Pumpkin Time!

This time of year is full of pumpkins--big and small, round and bumpy. But probably, the two best pumpkins around are the two little ones that live in our house:)  Earlier in the week Miss AlteLu had the chance to paint her very first pumpkin, while HBB "lotioned" his pumpkin with lots of paint.  Yesterday we carved our pumpkin, which was a fun event for all.  This past week we watched, "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," with Hersh, so when carving our pumpkin he wanted to make it look like The Great Pumpkin, and I must say our jack-o-lantern is classic!  When going on walks (which we have been doing a lot of because the weather is so nice) Hersh and I look for all of the spoooookkkkkyyyy decorations--lots of fun!
AlteLu is amazing. She walks around the house with her belly sticking out, hooting while carrying around her owl (it's a very deep hoot), or saying "ba-ba" and finding her baby.  This week we heard her say: apple, light, and orange.  It's so interesting to see the ways that she is naturally different from Hersh at this age.  We are raising her more or less how we raised him.  Yet, she is much more interested in dolls, animals, etc then he was.  She is also very interested in putting things into containers.  Last night she had a great time with frying pans.
Hersh is obsessed with tape.  Tape, paper, scissors, and string are all he needs.  Last night he wrote all of our names--so special.  Yesterday, when he had an idea, he pointed his finger up in the air and said, "Wait, I have an idea!"  Alte followed, using her finger the same way:)

 Pumpkin carving:

Pumpkin painting:

AC Baby!

This past weekend we packed our bags and drove to my home state--NJ!  NJ is so beautiful in so many places.  We drove through beautiful open farmland, filled with farms and diners, finally arriving in Atlantic City.  Atlantic City itself is quite depressing, but we stayed in a nice condo, and spent lots of time in the neighboring towns, which have beautiful beaches.  It was sunny, warm, and relatively deserted, which made for perfect beach time.
Aunt Addie and Isaac drove in from Philly on Friday to spend the day with us, and it was such a treat to enjoy the day with them.  The last time we saw Isaac (about a month and a half ago) he and AlteLu were the same size.  Now that little man has bypassed his older cousin in size!  Isaac is a wonderful little man, crawling and smiling all over the place.  How wonderful to have such cousin love!
The cousins loved the beach, and on Friday night we went out for a nice family dinner.  There were 3 grown-ups and 3 kids at the table. As we were leaving the table behind us commented, "Oh, we didn't even know there were children at the table!"  Well behaved children indeed!
Something else that made this weekend special, is that our two little lovers shared a room for the first time!  This is a goal Jacob and I have had since before Alte was born.  When we travel, we want for AlteLu and HBB to share a room--and they did!  The first night Alte woke up around 4am.  Jacob and I listened over the monitor to see what was going to happen.  After a few minutes we heard Hersh say "SSSHHHHH" and then silence:)
On Friday, after Hersh's bike ride on the boardwalk, all three kids were playing.  AlteLu had a necklace around her neck.  Hersh was trying to trap her, but instead he said, "AlteLu, you are so attractive!"  Addie and I thought it was hilarious!  Another funny Hershism from this weekend--when we were finishing dinner on Friday, we were deciding on dessert.  Addie decided to get a canoli.  Hersh then started saying, "I want a canoli, I want a canoli."  After ordering a canoli, Hersh said, "What's a canoli?!?"
AlteLu enjoyed vacation as well.  She loved being back on the beach.  We brought with us a baby doll she received as a gift, and she now walks around saying, "Ba-ba" and hugging the baby.  She is out of control deliciously cute.

Fancy "H"--writing like a monk

 Hats!

 Beach Time:

Happy 14 months, AlteLu!