The Great Jack O Lantern

Well, it finally got here! Time to turn the Great Pumpkin into the Great Jack O Lantern! Mommy and Daddy are amateurs when it comes to the carving part, since this is the first year they have done this, so Granny and Granddaddy came over to supervise. This is one last shot before the carving begins!This is Daddy getting some final advice about how to cut the lid open. It has to be cut on an angle so that it won't fall down inside.

OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Gross! What is all that stuff? I think Daddy is going to have to handle this part!Ok, ok, I'll help too. Boy, there sure are lots of seeds in this big ole pumpkin! This is so fun! I love doing these things with Dad, and he will do just about anything to be sure I have good memories!Hanging with Granddaddy in the garage, trying to stay warm and not miss any fun.Stirring the bowl full of seeds that came out of the pumpkin. We were going to save the seeds and try to grow our own next year, but decided we had so much fun going to the pumpkin patch this year that we tossed them in the trash. They were slimy, but fun to play in!!!Here it comes! They are moving it to the porch! Get out of the way!! Don't drop it!TA DA!! Look what a great job Daddy did carving the Great Jack O Lantern of 2009!!This has nothing to do with the Great Jack O Lantern, but Mommy had to put it on here to show what happens when she leaves her purse on the kitchen table while she runs to the potty. For the record, lip gloss does not clean up nearly as easy as it goes on. Mom scrubbed and scrubbed, fussing the whole time about boys not wearing make up. I think that's all for now. I'll post pictures of my Halloween costume later this weekend!

The Great Pumpkin

Every season, there are so many new things to do, see and learn. For example, last week Mommy and Granny started talking about "The Great Pumpkin". Now, to me, this meant nothing, but I could tell by Mom's excitement that it was something I was going to learn about. Apparently, when Mom and Uncle Bubba were little, they would load up with Granny and Granddaddy and go all over town looking for the biggest pumpkin they could find. Then they would take it home and clean it out and make a big jack-o-lantern for Halloween. So began our hunt for the great pumpkin. Last Sunday, we loaded into Daddys' truck and went lookin'. We went to Ooltewah, not many choices. We went to Highway 58, some possible candidates, but Granddaddy said to keep looking! We went to East Ridge, hardly worth getting out of the truck for. Downtown, nothing, Red Bank, nothing, and finally to Hixson. There were some definite candidates here, the best so far, but I was asleep in the truck by now so we decided to come back later in the week and look again.

You call that a big pumpkin??

Not the Great Pumpkin, but I can carry this one!!

After a long day of searching, we met Bubba and Aunt Audi for supper and guess what??? My JeanJean was here!! I didn't know she was in town, but I was soooo glad to see her!

Then, Daddy found out about a place called Burt's Farm in Dawsonville, Ga. It is a giant pumpkin patch with all sizes and shapes of pumpkins. So, Tuesday afternoon, Dad and Granddaddy took off work early and into the truck we piled. After an almost two hour drive over Fort Mountain and through Ellijay, we finally got there. A little green from the trip, but there none the less. We crawled out of the truck and went through this little barn that was a gift shop into the pumpkin area. WOW!!!! HOLY COW!!! and WHOEEEE!!! I have never seen so many pumpkins! There were big pumpkins, little pumpkins, fat pumpkins and skinny pumpkins. There were green pumpkins, warty pumpkins, white pumpkins and gourds. There was an old tractor that was just for playing on and all sorts of home made goodies for sale in the shop.

I started out in my wagon and ended up pulling it around while Dad chased me and videoed everything I did. Mom, Granny and Granddaddy searched through all the ginormous pumpkins looking for "the one". After I was exhausted and muddy around the edges, Daddy helped make the final choice from the ones Granny, Granddaddy and Mom had found. It is AWESOME!! When we got it home and unloaded last night, it looks even bigger! It is bigger than me, and Mom has some cute photo ideas for carving time. Of course, I'll post pictures of that, but in the meantime, here are some shots from our hunt.

This was my reaction to seeing the huge field of pumpkins ahead of me!

