Have you ever been woken up by a muddy little smiley face like this, with matching muddy torso and hands, trying to climb into bed with you? That’s how I woke up from a luxuriously long sleep one morning this weekend…
 …Apparently my husband took her outside with him as soon as she woke up, hoping I’d get a chance to sleep in. Oh, and how I did! I think I accidentally slept until 10am! I saw this funny face and popped right out of bed with a laugh. She had been helping her Daddy garden, and had fallen off a step and face-planted in the dirt.  Well, it couldn’t have hurt too badly because moments later she was ready to run out there again, grabbing my adult-sized rain boots and trying to tug them onto her tiny feet along the way…
I do really admire her resiliency. No doubt she gets this, and a lot of her best qualities, from her Dad. I’m just glad I have them to learn from. I could be better about brushing myself off and “running back out there”, so to speak! How about you?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things I want to give our daughter. We’ve been going through the whole debate about school or day care programs vs. staying at home, dabbling in extra-curricular activities (namely her Music Class at Gymboree), making sure we go socialize some evenings with the neighborhood kids in the park, and, of course, having our weekly playdates with her cousins as regularly as possible. As I look at my own life I see how my close friendships and my relationships with my siblings (also my closest friends) have really become one of the most important parts of my life, certainly one of the most enriching. And yet, I feel like it’s hard to always make time for friends and family, as so many things get in the way (tonight for instance…canceling dinner with my sister because we got such little sleep last night and O has a cold that’s making her uber-fussy). Oh, it kind of pains me each time I break plans because I know how valuable these friendships are. We have to make up for it soon… All this to explain that over the last several months it has been beyond cool to see O and her cousins genuinely becoming friends, not just family who are always lumped together in the playroom at family functions, but actual friends who seem to enjoy one another immensely.
(Above: My sister with the cousins. Below: ‘Lil Cousin…he is a happy-go-lucky little guy…Can’t help but make you smile…)
Yep, Family & Friends…That’s what it’s all about! Speaking of which…I hope you get to enjoy time with yours this weekend…Perhaps by the pool, with something on the grill, and a cool beverage in your hand! Lots of love to all those in our Nation’s Service, past & present, this weekend.
{Happy Memorial Day!}
Look at this Handsome Little Man! It has been such a pleasure doing Finley’s portraits this past year, as part of the “Baby’s First Year Program”! It has been so rewarding to watch him grow and to get to know his parents too…
Finley’s Momma is an absolute natural. She nurtures & cares for her little one while simultaneously giving him the freedom to explore and learn on his own. He is quite independent and tough. Just moments before these photos were taken he fell on his face on a tree stump. Seriously, he did not even cry one bit.
Finley’s Dad hunts. They brought these duck calls for Finley to hold – 4 of them total, each one belonging to a different family member on Dad’s side. I believe several generations are represented here. I love Finley’s coordinating little overalls. Too cute.
And now, the silly-fun part…Finley’s mock-Birthday!…Time for a good ‘ole Cake Smash!…
Love this next one…
And on to a quick bath! Those green wands in his hands aren’t kid-sized light sabers…they’re actually bubble wands. The idea was to have his parents wave them off camera to make pretty bubbles (like in the next picture), but he didn’t want to let go at first…
Hehe, maybe I’ll attempt to “photoshop” out the characters on his diapers…But either way I really like these next two photos…I feel like they show a glimpse of his personality.
Having just completed one full year of portraits, I thought I’d include the links to his previous sessions; 3 Months, 6 Months, 9 Months. It is really neat to see how he’s grown. Thank you again to his wonderful, loving parents!
