Family Pictures 2015

Well, I made them do it again.  The boys (including the grown one!) suffered through family pictures for their mother's (and prosperity's) sake.  Haha!  Of course, this is the best version of ourselves.  Or as hubs says, not reality.  

I definitely admit there's some truth to that.  For instance, it's true that in reality the oldest child won't wear jeans to save his life.  It's sporty pants or nothing.  And you should've seen his face when I showed him the sweater I picked out.  But, by golly if he isn't one handsome stud muffin sporting that thing!  Oh and speaking of sweaters, the hubs had a similar look on his face when he saw his new outfit.  He relented when I assured him that half the mannequins at Kohl's were dressed just like that. ;)  It's true...wearing my hair down and curling it?!  That sure doesn't happen every day.  And you won't catch me with those earrings in for fear they'd be ripped out of my earlobes by one of my rowdy boys.  It's true...it was freezing cold this day and the baby was not having it.  In between each one of these fabulous shots he was curled in a ball on daddy's shoulders crying "cold! cold!"  It's true...lil' peanut is actually just as cool in real life as he looks in these pictures.  He wore his hair "spikey" at his own request and he adored his new stylin' outfit.  Of course, on the way there he declared that he hated family pictures and vehemently refused to smile until it was his turn in front of the camera and we told him he wouldn't get candy and cocoa if he didn't stop making his angry face.  

Oh, family pictures.  I love you.  Not only do you make us look really good, you freeze in time this precious family of mine.  You give me pause as I reflect on how we have grown and changed and increased our capacity for love with the addition of each of our sons.  But, mostly I love you because I know your story.  Facebook just sees our coordinating outfits and happy smiles.  They don't know that when I came downstairs after getting myself ready, my middle guy gave me the biggest smile and declared how beautiful I was.  Or that our oldest kept making our photographer laugh with his snarky comments.  Or that the baby flashed his signature shy grin and tried to run away from the camera every time we sat him down.  Those are the untold stories of family pictures.  

So, hubby is right.  On the surface these pictures are maybe not "reality."  But, when I look a little deeper I see us pretty much just how we are. :)  (And I'm enjoying what may be our last time of coordinating clothes and combed hair as I agreed to a "come as you are" shoot next time.  I'm afraid once the boys get a taste of that they'll never let me put sweaters on them again.) 

The Dynamic Duo

Lil' peanut had been in our family just over a year when his baby brother was born.  It was quick.  Especially in comparison to his big brother who had almost 6 years to be, not just the baby, but the only!  It was one more big change in a series of changes for our peanut.  Another "uprooting" in his little life.  I think it's fair to say he would have had every right to go into his new role as big brother kicking and screaming.  

But, he didn't.  He entered into this new realm of being a "big" with a quiet confidence and a grace quite uncommon for a three year old.  That's not to say they don't have their moments...they do.  But, something pretty neat has been happening these last few months as our baby grows in to a toddler.  Their relationship is blossoming and these two have become quite the duo.  More often than not, they can be found playing together.  Playing well together.  Trains are their favorite!  C and peanut play, yes.  And despite the large age gap, C and the baby play too.  But, not like these two.  They seem to be more than just brothers...they're best buds.

I started to notice it when baby first began to chatter and lil' peanut carried on with him like he knew just what he was saying.  It never failed when the baby was fussing over something that we couldn't figure out, our middle man could tell us exactly what he wanted!  It really was uncanny.  And now they have little conversations all throughout the day that just make me smile.  Lots of times it's big brother explaining what they're going to do together and then an enthusiastic "Kay!" from little brother.  Baby can say his name now which just thrills peanut.  They are just about the cutest thing ever at preschool drop off and always elicit lots of awes from the other moms as they go about their goodbye ritual of hugs, kisses and fistbumps.  They are quite the pair!

I'm not naive enough to think it will always be like this between the two of them, but I sure do hope that the foundation for a life long friendship is forming between these little ones.  

Let's Go Royals!!!

I won't claim to be a super fan or anything, but I do like baseball!  And I grew up going to Royal's games, so watching them win the World Series was pretty darn cool!  Considering it has been 30 years since this happened, we knew we had to seize the opportunity to celebrate and go out for the victory parade.  The crowds were expected to be huge, so we knew one thing, get there early.  C wanted a front row spot for the parade so he was ready to get there early too.  So ready that he woke us up at 5:05 that morning.  Honestly, going into this I thought it was going to be a disaster...3 kids, hours of standing, thousands of people, very few bathrooms. ;)  Boy did my kids surprise me.  All three of them did so well.  Our early arrival secured us great parking and a perfect spot to watch the parade.  (And we even had time to grab Starbucks and hit up MeMa's Bakery for some delish breakfast to-go)  The day was truly wonderful!  I'm so glad we decided to go and make some memories.  #Foreverroyal  :)

Halloween 2015