Birthday Girl

My sister had a 'big' birthday earlier this month. I'm not at liberty to say which one, so let's just say she's 29...again...
And really, since I am 8 years OLDER, I have little sympathy.
Birthdays often seem to be fraught with emotion. A time to celebrate for some. A time to reflect perhaps. Or a time to bemoan everything in life you thought you'd have or accomplish by this time and still haven't. Maybe some of each.
I tend to be of the celebration mindset. And whenever I start to freak out too much I remind myself that it is all relative. Like, in 10 years I'm gonna be thinking this year was pretty d*mn great. And sometimes you even need to mark the occasion with photographs. So that in 10 or 20 or 50 odd years when things wrinkle and sag and pucker, you can look back and show your kids and grandkids just how beautiful your youth was...before the sleep deprivation and stress and worry (the kids) came along.
So Happy Birthday little sister. I hope when you look back at these pictures, at any time, you remember the friends you had and the fun and all the great things that come along with this time in your life. And remember how beautiful you are!








(we'll see if I still feel this way when my BIG birthday comes rolling by...I still have a couple years to prepare...40 is the new 36.8, right??!! maybe if I start sleeping now...)

These shots are all pretty much SOOC (straight out of camera) without much editing. We found the coolest color backgrounds and had really nice light. FUN. Except for the brief ant attack. AAH!

Fun For Me

I've had a lot of fun taking pictures lately. The real fun is then playing with them in Photoshop. I used to have a friend who would always say 'making photographs' instead of taking pictures. That's what it feel like when I'm really having fun with my photos.
I love the mood and color of these.

Baby Girl 14 Months

I think the theme for this month is 'on the move'. The Babe has taken giant steps in many ways. She has become more vocal with her opinion and 'attitude'. Which I'm sure I will battle with in the future but is pretty funny right now. She's not afraid to let her brothers know when to back off. She is such an animated little thing.



She's getting the hang of stairs more and more. Even going down.
She has really started to play and explore more on her own. She loves to be playing alongside the other kids and doesn't want to be left out.








She has been having fun in the backyard, trying out new things.












Here she is eating a little piece of lemon which I thought she'd spit out. Nope.








She's a busy girl, and busy girls need a nap sometimes.

In the past week The Babe has made huge progress in walking. She just decided to do it and grabbed my hand and took me all around. She is practicing like crazy now and can get around much better all by herself. I guess she is officially a toddler.




One of her favorite things is her new ride! The boys didn't want to share, even though they are quite too big for theirs, so The Babe had to get one too. Which The Bee promptly wanted to ride, as he must take over any new toys that enter the house. But she seems to prefer his car anyway, so it all works out.
Go Baby Go!

We've Been Away

41 Months

Summer for the boys has been busy and pretty fun for the most part. Busy riding their new bikes (with training wheels).










And playing outside as much as they can. They have also started incorporating super hero capes (aka blankies) and jumping off of things with their super powers.












We've been so busy that I haven't even posted all the pictures from their adventures. I'm saving a few for another day because we have so many.
All that action can sure make a boy tired though! You never know when you might just fall asleep...







They are both still as headstrong and independent as ever. That's the nice way of saying they never agree with anything I try to get them to do. But maybe that will come in handy some day...??

We're at a standstill with the potty training at the moment. They are both quite successful if I specifically ask them and bribe them with a sticker, but they rarely make any effort to go themselves. When The Bug is successful he always let's out a triumphant cheer, 'I did it!'.
I'm finding it a bit difficult since it's a lot more challenging to accommodate when we're out playing and not at home. I guess we're all going to have to put more effort in to get it done.

Above all, the boys seem to becoming better and better friends all the time. They also know how to taunt and tease each other like pro's, and they have also joined forces at times (although not always in a positive way). It makes me happy to see them such good friends and partners in crime. We will work on using those powers for good!

TuYu

You just never know when one of these is going to pop up...

Saturday In The Park

A beautiful afternoon in the park. Splashing in the river, watching the rafts and the ducks float by and of course, throwing rocks. I love the way the light was hitting the trees in the last couple of shots. Ah, how I love summer!

The Cuteness

I generally only take pictures of my kids these days. I don't seem to have time for much else. So I really enjoy the chance to take pictures of other kids once in a while. Just for a change. Especially when they're this cute!

The Greats

This is for my Grandma.
I come from a long line of feisty women. They traveled and pioneered and farmed and raised large families through many trials and triumphs. Along the way they taught and read and wrote poetry and gardened and sang and danced.
My grandma was a twin. Unfortunately her twin brother died as an infant. I think she has missed him her entire life.


Last week her little sister came up to visit from Idaho. My grandma is little. Pocket-size. All the grandkids are taller than she is by the time they are about 10 years old. In contrast to my grandpa who is over 6 feet.
Her baby sister is teeny tiny. Key-chain size.
So a bunch of us got together for a picnic in her beautiful backyard (the one with all the flowers and the large garden).

My kids were a little confused by the names. Since my parent's are their grandparents but my grandparents are the Great Grandparents, but I call them Grandma and Grandpa...throw in a great aunt, or a Great Great Auntie and no one knows who they are talking about!
Add to the fun a few more aunts and uncles, and our new baby cousins. Another set of twin boys!

Baby Girl 13 Months

I think I'm going to go ahead and call these photos the 'official' One Year Old photographs. And they look much better bigger, so click on.
I have a few cute snapshots as well, but I think I will just save them for another day.



One of the most exciting things lately is The Babe has starting taking a few steps on her own. She stands up slowly and gets her balance and then takes a few steps before falling on her bum. You can just see her working and then see how proud she is when she does it on her own. It's so fun to watch.












Another new 'skill' she has developed is imitating sounds. Not only does she empty the toilet paper roll now, but she will pick up a little piece and hold it to her nose and make blowing sounds. Or if I sneeze she will make a sneezing sound too. It's really more of a slobbery spit, but you get the idea. It cracks me up.












She is also very good at being LOUD. When she is tired of being in her high chair or her car seat she makes very loud squeals to let us know she's like to GET OUT NOW, THANK YOU!!
She still doesn't have much hair, but she has lots of teeth. 4 on top, 4 on bottom, and 4 molars. She likes to eat and she's not too picky yet.
Ummm...we're still working on sleeping all the way through the night. Some nights are better than others. She has to sleep eventually. Right??!!

In the meantime she is even more adorable and delightful than ever.
And apparently she likes cupcakes.