In just a few minutes, I was out of my wagon and walking through the rows of pumpkins like I owned the place. I couldn't see over most of them!

The old John Deere tractor. It's a good thing Mom and Dad are teaching me to share. Otherwise I would have just ignored those kids wanting a turn on this wonderful tractor! I did pitch a tiny fit when it was time to get down. I am just shy of two years old though, so it's to be expected!

Look! This tiny pumpkin is almost as cute as I am!!

My Pumpkin loaded in the truck and ready to take home!! This is "THE GREAT PUMPKIN of 2009"! Stay tuned for "the great jack-o-lantern 2009".

Congratulations Emily and Jeff

Tonight, we went to a wedding. It was a beautiful affair, but it paled in comparison to the bride. She was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Ok, she's the only bride I have ever seen, but I digress. The wedding was sweet and I did the best I could to behave and be quiet. Everytime I opened my mouth and said something, Mom shoved something to eat into my mouth. During the ceremony I consumed a package of fruit chewies, an entire banana and 6 or 7 animal crackers. As soon as Emily and Jeff got to the reception, they had their first dance. It was sweet, and they looked beautiful and happy. See for yourself.Next was the Father Daughter Dance. It started out tender and sweet. Mom and Granny both cried.

Then, all of a sudden, the music changed and Charlie and Emily broke out into a great dance! It got the party rockin' and was such a cute way to end a very tender moment. Who knew CP could groove like that?!

Next, the band started playing. Whooooeeeeee!!!! What a band. They were great and I could hardly take my eyes off of them. I think I might want to be in a band when I grow up, or at least learn how to dance like they were gettin' down tonight. Emily danced with me for a couple of minutes and then Jeff joined her on the dance floor. They were having fun, and I was mesmerized.

I really had a good time, and got to dance and hang out with my friend Kora. I see her sometimes when I am at the beauty shop with my Granny and she's a cutie! She dances about like I do, but she is sure cute gettin' down. I think we make a cute little duo, how 'bout you?

That's all for tonight. I've got to get some sleep so I can go again tomorrow. Congratulations again Emily and Jeff!

Dancing to His own Rhythm

Hey everybody! This is Jax's Mommy. We took this video tonight and I just had to share. After Jax was ready for bed, and while we were picking up his toys, we were watching last weeks recoding of America's Got Talent tonight and they had a special guest performance by a hip hop group. As soon as they started singing (rapping?), Jax climbed onto the coffee table and started getting down. I grabbed the camera and here is MY little boy dancing. Notice the emphasis on MY? That's because he's got my rhythm (or lack thereof). If you look closely towards the end, you can see his daddy's reflection in the mirror. He is moving to the beat. Jax and I just get down to the beat in our hearts! Enjoy!!

Busy as a Bee

What a summer it has been! Here are a few highlights to keep you in the loop.
In early June, we went to the Zoo! Chattanooga has a small zoo with a few prize exhibits. Their big claim to fame is Hank the chimpanzee and some of his chimpanzee friends. I'm not sure which one this is, but he was friendly. When I knocked on the window, he tapped back. He also made faces and screeched a little bit. That was kind of scary, but Mom and Dad screeched back and made me laugh, so it was ok. This is one of the white parrots at the Chattanooga Zoo. It didn't do much, but right after Mommy took this picture, it climbed into the corner of the cage and started making some noise that sounded like it was saying "HELP". It was really funny.

Here's me and Daddy checking out a peacock. We didn't get to see it in "all it's glory" as Mom says, but there were several of them and they just wander all over the place. One climbed out of the bird area and crossed the sidewalk right in front of us. Boy, let me tell you, peacock's are LOUD! They make this long call that sounds like "CAW". In case you were wondering, I have perfected this sound and do it on command. (It's so cute I'm going to use it the next time I'm in trouble to get me out of it!)

