's.

Pumpkin Pile

A pile of giant pumpkins: Another one of the displays in Gatlinburg. Photo op!

Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We spent most of our last day in Tennessee in the mountains. It was so incredibly beautiful up there. We drove as far up as we could drive, hiked up a bit more with Julia, and then John continued on even further by himself because the last mile was all uphill and this pregnant mama wasn't about to attempt it. We got some good pictures between us, though.

To be honest, I am just too tired to take the time to write captions, and too far behind on blogging as well as everything else that needs to be done. The only thing that seems to be on schedule is the growth of this unborn child of mine, whose birth is the deadline for completing all these projects that are behind schedule. And did I mention that I'm tired? :) Anyway, fill in the blanks yourself... mountains, trees, creeks, rocks, some snow... you're smart, you'll figure it out!

Julia loved the bear in the gift shop. I mean, really loved him!

This is the lookout that John hiked up to by himself.

I should also mention that John was finally able to pass his stone on this day, and it was almost twice the size of his last one, which landed him in the hospital. Good job, honey!