Do they look alike to you?

So, the question I have been asked most often since Joe was born is, "Does he look like Jack?" My answer is generally, "They have a lot of similarities, but they don't look identical." So that everyone can judge for themselves, here are a couple of shots of Jack at 3 months and Joe at 3 1/2 months in similar poses. (The one with the hair is Jack; the one with the fuzz is Joe.)

Happy Thanksgiving

Over the last two weeks we have enjoyed lots of company. Susu was here from November 14th until the 25th (the day before Thanksgiving.) Then, Grandmommy rode back from NOLA with Joe and me on the 22nd. Then, Aunt Bec and Uncle Doc came from the 23rd-25th, and Grumps and Mimi came on the 25th. The Louisiana grandparents left today, and tomorrow we are heading to Memphis for the day to see Curious George Live! Here are a few shots of the boys from our Thanksgiving festivities.

Jack helped baste the turkey after I carved it.

Then, we explained the concept of the wishbone...

Then Jack and I pulled the wishbone, but this is the last picture of that activity...I "won," and Jack got upset. We're trying to work on not being a sore loser!

I think Joe would have liked to sample the turkey.

Sip & See

Last weekend Joe and I went to NOLA to see some of my friends from college. My friends Leah and Karen also had babies recently, and our friends Shona and Trina had a Sip and See for us at the Columns on St. Charles. Cecilia was born on July 14, Joe was born on August 11, and Asher was born on September 22. Check out the size differences. (As everyone says, he is "healthy.")

Amanda, Joe & me, Shona, Leah & Cecilia, Karen & Asher, Jen, Caroline, Amy Knower, Critter


Cecilia, Joe, Asher

Cecilia & Joe...to give you some perspective on his growth, Joe and Cecilia had the same birth weight and height (8lbs 50z, 20.5") and she is exactly 4 weeks OLDER than him!

A new brother, painting, and baby dedication

Baseball in November??
We are part of a foster parent program for the baseball team at MSU. The team has been scrimmaging throughout the last month, and a couple of weekends ago, we were assigned our new "foster son." We have known our new baseball buddy for several years as he has been the foster son of friends of ours in previous seasons. His name is Russ Sneed, and Jack is a big fan of Russ. (Russ is really sweet to play with the little kiddos.) After the scrimmage, we got to tour the newly renovated locker room.
Joe enjoying his first baseball game

Jack with Russ in front of Russ's locker

Joe & Russ

Jack, Em & Addie testing the furniture in the baseball team's locker room

Painting Pottery
Last Friday evening we went to Dandy Doodlez to paint a Christmas plate.
At first Joe was not sure how he felt about having his foot painted...

Then, he gave us "the lip" (I see that lip often.)

Baby Dedication at FBC
On Sunday our church held baby dedication. (For those non-Baptist blog readers, this is the equivalent of infant baptism. The baptist faith does not baptize infants, instead they are "dedicated" as infants and baptism occurs upon profession of faith.)

That is us on the stage receiving a Bible and certificate for Joe. (Jack is up there behind the stack of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.)

Happy Halloween (and a milestone for Jack...his first picture with Bully!)

This past week we attended several Halloween events. The first was in downtown Starkville and was called Pumpkin Pallooza. Many of you know that Jack is TERRIFIED of all mascots. (That could even be an understatement. He has never taken a picture with Bully and gets truly frozen with fear when we get anywhere near him.) So, when we saw Bully last week at the Halloween party, we asked if he wanted to take a picture with him. We fully expected a screaming, NOOOO! But, when we told him that Daddy would hold him and get in the picture too (an offer we've made many times before), he said, "OK." He did it! I was so proud of him, and he was quite proud of himself. I'm not sure if it was the firefighter costume made him feel brave, but I'm interested to see how he responds the next time.

Emily the cowgirl, Addie the zebra (or horse, as she would tell you), and Jack the firefighter ran into each other at Pumpkin Pallooza.

The same group with the addition ofAvi Grace the lady bug hit the streets last night to trick or treat before heading to the Fall Festival at church.

Joe wore the same little pumpkin outfit that Jack wore for his first Halloween...the difference is that Jack was almost 7 months old, and Joe is not yet 3 months old...and it fit Joe perfectly!!! I couldn't believe it!

On Thursday Jack was not feeling well, so we took him to the doctor. (When it comes to illness, I usually "wait and see," but with all of the flu scares and an infant in the house, I've become a little more paranoid.) Anyway, it turns out Jack just has a cold, nothing serious. But, while we were there, I went ahead and weighed Joe just to see how much he's grown in the last 3 weeks. He was 13 lbs, 10.4 oz. (That's up 1 lb, 10.4 oz in 3 weeks.)