Aunt Audi's friend Grace came for a visit from Ohio. She has three little kids, Lucy, Roxy and Barrett. We went to Chuck E. Cheese and I spent almost the entire evening on this Bob the Builder bulldozer. I could care less about Bob the Builder, but I loved his 'dozer. I pretty much love anything that is related to construction equipment. Dump trucks are my favorite!One rainy Saturday, we were headed to church for something. As we turned in the parking lot, Mom spied a turtle trying to cross the road. When she was a little girl, Granny used to perform "Turtle Rescues" She would stop and move the turtle across the road in the direction it was headed or take it to the farm to let it go. So, Mom decided to carry on the tradition and we had our first turtle rescue! Mom picked it up and held it out the window as she drove up to the church. Then we got out on the sidewalk and checked it out. Mom said it has legs that come out of it's shell, but we only saw it's head. Then we tucked it into some really tall grass on the undeveloped part of the property and when we came out, it had gone on it's merry way. Gracie, or GG as I like to call her, turned 11 in June. She broke her foot right before school was out and had to have surgery, so she was in a cast and couldn't have a big party. We had a small family get together and went to the Station House at the Chattanooga Choo Choo for dinner. There is a live band and the waiters and waitresses take turns singing. It was really cool, loud but cool. they sang a special song to GG since it was her birthday, and there was cake! I go a little restless, as I am prone to do now days, so Daddy took me outside. I loved climbing on the train and pretending to drive. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

Inside the train, I was the perfect little engineer. I had so much fun pushing on things and pulling on levers acting like I was driving that big ole train....it was awesome.

GG also hit another milestone this year. She graduated from St. Nicholas and is now a middle school student. Mommy and Daddy keep saying how fast time flies and that she should still be a little girl calling him Dense and holding her arms up to Mommy saying "I want to hold you". Now she's a tall, beautiful young lady who has her own style and interests and will be driving before you know it. Congratulations GG, we are proud of you and we love you!

I caught my first lightening bug this year. Dad taught me how to look for them and we caught on in a jar. We took it out on the screen porch and looked at it for a long time. Then it flew out and into the kitchen before we could catch it. Mommy told Daddy to catch it again or perform a "service". (edited by mommy to say "service" is code for funeral at our house).

This is how you look for bugs...you squat down and look from side to side. Now I do it every time I get out of the car.

My favorite hat of the summer. It's a duck hat that Mom bought me to wear back at Easter, but if you turn it around, it looks a lot like a hard hat. Either way, it's my fave, and is never far away!

Splish Splash! I love the pool. I'm a regular fish.

I'm not afraid of anything, even going down the slide. It takes a village though, Daddy helps me up, Granny or Granddaddy or Audi and Bubba spot me on the way down and Mommy catches me at the bottom. Sometimes she lets me go under, sometimes she doesn't. I'm learning that it's ok to go under...just don't try to breathe while you're down there. Cough, Cough, Choke, Snort, Whoooo.

We didn't have big plans for the 4th, we got to go to two different fireworks, and they scared me a little. I decided it was ok as long as I was with Daddy or Granddaddy. This was just before the first round started and I had no idea what was coming. It was exciting!

During the week of the fourth, we spent a lot of time at Nanny's house. She got a new roof and that opened up several smaller projects that needed to be done. So, Granddaddy, Granny, Gingle and Steve spent countless hours at her house painting and doing general repair type stuff. Of course, I was needed to supervise, and just like any good supervisor I took my recreational equipment. Heaven knows I wasn't going to work. From this vantage point in the front yard, I could easily oversee all the projects going on in the carport.

I did take a break from lounging to clean up my truck. You have no idea what serious business it is to clean a dump truck. I gave it all I had!

Check out that belly! It is FULL of water. I usually have a very svelte figure...my pants won't stay up without a belt. I do love to drink out of the water hose! Sometimes, though, it squirts up over my head and just about drowns me. I don't know why my Mommy thinks it is so funny to see me blinking and snorting, but she gets a real kick out of it.

