For those keeping track, Jared's second word: "ba-ba," translated "bye bye," complete with hand gesture. Words 2, Dada 0.

trouble already

Sadly, I didn't have my camera to capture the momentous occasion: Jared ate an entire Jr. Roast Beef sandwich and 1 1/2 potato cakes for lunch at Arby's on Saturday. I told him his Uncle Ravi would be proud. I think Jared will be giving Ravi a run for his money for the eating bragging rights in the near future.

Last night, Jared climbed up the stairs. All of them. By himself. Joe followed him up, but I was highly disturbed watching the whole business. Apparently, he hasn't read the memo about not being a year old yet.

Some days you wake up and notice a pattern to the day. According to my small children, apparently the theme of the day is "let's make a mess for mommy to clean up!"

The leaves started falling off our oak tree in the backyard about a month ago. I thought it was odd, since the weather hadn't changed at all, but perhaps the tree checked a calendar. Silly rabbit, fall is for kids. The tree was merely shedding leaves in order to grow new ones. It's nearly full of bright spring green leaves. Depressing.

this and that

• Anyone who reads this and is not part of our Friday night Bible study will be sad: I have declared October "pumpkin dessert month." Lest the name not be description enough, every Friday night in October we will be having a pumpkin dessert. First up, pumpkin pie. After that...we'll see. My choices abound: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin creme brulee, pumpkin bars, pumpkin cake... (I'm starting to feel a little like Bubba from Forrest Gump.)

• Jared starting saying "mama" on Monday. It's his first word, and he is the first child to say "mama" before "dada," and the sad part is I would have been just fine with him saying "dada" first. It makes it very easy to hand him off, "See, he's asking for you!"

• I never suspected it would happen, but I'm really enjoying coaching soccer. Last Saturday, my little team actually played like they had heard and understood and were implementing things I had been teaching them. It was pretty exciting. It is amazing how personalities play such a factor at this age, maybe because they haven't learned to be anything but who they are yet. It's also a little overwhelming to try and figure out where to start in teaching them how to play - they really don't know anything, but at the same time they are eager to be taught and then play. I sometimes wish I hadn't had my nose in a book the whole time I was growing up. I think I would've liked to play a sport...I might have been decent at softball.

• If you are at all able, go get some Blue Bell Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream. There really are no sufficient words to describe it.

• One of the worst parts about having small children is not being able to just sleep it off when I am sick. Today is the first day this week I feel remotely like myself again. And as a sort of addendum to my previous post (sorry Ashlee!), I must point out that I had no trouble with allergies until I came to the lovely state of Texas.

• In case you were wondering, we have declared September a terrible month. This information is so that you can be prepared next year, as we certainly will be. As far as I am concerned, September is now a close second to January when it comes to months that I don't like. October, if solely by mere fact of the "pumpkin dessert month" declaration, will be better.

• Poor Jadyn is feeling horribly left out because I have started homeschooling Alaina, and Jadyn desperately wants to "do school" too. Given my natural tendency to want everything to be fair, a large part of me wants to include her. The other part of me, which is winning, says that she has to wait until she is old enough and that she's not going to get to do everything Alaina does at the same time.

• Jars of Clay and Relient K have new Christmas albums out this year...look out world!