October Fun

This month just flew by with all the fun that was packed into it.

As a gift from our family, we had a photo shoot with sweet friend, Eric Kelley, one of Charlottesville's best photographers. What a treat this was. If you want to see the rest of these click below and enter Salvatierra as the password
www.erickelleyphotography.com/events

The boys and I had the chance to visit an adorable petting farm

Noah is living up to his name as an animal lover!

Let us introduce you to Ally. She is a JMU grad and a Trinity Fellow who I get to mentor. She has jumped right into our crazy lives with us!

Had to make a visit to a pumpkin patch. This year it was Round Hill Farm in Culpepper, VA.

Ah, yes our dear Robin Hood...

...and a cute little pup.
(This costume was made for Noah in Peru for a Mother's Day performance.
See May 2008 posts if you want to see Noah in it.)

We had several occasions to dress the boys up in their costumes this year; the All-Saints Fair at church, Mainly Music, and of coarse, Halloween with Grandma! Just before she arrived our town was visited by a rather important national figure - here we are in line waiting to see if we would get into the Pavillion to see President Obama.

Even though it was late by the time we picked Mom up from the train station, the boys just couldn't wait to read a bedtime story with her.

The next morning we carved pumpkins with our neighbors, Clay, Sara, and Knox Daniel.

Then, we enjoyed a trip over the mountain to visit our Alma Mater.

Some friends gave us 4 season tickets that they couldn't use, so we got to see the game!
Sadly, JMU lost to UMass.

But we were there to see the marching band anyways. (c:

Ethan really got into Halloween this year and had fun sorting through the candy with Noah.

Another fun trip up to Carter's mountain with Grandma!

Noah's newest favorite past time - writing.

My first ever attempt today at canning, with a lot of help from Jen Sauder, a friend from Bible Study. It yielded 9 pints of fresh, unsweetened, tastiness to be enjoyed in months to come.

One Year

We have officially lived in our home for one year today. We have experienced every season here. We've been snowed in, several times. We've made music here. We've had friends and family stay with us. We've sowed and reaped our garden. We've watched all the flowers bloom and fade. We've cooked and baked here. We've played hard here. We've rested here. We've prayed here. Yup. Feels like home.

20 months

This week, Ethan celebrated 20 months of life, and so full of life he is! Here are some of his most recent discoveries:

- Newfound independence. I recently posted about his ability to leave his crib whenever he pleases. The good thing is that, rarely, does he do it when he knows he's supposed to be in it. He still waits for us to come get him in the mornings and after naps. He has also discovered, this week, that wheels can take him places. His little push bike he now likes to take all over our neighborhood and down to the park. He is completely dismayed when it's time to go inside, and if brought in against his will, he stands pushing on the door, bike in hand, crying desperately for someone to take him out again - until otherwise distracted by something like a snack.

- Newfound playmate. He loves to play with Noah and is quite bored if he's not around. He has yet to consistently call his brother by a name, but words are coming. Noah is also passing down to him a love for dancing, music, and rhythm. The boys love to groove together to a beatful tune.

- New words. On our trip to Virginia beach a few weeks ago allowed our boys to stay up late enough to watch the moon rise. As we drove, and our view of the moon changed, Ethan discovered the "moo", and pointed at it. For the last hour of our car trip, every couple minutes, he would rediscover it.

- New foods. He loves to eat whole things - whole pieces of waffles, pizza, sandwiches, and especially apples. He surprised us again, on the same car trip, as I had little to offer him for snacks except for a whole apple. He dug into it and ate almost all of it - core and all. He has been a pretty picky eater and is finally branching out a bit! He loves to use his fork.

- New ways to show affection. At bedtime, as soon as we finish reading, he hops down, makes a kissing sound and runs off to find Daddy and Noah and gives them each a wet Ethan "peck" on the cheek. He blows the sweetest kisses in the world. When I am holding him, often I'll find him patting my back with his little hand. Precious.

- New helper for Mommy. Ethan seems to appreciate organization. He loves to help put things back where they came from. It amazes me how much he understands in this regard. I have directed him to an object in one room and asked him to take it to another room, and he will often do it! I have also seen him spontaneously put something back before leaving a room. Yesterday, he was leaving the kitchen and paused to close a cabinet door before proceeding. It's the little things...but what a help!

A JMU Day!

Sorry, I meant to post these in reverse order. Why don't you start at the bottom?

We had a lot of fun trying out being a family of six getting to babysit two sweet kids, while our friends, Josh and Michelle Crouse, got to attend a wedding. The kids were really close to Noah and Ethan's ages - they had a blast together.

Klines' Cookies n' Cream - umm good

We had the chance to get a tour the brand new Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. It was incredible! Here is the main concert hall stage.

Saturday was a perfect day to visit our Alma Mater.

AND a LOT of tomatoes! We got another batch this size too! We've made lots of yummy tomato-basil soup the last couple weeks.

...reaping a handful of puny sweet potatoes. (c:

On Friday, Farmer Todd came over and helped us with our final garden harvest...

Summer's Last Hurrah

This weekend we met my parents in Virginia Beach for their annual Neptune Festival. My parents have gone with friends the last few years and this is the first time we've been able to join them for it. They brought their trailer and let us stay in one of the KOA lodges. It was so cute and just right for us! It had two bedrooms, bathroom, and a kitchen/common area.

We walked around the finalists' creations for the

North American Sand Sculpting Championship - pretty incredible!

Here's a link for more pictures.

This one was Noah's favorite.

Kohr Brothers

A perfect beach day!

We made some lovely memories with Mom and Dad and their friends,

Gil and Karen and Claude and Debbie.

After breakfast this morning with everyone, we came back to the KOA for a little "pillow jumping"

We ALL tried it out - it was awesome.

FUN weekend + long car ride = sleepy boys

When we came home, we realized that Fall had arrived. It was breezy and there was a chill in the air that we haven't had yet. We love Fall. We are so grateful for such a great weekend to bid those Summer Days farewell!