Other September Photos

So... truth be told. These are the random-est photos and I haven't the slightest idea why I feel the need to include them. But since I do... here they are.

Little Elise - being herself.
In her pajamas.

The two of them together.
(I'm so glad that they like to be close).

And Isaac - who is incessantly wearing a bucket or basket on his head - pretending to either be in a marching band or to be a catcher at a baseball game.
Either way - this is a normal look around our house.

And that's a wrap for the month of September!

The Perfect Fall Weather for Playing Outside!

The weather was AWESOME while my parents were visiting. Incredible really. Papa took advantage of the pretty weather and got Isaac outside playing with him EVERY day... for HOURS. It was the highlight of their visit for Isaac. He was in heaven!!! They played football, baseball, soccer, marching band, golf, hide'n'seek, and just RAN and RAN and RAN. Papa tired Isaac out every day... he slept pretty well that week. :) Here are some photos of their fun times.

And Elise - silly goose - doesn't like grass. But she DOES like to be outside. So she would insist on having her jacket and her shoes on and then she would walk around on the sidewalk (a few times Grandma or I would take her on a bit of a walk and she loved that!) but a lot of the time she just hung out - watching the boys and wandering happily around.

Jeremy got in on the fun on Saturday. These boys (all 3 of them!) had a great time. I'm so grateful that Isaac has such an awesome dad and grandpa to look up to - and who love to spend time PLAYING with him!

They also practiced kicking the football. I love this photo!

And more tackling... Isaac loved tackling!

Pretty Elise enjoying the pretty weather.

And here's some action photos of hide'n'seek.

Elise got to play too - Papa carried her with him and she loved getting in on the game.

One day we headed to the park... and more good fun outdoor times were had by all.

Yay for making wonderful memories by playing outside in beautiful fall weather!

20 Weeks and the Gender Reveal

I was SO excited to hit 20 weeks and head in for my ultrasound.  I had been lucky enough to find out our babies genders earlier (around 14-16 weeks) with my first 2 pregnancies... and it was killing me to have to wait so long!  I was just so excited!!!  I wanted to know!

Jeremy and I had, of course, talked about it on multiple occasions.  We both confessed to having no specific feeling or inkling of what the gender of the baby was.  Jeremy officially guessed "boy" as we headed into the doctor's office (he was hoping for a brother for Isaac).  And I was so unsure - but decided to guess "girl" since my morning sickness with this pregnancy was similar to my sickness with Elise's pregnancy.  

We walked into the ultrasound room, and I laid down on the table.  Almost immediately, a darling profile popped up on the screen and both Jeremy and I instantly thought "that's our little boy".  It was a distinct and clear thought, and a special experience for both of us as we talked about it on the drive home from the ultrasound, because we didn't have to wait for the ultrasound to confirm it.  We just knew.  :)

And we are thrilled beyond thrilled to welcome our baby BOY into our family!

The 20 week baby bump and ultrasound images of our baby!

That evening, when Jeremy came home from work - we threw a "Gender Reveal" party to announce to the kids that our baby was a BROTHER. :)  It was so fun to have my parents with us to celebrate.  We had blue helium balloons for Isaac and Elise and a giant cookie for all of us.  Everyone was excited and it was a party!  :)

We are so grateful that our little guy looked healthy in the ultrasound and we are excited to welcome him into the family!

Kansas City Temple Visit

On Sunday afternoon we went to visit the grounds of the under-construction Kansas City Temple. The weather was perfect... everyone was in a good mood... and it was a fun and leisurely family evening spent strolling around the temple.

Elise busted out some serious personality on the walk. She kept dragging behind us and when we turned around to encourage her to catch up - she would stop in her tracks and strike a sassy pose - and DANCE. HILARIOUS.

Our family.

With Grandma and Papa!
(Isaac was SO excited to show them HIS temple and HIS Angel Moroni)

We walked to a pavilion a little ways down from the temple (Isaac calls it a "tunnel" and begged to go there). It was beautiful and quiet. :)

And all of a sudden little mister Isaac wanted a personal photo shoot! He kept begging me to take more pictures of him...
(to which I, naturally, eagerly complied)

The 2 kiddos even posed together.

We love to see the temple!!!
After the temple visit we went home and ate pumpkin cake (my favorite!). The perfect end to a wonderful evening.

Liberty Fall Festival Parade

Saturday afternoon was the Liberty Fall Festival parade. It was a darling (and I'll admit - a tad LONG) hometown parade... complete with High School marching bands, the fire truck, community dance teams, community football teams, boy scout troops, karate classes, preschool classes, local church congregations and pretty much everything else imaginable.

We really enjoyed it.
Isaac has been talking about it ever since!
Poor Isaac absolutely LOVES parades (and things like it - meaning LOUD events with BIG crowds) but he gets really nervous about them. During the entire parade his body was physically shaking and he insisted on sitting on my lap with his feet wrapped around my legs. He only left my lap a couple of times during the 90 minute event. Twice to get candy that was thrown in his direction - and once to go potty. :)

Here's Jeremy and Elise on the walk back to the car. I just love this daddy - daughter shot!
So classic. And just too cute.

The weather was perfect for a parade... I mean we seriously lucked out. We found a good parking spot... nothing was too crowded... we had just the right amount of time to check out the festival booths before we got started... we sat in a shady spot on the parade route... I mean, really... it was a great afternoon. :)