Watching football with daddy.

     If I didn't have so much laundry to do, so many projects left unfinished, a baby to feed or who knows what else, football season would be my favorite. I know that a lot of those are horrible excuses, but sometimes I'm guilty of letting the To Do List take priority over sitting down and watching a game with my hubby.

     Thankfully I had boys and among other things, football games are included in our "raising them right" theology. So when a games on and it's not nap time or bed time, we encourage Ty to join in. Right now he's engaged for maybe five minutes before getting out his toys, but that (and the fact that he's dressed in head to toe team gear) warms his daddies heart and mine too.

He's learned the art of being distracting, but not too distracting. 

Or maybe Gray is just that concentrated ... the juries still out. 

     Gray can't wait till he's watching the whole game and talking terms and stats and I am just excited to witness it all unfold. There will be many hours of watching football together in their futures.

"Tobias, show mama your game face!" ... Man oh man do I love these two!

A morning outside with Tobias.

If I could bottle up all your zeal for life and apply it like perfume at the start of every day, I would.

     What the world must look like to one as little as you, gigantic, foreign, wonderful? Sometimes when I look at pictures like these I can imagine your awe. The world through your eyes, a beautifully scary creation rendered exciting within carefully constructed boundaries.

(Could you be any cuter sporting Auntie KK's beanie she left behind?)

     You love the outdoors, if I left it up to you you would spend all your time outside. I both love and dislike this about you. Rain or shine, heat or cold, no bugs or millions your enthusiasm never wavers (unless I mention Paw Patrol, but even then you are swayed only 50% of the time). I love this because if there is one place I can go to get refreshed it's outside. It's in Gods creation where I am reminded how small I am and how great God is. There is something very comforting in that truth. I dislike this because the heat annoys me and mosquito's are very literally the bane of my existence!

     Thankfully on this morning the air was crisp (my favorite kind) and the mosquito's were few. I had put Well's down for his morning nap and the three of us headed to the backyard to play.

     When Riggs wasn't standing at the back door wanting to be let in he ran around chasing squirrels. He made sure to give Tobias and his lawn mower a wide berth. He seems to be terrified of that blue and green bubble machine when it's at the hands of Ty. I can't imagine why? I don't know a person or animal who minds getting rammed and chased by a little squirt and his plastic mower ...

(I don't think my mom could have known how much he would love this toy.)

(The leaves tend to turn brown instead of all those vibrant colors like up north, boo.) 

(The sunlight that morning was just gorgeous.)

      He stood at the gate glued to whatever truck or bus happened to pass by. He would beckon to me frantically, desperately wanting me to share in his excitement.

(His little face! Those huge blue eyes, that sweet mouth and those soft cheeks, 

it's hard to express how much I love this boy.)

     He mowed the lawn five times over stopping every once in awhile to make sure I was watching or to investigate the nearest ant hill. He ended up transferring his hat to his mower, it was "coldy" and needed some warmth.

     He also drove to the store multiple times for various items mom forgot to grab. And he drove to work. He made sure to wave goodbye to me just like daddy does every time he leaves.

Oh to be little again. Don't grow up too fast baby.

Well's on the porch.

     My babies are fuzz heads and I love it. Tobias had the wispiest bird like hair for so long. Just recently has it decided to grow in and thicken up and I'm afraid this change has turned my first baby into a boy. This is why I'm so relishing Well's and soaking in all those baby things that tend to change so quickly.

(Rigg's butt totally photo bombed this picture, haha.)

     I took these photos at two months. He just turned three months and from the time we found out I was pregnant until now, I feel like I can't catch my breath. Keeping up with both my boys and soaking in all the details as they morph and grow takes all of my time and leaves me dizzy. I know I miss things, but I hope that somehow the big things imprint themselves on my brain.

     Right now I'm loving Well's chunky thighs, his knee dimples, his buddha belly, his healthy arm creases, and just his overall thickness! I spend a lot of time squeezing him. He is seriously so yummy. His huge open mouth smiles that happen every time you catch his eye make my heart stop. And man oh man those occasional giggles, well, they just make the world a better place. He is definitely a talker, he babbles and blows bubbles content to communicate with whoever or whatever happens to be in his line of sight. No rolling yet just some great head support along with push ups and wiggles he can turn himself around if you aren't looking.
     He does all of his naps in his crib. I'm pretty sure he would sleep well in his crib at night, but currently he still sleeps in his rock n' play by my side of the bed. A good night he sleeps from 7:30pm to 5:30am, he eats and goes back to bed until 7:30am. He takes three naps during the day and if he needs it a short cat nap before bed. It took me awhile to figure him out, but once I did, he has been the happiest of babies!
     He is obviously a great eater. He doesn't struggle to put on the pounds. He does struggle to take a bottle or a paci. Also known as he refuses both. It makes him pretty hard to leave. I have to time my absences just right. Occasionally I'm over all of the attention, but then he smiles and I forget all my frustration.

     Tobias loves him dearly which has made the last couple of weeks hard. Ty came down with a fever and has had a lasting cough and runny nose. I've had to curb the touching because sick babies are no fun! Despite the sick he still asks to hold Baby Well's and is the first to tell mommy when Baby Well's is crying or unhappy. He even throws away Baby Well's dirty diapers, he is a huge helper.

