Monday, November 11, 2013

my awesome fam


alright already! you guys haven't even been waiting that long for these - only a few weeks... ;)

sorry it took so long my dear family. here is a sneak peek of just some of the photos taken from that glorious fall day in the park. i love you all. and yes, there are more of grandma and grandpa than anyone else - i guess they are my favorites :) but i do love you all dearly. oh so dearly.




cd coming soon!!! and thanks again to you all for being such great sports and traipsing around the park with me that great day. you all rule. seriously. you do.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

family pics

so we had family pictures done in august by the wonderful blue lily photography. i figured i probably better show them off since hank and i make such a hot looking clan. it's hard to know when to splurge for family pictures - the kids are always changing and look so different all the time. and of course you always wish you'd lost a few more LBs before being photographed in detail so heavily. well, at least that's true for me. but i'm so glad we did. i'm so happy right now. life is so good and i really wanted to document it, just how everything is, and the things that make me the happiest. here is the final product.









Saturday, October 19, 2013

yesterday morning




a conversation yesterday morning while beth was playing with eye shadow in my bathroom with hank shaving next to her.

beth: dad, can i put on some of this make up?

hank: no, you're not big enough for make up yet.

beth: well, when i grow up i can put on make up. i can when i get bigger.

hank: i'm not ready for this conversation yet.

beth: well, i have to grow up. i have to get bigger. then i can put make up on.


Saturday, September 28, 2013

the wee one


i've posted hardly any pictures of little miss leah on this here blog, poor girl. it's kind of sad, she's so deserving! she is a tiny package of giant smiles and love. she's such a pretty baby too and we still can't figure out where she came from. beth is her daddy to a tee, hyde is my brothers to a tee and this one is... definitely her own. so different from the other two, but she is gorgeous. i may be biased.

a mellow one (probably because she has to be with all the other noise going on), she is content to lay on the floor most of the time and play with her toys and just sort take everything around her in. particularly her busy brother and sister who never.stop.going. sometimes she'll get tired of it and want to be held and she'll cry out a little bit then, so i'll grab her and let her get a look at the craziness of the day from my point of view. in these cases she sort of just becomes an extra appendage - i've somehow managed to learn how to do most things i'd normally do with two arms, with a babe in one of them. i think that just comes with motherhood for most.

she sleeps really well and has let us know that her sweet spot is her tummy. she is also... duh, duh, duh... a thumb sucker. a new venture for us. the paci has been forgone for the thumb. though it's handy, i'm still not sure how i feel about a permanent pacifier. i've heard lots of stories. but it gets her to sleep in seconds most days and that's really nothing any parent of a baby ought to complain about. right?

her eyes are starting to change too... still not sure what they'll be yet, but i think she's headed toward brown. she's also lost a lot of hair on top but as it starts to grow back it looks like it will be similar in color to beth's.

beth loves to love on her and hold her and kiss her. she tries so hard to cheer her up when leah's crying by bringing her various stuffed animals and singing songs to her and whispering "it's okay leah, you're okay, i'm right here" and even though it never works, i love that beth has naturally fallen into that big sister/care taker role. sometimes i let leah cry just so i can watch this sweet interaction take place. not really. but it is sweet. hyde, as one might imagine, could really care less that she's joined our family. sometimes when she's crying he'll say "mom... baby..." and that about sums it up. occasionally he'll grace her with a kiss or two, but it's not as often as i wish it were. it's funny how different beth and hyde have both reacted to her. it's love all around, but one certainly likes to show it more than the other.

if leah holds true to her current personality, she will undoubtedly provide me some relief from the first two treasures in my life. she has such a joy about her and with her easy going personality, she has already brought some balance to the family. 3 months, i know... hard to call that now. but she's been such a good baby and a blessing to me - innately, i think she'll always be that way. so much love that i have for this little babe.

from just a couple days ago while the other two were asleep:




Sunday, September 22, 2013

the splash park


we spent many a summer day at this splash park. and it pains me that we aren't eating our picnic lunches under our umbrella and laying out in the warm sunshine on the grass there anymore. many days we had friends there with us, other days we made new friends there and this place made a rather hefty contribution to our summer being so overloaded with fun in the sun. the kids got nice and tan, i was happy to be outside in the warmth and sun, and this park provided the perfect balance of water fun and shady other-stuff fun. it made the days go by fast (and ensured both my kids would be taking an afternoon nap. at the same timethat's huge for me folks.) it was glorious.

unfortunately as the seasons change and we say goodbye to summer (which makes me oh so sad), we also have to say goodbye to our fun place. labor day hits and it's over. the water is off. which really sucks actually - there are still so many warm days in september. plenty over 90 degrees! and even more sad this year, even if the splash pad was still open we wouldn't be spending any time there - it got hit pretty hard with the flood and was totally under water for a while there. might still be! haven't been by to check in a while... hope it opens back up for us again next year!


ode to our beloved splash park:




peace out splash park. i will see you in my dreams. and get well soon. we want to come back next year and do it all over again.