Monday Musing | More Photography Fun

This was kind of a laid back weekend for us.  We got a lot of work done in the garage and can almost fit both of our cars in the garage.  This will mark the first time since moving back to Va that we can both park our cars in the garage.  Yippee!!  Now if we can just KEEP it clean and de-cluttered...well, that's another story.  :)

I also had my second mentoring session with Beryl, from Be Young Photography.  While she is a fantastic photographer, she is also a wonderful teacher and I learned SO much from her and am so happy to have stumbled across her Momtography 101 Class.  When I ended up not being able to take that class, due to a scheduling, she offered the option of a one-on-one mentoring session.  While this was a bigger financial investment on my part, I am so happy that I went for it, b/c I think than it will turn out to be an in-valuable opportunity.

For the second half of our mentoring session, Beryl came to our house and we did a mock photo shoot.
I'm so excited with how these images turned out.  We started in the front yard, but quickly moved around back to the play set, when the boys started to get restless...it was fun for them to play, and I got cute shots....of Tyler and Kate at least.  Luke just wasn't interested this time!

Working with Beryl was amazing and I'm so excited to be on my way to making my photography dream a reality!

Monday Musing | More Photography Fun

This was kind of a laid back weekend for us.  We got a lot of work done in the garage and can almost fit both of our cars in the garage.  This will mark the first time since moving back to Va that we can both park our cars in the garage.  Yippee!!  Now if we can just KEEP it clean and de-cluttered...well, that's another story.  :)

I also had my second mentoring session with Beryl, from Be Young Photography.  While she is a fantastic photographer, she is also a wonderful teacher and I learned SO much from her and am so happy to have stumbled across her Momtography 101 Class.  When I ended up not being able to take that class, due to a scheduling, she offered the option of a one-on-one mentoring session.  While this was a bigger financial investment on my part, I am so happy that I went for it, b/c I think than it will turn out to be an in-valuable opportunity.

For the second half of our mentoring session, Beryl came to our house and we did a mock photo shoot.
I'm so excited with how these images turned out.  We started in the front yard, but quickly moved around back to the play set, when the boys started to get restless...it was fun for them to play, and I got cute shots.  Beryl is a FANTASTIC teacher.  I can't speak highly enough about her.  Not only is she a great teacher, she's a wonderful lady and photographer, too.  ;)

Monday Musing | Tyler's T-ball Debut

This past week our family became an official baseball family, with Tyler playing his first t-ball games.  They were fun...kind of long...but still so fun to watch these little 4 and 5  year olds get their introduction to baseball. 

Tyler's first game was so cute.  He did very well hitting the ball...

but needs a little more focus when base running.  Haha, we'll get there though.

 

We also had our first t-ball pictures taken.  I was pleasant surprised at how well nine 4, 5 and 6 year olds did with their team photo...not too shabby!  :)

Katelyn | Milestones

Birthdate - July 26, 2010
Weight - 7 lb., 11 oz.

Length - 21.5 inches

1 month old:
Weight -
Length -
milk protein allergy diagnosed

First Smile - September 4, 2010 (6 weeks old)

Slept 8 hours - September 4, 2010 (6 weeks old)


2 months old:
Weight -

Length -

4 months old:
Weight -

Length -
constipation issue recognized, saw surgeon to "widen" opening

Rolled from front to back - November 27, 2010 (4 months old)

Rolled from back to front - November 28, 2010 (4 months old...but doesn't do it often, b/c she can't be on her tummy very long or will spit up).

Sitting with hands (for brief moment) - December 20, 2010 (almost five months)

Sitting unassisted - January 19, 2011 (almost six months)

Bottom two middle teeth (came in together) - January 19, 2011 (almost six months)

6 months old:
Weight - 15 lb., 10 oz
Length - 26 inches
Notes - reaching for and grabbing everything, showing interest in food or drinks, trying to push up on knees, sleeping 13+ hours each night, tolerating milk proteins more, still having some constipation issues - probably will re-visit surgeon this month.

