The Greentree Parade!

The Greentree Festival has a special place in my heart... It used to be a yearly tradition. We'd go both weekends, sometimes both days on both weekends. There are games to play and win prizes, local vendors sell their delicious treats, students raise money for clubs, and there's a HUGE book sale. It's a great time all around. I stopped going once I started college, because it just wasn't feasible to come home again so soon after leaving.

But this year, I was able to share it with my family!

Here's Jacob at the start of the parade. Benjamin isn't in many of these photos because he was pretty much doing the same thing the entire time:
Jacob and Poppa.
One of the best parts of the parade --- candy!
We told him there wouldn't be tractors, but we were wrong. There might have been three or so.

Go Kirkwood Pioneers! We have the bell! (For now, anyway...)
Cheerleaders for Jacob.
And the super fun marching band.
Jacob said, "Hey, Mom! There IS a monster truck! You said there wouldn't be!!!"
Seconds before this photo, I jokingly said, "They're going to shoot us!" and they immediately fired shots.

How many times did I hear this chanted at games?

Good old Kirkwood United Methodist!!! And the pastor on the back playing the drums... he married us almost 7 years ago. This was ... interesting.
The poor pooper scoopers.

Even the gas station attendants got into the parade.

And a segway square dance!
Jacob was happy with the bubble truck!
The older gentleman next to Jacob was so sweet and helped him collect candy.
Kirkwood Hockey!!!

Kirkwood isn't Kirkwood without Franklin McCallie!

He's still the same, even 11 years later.
National Supreme Royalty. Huh.
The best elementary school ever.
And this? I don't think they're very selective about entrants in the parade.

Let's Go Pioneers!

On Saturday, we went to a Kirkwood High School football game. It had been several years since I'd been to one, and it was a first for Jacob and Benjamin! We had quite the crowd - George Bob and Poppa, Auntie Anne, Uncle Ben, Aunt Sarah, and our little clan. We were very lucky to find a row all together because it was packed!

Jacob and Uncle Ben hamming it up. Sarah had promised us "sweatshirt weather" for the game... not quite. It was muggy and hot!!! (My parents wimped out and left at half-time.)
Jacob was enthralled with the cheerleaders.

I love marching bands!!! Get a good (or even mediocre) drum line going, and I'm yours!Jacob looked almost as interested in the game as his dad did! Aunt Sarah getting some quality baby time.

Another round of Follow the Leader! (Jacob's always the leader.)
The boys making pretty faces...
Auntie Anne and Baby B.

And a closing shot of a somewhat sweaty baby!

You Know You Eat Out Too Much When...

Jacob loves to pretend he's a server/cook at a restaurant. He'll ask us, "Um, what would you like to eat?" And we'll say something like, "Chicken." A lot of times, the answer is, "We don't have that."

"Okay, I'd like some salad."

"We don't have that, either."

"A sandwich?"

"Nope."

"What DO you have?"

"We have burgers, fish, and iced tea." (It varies quite a bit depending on his mood.)

After you choose one of the few items they have, he will go into his kitchen and make it for you. Once you've had a chance to eat, he'll clear away your dishes and ask if you'd like to take some home. Then you get a basket with leftover food!

Tonight Jacob added another step. As he was carrying away the plate, he stopped himself and then put it on his arm the way servers do when they're carrying several plates at once. He initially did it with his palm facing down. Greg showed him that it works better palm up. Jacob happily carried two plates at once on his arm (see above).

Needless to say, Greg and I were pretty amused.

Making Faces

Tonight at dinner, Jacob pulled his eyes back and stretched them into tiny slits. It brought back many memories of elementary school, middle school, and even a few times in high school when a random kid would taunt me, call me names, and make fun of me for being asian (they usually just said, "Chinese"). We asked Jacob what he was doing, and he said, "Max and me played this. We do this when we're playing. We're making faces." I asked him (fully ready to explain why this was so awful) who they were pretending to be, waiting for him to say Chinese (he's mentioned Chinese people a couple of times, so I know it's come up).

Instead, he said, "Girls!" We asked, "Doing that makes you look like girls?" (Very surprised.) Jacob smiled and said yes.

Random Photos: Jacob, Jacob, Jacob (and Benjamin)

We took some photos of Jacob today, and I just wasn't able to really cut any of them out. He's such a ham some days, and it really cracks me up! 

Here's a random photo of Benjamin in his Jump-A-Roo... He's recently become a fan!
Jacob striking a pose.
Actually smiling.
Jacob wanted Greg to pose with him... and Greg had to do whatever Jacob did.
And jumping together...

Random Photos: Benjamin's Shoes and Jacob's Shirt

Benjamin's cute little chubby baby legs in his Ugg-type shoes.
And the full body view...
Hanging out with his pal Boehmke.

Waving hello to his fans. :) (Hi, George Bob!) Getting tired of having his picture taken.
Just looking precious.
Oh, George Bob... really? What have you done to my child?

Just for Aunt Karen...

By request, here's the sand sculpture lady from Boca Grande. She made her original debut around 1993, back when she was a single gal. She's apparently met someone and now has a child (see proof below!)...


She didn't stay on the beach very long. Jacob was apparently upset that I'd ruined his sand pancakes (an accident!), so he quietly did this: