the mundane

as a photographer, i find myself overthinking taking photos of my kids.  i want to make sure they are dressed perfectly, that it's the right time of day to get nice even lighting without flash, that the background of the photo will not be too distracting.....it goes on and on.  

i also find the hassle of my 'good' camera negates my desire to capture the moment more often than not, so i just leave it in the van, or at home.  

as a mom, i need to throw all these excuses out the window and just capture moments.  

moments of our daily lives.

moments that are truly mundane, but that make our family what it is.

i want to capture blaire's pudgy little cheeks when she is in the mood to smile, not just during a staged photoshoot. 

i want to catch that sneaky little grin that means he is plotting his next mischief.

  

i want to see all those cute little headbands and hair pieces when they are falling down into her eyes and over her ears (that is where they end up more often than not....) lol

i want to capture my family members interacting with each other in a truly natural and unstaged way......hanging out, snuggling, chatting, loving.

i want to remember the chaos and mess of having two little children, even though it can be a tad bit overwhelming at times.....

i want to capture the concentration and deliberation that goes into all of his masterpieces.

i want to remember fun days of jammie wearing til noon....

and the endless hours hendrix has spent begging to watch movies on the iPad, computer, or tv.

i want to capture every cute little outfit that my kids own before they outgrow them (and for miss blaire there are some things that she is barely getting to wear twice before they go in the bin of goods to consign....)

but most of all, i want to remember that in the midst of all the craziness that is currently our life; we have lots of really fun and special moments.  

moments in which time seems to stand still for just a second.

and i take a deep breathe and cherish how truly blessed we are to have two beautiful healthy kids who love life. 

  

so excuse the phone quality photos, and enjoy taking a small trip through the mundane in my life,  

for it is all the little mundane moments that make my life what it is, 

and for that i am truly thankful.

Hendrix's 6 month Pictures

Wow I have been a little slow in getting Hendrix's six month pictures posted (since he will be seven months here in about a week.  oops!)

As you can see, he was all smiles and a lot of fun!

I can't get over how grown up he looks in some of these poses...

but then those itty bitty toes remind me that he is still my sweet lil' baby boy!

Our photographer, Lora, does an absolutely awesome job with her photos!  We love her!

I imagine that you can see why I have such a hard time picking just a few favorite shots when there are so many fabulous ones!  This is why I like to order photobooks to capture all the fun from the session.  If you want to see the full rundown of pics, take a look.  

Click here to view this photo book larger

And if you missed his 3 month photos or 1 month photos you can still check them out. 

Scrapbookin' Day

I just got my first Stampin' Up order and am thrilled to try out these awesome new stamps!

I have not gotten nearly as far on Hendrix's scrapbook yet as I would like, 

and since we have a relatively free weekend (no house painting, no out of town traveling), I think I might try to put in some good hours of work on it!

Coffee - check

Sleeping baby - check

Memory making, here I come!

More Shots

Hendrix still doesn't like shots.  I have to say that this time was a lot better than last time, but he still was awfully pitiful and whiny.  I gave him a dose of tylenol before his appointment to prevent a really terrible screaming fit like last time and that seemed to help.  By the time Daddy got home from work he was almost back to his normal disposition.  He even splashed and laughed in a warm bath this evening before bed.  

This was how his day started.  

He left with me for work still in his jammies because I had to wake him up to take him.  Yes, he slept in until 8:15 a.m. this morning (and I don't know how late he might have slept if I didn't wake him up!)  I hated having to wake him up to take him out in the sub-zero degree weather.....but he was all smiles in spite of that!

I am not sure what to expect from his sleeping habits in the near future though because his doctor put the kibosh on swaddling him.  I know.  It's terrible.  He loves being swaddled.  That is the only way he has slept since he was born.  Apparently since he is so big now, and he is able to roll it is no longer safe to keep swaddling.  Now we have to just lay him in his bed with no blankets at all, and he is supposed to just go to sleep?!?  I will let you all know how that transition goes......but we didn't start it tonight.  I thought the shots rocked his world enough.  We'll cross that bridge tomorrow.  or the next day.......

