summer photos

my little loves are sure growing up.

mister hendrix here is two and a half and full of personality.  he likes to be in charge, and though he adores blaire, he also wants her to leave his stuff alone!

he is also dreadfully difficult to photograph these days.  he doesn't stay put, and he only wants to cheese-smile (which i hate).  oh. well.......

miss blaire is 9 months already.  she is still all chub and giggles, and is starting to get mobile.  she doesn't crawl yet, but she can get herself around a room, and is starting to pull up to things.  her drive to be on-the-go is increasing, which is lots of fun!  she adores being outdoors, and worships her big brother ;)

i have never seen a more energetic child......

nor have i seen a sweeter smile!  ;)

wouldn't trade them for anything. 

playroom - check

alright.  we have been living in our new house for almost a month now, and i finally got the playroom settled in last night.

my kids expressed their approval to me this morning  ;)

aren't they the sweetest cowboys ever?!?

yeap, that leaves only one final room for me to tackle.....

my office.

look for photos and updates soon as i am finally starting to feel caught up on life, family, and photography.

catching up

both my kiddos are really growing up.

i turned my back for just a minute while my hubby and i got our house cleaned up and ready to sell (more to come on our house update soon....we sold our house and will be moving to our new home mid-june), and my sweet baby girl started sitting up and playing with toys like a big girl.

yeap, she is now seven months old!  

and her brother is still enamoured with her.  he has started to say things like "stop it blaire", "no, that is MY iPad", and "blaire, what are you talking about?!".....but for the most part, i see snuggles, soft face touches, smooches, and giggles shared between the two.  ;)

he loves to console her when she fusses, and still proudly introduces her to people as if she just joined the family yesterday.

i love seeing the sibling moments.   i can tell already that he is going to enjoy bossing her around.  but honestly, i think i prefer that to completely ignoring her. ;)

and she. adores. him.

no joke. 

her little pudgy arms and legs just appear even more endearing to me when i see her in little summer tanks and skirts.....

she is so sweet! 

this little gal is throwing me for a loop with her lack of interest in baby food.  she doesn't like cereal, or purees at all.  she likes fruit in a teether, and she loves chewing on the "mum-mums" (which we fondly refer to as surfboards around here!), but otherwise she is just the heartiest breastfeeder ever.  it seems to be working for her.....though i do wish we could get away from the midnight feedings......

happiest. baby. ever.

  

and this little dude is still so energetic!  he loves to help with everything, and initiates projects and crazy imaginary play. he is starting to get old enough to reason with and is learning delayed gratification.

he would spend every. single. waking moment outside if i let him.  this is cool with me, but proving to be a little more difficult with his super-easily-sunburnt-even-in-the-shade baby sister.  i think i should own stock in baby sunscreen.  at least sunhats are super adorable ;)

everyday i wake up thankful for these two little slices of sunshine in my life.  

they make life super interesting, terribly busy, and sweet beyond belief. ;)

our little bookworm

so my independant reader now has a handful of books memorized and he likes to be able to read to us.  it is fun to have the tables reversed for a change!

he does enjoy a variety in his books, but we go through phases with favorites.  for right now it is "rexerella", "brown bear, brown bear" & "the very hungry caterpillar".

he has also taken an interest in reading stories to blaire, which is super fun because she likes to sit my lap and look at the pictures.  it is a very fun activity for them to do together!

both our kids seem to love reading, which makes this bookworm-mama's heart melt.  i finally am starting to feel like i can make a lil' time to read for myself also....

and just bought the new jodi picoult e-book, 'the storyteller' to read on my iPad.  

how about you?  do you enjoy reading for yourself?  

and if so, what is on your current bookshelf?  

i am always looking for new suggestions!

slush

we have had some gorgeous days lately, and all our snow is melting away.  in fact, as i peer outside the windows this morning, i can't see any snow anywhere....even those big piles that were sitting in the shade of the garage have disappeared!  

i love that sign that spring is on the way!

and so does hendrix.

he has spent a good deal of time in his rainboots lately.

as we were coming in from the van yesterday, he just sighs and says, 'mommy, i love being outside!'

i hear you pal, me too ;)

you might remember that hendrix used to have a slight obsession with horses.  over time that obsession has dwindled a bit, though he is still fascinated by them whenever we see them.  well, the mamas at the horse barns down the street have all had their lil' babes now and we enjoyed wandering over there to peek at the colts.

he proudly told blaire all about the barns and what horses like to eat and what they say.....it was fun to see him sharing a space that he was proud of with her ;)

love his spirit.  love his energy. and really love his smile!

happy spring puddles to you, too! ;)

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

hendrix loves playing in the snow.

since we didn't get our first real snow this winter until the week of christmas, i thought that the snow playing season was going to be cut short.

i was wrong.  it is mid march and we have had 5-8 inch snow storms at least once a week for the last month.

this has just given hendrix more chances to perfect the art of snowman building. ;)

thankfully it has been sunny and warm many of the days he has wanted to play outside, so it has been possible to take blaire out in the snow too.  she loves watching what brother is doing, so she enjoys herself with smiles and giggles ;)

the getting ready process is so time-consuming.....and now that hendrix is potty trained, we better make sure we go potty before we get outside!

he is serious about shoveling....

rolling snowballs.....

and even throwing snowballs at our neighbor!

or course, no snow playing event would be complete without a nice warm mug of hot cocoa!

love creating memories with this kiddo.....he's the best!