Do you believe in Halloween?

That’s the question that Nate got from one of his neighbors a few days ago, and the answer is definitely yes. Jenna is very excited for her first real Halloween (it doesn’t count unless you can walk around and get candy) and Alixa is thrilled to unveil her costume at the ward party that she is helping to put on. To better get into the fall/Halloween mood the Winns took a trip to a local pumpkin patch. Jenna loves pumpkins and scarecrows, or at least she loves the ones that she has been seeing several times a week in front of the local YMCA. Apparently the scarecrows at the pumpkin patch were meaner, because Jenna would not come within 10 feet of any of them without freaking out and trying to get away. For horrible parents like Jarom and Alixa, this was very amusing. Fortunately, there were other things to do, like taking a hayride, petting the incredibly docile farm golden retrievers that were laying around, and feeding the oddly shaped pair of goats that lived there. Jenna had a blast doing those things, which made up for the terror she experienced out in the patch.

Does this scarecrow lion really look that scary?

Jenna is especially fond of dogs that don't yip at her

A Jenna-sized pumpkin that's just right

Back at the ranch, Jenna has rekindled her love for scarecrows, and can even say the word scarecrow with a reasonable level of clarity, which is easily the largest word she knows. Lix even found a small scarecrow that now resides in our kitchen, and Jenna excitedly points to it while she eats and tells you “scarecrow.” The other new toy that Jenna has goes by the name Bendy Pete. Pete is a super fluffy pillow that can be folded in half to look like a cow. Lix named him, and he has quickly taken a place in Jennas ever-growing menagerie of stuffed animals.

This was the scene when Jenna decided that instead of taking her afternoon nap she would take all of her blankets and stuffed animals and throw them out of the crib. She was quite pleased with her work.

Jenna continues to be neater than we ever thought a kid could be. She definitely did NOT get this trait from her mother, who will throw trash and clothes anywhere and everywhere. Case in point- Jenna was recently playing in the huge pile of clothes that can always be seen on the floor between Alixa’s side of the bed and her dresser. While rummaging around, she noticed that there was an empty water bottle underneath the bed where Lix had tossed it. She reached under to get it, because she enjoys playing with bottles. After a little while, Jarom finished whatever he was doing and was heading back downstairs, so he told Jenna it was time to go. As usual, she obediently followed him downstairs, but not before putting the water bottle back where she thinks it belonged- shoved one arm’s length under the bed. She is a constant source of amusement for us.

Jenna's new slipperboots

She is also getting smarter, which is beginning to cause trouble. Like all little kids, she loves to play with mom’s and dad’s phones. Until recently, they would simply lock the keypads and give her the phones so she could push the buttons. But this week Jenna learned that if she slides Lix’s phone open it automatically unlocks and she can then send text messages to people. One evening she was typing away on Lix’s open phone with a silly grin on her face when Lix asked her to give the phone back. She immediately began running away from her mom, going through the dining room and kitchen, finally going into the pantry and closing the door behind her, so that there was only a small open crack through which two mischievous little eyes could be seen. After she stopped laughing Lix got the phone back and saw on the screen a message asking her to confirm the purchase of some phone app that was going to cost $3 a month. Oh dear.

Working on her putting at the mall

In preparation for his upcoming switch to working night shifts, Jarom had his “weekend” on Wednesday and Thursday, which allowed him to go with his girls to the gym in the morning. He finally got to meet Miss Evy, who works at the YMCA daycare and is Jenna’s third favorite person in the world (sorry grandmas.) She spends the entire time sitting on Miss Evy’s lap, coloring and reading books. And Evy doesn’t seem to mind in the least. He also got to watch Alixa in one of her old lady aerobics classes, stepping and spinning and kicking with the best of them.

And since Wonder Woman would never be caught dead with shaggy bangs, Lix took Jenna to the salon this week to get a trim so that she would look sharp in her costume. She found a nice place where they put you in a car and let you watch cartoons to keep kids from squirming around while they cut your hair. It isn’t much of a change, but it was certainly needed, because if there is one thing that Jenna has proven to be good at it is growing a lot of hair.

Before

During

And after

The adventures of Midnight

For those of you who have known him a long time, it will come as no surprise when I tell you that Jarom is not a man who is full of holiday spirit. This has been a point of contention in his marriage with Alixa, who enjoys putting up decorations and participating in all of the shenanigans that accompany each holiday. For example, she is adamant that as soon as they spend a Christmas at their own house they have to get a real tree, while he steadfastly refuses to accept that as a possibility. Up until now Jarom has won many of these battles, mostly because of their poverty and vagrancy. Now that we have a home and a job, he fears he will begin to lose more and more often. It is only a matter of time til there are dozens of boxes in the attic full of cheap trinkets with labels like “Thanksgiving”, “Christmas”, and “Flag Day.” Jenna has only accelerated the process, because who can resist a cute little kid dressed up for a holiday?



And this is how we came to be the proud owners of Midnight. Midnight is a little stuffed bat. He was found by Jenna, along with a little stuffed Turkey, while Lix was doing some shopping at a local craft store. Jenna was permitted to play with them during the shopping trip, and by the time Lix was done, she was unwilling to part with them. A compromise was reached, and Midnight was chosen to stay with her so that she could more properly celebrate Halloween. Since his purchase, Midnight has barely left Jenna’s hands, much to Mr. Eagle’s chagrin.