And in other news…How is the beginning of the Hot Summer treating everyone? I just realized the need for a giant tub like this in our backyard…Err, um, maybe we’ll just go to the neighborhood pool! Hope you’re having a wonderful week! XX
What a weekend…I have some photos & stories to share soon, but in the meantime just wanted to check in for a quick hello and to post a little collage (all photos taken on my iPhone)…just a glimpse at our daily life here…
Left-Right & Top-Bottom… 1.) Mmm, banana bread! I never get tired of it. My Mom always seems to have fresh banana bread when we stop by and it seems my sisters and I are carrying on the tradition. I tried out this recipe from Cooking Light. I was 1C banana short, so I substituted it with plain applesauce and the result was fantastic…very moist, light, and good for the kiddos. 2.) She brought me her little container of rubber bands and we proceeded to tie her hair up in all kinds of funny ways. 3.) This photo looks odd to me for some reason…Her hair looks like a dark mop on her head! But, this is to show just a peek of what this wild monkey is getting into these days. Don’t worry, we baby-proof everything! I’m sure a moment after this iPhone pic was snapped I took off the knobs for the burners just in case. Does anyone know how to stop your toddler from climbing on everything in sight? If you have a secret to share, I am alllll ears! 4.) Bottom-Left…We have recently discovered the simple joy of mom & me frozen yogurt dates at our local “Menchie’s”. Frozen yogurt is great for our little teether (her molars are coming in!) and it’s reasonably healthy too…I top ours with fresh fruit and a few animal crackers. 5.) Speaking of food, I’m really hooked on this breakfast lately. I think I’ve had this almost every day for two weeks now…One egg, sunny-side up, with sharp cheddar and black pepper…Side of fresh fruit…YUM! 6.) If Baby O falls asleep in the car, right before her nap, it is REALLY hard to get her to nap at home. This can result in a cranky afternoon. So, lately I’ve been known to turn up the volume on the radio and sing loudly while we’re rounding the corners to our home just before naptime. Sometimes, despite my best efforts, she manages to konk out. Ah, I think I’ll just take this opportunity to marvel at her sweet little face. 7.) Loving our membership to “Gymboree”!
Well, that’s all for today! I hope to post photos from this weekend soon! Have a great start to your week & thank you for reading! As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. Got funny parenting tips or photography-related questions? Feel free to send them my way! XX
A few weeks ago my sister and I tried something new for our weekly Playdate…Why not try out a “Paint-Your-Own-Pottery” place? It sounded great (were we crazy at the time?) with a 3 year old and two toddlers under 2…And, in fact, the boys behaved like perfect angels. Baby O, on the other hand, was in a certain mood…She was much more interested in climbing on the tables and walking around the perimeter of the room, touching each piece of carefully labeled pottery. I felt suddenly like my Dad must have felt when we were little. I remember him consistently breaking out the, “Do not touch,” mantra when we were in public. I don’t think I quite appreciated the wisdom of it at the time. (Now I do, Dad…Oh, now I do.)
Meet the Artists!…Here we have Big Cousin, the careful curator of art…He painted a brown monkey and helped contribute to a group project (a plate for their Great Grandma). He was clean, neat, and perfectly engaged in his craft…
…Meet Little Cousin, quality control expert (making sure the ladies in the shop were correct about the paint indeed being non-toxic), an enthusiastic and experimental artist.
He might have enjoyed the activity the very most out of all of us… …And last but not least…Baby O… She didn’t seem too amused by my attempts to show her the joys of painting on this particular day, but she did love playing with her cousins’ toy truck while they participated in the painting game. Oh, and she enjoyed putting paint on Mommy’s nose and legs of course. That was fun too.
Care to see our finished product?…Drum-roll please…First group artistic effort by the three cousins…
Well, it was a very fun experience, and I’m sure we’ll do it again! Anyone else make homemade Moms’ Day gifts? I’d love to see pics!
I hope you’re having a great week…TGIF!
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O’s grandpa used to tell his kids to “just rub some dirt on it.” I think that’s why they are such good athletes and overall good explorers. Great pictures. I love her dino shirt!
Yes I definitely see that in Aaron. I know he’s told me to just rub some dirt on it before.
If I showed this to my husband, he would immediately want to know where the dinosaur t-shirt is from. So I’ll ask for him. Where did you get the shirt?
Haha, I know what you mean…it’s by husband’s favorite shirt of hers. We got it on etsy, from this great shop called “Happy Family”…they have adult sizes too!
I figured that your source was etsy. The dearth of dinosaur themed clothing for girls very much upsets my dear husband.
Haha, I feel the same way about girls’ clothes.