There are so many little things happening with JoJo right now, I'm afraid if I don't write them down, I'll forget them. I'm sure I've missed a bunch already. I also don't want this to be just a highlight list, but real memories to look back on.

I'm finding we need to be careful about what JoJo hears. She sat on the couch the other day saying (rather loudly), "Shh! I'm thinking!" over and over. We asked her where she learned that, and she said, "Jeanie's house." She also kept saying, "stop being whiney-butt" (which is what I say to her when she's being whiney). It turns out Jeanie did not teach her the "Shh!" line, but she learned it from Angelina Ballerina videos. I think she's learned some of her whiney voices from there, too.

Bedtime has changed: The good news is that she is sleeping through the night - 8:30-4:30, bottle, then until 7. That is a great improvement over the last two years, and I'm beginning to remember what it was like not to be tired and sleep-deprived all the time. The bad news is that she is using every trick in the book not to go to bed: "I need blue blankie!" then "No, I need pink one!" ; "I want to sleep with mommy" ; "I didn't say night night to Sis" ; "Daddy, I want to sleep with you." The other day I was trying to get her to take a nap, and I was singing our usual "Jesus Loves Me" song, and she told me, "No Jesus Loves Me, Bible story - no take a nap!" I've sung it to her every night that I've put her to bed. It's the first indication she's given that she knows it.

It is fun to see her get excited about things. She loves coins ("my monies"). She has two coin purses, both temporarily lost, and every time she sees change, it's "I need my monies" followed by "where's my purse?" She'll put them in her purse, then into her socks, then into a pocket, then back into the purse, over and over again.

She still loves to read, and every time we're up on near Fred Meyer she asks to go to the library to get books! I love it! Currently it's Curious George, Baby Brians, and George Willy and Freddy Magee. It's funny that I have access to 3,000 or so picture books, but I go to the public library to get books for her! I think it's because I like to get books, too (imagine that)!

One last thing. I was reading a Yahoo! News article today, and JoJo climbed on the couch next to me. She pointed at a picture and said, "That's Bac Obama!" She actually recognizes the President's face. I was so impressed I called Grandpa Dale, who is a staunch Republican, so she could tell him. What a smart girl!

A few pictures from Halloween, pumpkin carving, and the pumpkin patch!