Midnight and the turkey, in Jenna's death grip

On the way home, still in the death grip

A slighter looser grip while eating a snack

A few days ago Lix and Jarom traded babysitting nights with Nate and Kenz and had a wonderful date night at one of their favorite places, Outback Steakhouse. It had been a while since they had gone out to eat by themselves, and they very much enjoyed it. And Lix loved the new fire-grilled steak option at the restaurant. They’ll probably try to make that a monthly habit.

This was from the zoo trip a few weeks ago. Gross, right?

Last weekend Jarom finally got around to installing the new faucet that was purchased to go with the newly repainted bathroom. It had been sitting on the bathroom floor for about 2 months, and Lix’s patience had run out. So he spent the morning on his back trying to loosen and tighten things at awkward angles inside the vanity, and trying not to throw up when he pulled the foot-long tangle of hair and gunk from the drain. But he seems to have done a decent job. The sink looks great and there are no leaks to speak of. And there is more room on the bathroom floor now that the box is gone. Perhaps there is hope that he might one day become a handyman around the house.

Jenna may have a sticker problem. We are planning an intervention, but she won't ever sit still.

Jenna continues to be the most entertaining thing around here. She is becoming more vocal, and loves trying to say new words. While she doesn’t actually say many of them, she at least makes distinct enough sounds to be able to tell what she is talking about. She now says book when she wants to read, and says choo-choo when she pulls her train around the house, and says Kenna anytime she is getting in the car because that is who she is usually going to see. She is quite helpful around the house, and loves to lend a hand unloading the silverware from the dishwasher or helping her dad put his shoes away and take off his socks when he gets home from work. She still has no idea that a younger sibling is on its way, and demonstrates that unawareness by jumping on her mom’s tummy all the time. Alixa loves it. Oh, and for all of you who have asked, Alixa’s due date is April 22. That puts her around 13 weeks pregnant.

Una ex-novia?

The 1 month countdown has begun for Jarom and Alixa at work. On Halloween Jarom will be implementing the new electronic medical record system at St. Mary’s, the biggest Bon Secours hospital in Richmond. That means that he will have to begin working night shifts for a little while. The craft fair kicks off a few days after that, so the girls have been feverishly making bows and blankets and the like.

But all work and no play makes Lix crazy, so there have been plenty of fun breaks. There was a visit recently from Jarom’s aunt Jene and her daughter Jennifer, and Jen’s two kidlets. They were in town for a few days, which was a lot of fun since we don’t get to see them very often. While Jarom and Nate went to work the girls went to the zoo, where Alixa got the chance to hand feed a giraffe while Jenna, who was terrified of the strange looking creature, tried in vain to make herself become part of the stroller.

Trying on sunglasses at Kohls

Stuck in a toy bin

Jenna is often found sleeping in strange positions

Another fun break that Lix took was her shopping trip with Kenz to the outlets in Williamsburg. They left the kids with their dads and headed out to buy some hip fall baby clothes for Jenna and Kenna, and some new clothes for themselves. Word on the street is that they had a wonderful time, and that it was great to have a day to themselves without worrying about feeding the kid or putting the kid down for a nap or changing the kids diapers or reading the kid the same book over and over and over and over.

This is what Jenna was wearing last week

So Lix went shopping and got her this. She knows when someone is taking her picture and often becomes a bit of a snot, but you can see the cute outfit just fine.

All of these fun things have been done in Lixi’s new car, which she loves more and more every day. There are a lot of things about having a really old car that are no good, but you don’t really notice because it is the car you are always driving. Now that she is driving in a new car, Lix has been realizing that the camry, while a reliable car that was great to us for many years, was old and worn out and falling apart. She now loves driving at night because the new headlights are great. She doesn’t mind driving in the rain because the windshield wipers are great. She loves using the Bluetooth to call people while she drives. And I know I’ve mentioned this before, but she really loves not having to bend over to get Jenna in and out.



Jenna is going through a bit of a needy phase right now, which is driving her mother crazy. She mixes in enough cuteness to keep mom and dad happy, but they’re nitpicky. The whole family went to a nearby park to play a game of ultimate Frisbee with some friends, and Jenna spent the entire time (a few hours) playing with a pair of six-year-olds and didn’t mind being away from her mom and dad at all. Those are the sort of things that make Jarom wonder why they are taking such a big risk and having another one. Surely they can’t get this lucky twice, can they?



Also this week, Jarom picked up a stalker, sort of. Some girl from Southern Mexico started emailing him, asking him what she had done to upset him and why he wasn’t talking to her anymore. He had no idea who this girl was, so he responded and asked her. They’ve sent a few emails back and forth, mostly consisting of Jarom asking who she is and the girl (named Adri) saying cryptic things like “you’ll know soon enough when we talk” and “I’m used to your little games, so don’t worry, I’m not mad that you are pretending to not know me.” Jarom did some research and found that she has a facebook friend who was one of his mission companions, so he thinks maybe this was a girl that he taught some discussions to in Peru almost a decade ago. At the present time she still has not told him how she knows him or how they could have stopped talking when he has not had any form of communication with this girl since at least 2001, but I’ll keep you posted. I guess the moral of the story is that Jarom has to really be careful with his charm, because you never know just how deeply it is going to affect a person.