lazy weekend mornings

i absolutely love lazy weekend mornings......the kind where we all end up piled in my bed for a while in the morning - snuggling, singing, shaking rattles for blaire, and watching shows for hendrix on the iPad.

i also love busy weekends - packed to the brim with family time, road trips, delicious meals, and lots of shutter snaps on my camera.

this weekend is going to be one of the busy ones.

before it gets started, i wanted to take a deep breathe and reflect on some of the lazy ones!  it seems to energize me ;)

love his fascination with her.  he is so sweet.

yesterday morning while i was in the bathroom, blaire woke up and it wasn't two seconds later before i heard a huge thump and a proud cheer.

hendrix had climbed up into her crib and was sprawled out practically on top of her shouting, 'good morning blaire, you has a good sleep?'

then when he saw me, he announced, 'mommy, i super super climbed, i is spiderman, a super baby spiderman.'

it was so sweet. 

(and a little bit scary, since they share a room.....)

hendrix has gymnastics class with daddy on saturday mornings, so blaire and i get to spend a little solo mommy and me time together.  i love getting to focus on her, and have used that time to snap some photos on occasion. 

i want to be sure and document these chubby little legs as much as possible....because i adore them.  i think they are so sweet.  i love to pinch them, and tickle them, and watch her giggle and giggle!  she is at the most perfectly fun stage right now....interacting, face lighting up, babbling back to you when you talk to her.

and constantly chewing on those fingers......

one would think that she has been teething for the past 6 weeks.  

nothing yet.

just an ear to ear gummy smile!  ;)

happy weekend to you, be it lazy or busy!  

Weekend full of family

This weekend was super busy, but a lot of fun.  We spent tons of time with family, and Hendrix did a great job of 'going with the flow'.  

Hannah, my brother's fiancée, get second place diving in the Midwest Conference Meet at Grinnell College and it was really neat to be there to watch her. 

Hendrix and Daddy in their Grinnell College t-shirts together (my hubby went to Grinnell for his undergrad).  ;)

We helped Riley celebrate her 7th birthday!

Aunt Hannah.....

and Uncle Josiah had birthdays too.....

My youngest siblings, the twins, turned 15 on Sunday and we enjoyed a special family meal with them.  It was a real birthday party weekend!

Hendrix always receives plenty of attention when we are hanging out with my family!

I snuck away with my hubby for an hour to take some pictures of my brother, Joel and his new fiancée, Rachel.  

Rachel's ring is currently in the shop so we just practiced for the real shoot.  Pre-engagement pictures if you will!  lol

This was the first time I have actually tried to "officially" take pictures of anyone other than Hendrix, so I was kind of nervous; but I loosened up as we went along and I think I got some good ones.  Bud came with me to provide support and creative ideas and I think that we made a great team!  

I can't wait for my next shoot!

Another Busy Weekend

Hendrix tried out one of his holiday sweaters on Friday night when we went to our downtown holiday kickoff event.  It was a chilly night so he stayed bundled up in the stroller and missed the chance to get photographed with Santa.  I imagine there will be another chance.  :)  We sang Christmas carols, saw the lighting of the Christmas tree, and just enjoyed some downtown shopping and kids activities with some friends.  I love this time of year!  

Hendrix is really enjoying standing these days.  He pushes off when he is in my lap, and is getting really strong.  He is such a big boy!

Hendrix helped Daddy fold laundry this weekend ;)

He's not quite big enough to sit in his high chair by himself, so my hubby put his teddy bear in there with him to prop him up.  It was funny to watch him slump over onto his 'friend'. ;)

Hendrix got some time with his Nana and Aunt Hannah this weekend.  We participated in a Progressive Supper with some friends from our church, and we hosted the soup and salad course.  My mom and sister came to help with Hendrix so I would be able to focus on hosting, and so we could enjoy some couple time as we went to the other homes.  It was such a fun day, but we really needed some snuggles with Hendrix when we got back!

Our little guy just keeps growing and growing....

We are looking forward to some special family time over this Thanksgiving holiday!

Hendrix's Due Date

Today was Hendrix's Estimated Due Date.  I guess all I can say is that it was a terrible estimation.  :)  He will be 5 weeks old tomorrow.  I find myself wondering about whether if he was born today, instead of 5 weeks ago, if he would weigh more or less now than he actually does?  I guess we will never know!

He did have another "weigh in" at the doctor's office yesterday and Hendrix is now 8 pounds 12 ounces.  Yes, I realize that he is gaining weight very rapidly......he went from the 4th percentile to the 15th percentile in just two weeks.  My little guy is an overachiever!  The best part about that news is that the doctor said we can stop waking him up every three hours to feed him in the middle of the night.  She said she doesn't want him to go for more than a 6 hour stretch, and if he wakes up on his own I should feed him, but we are very excited to think about sleeping uninterrupted for a 6 hour stretch!!!!  (Granted, he might be so used to the frequent feedings that this is a mere fantasy).  Last night was the first night of this new routine, and he did sleep for 4 1/2 hours.  We will see what happens tonight ;)

I finished my second week back to work and that went even more smoothly than the first.  I am started to get better about coordinating the feeding schedule with the various errand running I do with the kids throughout the day.  Gabe is starting to feel more comfortable with Hendrix too, and it is really cute to see him take an interest in him. :)

   

He has been reading him stories this week, and loves saying "hi baby!"

Last night Hendrix saw his first soccer game.  We went to watch my brother Jake play soccer for Central College and were delighted to see him score the winning goal in a shootout against UNI.

It was a gorgeous night for soccer!  I can't believe how lucky we have been with the weather so far this fall :)  

Jake was very excited to see Hendrix after the game, and he was also very pleased to see what he was wearing. :)

  

This afternoon we took Hendrix to the Center Grove Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Farm.   

It was a beautiful afternoon, and Hendrix enjoyed sleeping in his Baby Bjorn.  It was the first time that we have used it, and it was great!  :)

While Hendrix caught some z's we enjoyed some caramel apples!  YUM!

What a great start to the weekend!  I love fall!!!  I am really thankful for the men in my life :)