Tobias and his Radio Flyer.

Nana and Poppa bought Tobias a Radio Flyer for his birthday.

     He isn't yet able to recognize what an awesome gift this is, but his parents can! I can't wait to watch him drive up and down our long driveway. He'll be teaching Well's before we know it!

(His first glimpse of his tricycle.)

(We were all telling him what to do, I can see him debating who to listen too.)

     At first he wasn't sure what to do, but daddy gave him a tutorial. With the right shoes his feet just barely reach so it might take some growing in to. I don't think this troubled him too much, he was quite content to push the bike around and sit on it occasionally.

(... and the pushing began. All of his favorite toys are push toys right now, 

so naturally he thought he'd try pushing his tricycle too, ha.)

(It's really hard to get smiling pictures of this booger, I need to be more diligent at taking candids.)

(The yard isn't as easy to drive in, but he was content to let daddy push him.)

     The excitement ended on the porch. He went to work showing his animals his tricycle and shoving them into the little compartment at the back. They didn't quite fit but that couldn't deter him. He finally figured out that if you keep the lid up everything works out.

(That face say's "I'm determined," too bad the animals weren't into cooperating.)

It's a great gift one that will be used for many years to come, thanks Nana and Poppa!

My little artist

     Gosh, these pictures are only a couple months old and yet he has changed so much since I took them! My little baby is not so little anymore and he definitely does not look like a baby. The fact that he has become a little boy sinks in more and more each day as I impatiently await the arrival of his baby brother. 

     This stage has definitely become a favorite of mine. It's both exhausting and greatly rewarding. His speech continues to progress and sometimes it's amazing the phrases he puts together and the things he remembers. He's all boy; crazy, goofy, giggly, and stubborn with endless amounts of energy, but man oh man does it take everything within me not to squeeze him to death. Words can never express the love I have for this tiny human.

     So (the best transition I can come up with :)) .... he is not really interested in art at all. I like to fool myself sometimes, but the fact is, we throw balls and make messes all day everyday. The more refined skills such as drawing and painting have yet to hold his interest for more than a few minutes. I will not stop trying though ...

At Home - October 2015

     These are old photos, but when I found them, I couldn't not post them. He still stands on a chair and looks out our front window except now (unlike in these pictures) he can push the chair himself and get onto it himself. And even though the window is still exciting, the kitchen sink has somewhat taken its place, because you know he's a toddler, and water . . .  enough said.
     Anything somewhat dangerous and new gets a lot of attention these days. Anything that deviates from the routine is enchanting. Looking out the window was one of those things, and if there is enough going on outside (like our huge renovation a couple weeks ago) it keeps his attention for quite some time.
     It's activities like these that make me wish we didn't have a TV. Television has its place, but I hope that when life gets crazy we don't forget to take a minute and look outside and let our imagination be captured and our senses excited to God's magnificent creation. There is a lot more to be learned at the  window than at our TV.

Squeezing through legs ...

because everything is a potential fort.

"I love pictures...the best thing about them is that they never change, 

even when the people in them do."

-Anonymous

11 Months.

     Two posts in one day! Only because on principle I need to get these out of the way before his birthday on Saturday . . . gosh one year, it is just now starting to sink into my conscious. These 365 days went by so fast, I can only imagine how the next ones will go. You blink and it will all be over they say, I am starting to believe them. I am sure I sound like a broken record, forgive me, it is all a little surreal.
     At 11 months you could walk. Unsteadily and with many plops and redirections, but it did not deter you. You were just starting to get into everything, but had yet to become the tornado you are now. Your main interests were cords and remotes and pens. You loved to annoy the dog and still do, but there is less poking and slapping, you mostly observe, point and laugh now. In these pictures you had managed to remove the lid from the puffs container and subsequently you spilt them all over the floor all while mommy went pee. Our morning routine most days was pretty lazy. During this month you graciously slept till 8:30 most days and upon waking we would lounge in our jammies and you would snack on cherrios/puffs while mommy slipped in bites of yogurt and banana. Not because you did not like them, but because you were too busy playing to care. This was the month that you noticeably started to take an interest in balls, much to your daddy's delight. You loved to "throw" the ball, i.e. drop it while staring at the person encouraging you to hand it to them. You babbled all the time, your favorite syllables were da-da and ha-ha. You learned uh-oh while in Ohio with Mimi and Poppi and came home and forgot it. Even now you only say the uh part. This is the month you took a special interest in mommy and that has yet to wear off (secretly I love it). You started to show us the fart part of your personality. If we took something away from you you would clench your fists and grunt in frustration. Only recently have you started to throw tantrums which consist of laying on the ground and rolling around, ya, you are that kid. You were growing more hair, but it still stood up on end and gosh I love it. Dog food was your favorite snack no matter how many times mommy told you no. Our nap routine started to get a little longer, because mommy did not want to stop rocking you, especially when you would lay your sweet head on my shoulder. And to be honest kid, you are too darn cute for your own good. You force your mother to give you unsolicited snuggles and kisses all day every day that sometimes annoy you, but maybe, just maybe might be wearing off on you. Please stay this little for just a while longer.