And then there's the story of the lizard. See it in my jar? Well, settle in for a knee slapper. One night, Mommy and Daddy and I were outside on the screen porch playing on my climbing house. Daddy was moving some things around and picking up the pillows I had thrown on the floor so he could open the door onto the deck. All of a sudden, something ran out from under the cushion on the chaise lounge. It was too big to be a bug! Mommy didn't scream, but she sure did scoop me up and take me inside. Well, she told Granny about it and the next day, when Granny came to get me, we went out there to look for the critter. Turns out there was a lizard enjoying Mom's chaise lounge. It ran up on the arm of the chaise and Granny told me to watch it. I stood right there so it didn't get away while Granny got a jar. She chased it down, pinned it with the broom and caught it in this jar. It was kind of green with a blue tail. I was terribly excited, and shook it really good in that jar so that I could see it from every angle. Granny and Mommy decided it didn't like being shaken because it just laid there on it's back not moving. So we took it out into the shady part of the yard and dumped it out. Then off we went on another adventure.

*edited by Mommy to say that services were performed that evening for said lizard. In the future, the lid on the jar will have holes and shaking will be kept to a minimum. Who knew lizards were so dainty?

I think that's all for now. As soon as Mommy gets the pictures off her camera, I will tell you all about our trip to the Creative Discovery Museum. There is a Curious George exhibit here for the summer and I love me some Curious George. I'm debating now....A Curious George birthday party or an Elmo birthday party. Big decisions ahead. I'll keep you posted.

Love ya!

Jax

Happy Birthday America!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in and say Happy 4th of July!! I am working on a killer post that will get you up to date on all of the major fun things that have happened in the last couple of months. There's been birthdays, a trip to the zoo, swimming, going down the slide at the pool, a visit from Pops, Mother's Day, Father's Day, G.G.'s graduation, fireflies, lizards, feeding myself, dressing myself, time at Nanny's house...whoooo, I need a nap from just reminiscing!

Last night, July 2nd, we went to Collegedale for the fireworks. Now let me just say that Mom, whom I now call Mommy, has made me try to say "Happy Birthday America" at least 5647 times in the last week. I still can't say it. She has dressed me in red white and blue for four days straight and talked about these "fireworks" until I was ready to explode! (pun intended). So, last night we packed up Dad's (whom I now call Daddy) truck with chairs, my fire truck, some juice boxes and the camera and off we went. When we got there, Granny and Granddaddy had a great spot picked out for us and Granny had brought a flag just my size for me to wave.

We played a few minutes and then this great orchestra started playing really great music. Then, BOOM! What was that? BOOM! There it was again! BOOM! I'm not so sure about all this! BOOM! Daddy, Mommy, Granny, Granddaddy?!?! BOOM! Everytime there's a BOOM, the sky lights up! BOOM! It's kind of pretty though. BOOM!! Look at that one. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Whoa...cool! BOOM! Where's my firetruck? BOOM! I think I'd rather play in the gravel. BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! I'm getting sleepy, it's way past my bed time. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! It's the Grande Finale!! Mommy's face is lit up like the sky! She really loves this kind of stuff!

Suddenly, it was all over! Daddy scooped me up and buckled me in my seat as fast as lightening. Granny and Granddaddy threw the chairs in the back of the truck and didn't tie 'em down. Mommy yanked up my firetruck and tossed it in the backseat and jumped in the front. By the time Daddy got in, Mommy was buckled and Granddaddy's truck was on the roll with us right behind him. Boy! It was a loud evening that ended in a whirlwind, but all the way home, Mommy and Daddy kept talking about how great it was that it only took 15 minutes to get out of traffic. It's not like they learned to walk or get a fork from their plate to their mouth with food still on it!

Mommy has already added the pictures from this great American adventure in a slide show on the right of this post. She also has a list of where there are going to be more fireworks before the weekend is over, so be warned. Apparently, getting there early is not such a big deal, and there is no rush to get through the fireworks, but as soon as that Grande Finale goes off, LOOKOUT! The Fitches and Hatmakers don't waste time sittin' in traffic! I gotta scoot for now, Mommy will be suspicious that I have been quiet for so long, so I best go put her mind at ease by getting all of her tupperware bowls out of the cabinet and spreading them all over the kitchen.

Enjoy your 4th and your families!

Love,
Jax

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy, Granddaddy and Pops! Hope ya'll have a great day!

Love you!!

Jax