Painting pumpkins

We picked out some pumpkins at the local farm stand and the boys each wanted to paint theirs.

The concentration in this picture makes me smile.

I love these matching Mickey smocks that Aunt Tori gave us!

They were totally engrossed and loved every minute. And I loved watching them work together.



In a couple weeks, we'll cut out some faces and make them glow! Jack can't wait!

Small Talk

I love to record the boys talking. I like capturing the way they pronounce things, and their little voices, which are going to deepen before I know it, are so sweet.

I remember hearing audio tapes of myself when I was little. My dad or grandfather would hide a tape recorder in his pocket and have a little conversation with me. Listening to them later made me appreciate so much that they'd thought to do it.

PJ was looking at the camera on the table next to me while it was turned off and saying "cheeseburger" just a second before I picked it up and tried to catch him saying it. Of course, once the camera's on he doesn't say it again.



Then, while PJ was napping, Jack and I started looking at designs we could use to make his birthday invitations. I had put water on for tea and asked him if he'd like to have some with me. He was in. So I let him have a real teacup and we put it in a tea pot and sat at the table.

This is our conversation.



My battery cut out there at the end, but I was telling Jack that maybe we should do this every day while PJ is taking a nap.

His reply: "I fink we should!"

Apple Festival

This past weekend, we met up with some friends at a local fall festival.

The place, called Joanna Furnace, was an historic site that was used for iron production. The main furnace building was undergoing renovation, but look at how beautiful it is.

You can see that the place was perfect for kids - pony rides, tractors, trains - and had lots of delicious apple treats too!

Someone had set up these gorgeous Lionel trains, and Jack could have stood at this table for hours.

There were older men doing woodworking with tools that were either run with belts or foot operated, like this lathe.


There was a steam whistle, like one that might be on a steam train. Jack got to pull the rope on this one and make it blow. It was the highlight of his trip.

The Apple Barrel Express was also running all day. I wasn't sure how Jack would do on this - being tugged around the site while we stayed "back at the station." He loved it!





We even got a little family picture at the photo spot. It's not often that we're all in a shot together, so this one is a keeper. Look at these beautiful fall colors!


Happy Fall!

25 weeks

This picture is from three weeks ago, but I still look about the same. It's hard to believe I'll be 25 weeks pregnant tomorrow!

And now that I'm finally feeling more "whenny" than "iffy" about the baby being born, I thought maybe it was time for another poll.

As you may or may nor know, we're not finding out the gender of this baby either. It was so exciting not knowing with PJ. And when he came out, the midwife said "It's a girl!" which totally shocked me because I was so sure it was another boy. Then, one second later, Patrick (who had a side view) said, "No, a boy! A boy!" and then I was shocked all over again. Those five seconds of excitement made the whole 41 (yes, 41) weeks of not knowing so worthwhile!

A few things have me mixed about this one. First of all, my nausea started sooner than it did with the boys, and it lasted much longer. I was queasy from about 5 weeks to 18 weeks. I'm also feeling much more uncomfortable in the...um..."chestular" area than I was with them. These things, combined with the fact that I'm much more emotional this time around (though that could be attributed to the sheer exhaustion that comes from being pregnant with two toddler boys), have me wondering if it's a girl.

However, at our 21-week ultrasound, the tech, in trying to get a better view of the spine (baby was being uncooperative) flitted oh-so-quickly past the baby's nether regions and both Patrick and I wondered if we'd seen a boy part.

It's hard to believe that in just 15 weeks - well, who am I kidding? More like 16 and a half weeks - we'll get to meet this new little person. What an amazing privilege it is.

Remind me of that about 6 weeks after s/he's born, will you?

Vote in the poll to the right and let me know if you think it's going to be another little boy Baby T for us (as is only fitting, as Patrick grew up in a household with SIX sisters!) or a little girl Baby T.