Future Beauty Queen

Actually, I really hope she isn't in any pageants, but it certainly does run in our family. My sister, mom, and grandmother all did their fair share of winning various queen contests. Maybe that's what happened to me. I always tease that with such a beauty queen sister (she was like... queen of the school... homecoming, prom, harvest moon... etc.), I never got any time in the bathroom and thus, I have an aversion to make-up and fancy clothes. ;0 Although, I guess the reality is I'm just too lazy....

Helping Hands

I took Suzy and Brynna to the park yesterday, and they had a really good time. I love how Suzy was helping Brynna with the little stepping stones in these shots. So sweet!

My hands are full

My photography class assignment this week was to take 100 frames in manual mode. I HATE manual mode. But, that's why I'm taking the class, to figure out how to love it. :) So, here's some of my shots that I thought were fun. They may not be as pretty as some of my past auto mode stuff, but you gotta start somewhere....

So, here's Little Man. He looks so sweet and innocent, no?

I think he's gonna be a climber....
Yes, yes, I think so. I am in BIG trouble! My house is about to see baby proofing at a whole new level.
And then there is his sister.....
Yeah, let's do wash that off my dear. That's a good idea.
Just in case you ever wondered why somedays I can't form a complete sentence once everyone is in bed.... ;)

Feed the Andy

My friend, Gwyneth, tells a story of her family trying to tease (or scare away) potential boyfriends by playing a game they call, "Feed the Foreigner". If you've never heard her tell of it, you should ask. It's very amusing. Especially to me. I don't like new foods. ;)

Anyhow, Little Man LOVES food. Now that he's got some chompers, doors are opening up for him and he is embracing full steam ahead. All I could think of when I was taking these photos was playing the game, "Feed the Andy". ;)


Bananas and a muffin....

mmmmmmmmmmmm
He loves it so much, he fights me taking the tray away.
Look out, big sister. You may be a picky eater, but I'm gonna pick your left-overs off your plate!

Why Rob won't do the commercial.

Way too funny...

NeedHarmony

In case you didn't know, I met my husband, Rob, on EHarmony.com.

Guess who has a new tooth?

Mr. Blue eyes, of course. His 6 month well check went great today. He's completely "on-target" for everything. 50% just about all around. Love you, Little Man!

Andy watches himself

I took a cute video of Andy laughing this morning and I think he enjoyed watching himself as much as making the original clip. As soon as I figure out how to upload from my "fancy" camera, I'll maybe post more video. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Tube Time

I wouldn't let Suzy watch hardly any TV until she turned three. It really wasn't a huge deal, since she's not a big fan anyhow. But, she was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so I let her watch some Ms. Patty Cake after her nap. Andy is very much the "second child". He was able to watch it with her, at six months. Granted, I only did it because she wanted to "snuggle with my baby brother" and it made a great photo op. I actually only let him watch about five minutes while I blasted him from the other side with a flash anyhow. I don't think he minded too much. This kid LOVES television. He's such a boy.....

Suzy is such a sweet big sister. She continues to adore Andy.

Good thing her bug was short lived. It's so hard to keep their cooties separate these days.

I love my dog

Nala is such a good sport. She's used to it, though. I used to drag her to my schools with me to play "therapy dog". She would be so calm and gentle with my kids. She would sit in their wheelchairs with them, allow them to pull her tail, snuggle next to them, etc. One time, we even brought her in during a hygiene lessen. She allowed the kids to brush her hair and teeth. She really is a very good sport. As she gets older, she's a little less tolerant and a little more grumpy. After all, I have no idea how old she is, but I've had her since Mother's Day weekend of 1996. That puts her at around 13+ years. Nala, thanks for being the best dog I've ever know, even if you do get a little grumpy in your old age, especially at having to share the couch. ;)
She's just oh so thrilled, can't you tell?

"Maybe if I just sit here she'll lose interest....."

edits

Which one do you like better? It's a picture of Ethan's toes. ;)

Inspired

So, the hubby is away and I started my photo class this morning. I'm supposed to do a pregnancy photo shoot for the sister of a friend next week, and I was looking for some inspiration. I loved this sequence. I got the link from my favorite wedding photographer, Jasmine Star. She and Amy Rose-King are my "crushes" (as Rob teases me). Anyhow, what do you think of this photo from another photographer I may have to follow.... Amy Wenzel? I really like her post-processing and how she saturates the colors in some of her child photography. Just one of the things I'm hoping to figure out this semester. :)

(I tried to post the photo... but can't. I LOVED # 14 on the pregnancy photos in her portfolio "pregnancy on location".)

http://www.amywenzel.com/index2a.php

Andy's Dedication

We had the privilege of dedicating Andy at church today. It was an extra special time for our family, as our entire small group participated. Two of the families went at the 9:00 service, and we went at the 10:30 service with the other family. Thanks, Noel, for helping with the photos.

I had to give Suzy a little "pep talk" in the beginning in hopes she wouldn't do something appropriate for a three year old. ;)
I had an arsenal of M&Ms to help us get through the prayers.


A little mid-service bonus to ensure we make it all the way through.
Thank you, dear friends, for joining in our celebration in the promise to do our best with our little boys. I am so grateful to have such Godly support to go through this journey together.
Rob's parents were able to join us. A special treat.
The daddies and their boys.
I hope they are great buddies like their big sisters.
Nate is exerting his dominance while he still can. He started out as a big bruiser, but Andy is quickly catching up to him! As a side, do you notice how unaffected Andy is? He is such a mellow kid. He didn't even flinch.
Sweet big sister for Nate.

I think Pawpop is a bit taken by our little Smith.
We furthered the celebration with brunch at the club and Suzy got to drive the cart for the first time today. She LOVED it! Thanks, everyone, for sharing in our special day!

Triple Birthday Bash

Suzy has three friends who were all born within a day of each other. So, their families have notoriously thrown one big party for everyone for the past two years. It's something we now look forward to. It was so fun to spend the morning with some of our great friends from church. Thank you, friends, for doing this! We had a great time!
There were so many highlights. The juice boxes were just one of them.
They even had a "pony".
The cake was of course one of the big attractions. All morning, you could hear the solo chorus of the children asking the parents, "When can we have cake?" All the little kids swarmed the poor girls as they tried to blow out their candles.
Have I mentioned how much Suzy LOVES cake?
This was the first party where a game was attempted. It was quite comical.
They attempted to blindfold the girls by putting a towel over their heads.
Like Katie, Suzy also lifted the towel up to see.
It made for an easy bulls eye.

The other big attraction was a bounce house. Suzy talked about it the whole way over and even wanted to take her shoes off in the car in preperation.
I love this little sequence of her helping her little friend, completely unprompted. Suzy really does have such a sweet little spirit.