Four and twenty blackbirds...

I heard an incredible racket outside my bedroom window in the wee hours of this morning. It was followed by thumps and bumps on the roof. So I pulled on my robe and charged out the front door, to find an entire murder of crows on my roof. (How cool is it that a flock of crows is called a "murder?") They were everywhere. I ran inside to get my camera and they all started cawing and flying around, landing on trees, in the yard... It is hard to not be scared of literally hundreds of black screaming birds swirling all around you. I ran back inside, jumped back in bed, and hid under the covers!!

Daredevil

The Boy, yelling into the kitchen: "Mooooom! I made a teeter totter!"
Me, yelling back: "Do you think that sounds like a safe idea?"
The Boy, with enthusiasm: "NOPE!!"

Rice cereal!!

The past few nights, baby girl has been insatiable at night time. Every evening, she wants to nurse for about 30 minutes every hour or so. Ouch!! So today we decided it was time to start some real food. She had her first taste of rice cereal today and she seemed to enjoy it. Daddy and big brother fed her rice cereal mixed with breast milk, she after first making a "you've got to be kidding me" face, she scarfed it all down and was all smiles!

First pets

The boy has been begging and begging and begging for a dog, cat, mouse, pig, bird...so I broke down and offered him some fish. He picked out two goldfish. One white one with an orange spot on it's head and one all orange one. He named them Spot and Orange. (But, not orange like the color, orange like the fruit!!) Sadly, Spot and Orange went to the big fish bowl in the sky before I got pictures of them. These are their replacements, you guessed it, Spot and Orange. (Give him a break, he's three!) He thinks they are pretty cool. We've got them in a real filtered aquarium now, instead of this little thing, so hopefully they last a little longer than the original Spot and Orange. (But, if not...goldfish only cost $0.13!!)

Balancing act

The boy loves to climb and do tricks. Today it was off of Daddy's shoulders. I swear that kid knows no fear. He also loves to put pieces of wood or cardboard or whatever from the coffee table to the couch, or from the chair to the ottoman and call them "bridges." He is such a fun, creative, and amazing kid. I hope he never looses that sense of adventure and silliness.

Photo shoot

With the boy, I made sure I got a "staged" portrait every month for his first year. I have been doing the same with baby girl, and it amazes me how similar they look. I know they have the same genetics, but they could be twins in their pictures. I had to put a bow on baby girl so that I could make sure I could tell their pictures apart! She was not very cooperative, and I was having technical difficulties with the camera, but I got some cute ones. She is growing so fast, I can't believe she is already 5 months old. She is such a sweet heart, too. She is a total Momma's girl. She doesn't really even like Daddy holding her, but she will ONLY tolerate it if she can still see Momma. I'm sure when she is a teenager she will prefer her Daddy but for now, I am enjoying the snuggle bug.

Flowers for you Momma

The boy loves to bring Momma flowers. He gets so sad when they die, he always wants to bring me more. It is so cute to see him hand me a big bouquet or a single dandelion. To him they are beautiful and it melts my heart every time. What a sweet guy!

Our little watering can

This boy has never met a tree he didn't want to water. Once he got over his aversion to peeing outside, he seems to spend a lot of time with his heinie hanging out!

Momma's portraits

I got to go to an event where a local photographer offered 2 portraits. I don't often get a chance to be the subject of pictures, since I am always the one taking them, so it was kind of nice to get some pictures of just me for a change. I really like this photographer, I'd like to have some family portraits done.

Charlie's Angels?

I told the missionaries and the boy to pose like Charlie's Angels, not expecting them to know who that was, but all three of them immediately struck a pose. The boy loves having the elders around. He thinks they are part of our extended family. They always treat him with such kindness, they are truly a valiant example.

It's ok to be crabby, baby!

The boy found this little play area, and he thought the crab was pretty cool. It was soft shelled (ha ha) so he liked to jump on it. I love the little eyes peeking out. The boy has a huge imagination and had a whole scenario going, even though he was the only kid in there.

Peek a boo!

Baby girl fell asleep and slumped down in my lap, so I laid her down with her feet facing out. Boy was she tickled when she woke up and looked straight up at Momma! She has such a big personality. She is so much fun, and I am so happy she came to us!

Move yo' body!

The boy felt like dancing today. He started doing this funky little dance and singing "move your body, move your body." It was hilarious. He danced for about an hour total, all over the house. He is such an original kid. I expect great things from him!

Ladies Man

So, last night, the boy got all pouty. I asked what was the matter, and he told me he "missed E...." So I called up E's momma and asked if E could come play today. E came over, and immediately had the boy kowtowing to her every whim. It was hilarious. The boy wanted to watch "Finding Nemo" but E wanted to watch "Barbie as Rapunzel." They watched Barbie. The boy wanted to play on the swing set, but E wanted to hopscotch. They hopscotched. These kids are so funny. They have a bit of a love/hate thing going on. I think they yelled every single thing they wanted to say to each other. Little E and the boy had a lot of fun, and as soon as she left, he was pouting saying he missed her again.