 

Says First Word:  "Hi" on March 17

Rocks Forward onto Tummy:  April 24

9 months old:

Weight:  17 lb, 4 oz

Length:  

Notes:  Sits unsupported for as long as you let her, and will rock herself forward to her belly.  But, b/c she doesn't like being on her belly, her smiles promptly turn to wails.  She does however, like to stand so we've been giving her lots of "standing time" rather than "tummy time".  She may be one of those babies that skips crawling and goes right now walking.  Not sure I am ready for that, though.  :(  She is getting much more hair...so her bow's don't look as ridiculous.  ;)   Has been babbling for awhile, but we now hear "hi" and "bye-bye" frequently.  One of Lucas' favorite things to do with Kate is sit beside her saying "bye, bye, bye, bye" until she repeats it to him.  It's adorable.  We have also heard "ma-ma" and "da-da" come out a couple of times.  Could be coincidental, but they were appropriately used.  Her digestion issues have eased up considerably, and we were able to avoid another trip to the surgeon.  Perhaps this is due to the HIGH fiber breakfast concoction I made for her, consisting of a mixture of pear, strawberries and oatmeal cereal!  She is quite regular now.  LOL

Top Left Tooth Came in:  April 30, 2011 

Lucas is 2!!

OK...so this is a VERY long overdue post, especially consider Luke is going to be three in less than two weeks.  Oops...such a bad mommy, blogger, mommy-blogger!  Man, sometimes life just gets in the way of blogging.  But, I'd much rather be living life than just watching it pass me by, so if I have to "catch-up" on some blogs here and there (a lot more "here" recently, I will admit), that's fine with me.  This blog is more of a memory book for me anyway!  :)  I am going to back date this though, so it fits into the time correctly.  Hehe  Oh my goodness, doesn't he look like such a little baby still?!?  I think when I took this picture I thought he looked like such a big boy, but now...not so much.

So...on to Luke's 2nd birthday.  Of course it was a train party.  As is customary, we had a party at our house and invited all of the boys little friends, and several of mommy and daddy's too.  Because let's be honestly...at this age, the parties are really for Mommy and Daddy, right?  I don't think Lucas really even knew it was his birthday, except for the fact that we sat him in front of a cake and sang Happy Birthday to him.  :)

Four Month Darling

Dear Father Time,

Can you please slow down...just a little?  I can't believe how quickly my little girl is growing and I will admit, it's making me just a little bit sad.  I know that this is likely the last little baby in our home, so I'm trying hard to cherish and savor every little moment with Kate, but with our crazy, fun life...that is sometimes hard.  It seems like each time I look away and turn back she is growing, changing discovering something new.  I love watching all of these changes and discoveries, but at the same time, it reminds me of the fact that this is likely the last time I will watch a child of my own go through these moments.

So...if you could slow down...just a little, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mommy to Katelyn (and Tyler and Lucas, too, b/c they are growing just as fast!)

This month Kate grew so much, physically and developmentally.  She is near the 70th percentile in all categories for her growth and is progressing wonderfully in her development.  She is SO close to rolling over (she has done it once on her own, but I think maybe we had put her down in the perfect position to make it easy for her to flip herself.  Now she just needs to figure out what to do with her shoulder) and is trying to sit on her own, too.  She enjoys being in the bumbo and is always trying to sit forward in her swing.  She smiles frequently and her laugh is SO cute.  With these chubby little cheeks smiling at you, what could ever be wrong?

She is sleeping through the night (mostly, unless mommy has been careless about what she eats) and her tummy issues seem to be easing up some.  She is tolerating milk products in small doses (although I still haven't tried to eat ice cream or drink a glass of milk) and we're still avoiding too many constipating foods, to try and keep her regular.

In other exciting news...WE'RE MOVING.

Yes - again...I know, we're crazy.  Not only are we moving with two small boys and a newborn, we're doing it during Christmas.  But...the opportunity fell into our laps and we decided to put our house on the  market, to see if we'd get any interest.  Well...not only did we get interest, we got a contract in one week!  So, we decided to bite the bullet and make the move.  We are super excited about the new house, as it is the perfect place for us to raise our family.  We had always hoped to move into our "forever home" when the kids were younger, so they could make most of their childhood memories in one place and with this home, we can do that.  Ironically, with this move, we will continue the pattern of our children being born in one home and celebrating their first birthdays in another.  For now though, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in our new home. 

Merry Christmas to you all, if I don't post again before!

3 months of bliss

This is the best way I can explain these past three months.  Katelyn is such a joy and having a daughter is such a blessing to me.  I love my boys DEARLY, but there is something about having a daughter that is special for a mom...at least this mom.  :)

Kate continues to grow fabulously and is sleeping like a champ.  After a rough go of some acid reflux, we've finally gotten that under control, as well as determining that she has a milk protein allergy.  This is more of a problem for mom, as what I eat is what affects her most.  So, no ice cream, milk, or cheese (among many other dairy products) for this momma.  :(

She is starting to "talk" to us and is spending more and more time awake during the day "playing'.  She really likes her play gym and enjoys watching the boys, play too.  They continue to be so great with her.  I love watching their relationships develop.

