An Autumn Update...

If I could sum up this past week in one word it would be 'PARK'! Since the weather has finally started to cool a bit and fall is in the air it has been perfect for trips to the park. We went a few times as a family and then a couple of times with friends. I hope the weather holds as it is (maybe a few degrees cooler for this pregnant mommy!) so we can continue to enjoy the great outdoors!

Eddie has a love/hate relationship with swings. This particular day he really seemed to love them - maybe because Daddy pushes him much higher than I do. :)

After the go-carts and carousel we took the boys to the park to enjoy the rest of the beautiful fall day! We brought some leftover pizza and just let them run wild. I was surprised that for a long time we were the only family there, which was great since there were no older kids to watch out for.

Eddison doesn't just eat a piece of pizza - he destroys it!

See food? Oh well - at least he's eating it normally!

Saturday we took the boys to a go-cart track thinking they'd both be old enough to ride as passengers. Sadly Eddie didn't make the height requirement, but Jack had a great time! I told him to give me a 'thumbs-up' and this is what I got first...

But then he figured it out...:)

"What do you mean you have to be 36 inches to ride?!"

He couldn't ride the go-carts, but he could ride the carousel! Here's one happy boy!

"See this play structure? It's mine!"

Justin dressed Jackson on this particular park excursion about a week ago. Love the shoes with the track shorts and lizard shirt. :) Luckily Jack really doesn't care what he's wearing as long as he's allowed to go outside.

"Grr!!!" Jack likes to pretend like he's a monster... And yes - in these park pictures he and Eddie are both eating plain pieces of bread for lunch. Neither of them like sandwiches, but they love bread. Don't worry - they also split an apple and had some fruit snacks, too. :)

A few days ago I was driving the boys to the park where I was meeting with my visiting teaching companion and one of our sister's to do our lesson for the month. It was still pretty early out and the sun was shining brightly into the back of the car on Jack's side. This is one of his biggest pet peeves and he quickly told me his solution:

"Mom, there's sunshine in mine eyes! We need to make the sun dirty!"
"Make the sun dirty?" (I wasn't sure if I'd heard the last word correctly.)
"Yes - like the moon is dirty. That's why it so dark at night."
Laughing I replied, "You think it's dark at night because the moon is dirty?"
"Yes. And the sun needs to be dirty so the sunshine won't hurt Jackson's eyes!" He stated very matter-of-factly.

Definitely a keeper conversation! LOL! I thought it was pretty clever and have been wondering ever since how long he's assumed it's dark at night because the moon is unclean. :)

Look at all of those teeth! What a beautiful smile! :)

Eddie is now officially two teeth away from a mouthful! Many of them are still making their upward trek, but all save for two have finally poked through! (And those final two are visible below the surface - they're just taking their time!) I'm so happy to almost have teething completely done with! :) He's back to being our happy and fearless tank. This kid owns the park play equipment! There are slides even Jack had a hard time going down without lots of encouragement, but Eddison rockets down right behind him with no hesitation.

It has been so fun lately to really listen to Eddie as he babbles nonstop. He's become really good at copying words that Jackson says (especially, "Sorry!" since Jack seems to have to say that a lot!) and also says, "Thank you" without being reminded. Such a polite little guy! :)

20 weeks today! I can't believe I'm halfway there already!!!
(Notice the fall foliage in the background? I couldn't wait for October 1st! I ended up digging out all of our fall decorations during a rainy day last week and decorated the house during the boys' naps. :) Now I just need to STOP buying Halloween candy! It's just so tempting! :)

Baby Girl is also doing great! She's moving around a lot more which is becoming increasingly easier to feel, though I still can't wait for the big kicks and rolls! (Remind me I said that when she's stopping me in my tracks with painful 'downward' kicks a few months from now...:) At our last appointment her heart rate was maintaining at 156 bpm and we were given the results of the Quad Screen and Iron test - everything looks perfect!

As of now she still does not have a name and we are more than willing to take suggestions! We have a small list of names we like, but have found that a couple of them are climbing the charts in popularity and don't want to have her deal with being one of five of the same name girls in her class. (My name is Jessica and I was born in the 80's...enough said.)

Anyway, if you have some ideas that might go well with 'Jackson' and 'Eddison' please comment! I've already read two baby name books cover to cover and so far this is all we have on the list after having to cut a few for various reasons:

Eleanor June (call her 'Norah'): Justin hates this name, but I refuse to take it off the list until he comes up with some more alternatives. :) I love it!
Isabelle June OR Isabelle Bonnie: One of those names quickly climbing the top ten in popularity. :( Justin and I had this on our list when we found out we were pregnant with our first baby, but obviously ended up not needing a girl name. We both agree that it's a beautiful name that goes great with the boys' names, but dislike it's current #5 slot on the 'Social Security Top 100 Baby Names' list. *SIGH!*
Ivy June: This is another name I added because I love how it sounds very feminine and is not very common. Justin isn't completely sold, but again - until he comes up with some ideas I'm taking charge of the list! :)

In case you're wondering about the middle names... Baby Girl's middle name will either be 'June' which is a combination of my two sister's names (JUlia and JayNE) or it will be 'Bonnie' which is my Grandma Ross's name.

Love you all!