Watching clouds

The boy and I laid in the grass to watch the clouds. It was such an awesome moment. My boy is so sweet and creative. He found a dragon, a fish, and a sailboat. It was so fun to see how his mind works.

Best buds

The boy and baby girl are the best of friends. He loves to say she is "his" baby, and she will giggle for him and no one else. They are so sweet together. I hope they always stay close.

Life's a beach....

...and that's a good thing. We are so lucky to live on a peninsula. This beach is about 4 minutes from our house. We had a little dinner picnic, laid on the blanket looking at the sky, dug in the sand, threw rocks into the ocean, and walked out to about our ankles (it was COLD!) I love that we are equally surrounded by mountains. It really makes this place special.

Baby girl finds her voice

Baby girl has discovered that she loves to talk. . . but I think she is speaking wookie. She just loves to make noise. It is adorable. I think she thinks I understand her the best, because she mostly talks to Momma. She gets quite upset if I don't respond to her.

Coming, this Friday the 13th, "Attack of the baby who ate everything!"

Baby girl must be getting ready to teethe, because she chews on EVERYTHING. If she can get it in her mouth, it's going in. She also drools constantly. Watch yourself on this scary day, she might come after YOU! Aaaaaaaaaaaugh!

Cuz you're "bootiful"

The boy asked if he could take a picture of me today. I asked why, and he said "I want to always remember you Momma, cuz you're bootiful!" How could I say no to that? This is the picture he took. He is such a sweet heart. What Momma doesn't love to hear that her baby thinks she is "bootiful?"

Duck...duck...goose egg!

My poor sweet boy was playing/ running/ jumping/ being a little boy and fell and smacked his head on the couch. This HUGE goose egg appeared immediately. He was so upset, he was crying so hard I couldn't understand what was wrong at first, and his hair was covering his owie. Finally he held his hair up like this and said "MY HEAD IS HURTING ME!"

Me and my kiddos

The boy wanted to take some pictures, so we took a bunch of "self portraits" with Mommy holding the camera at arm's length. This was the best one, though there were a few cuties. The boy wanted to see every picture and then gave me tips; "no Momma hold it like this" or "you have to smile more." It was fun and silly.

Toe-tally fun!

Baby girl has discovered her toes! She plays with them and stares at them. She hasn't put them in her mouth yet, but I'm sure she will figure that out soon. It is so sweet to see her talking to her toes.

Mommy made dat

I made this tie for the boy, and he was so proud to wear it to church today. He told every single person we saw "My Mommy made dat." He looked really cute. It is supposed to have space ships and what not down the front, but I didn't position it right when I cut and folded it, so all the pictures got folded onto the back. Oh well....it was my first one. You live and learn!

Blueberries cryin' in the rain

Actually, there was no crying it was a LOT of fun to pick blue berries in the rain with our friends. We went to a little u-pick organic blue berry farm just down the street from our house. The boy ate his weight in blue berries, and there were some that were just HUGE! We had blueberry pancakes for lunch, blueberries and whipped cream after dinner, blueberries as a snack at church, pretty soon we will all look like Violet Beauregarde!

Punk rock baby

Baby girl's hair was cracking me up today. After her bath it dried in this kind of curly mohawk. She was lying on the floor sucking her thumb and when I saw her "posing" like this, I had to get a picture. Could be the cover of a punk album, right? She is way too cute. She is growing and changing every single day, and I am so thankful to be there to witness it.

10 years!

Today is our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been a whole decade. Our two beautiful kids, our love for each other, and our fun times make every moment wonderful. We took these pictures at the river about 1/2 mile from our house. Here's to many more years!

a Haiku

My friend told me a few months ago that she followed a rainbow and found that both ends touched the ocean. I came up with this haiku then, but I didn't have a picture of it to post. Lucky for me I live in a magical place that produces such things regularly.

I chased a rainbow
Found both ends in the ocean
This place is magic

Sick day

The boy has a little bit of a virus or something, he has had a fever but no cough or anything. Today he lounged around watching movies all day. At some point he ended up under his chair instead of on it. Silly goose! He was sound asleep so I left him there!

Avast! Surrender ye lily livered land lubbers!

Somehow, baby girl acquired one of big brother's pirate swords, and claimed it as her very own. I imagine she is trying to get us to do her bidding!

My little animals

Have you ever watched Animal Planet? Most species have this in common...their young climb all over Daddy. My kids are no exception. The boy's favorite thing to do is wrestle and climb and jump and beat on Daddy. Baby girl is not quite to that point yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.