A Spectacular September

Jackson James is born!

 We started this month with the arrival of our sweet baby boy! Boy, do we love him!

Grandpa & Grandma's Visit

 Outdoor movie night before Jackson was born

 Splashing his toes in the water

Playing dominoes with Grandma!

 And later running dominoes over with his monster truck with Daddy and Grandpa! :)

My parents came to visit when Jackson was born. We stayed busy with different outings and activities! The littles enjoyed swimming, taking walks, going to the park, and trips to the library, bounce house and fire station. Always a fun time when Grandpa and Grandma visit.

Tour of the Fire Station

 Learning about the equipment

 Checking J's blood pressure

 Jenni and Joshua loved seeing the firetruck, ambulance, and fire house and learning about all the equipment and safety gear.

Bounce House Fun

 The littles enjoyed an evening of playing and bouncing. :)

Dad's Birthday

 We were lucky enough to have my parents in town for Jackson's birth and celebrate my dad's big day!

Moving Day!

We moved mid-September and are getting all settled in!

Boys will be boys?

 One of my flower pots had gotten knocked over and the potting soil and flowers were on the grass. Joshua told me his truck ran into it and knocked it down. I believed him and we picked up the flowers and soil and put them back into the pot. I went inside and told Eric about what happened. Eric told me that Joshua probably did it on purpose. We stayed inside to keep an eye on Joshua to see if he was being truthful and sure enough, he got back into his truck, and began driving in forward and reverse to knock the pot over. He wasn't successful so he got out of the truck and started pushing the truck into the flower pot...

 Still wasn't successful so he took the faster approach of just knocking it over with his hands and was successful with that attempt. Determined little man. We had a nice long talk after that about honesty and once again cleaned up the mess. Thankfully it hasn't happened since.

But the next morning I heard Joshie yelling out, "Birds! Come. Eat. Now!" And saw him spilling out the bag of bird seed for Jenni's bird feeder. Joshua likes to keep things exciting.

Neighborhood Fun

 Before Jenni's first bike ride!

Before Joshua's first drive!

 Jackson seemed to enjoy the stroll. :)

We are thankful for the cooler weather!

 Neighborhood park fun

 Joshua's truck battery died. :)

 Eric came to the rescue. :)

 Jackson likes the park too!

Bible Study Fellowship

We are so thankful BSF has started back up this fall. We are studying Genesis this year. I am so excited about the children's leaders this year. One of the ladies in my group last year is one of Jenni's new teachers and she is just wonderful! And one of Joshua's teachers was Jenni's teacher last year so I know he is in good hands! I volunteered in the nursery this month and met the two ladies who will be teaching Jackson once he moves into the nursery once he's a bit older. They are lovely ladies who are teaching God's truths to the babies, singing songs of worship, and praying over the infants. Absolutely wonderful!

Sweet Snapshots

 Taking a walk in hopes of Jackson's soon arrival!

 Checking on the progress of our house

Soon before Jackson was born

Whenever we place Jackson in his infant carrier, Joshua scoots the carrier around and typically ends up in the little corner where he and his brother can relax together. :)

 Reading time before bedtime :)

 Jackson's jaundice levels skyrocketed after we left the hospital so our sweet babe had to stay in a phototherapy crib at home. After a couple of days under the lights and additional blood work, little man's levels were back down.

 My sweet girl is growing up  too fast!

 Sweet boys before bed

 Joshua's morning routine now includes waking up and running to snuggle with Jackson in the early morning. :)

 While the movers were unloading, Jenni took a bath in our new bathtub and then put on a ballet costume to dance in. She's a sweet sunflower. :)

 Jackson is such a peaceful sleeper.

 Sweet J now likes to cradle Jackson like a "real mommy."

 Brothers! Joshua adores him.

 Three little loves.

 Jenni and I made some desserts for our new neighbors who moved in a couple days after us. We were so looking forward to meeting them and hoping they had small children. Sure enough they have a five year old son and one year old daughter!

 Sleeping babes

 Sweet angel baby sleeping on his side

 After BSF! Day 6 - God created man and woman!

 The three littles and I went out for lunch together. It was a success!

 Sweet J asked me to come outside to see her compass :)

 Joshie Gabriel and his new McQueen shoes! He LOVES them.

   Practicing his fighting skills :)

 Enjoying fall!

 

Overheard
I had been having hard contractions all morning of the 1st when Jenni was playing hopscotch...
Jenni: "You want to try it?"
Me: "Maybe after I have this baby..." :)

Moving day...
Jenni: "The movers are my best friends. I'm going to miss them."
I love how any friend in Jenni's world is her best friend. Sweetness.

Anytime Joshua runs an errand with Eric...
Joshua: "I'll be back!"
And then when he returns home, he finds me to let me know that he did indeed return home. :)

Jenni and Joshua were having a cookie one evening. Jenni turned her head and Joshua scooped up her remaining cookie and ate it...
Joshua: "Jenni's cookie is in my tummy now!"

We were listening to our "God music" in the car...
Jenni: "Jackson is worshiping Jesus by wiggling his arms!" :)

Jenni: "Is there a little machine in your body that makes the milk?"

Joshua: "I talked about God at Bible study!"

An Update on Jenni

Jenni is loving the changes September has brought - a new brother, a new house, and cooler weather. Jenni enjoys holding and rocking Jackson in her arms and refers to him as a "calm, little baby" or "Baby J." She enjoys spending her days in the backyard with Joshua and riding her bike around our neighborhood with our new friends. She loves trying to make Jackson smile and holding and rubbing his baby hands and fingers. I had found Jenni softly talking to Jackson multiple times and finally asked her what she was talking to him about and she sweetly responded how she was telling Jackson about Jesus. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where Jenni hasn't prayed specifically for her littlest brother.

An Update on Joshua

Joshua continues to be a little rascal and teaching me all about little boys. He is loving our new house and spends as much time as possible in the backyard digging in my flower pots or playing in our water table or a combination of both. He loves pretending to be Woody (from Toy Story) and wearing his cowboy boots and yelling out "Yeehaw!" He enjoys cleaning things outside and inside and adores adores adores his little brother. He enjoys kissing the top of Jackson's head, squeezing his tummy in  a big hug, and checking to make sure he still has "baby toes." Joshua loves Jackson's baby toes and also loves when Jackson's eyes are open and yells out "uhhhwake!" every time he wakes up.

An Update on Jackson

Jackson is such a sweet babe. He has been an absolutely wonderful addition to our family and is so calm and peaceful. Jenni gets the most smiles and Joshua gets the most giggles out of him. He is quite content with the little ones holding him or laying next to him in bed and he seems quite content with all the adventures he's been on his first month of life. We love our sweet babe.