Happy three month birthday baby girl...we love you SO very much!

October Fun

We've been all kinds of busy having lots of fall fun lately....three visits to various fall festivals/pumpkin patches in the past two weeks!  Our first outing was to Cox Farms.

We went with their buddies, Austin and Logan.  They always have so much fun together, with the big boys and little boys just 2 and 3 months apart from each other.  This foursome always produces a lot of energy, but it's so much fun to watch them all together.  They enjoyed big slides

 

and a petting zoo with some friendly goats.  Well, Luke didn't think they were so friendly, but Tyler loved them!

In fact...he was in such a hurry to see them, that he wandered over there all by himself and gave momma quite a scare when I realized he was not longer at the slide with us!  I looked over to the goat cages and there he was asking for some food to feed them.  But, Luke did love the wooden train he could climb through and the small pond where he could throw rocks!

Two Tremendous Months

Wow!!  I'm pretty sure this is probably the same thing I say each month that passes by in my newborns lives, but still.  WOW!!  I can't believe how quickly these last two months have gone by.  I will say that of the three, Kate has been my most "difficult" baby, if you can call her difficult.  But really, she is not.  She is a great sleeper and eater and just happens to have a fussy bit each evening.  She also has some reflux, which we are controlling with medication, b/c otherwise our fussy evenings, become full blow fussy DAYS.  And, we have had a few of those, when mommy decided maybe the medicine wasn't necessary.  Oops...guess that's not for me to decide.  Anywho...when she has gotten her regular doses of medicine, she has been a fantastic baby (you know, aside from those few evening hours). 

She also sleeps very well at night.  From our first week home, she was going 4 hours minimum, sometimes 5 or 6 and by 6 weeks was progressing to 8 hours on some nights.  Just recently, two days before hitting her two month birthday, she went 12 hours between feedings.  Wa-hoo baby girl!!  That's what momma likes.  :)

Her well check is not until next monday (a week after she officially hit two months), and I'm so excited to see what she will weigh.  I'm guessing close to 12 lbs...if not slightly over.  As you can see by these adorable cheeks, she does love to eat.

Yesterday I did her a mini-shoot for her two month pictures.  As you can see above, she is doing very well at holding her head up.  But, this is not surprising since she has been trying to do that since the day she was born.  She also has been flashing little smiles here and there for us too.  I can't wait to see what these next months will bring us.  You are such a wonderful addition to our family baby girl...we love you so much!!

Score!!

So, over the summer we ventured into the world of swim team, and this fall Tyler has officially made me a soccer mom!  Now that he's turned four, he's officially old enough to join the thousands (literally) of other kids in our area who play soccer in the fall.  I was a little leary of having him on a team, not because I didn't think he'd be able to kick the ball (b/c he actually kicks it very well), but more so because I wasn't sure he was old enough for a structured game (with competitors and a referee!...really for 4 year olds?).  But anyway, we decided to try it.  Yesterday was our first match of the season.

The first two practices were a little hairy, so we weren't sure what to expect on Saturday.  It could have gone much like practices where he sat on the sidelines and watched, b/c he didn't think he could do it like the coach wanted, or he could have not wanted to get off of the field.  Care to guess which one?  It was a little of both actually.  Here he was mad that he wasn't in...but later on he was sitting with me upset, b/c he didn't think he was doing well enough!  But honestly, for the first time participating in a structured sporting event, he did pretty well.

Here they are in pre-game...coach is giving them the run-down on rules of the game.  I mean really, with just two practices under our belt, this could be interesting.  Luckily this is a U5 team, so a few of the kids have played a couple of seasons already.

 Hoping he remembers he can't touch the ball with his hands.

 It's ok to use your head though!

 

Here they are pointing to their goal.  Not that it helped much...each team scored at least one goal for the other team.  One thing I really appreciated about the league is that for the U5, they do have referees to help them learn the rules of the game, but they do not actually keep "score".  So, there is no real winner or loser at the end.  Helps to not defeat the kids spirits at such a young age, I think.

 Tyler's first goal...he did a great job kicking it down field and into the goal!

 This little one couldn't quite remember that you can't touch the ball with your hands!  :)  She tried to pick it up and run with it, each time she got close to it.

 Kate, hanging out with daddy, enjoying the game.  Too soon baby girl, it will be your turn...and with two older brothers to teach you all about the game, I bet you're gonna be an awesome soccer chick!

Look at that form!  Ready...

 Set...

 

Kick!