Here is some footage also from earlier today when he was playing on the floor.  He is so in love with his butterfly that it really cracks me up!

So his weight?  Fabulous!  

He is now 15 pounds 14 ounces; which is in the 63rd percentile, 25 inches long which is in the 45th percentile, and has a 42 cm head diameter which is in the 37th percentile. 

 All the numbers are great and the doctor was thrilled with his progress.  We still have a few pounds to go before he outgrows his infant seat carrier so I am going to try to put the transition to the stationary car seat off another month or so; it is just so much easier to bundle him up and also nice to be able to leave him sleeping in it while I take him into the store or on other errands.  

As for other milestones - the doctor was really pleased with his strength.  While laying on his tummy he pushes his head up really high, and while on his back he can support his own head if he is pulled up by the arms.  He has a firm grasp and does a great job of responding to being talked to - either with a smile or with talking of his own.  She said that he should start being more interested in the sitting position now, and the next big feat will be passing a toy from one hand to the other.

He just got a bumbo seat and seemed pretty interested in it when we tried it out. 

Until Mom took one too many pictures and he got bored....

Isn't that sad face just precious though?  lol

So I was excited about the bumbo seat because I thought it might be a really nice transportable highchair for me to take to work for him.  I was sort of hoping to get the okay to  start him on food at his appointment today; and while the doctor said that we do have her blessing if we really want to start him on cereal, she would rather that we wait until more like 5 or 5 1/2 months.  shoot. 

It is going so fast as it is though, it would be silly for me to wish the days away.  I will wait patiently. :)  Well, sort of.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....

Yes, I am a sucker for Christmas music.  I. Love. It.  

While I may have gotten a head start on Christmas celebrations by hanging up our outdoor lights the weekend before Thanksgiving, I feel like I am a little bit behind on everything else related to Christmas preparations.  

This munchkin is Santa's little helper this year.  While he is giving me motivation to make this the best Christmas ever, he is also the biggest distraction ever!  ;)  He really enjoys looking at the lights on the Christmas tree, and he looks really good in red and green!  lol  

We have an appointment for him to get his pictures taken on Friday (his 3 month shots......already?!?) and I am still trying to figure out what he is going to wear.  I am hoping to get a fabulous shot to use on our Christmas card.  :)

We will be ordering our Christmas cards from Shutterfly again this year as we have had great luck with them in the past.  They have the most professional looking designs and I couldn't be happier with the prices.  Last year we got our cards within a week of ordering them without paying for expedited shipping.  

I am drawn to the classy simplicity of this Snowflake Card

 but then again I like the idea of compiling several of my favorite pics like on this Merry Memories Chartreuse Card

  I am thinking I might try to include a family shot, one from his newborn shoot, and another one or two pictures that are current. :)

Shutterfly wants to give me 50 free cards just for sharing this.  If you are a blogger interested in free Christmas cards, click here to read more about the offer. 

I guess I better get back to typing up my Christmas letter, researching which stores will have the best prices for my shopping trip this weekend, and working on those homemade ornaments for friends and family.  

But first, I plan to curl up next to this tree with a cup of hot cocoa and a snuggly little boy.

Happy December. And happy Christmas planning! 

Our week in photos

My baby is 6 weeks old now!  He has really started to enjoy sitting up, I guess he wants to be a big boy and see everything around him!

Playing with his 'taggy' blanket

Getting so big!

Gabe holding Hendrix for the first time....he finally showed enough of an interest!

'What kind of tummy time is this anyways?'

I know I'm cute ;)

I love my mommy!

Zonked out with daddy

Our little Halloween "pumpkin"!

After a shower with daddy (which he loves!)

It's been a good week!  Happy Weekend :)