October 2014: Apple orchards, fun with friends, and glove obsession

October was a busy month and, as usual, it is too hard to get these pictures in a good order so I'll just caption and story-tell along the way!

Doug took Gianna and Mark each on a separate breakfast date. Here's Gianna enjoying her waffle with ice cream. I think this is known as the breakfast of champions. 

Enjoying some downtime with a full lap! 

When my mom and dad visted we went to an apple orchard. It was great! It didn't cost a fortune and they had yummy snacks and the apples were terrific, especially in a crisp!

Joe got this hat from Grandpa and Grandma. He loved it. I've never seen a baby who loves wearing stuff on his head so much (hats, masks, goggles, etc)

The hayride was super fun!

Maybe Joe will be a farmer some day, he took right to it!

This is how we roll before swimming lessons. (Joe is not taking lessons, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy the gear!)

Our old neighbors came to visit us. The weather was terrible, but that didn't ruin a great afternoon with great friends!

 Mark's class went on a field trip to the grocery store. It was as adorable as it sounds! The employees were so kind and the kids got tons of samples, so Mark was in heaven! He loves to try new foods. His favorite errand is going to Costco, just for the samples, never tried one he didn't like!

At a play date (yes, we're making new friends here!), Joe discovered the joys of a microphone. He loves music and will dance to anything...even lame grocery store music!

The cold days are upon us! They seem ready to brave the elements! In true Joe fashion, he loves his winter hat. He also loves his gloves. It would normally be a good thing that a baby doesn't take his gloves off, but when he WON'T take his gloves off that's a whole other ball game. It all came to a head one Sunday when he found the gloves before church, threw a fit when Doug took them off to put his coat on, wouldn't take them off once he got to church, and then wanted to eat cheerios with them on and was furious when it didn't work. I think we've successfully weaned him off the gloves, so he knows they are only for outside, but he didn't learn all that without a lot of tears! Good grief!