9 Months

This naked one is 9 months.

He is goofy. He has learned how to grind his 4 little teeth together which is decidedly the worst sound you've ever heard. He eats like there is no tomorrow. In fact we've considered starting to put money away for our food budget when he is a teenager because if he keeps this up I will only be able to shop at Costco.
He is the sweetest thing after he's woken up from a nap (and before he remembers that he's hungry, again.) He will sit on my lap or lounge on the couch with me for a time, scrunching up his nose, rolling around, showing off for me while he has my full attention.

He has started exploring the house, wandering down the hall to see what's around the corner or to find where Owen has gone. I have quickly discovered that the bathroom door now needs to stay shut when I found him with his mouth on Owen's potty seat. Yes, I did just admit that and yes the discovery made me cringe in disgust. But sometimes you have to document the funny and gross things in life and invite the rest of the world to have a good chuckle too.

He loves to rub his face in cozy blankets or pillows that Owen piles up on the floor. His signature dance move is the bobble head which we still need to get on video before he moves on to something new. He continues to have very little hair on the top of his head and I think Josh is honestly starting to worry he always will. However, what he lacks for on top he makes up for on the lower third of the back of his head where he has the softest curls which I can't bring myself to cut even though he is starting to look a little ridiculous.

His big blue eyes are gonna get us in trouble when he is older and the number of comments I hear people make about them when we are out and about is astonishing.

He is 20 lbs 12 oz and 29 inches long.

Oh how this little boy has stolen our hearts.

 

This Makes Me Wish I could Freeze Time

This weeks photography theme (This Makes Me Wish I could Freeze Time) has me feeling all sentimental and a little sad. Since having children and becoming more firmly established in my adult life I find myself regularly wishing that time wasn't so fleeting. I wish the way life is viewed with such innocence and purity from a child's perspective didn't have to change. That those we love most dearly didn't move away, didn't pass away. I look at these memories we're creating and relish in the pure joy written across the faces of those I love and I wish that I could freeze time not only for my sake but for my children. I want to remember the tiny details that make us laugh and fill our hearts to overflowing. I want them to know how cherished they are, how blessed they are to be surrounded by such love, by such amazing family.

I want to remember life where evenings aren't filled with the hustle and bustle of the next activity but are full of laughter, stories, and an amazing Daddy who gets on the floor each and every night to play with his kids. 

 I want to remember the tell-tale sign that a little boy is sleepy; little hands find their way to silky hair to begin their soothing rhythmic strokes.

 
 I want to remember how little these hands once were. How the older one's used to run his fingers through my hair when I rocked him to sleep. How the little one's brush across my face, palm open, fingers relaxed till he finds my lips singing a soft lullaby to him. Sometimes his eyes close in drowsy contentment, other times he begins a tired chuckle as the motion of my lips in song tickle the palm of his hands. How sweet these little hands are to me. 

I want to remember what it feels like to hold my sweet boy in my arms, swaddled like a baby, wrapped cozy in a towel, the scent of shampoo and soap fresh upon his brow. I wish he would always fit there, that he would always want to end his nights "warm and cozy" with his Mama or Daddy.  

I wish I could freeze in time having our parents around- my children getting to know the wonderful, Godly people who have raised us, loved us. I hope that they get to experience a life full of memories with their grandparents like I have. I want this selfishly though because I don't want to entertain life without our parents.  

I love these moments that will help me remember how sweet this time of life is.

This Makes Me Laugh

The theme of this week's photo project was "This Makes Me Laugh." The above picture is by no means perfect as it's out of focus and generally wretched but I couldn't help but laugh and quickly snap a picture when I found him frozen in this position. Jesse is quite the pro when it comes to standing up and getting back down to the floor but every once in awhile his mind is far more capable than his physical coordination and he ends up hanging on to something for dear life.

The other picture, or really activity, I found myself chuckling at this week was the frequency with which my boys end up being naked. In their minds, pants are optional. Playing with cars, puzzles, trains or baking cookies is fun, but take their pants off and it's the best activity they've ever experienced!  I've also learned that the removal of clothing has a dramatic effect on their attitudes. Hunger, whining, being bored and sass can all be quickly fixed by simply letting them roam around unencumbered by their clothing in just their skivvies.   I wish adult life had simple fixes like that... aah the simplicity of youth.

