Today I have a date

Maximum photos, minimum words

Last night she slept for 9 hours.

But yesterday she was fussy all day long. (Lets call it a wash.)

Future archaeologist? Lets hope he’s cooler than Ross.

He’s my little chef. His ability to follow instructions and then remember them days later is a fantastic and endearing quality.

He insists on wearing these sunglasses, particularly in the shower. Hope he wears them at the beach this summer.

Love.

He loves holding his sister, but always remarks about how heavy she is. How’s that for irony?

When we did the photo shoot at the Mall, he helped his brother warm up to the camera. Something he didn’t have trouble with.

He tried to insist on bicycling with his handlebars backwards. I insisted that he did not.

Photo Credits: All Husband.

Photos of my adorable children

These are my favorites. We went to the mall, so it’s certainly not fine art photography or photo journalism. But the kids are mine, and they are freeking adorable!! Check them out:

I’m loving the cuteness. I’m ashamed to admit that there was an obscene amount of bribery involved in getting these pictures. Not Jack, he’s a big old Hammy-Ham. But Henry, ohmyfreekinggod that was a challenge! Maggie? She was just happy to get a change to show off her head control, can you believe that girl? Freeking strong like Amazon!

My expectations are always kind of low with these pictures-in-the-mall places. But I’m here to tell you, be not afraid my friends.  It’s not always easy or financially plausible to schedule fine-art shots.  I’ve been spoiled with a photo-inclined husband (click his picture on my sidebar to link to his geeky photo blog) and an artsy-fartsy cousin-in-law who takes wicked awesome pictures at Thanksgiving for our Christmas card every year. I always wonder if the photographers the mall places really like photography, or were just looking for a job.  But my low expectations lead to one super bonus: I’m often pleasantly surprised. Pleasantly surprised might be an understatement, right now I’m somewhere between “wicked psyched” and “victory dance”.

So, thank you, Mall Portrait Studio, you made my day.  A special thank you to the Carousel of bribery for making Henry’s smile possible.  (Yes, our mall has a carousel, and yes, I told Henry if he would smile for a picture I would let him ride the carousel.)

The Birthdays Party

Sometimes I have these brilliant ideas, but they turn out to be a disaster when I try to execute them. Other times I have an idea that may, or may not be brilliant, and manage to pull them off brilliantly. I’d like to think this is one of those times.

Jack and Henry’s birthdays are actually 2 months apart, but since this “Hitch” baby is due 2 days after Henry’s Birthday I wanted to be sure my special littler guy didn’t miss out on an actual celebration only to be overshadowed by his screaming flesh-ball little sister. (At least that’s how I would see her if I were him.)

I devised a plan to split the difference on their birthdays and throw one huge birthday bash during the time in-between. For once I didn’t angst over which people to invite or not- which is something I always do because I’m worried about the house feeling too crowded and the guests not enjoying themselves because they feel all claustrophobic. I didn’t ask Matt what he thought of the guest list, (because anymore than about 5 people is too many for him). I just invited everyone and hoped for good weather and that no-one would mind a crowded house.

I feel like everything worked our really well, and I spent most of the time enjoying myself, not stressing out leading up to or during the actual event!

Theme: Lego Party

I found invites like these on Etsy but they were too pricey for me.  I was able to make these with cardstock, a 1″ hole punch and some double-sided 3-D tape.

Lego invites- Check!

The candy used on the cakes is from Candy Kitchen; construction and project logistics managed by Papa.

I made these with a hand-designed stencil and some fabric paint.  I also used a hair-dryer, incase you were curious!

I think they turned out great!

I even hung some Legos on our wall-o-photos.

I finally got smart and ordered catering platters instead of stressing myself out with a complicated menu and many hours sweating in the kitchen- thank you, Panera!

Who doesn’t love a goodie bag station?

These Lego cookies were amazing! Thanks to Sweet Surrender Cookie Co. -Etsy. Not only did they look great, I can personally verify that they taste great too!

More Lego shaped candy from the Candy Kitchen.

The whole event was a swinging success!

Yes, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ twice, but I don’t think they minded sharing.  Jack particularly enjoyed telling people that he is 4 and Henry is turning 2 soon.

Birthdays Party- Complete.

Daredevil or Prodigy?

Yesterday, after Jack’s swim class, his teacher told me that he’s ready to graduate to the next level in swimming school. He can float unassisted on front and back, he bobs up and down unassisted and he hurdles himself into the deep end like only a child with no sense of self preservation could.

Pool safe by summer time? Perhaps!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jack!

You are hilarious, passionate and tons of fun!

It’s not quite the Atlantis Shuttle…

I asked Jack what he wanted to bring to school for his birthday snack. First he said “cupcakes”. Well the teachers asked us not to send cupcakes on birthday celebration days because they are wicked messy, and I agree. They are also time consuming for me to make.

Thinking I’m about to be completely brilliant and avoid some time consuming snack I ask him if he thinks cookies are a good idea. To which be immediately responded, “yes, I want spaceship chocolate chip cookies!” Grrrrrreat.

I attempted to make shuttle style spaceships. It seemed to be easier to make a triangle for the wings and a long, erm, shaft for the fuselage.

I glued the pieces together with icing.

Not too bad. At least if they don’t look accurate they still taste like Toll House and buttercream goodness!

Isn’t marijuana the gateway drug?

Last night I was grabbing Jack’s clothes for the laundry when I found a syringe in his pocket.

Apparently it’s never too soon for the “Just say no” discussion.

Chopsticks

Moo Goo Gai Jack

Nothing’s gonna stop us now

Jack’s preschool had a field trip planned to the local State Park. It rained all night before and was still raining in the morning so I just assumed that school would reschedule the field trip. It’s entirely their prerogative, but I was disappointed to think that they would let a little rain stop them. There are preschools (mostly in cool places like Seattle) that run their entire program all day, every day in the wilderness. Rain. Snow. Whatever. I did at one point try to convince the husband to move so to the land of coffee and microbrews we could try to get the kids in one of those programs.

There is all kinds of research about free play and being outside and how it’s incredibly good for a child’s developlent. And it makes my inner hippie smile.

When the e-mail came that the field trip to the park was still on I was pretty psyched! I was one of the only parents who felt that way, but I told the director, this is awesome! The world doesn’t stop just because it rains. And yeah, she high-fived me. Besides, who doesn’t love an excuse to get cocoa!

Picnic lunch.

Hunting for natural treasures.

Animal home!

Down by the river.

Lovin’ the great outdoors.

Jack’s treasure chest. His assignment was to match colors of things he found in nature with the colors painted in the bottom of the egg carton. So fun!

We can appreciate a good cocoa at any age. But if you ask him, he will tell you that it’s coffee.