Busting Out

These are from a little while back, but I had to post them anyway.  Just some fun we have while the rest of the fam is away.  

Notice the drool.

Just like W, he loves flopping around on the bed.

Check out that nose flare.  Doesn't he look like a Japanses anime here?

N.  With a good hair day.

Aww.  Sure.  I'll kiss you now.

Peek-a-boo!

 

I think we need to lower that mattress soon.

Rock. Star. Hair.

I'm A Big Boy Now

Sigh.  I keep typing and deleting what I write.  There's no way to express how much joy this little baby has brought to this family.  He's just that awesome.  W has this 4-piece puzzle of his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine.  It's only 4 pieces because it's meant for toddlers.  But everytime I look at it, I see our family.  It's simple and complete and all the pieces fit perfectly.  That is our family.



He was quiet at first.  Then it seemed he wouldn't sleep or stop crying.  Eventually, he fixed all that and decided not to do anything at all, content to watch our chaotic daily opera with not so much as a grin on his face.  He became the cool one of the group.  Silent but ever present.  What is our little man now?

Well, he's full of giggles and smiles now.  Much more expressive than before.  But what's really admirable (and I truly envy this) is how he is able to completely block out W when he loses his shit.  And if he's feeling any anxiety at all about that scary loud noise or stranger talking to him while waiting in line, you would never know.  He just takes it all in, as if saying to himself, "I'm just going to wait and see where this goes."  Such a cool customer.

Having fun with daddy at mealtime.  Those hands. 

I know time flies when you're having fun, but this is just plain ridiculous.  N is a year old.  ONE YEAR!!! I always had a hunch that someone was actually physically messing with time.  You know just sitting there with the "master" clock and just speeding up all the good stuff.  But now I REALLY do think that is a possibility.  I look at N's sweet little face and it doesn't seem like it's changed much since he was a newborn.  I remember W changed so much that first year.  I could literally put a dozen photos of him next to each other and you would swear they were different babies.  But not my N.  He has that same knowing smile and sweet eyes that he had a year ago.   So you see, there's no way it's been a year.  Unh-unh.  Nope.  His cheeks are shamelessly big, even though my mom swears that he's losing weight.  Sigh.  And his thighs.  Don't get me started on his thighs.  Glorious.  If it weren't so cold in our house, I'd have him hang out in diapers all day.  Just so I could stare at those HoneyBaked hams.

I'm loving life!!!!

Makes me do this.

My hair?  Awesome?  What's that mean?

Oh stop!  I don't have any hair regimen!

Why do I always lift my arms up?  Cause it shows off my belly. Yeah, baby!

That's all I got.

One thing is also insists on persisting is his damn eczema.  It is awful.  It looks just like W's did on his ankles.  But unlike W, this just won't go away.  It all over his beautiful body.  Poor little N isn't as tolerant either.  All the things that didn't bother W, like teething, fevers, rashes....makes N crazy.  And rightfully so, of course.

Though N wasn't too sure about his big brother at first, I have witnessed with my own eyes how much he has grown to love him.  And it's a good thing, too, because W LOVES his baby brother.  Like please-stop-hugging-your brother-because-he's-suffocating kind of love.  It's the most amazing thing I get to see.  Here I spend most of my life, wishing I had a sibling.  And I get to see this impossible dream come true everyday.  No words.  Just pure joy.

W works so hard to make N laugh.  Makes me so proud.

Watching TV together.  Bonding and they don't even know it.

N is finally trying to do something other than just sit there.  Honestly, I was starting to get worried.  He's "delayed" but happily so.  I would say right after his first birthday, he decided to start rocking, bringing food to his mouth and go back to sitting position all within 2 weeks.  Crazy.  This kid is full of surprises.

More rad hair.

I can't stop looking at it.

Baby toes!!!!

Oh, hi mom!

Wait, let me get up for this shot.

I don't know why, but he looks like a baby thug with his hair all slicked back.

I'm more than excited about this coming year.  God willing, we're going to try and stay healthy this time around.  Maybe squeeze in a few trips.  Go on a few more hikes.  Eat less (yes, I'm talking about myself).  Eat more (I'm talking about W).  Lots more memories to be made!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tis' the Season!! Almost.

We were supposed to go apple picking with a bunch of our friends.  But the season ended a month early!!!  Our ecosystem is dying folks!!  Dying!  Sigh.  Luckily, we had plans to go pumpkin hunting at an awesome farm nearby.  This place is awesome.  It's huge, first of all.  And they tons of things for kids to do.  Even these miniature tractors they can drive around.  It's pretty great.  It was super crowded and most of the kids ended up having meltdowns by the end.  Especially W.  It was our bad, we didn't bring the double stroller to nap him.  Lesson learned.  But we had a blast watching all the adorable kids run around with each other.  I love this season, too. All the colors.  The food and smells.  Sweater weather, although not so much in Southern California.  I mean, it's warm here until.... November.  So uncool.  Literally.  

I'm so excited about the holidays coming up!!!  Who doesn't love the holidays, right?  And with W getting older, it's even better.  I don't think he understands the whole Santa thing yet.  He knows who he is...but only as the scary old man who wants to take a picture with him every year.  Sorry baby, but we gotta do it again this year.  He loves Christmas trees, snowmen, the lights, even wearing hats and scarves... all of it!  He was meant for winter, just like mommy!!

I think these two teach each other bad habits.  And will continue to do so for years to come. 

The next generation.

The Lee family made the long trip up, just to hang out with us :)

I hope this A does her hair like this for the rest of her life.

Red-striped tent!  Love it!

The best group shot I could get.  

My big boys.

How sweet are their faces, waiting for their turn on the tractor ride.

W had his eye on one particular one and went for it!

Cute, right?

They have this awesome wooden train.  The kids were all over it, like ants on candy.

W could not sit still!  

Guess what he's going to dress up as for Halloween?

Mommy, I like this one!

W was so proud that he could carry the heavy pumpkins.

 New friends.

Here, dude, I picked this one just for you.

Thanks, girl.  I love it.

Almost there.

As good as it gets.

We loved it so much, that we went back 2 days later on a weekday.  It was completely empty and completely awesome!  Because of W's meltdown that weekend, he didn't get to enjoy all that the farm had to offer, so we thought another trip would be fun.  Not to mention, we didn't get any pumpkins either.  So we had to go back, see!  

Love this face!

I actually needed this picture for an upcoming event.  Soon to be revealed :)

He still won't ride the train alone.

Is that a goat?

Even his silhouette is beautiful!

Sweet N, watching big brother play.

I am boy.  I have to climb!!

A mother smothers.

My little pumpkin in his patch.

 So many.

We jacked this wagon.

Daddy's pick.

Prettiest scarecrow ever.

W was working so hard to pull the wagon.

This is where he quit.  He just left it there after we had spent forever picking out the perfect pumpkins. LOL!

Like so many thing, I get to experience things for the first time along with my kids.  Like pumpkin carving.  I don't think I've ever done it.  If I have, I don't remember.  So it was really fun to do this with W.  A little scary, too because he kept wanting to hold the knife and carve it himself.  Eek!

He scooped some of the seeds out and got grossed out by the stuff inside. LOL!

Please don't cut yourself.  Please don't cut yourself.

My first pumpkin.  What do you think?