 

Evening Rituals

In 2012 I said good-bye to my first love, my Sony DSLR. She had become an extension of my hand and eyes. I knew her ins and outs -how to freeze in time the delights before my eyes. My subjects rarely varied, as I'm drawn to capturing those I love most dearly, but my skill improved and my eye sharpened thanks to that little camera. But, alas, my Sony had a fatal flaw. So I traded her in and, I must admit, I miss the comfort of her quirky ways.

The new camera is shiny and different. I don't feel comfortable with it and the ease with which I had previously captured lifes moments has escaped me a little. In an effort to combat the stagnation I feel and to develop a new bond I decided to partake in a photo project this year called "This is our life" sponsored by Paint The Moon. Each week of the year there will be a photo theme prompt and the goal is to then take a picture (or 300) that depicts that idea. 

Knowing me, narrowing it down to 1 photo a week is going to be basically impossible if it involves these two munchkins...

...but regardless my hope is to succeed each week and chronicle my photo journey here.
For week 1 the theme is: Evening Rituals.

One of my favorite rituals is what Owen has dubbed as being "Warm and Cozy." He loves to be wrapped up in copious amounts of towels and when he's feeling particularly lovey-dovey he asks to be snuggled on our laps and to sing songs. It's usually brief and sometimes it's hard to pause and take those extra moments when you're tired and ready for the little people to be in bed but it's always worth it.

 

Mr. Cheeseball

 Well, let's go back a month since I apparently never documented our 7th month with Jesse.
Likes - MOVING and food (Hmm, some things never change.)
Going to bed at 6:30 p.m.
Scrunching up his face and snuffling his nose when he thinks something is funny.
Dislikes - Holding still while getting his diaper changed. When he is tired and just wants to be in bed you literally need two people during the changing process- one to pin him down and the other to quickly slap on a new diaper and throw his pjs on. 


8 months

 At 8 months old Jesse is turning into quite the little cheese ball. We have loved watching his little personality come out this month as he is so expressive. Most of the time this expressiveness plays out in his facial expressions but he's also started to master arching his back to show his dislike. Really? So soon? Thank goodness babies are easily distracted!

He is quite the little mover. When he really wants to get somewhere he resorts to army crawling but he is improving at getting places on his hands and knees. His current activity of choice is pulling himself up on anything, usually he just makes it to his knees but over Christmas the frequency in which he made it all the way to standing increased dramatically. Unfortunately for me, the place he has the most success in standing up is in the bath tub. Worst place ever to practice standing Jesse.

Jesse experienced snow for the first time in his little life. Like most babies he didn't think much of it. But he happily sat in a pile of it while Owen did some sledding. I always forget how sensitive his little blue eyes are. We better start working on keeping sunglasses on for next summer, he's gonna need them!

Another thing about Jesse is that he loves to sleep with his arm tucked in between the mattress and the side of the crib. No matter where I lay him down he inevitably ends up in his favorite sleeping spot.

Baah!

It's official...I've dropped the blogging ball.
How is that possible when I have such cute subjects to inspire me to
life changing wordsmithery? (Yup, just made that word up.)
Well, I guess it's actually their fault. One is crawling. The other is learning
that his toys are no longer his own. And I'm beginning my new role as referee.

Don't worry though, I'm gonna make a blogging comeback (cue the applause.)
The days fly by, these boys change too quickly, and my brain just does not come with enough bandwith to remember forever all the sweet, crazy moments of life.

 

Harvest Carnival

 Every year around Halloween our church hosts a Harvest Carnival complete with games, prizes, inflatables and candy. It is pure chaos. I almost want to stop writing there because that kind of sums up the event, but I won't. The thing is sometimes you have to engage in the chaos because that is how traditions begin. Sure, the costumes and whole ordeal is really more for us right now than it is for the kids, but some day soon they will think it's cool. Some day they'll run off with the their friends and leave us behind. Some day they won't want to stand still and have their picture taken...oh wait, that happens now. Some day we'll be more on the periphery. So for now, I'll take the chaos and enjoy these moments when the kids are little, the events always interrupting a nap, but the joy in the little things so genuine.