We thought we would let you know that we are still here. We hope you enjoy this video of Jacob in his Halloween costume with his aunt Amelia.

JacobChristmasMorning from Thomas on Vimeo.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

P.S. – In case you were interested, the due date is May 2, 2011.

Sorry it’s been a while since we have posted. This fall has been a lot of fun and really busy with Thomas being out of town to Georgia, San Diego and Detroit within a month. In between trips, he managed to take Jacob to his first BYU game.

Jacob had a great time watching the big screen, pointing out balloons as they floated by, or looking at all the fun people around him. He managed to claps a few times as well, although Thomas was pretty sure it was because he heard cheering and not because he actually noticed the game going on. He also thought it was pretty cool that he had his own seat.

We also took Jacob Trick or Treating for Halloween. He enjoyed pulling his candy out of his jack-o-lantern bucket and putting it back in.

We thought he looked pretty cute as a giraffe.

Jacob also experienced his first snowfall (not really, but it was the first time he was aware of snowflakes). It was fun to see him try and figure out what it was as it fell from the sky. He was literally amazed, and would try and grab it, pick it up as it landed, wade through it. It’s so refreshing to see him experience new things that we take for granted. Life is a series of new adventures for him right now, and he really enjoys exploring and learning and discovering.

I was in Georgia last week and noticed this sign at a movie theater:

(Hint to Movie Theater: I think Expendles is missing an ‘A’ and a ‘B’.) I got a nice laugh out of that.

Here’s a fun picture of Jacob. Is it just me, or does it look like he is posing? He must have a relative somewhere that’s a model.

Jacob picked out his first pumpkin yesterday:

We visited the great pumpkin patch, and let Jacob find his own pumpkin. He enjoyed the cart ride so much, he didn’t want to walk around the patch. We placed him in the patch, he found the biggest pumpkin he could lift, and wouldn’t let go. We also visited some nearby horses and walked through a kiddie maze. Jacob’s Grandma Charlotta also came along. It was a lot of fun!

Thomas was out of town in Georgia this week, so Erin took Jacob up to the Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden. They put on a Halloween activity each year where the kids dress up in costumes and go on a quest.

Speaking of October, I have recently reconnected with my favorite music group, U2. It’s been a long time since I have listened to only them for an extended period, but I found myself doing just that over the past couple of weeks. Lots of my memories are etched into their music. “One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” “Bad,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “October,” “40,” “Pride,” … the list could go on and on. Have you ever “rediscovered” something you have loved: a meal, a book, a TV show, or something else?

Story One (from Erin’s perspective): I have a hard time getting a shower in the morning while Jacob is awake and active.  One morning this past week I had a brilliant idea.  I blocked off the kitchen, blocked off the bathroom door (but left it open so I could hear what was going on), and made sure the barricaded area was safe.  Then I jumped in the shower while Jacob played in the living room area.  At first he whined by the bathroom door but after a short while I started hearing happy sounds from the living room and congratulated myself on such a great idea.  When I got out of the shower I saw Jacob in the living room with an entire package of  goldfish crackers scattered on the floor around him.  I had accidentally left the package within his reach on the couch.  He was having a great time pouring them out, eating some, and pretending to put them back in the container.  I caught him red handed as you can tell by the following picture.  The picture doesn’t show his delight at being surrounded by his favorite snack and he gave me a big grin when he saw me.  It was a small price to pay for a few quiet minutes in the shower.

Story Two: Jacob loves wearing Dad’s hats.

Jacob loves wearing Dad’s hats while sitting in a big person chair reading the paper and pointing out all the things he wants for Halloween.

Story Three (from Thomas’ perspective): During the third hour of Church today, I took Jacob with me to visit the Teacher’s Quorum. Jacob was reverent and attentive the entire time (seriously). Then, during the closing prayer with everyone kneeling in a circle, Jacob passed gas so loud it rattled his diaper. Everyone in the room heard it and could barely contain themselves. On cue, Jacob let off another diaper rattler. That’s my boy!

Jacob is growing and learning so much right now! We went outside this afternoon for the last warm day of the year and Jacob got his groove on, walking around the yard and “jumping,” all while refusing to take Dad’s hat off:

Jump Around from Thomas on Vimeo.

And more walking:

Mobility from Thomas on Vimeo.

Jacob and the Water Hose from Thomas on Vimeo.

Eating Yogurt from Thomas on Vimeo.

Thomas had the hiking bug this summer, so that meant Jacob did as well. Jacob really enjoyed meeting his uncle Jeremy as they hiked to Red Pine Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.

Early in the summer, we found a babysitter and used a couple of free passes to catch a movie in Provo. We showed up early enough that we had to wait in line for the theater to open. When they let us in and we tried to find a seat, the people ahead of us had saved so many seats that the only two unclaimed seats next to each other were on the second row. Not cool. There were at least 10 people who were saving 3 or more seats. Thomas went to look for a theater employee or manager and couldn’t find one. So, the following day, Erin let the theater know we were disappointed that so many people were saving seats for people who weren’t present when we were! The next day, we received an email from the theater manager apologizing. He also sent us 4 passes for any movie. Kudos to Cinemark for providing excellent customer service.

Anyway, we went back in July to see Toy Story 3 with two of our free passes. (The passes are good for any movie, by the way, which is killer). When we showed up in the theater, this is what we found:

The picture quality is bad, but it shows Erin sitting in a COMPLETELY EMPTY theater. We were tempted to save the whole thing for some phantom friends, but decided a good laugh about the situation would suffice. Needless to say, our view of the film was excellent this time around.

This is one of Thomas’ favorite recent pictures of Jacob:

Everywhere we go people comment on how cute, or how fun, or how smiley, or how happy Jacob is. He’s a great kid and we love him!

We headed up to Snowbird ski resort last weekend for its annual Oktoberfest. There is a small farmers market-type plaza where you can buy clothes, trinkets and authentic German memorabilia. There are also numerous beer stations, as well as a large hall where you can eat German food and listen to (or dance to, if you prefer) authentic German music (think Polka).

Jacob was more interested in Oktoberfest than posing for the camera

Jacob thoroughly enjoyed the polka music and enjoyed dancing to it. Thomas had a bratwurst, but ate it so fast we didn’t have time to take a picture.

Oktoberfest is the culmination of what Thomas is calling his “German Summer.” It started while Thomas was on a business trip to Aberdeen, MD, and ate twice at the Prost German Restaurant. Thomas then found Cafe Berlin while on a business trip to Denver last month. The restaurant is owned and operated by Marlena, a wonderful woman from Mainz who served the best German food Thomas has had since living in Germany:

Rouladen with Spaetzle and Rotkohl (Red Cabbage)

We are also trying to enjoy the remaining warm days before fall fully sets in. We had a picnic outside Friday night, and happened to catch this picture of Jacob blowing bubbles:

Erin has also been spending a lot of time at the park, one of Jacob’s favorite places to go. Among his park hobbies: eating wood chips, crawling all over the playground, going down the (small) slides, and swinging: