Comparison

Ok, so people always comment that my baby looks just like my older son (middle child.) I always tell them that he looks just like my daughter did as a baby. They all look similar but have their own unique features that distinguish them from one another. BUT, I stand by my claim that the baby looks more like my girl did as a baby. So everyone can see, I created a collage with 6 photos. The first 2 are of my daughter, second two are of my middle boy, and the last two are of the baby. Maybe it's the coloring and that my older boy is more fair than the other two. My lucky girl has darker skin than the boys but my older boy has lighter hair and everything. So, here they all are at approximately the same age in each. What do you think?

Last Weekend

Last weekend we went up to my parents again to celebrate my 4 year old's birthday. He actually had his birthday the weekend before but my husband is in the Navy reserves and had to work that weekend. So last Friday night after my husband got home from work, we packed up the kids and made the 2.5 hour drive north. Neither of us like to drive at night but it seems like we no sooner get there and have to turn around and leave if we wait til Saturday morning to drive up. We take a completely rural route to get there and it's so scenic and peaceful. So you know I took out my camera and got some shots from the car since the sun was setting while we were on our way.

I just love old barns. I love how this one came out.

This too. Look at that sky!

This is our shadow on the corn. Pretty cool!

The moon was really bright that night. When we pulled up in the driveway, my parents were sitting outside enjoying the cool night and moonlight. I love this time of year. Even though it's short lived and I know it means winter is right around the corner, I absolutely adore Fall. We decided to hang out outside for a while and let the kids run around in the dark. It led to a few games of hide and seek. My daughter has quite an imagination and loves getting scared just like her mom!

I walked around to the side of the house where I could get a shot of the moon while everyone else was playing. I got this spooky shot from between the leaves of a maple tree.

My mom came out with the baby and made the mistake of wrapping him in my other son's favorite blankie. He tried to take it back.

I was just taking random shots of everyone and after I got home and uploaded them to the computer, I noticed this funny exchange between my dad and the baby.

The next night was the "party." It wasn't really a party, we just had over a few people. My grandparents, my brother and my niece, my cousin, and my other cousin with her baby and her boyfriend. Very low key but that's just how we wanted it.

I made The Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake which turned out fabulous. All of her recipe's that I have made do!

And we paired it with Culver's custard. Oh. Yum.

Pinata time. I let my girl go first to show the youngins how it's done. This kid can hit!

Then it was the birthday boys turn. (You'll notice my gramma in the background of all of these being REALLY enthusiastic.)

Then my 3 year old niece took a crack at it.

It soon became apparent that whoever makes pinatas does not think about making them the least bit easy for a child to break open. So some of the adults stepped in to lend a hand. First my cousin tried, then my dad.

HAHA my dads face! He looks so serious and my kid looks scared.

Finally, my bad-ass daughter got it!

Later, we had a bonfire. It was lots of fun for the kids and there were pranks played. That's all I'll say. Oh, and I drank too much wine.

That's my brother, my mom with the baby, and my cousin.

The next day we took the kids outside for some more fresh, country air before heading home. They wanted to try out the new t-ball set. My mom and I sat on the deck with the baby. Their little, sweet, ornery cat Jimmy jumped up next to the baby. At first the baby didn't notice.

Then he did and boy did he get a handful of fur. Jimmy enjoyed it.

And this is their HUGE, sweet cat Allie, who is afraid of everything. I love this picture.

It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to going up there next for Halloween!

Steps for Students

As I pulled up to the school to pick up the kiddos today, I realized that today was "Steps for Students" which is a fundraiser for the school in which families had been collecting money ending in today's walk. It was a fun event for the students, faculty, and families. There is a small track on the schools campus and everyone walked around it in special t-shirts. They had mascots from Chick Fila and the local fire department and there was music and Popsicles for all the kids. My boys teacher invited us to come back at the 1:30 walk since I had forgotten about the one in the AM. We ended up having a great time and I had the chance to get to know his teacher and her assistant much better. They are both great and I'm so glad to have him in their class!!

During warm ups

She's so silly.....my little dork.

The mascots coming out. The kids went NUTS and the noise was deafening.

As we began the walk I looked down and this is what I saw. They were holding hands!! Without being told! They love each other no matter what they might try to tell you otherwise.

Giving "Sparky" a high 5 while my boy kept a safe distance.

He was still thinking about it and ended up giving Sparky an air high 5 from the other side of the sidewalk.

That's my boy's teacher on the right and her assistant on the left along with their PM class and my 2 hooligans.

This little guy from her PM class is so cute and sweet. He took a liking to my baby and had the baby giggling.

My girl with one of her kindergarten classmates. Don't ask me what they were looking for!

This is a group of boys, I believe from the 4th grade. They were busting out some moves to the music that was playing. It was hilarious! They were completely oblivious to the weird mom down the way with her camera!

Aaaand it seems that my child has a few admirers. There were 2 boys who were chasing her all over the place for a good long while. I forgot that boys start flirting that young!

The Bus

Kindergarten at my kids school begins at 835am. My boys preschool starts at 805am. This posed a bit of a challenge when it comes to convenience in our morning routine. I was talked into letting my dude ride the bus as he would be the last one picked up and we only live about a mile from the school. I was assured that it is a small bus equipped with car seats for the little ones and the only students riding would be his classmates, and there is always another adult on the bus with the driver whom is a nurse. My dude got to start riding this Monday and it has already made a huge difference in reducing my stress level in the morning.

There he goes! By buddy!!

So once he got to ride the bus, my daughter started pestering me that she wanted to ride too. I enjoy taking her to school and the idea of my little girl riding on that huge bus kinda makes me nervous. But this child does NOT let anything go once she makes her mind up. So I went ahead and made the call yesterday and they told me she could start riding today. So, this morning I walked her out to the corner for her pick up.

I had to get a shot of this stunning scene while we were waiting.

She was jealous that I was distracted by the sky and snapping pictures of it instead of her. She likes to be the center of attention.

That's better.

And she's off!!!

Now my mornings will be MUCH more relaxing so I guess we all win!

Mona Lisa Smile

The weekly challenge for this week is "Smirk" and again, I knew I had just the photo to enter. This is my now four year old son at a party at my brothers house. My boy was 9 months old at the time. Not a "pro" photo by any means but cute? Definitely. My sister in law had a box full of sunglasses including child sizes so my mom and I decided to have some fun with it. He thought he was too cool for school and I love the expression on his face. This has always been one of my favorite photos of my guy. Go on over to www.iheartfaces.com to check out the other great entries!

My Baby is 4 Today

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy. We could not have ever asked for a more loving, affectionate, beautiful son. I don't know what I would ever do without you in my life and I'm so proud to be your mommy! I love you buddy!!

Vroom Vroom!

So, the weekly challenge on iheartfaces.com is "Vroom Vroom." Since I just began using a professional grade camera about a month ago, I initially did not think I would have anything to enter for this theme. Then I remembered a photo I took in July at my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary party. The photo was taken with my Blackberry, which has been known to take some pretty good pictures considering the source. They tend to come out really clear (it has 3.2 MP) and an auto focus. Anyway, just as dusk was setting in, my uncle got on his tractor. My older son was the first on the scene. The kid loves anything and everything with a motor and wheels. I don't know if that is just a boy thing, if it was inherited, if it is due to the autism (autistic kids tend to fixate on certain things), or a combination of the 3. My uncle let him "steer" and I ran over to the sidelines to wait for them to pass. My boy was so focused on the very important task of steering this tractor. I love this photo, it captures the fun we had that day.