I'm Just A Ninja, Trying to Sleep

Ahh, Memorial Day Weekend.  It always brings lots of fun and lots of randomness.  I have to start with this post because honestly it was just really funny.  I'll continue with the "cute" pictures of all the kids and all that jazz later, this is WAY more important.

So Chad's older brother has a tendency to pass out fall asleep after a long day of festivities.  This is not the first, nor the last I'm sure, of pictures I will have of Billy sleeping upright in a chair while the party goes on around him.  Well on this particular evening the joke was on him.  As he caught up on his "Z's" his family decided to mess with him and paint his toenails a lovely pink color.  Eric "allegedly" was the culprit, and according to these pictures I think the jig is up!  Sorry Eric, I'm a reporter just here to give the people the facts.

When Billy woke up it took him a while to notice his beautiful toes but they certainly did not go unappreciated.  He then sat back down in his chair looked up at his lovely wife and sighed "I'm just a ninja, trying to sleep".  And he was serious!  How dare we mess with a ninja!!  Gosh I love this family and all the ridiculousness that comes along with them.

Dads Are So Fun

Why can't Dads be boring?  I mean no wonder kids love them so much.  They toss them around like they are small toys as opposed to the very precious and delicate flowers that they are.  Well Bennett is no exception he too loves his Daddy (although not QUITE like his brother always has, I still have a chance!).  I'm going to work on my tossing skills pronto!

9 Months

Wow…I seriously can not believe I just typed that.  9 months, really?  Pretty soon this kid is going to be smashing his first birthday cake while his mom cries in the bathroom.  For now though we will celebrate his many milestones.  Bennett has certainly done some graduating since his six month pictures. He started out with a mean army crawl and now has graduated to a "big boy" crawl.  A REALLY REALLY REALLY loud big boy crawl.  He slams his hands down like no other, you definitely know where he is at all times that is for sure.  He is also pulling up like a maniac these days, which leads to a lot of head banging…but nothing too serious for now.  I refer to Bennett as my "spirited' child because he is just full of emotion….good and bad.  He is either happy happy or MAD.  He is quick to let you know what he wants/needs and has very little patience (gets that from his Dad) waiting for these demands.  That being said, he is a loveable little fellow who adores his brother, his dog and most of the time his parents.  He's big into toys these days and for now I would say the most intriguing thing to him is rolling and chasing balls around the house.  Exciting stuff!

I attempted his chalkboard picture and SHOCKER he wanted nothing to do with it.  So I took a few "normal" ones but then decided to show his milestones in action as well because this boy is ON THE MOVE!

Uh Oh

Someone found the tupperware stash!  I'll never quite understand why different sizes and shapes of plastic are so fascinating for children, but this little activity made a sick baby happy for approximately 15-20 minutes so I'll take it!  There was a lot of slamming, rolling and screeching going on…tupperware = good times!  I just wouldn't suggest accepting any of our leftovers anytime soon as they may have some extra saliva and dirt included as an added little bonus!

Guilt Legos

This is how it went down….

Grandpa feels guilty for moving to Kansas City.
Grandpa takes Nolan to "The Target" (as Nolan refers to it).
Grandpa buys Nolan a set of THE SMALLEST LEGOS I have ever seen!

I mean seriously, I dare you to find a toy smaller than these (and yes if you are wondering these are smaller than our other choking hazards...Squinkies).  I realize the guys look like they are a "decent" size but let me assure you they are not!  Every last centimeter of them comes apart from their feet to their hair!  Next time I think we need to point Grandpa in the direction of the books or perhaps the hula hoops…something that won't get lodged in the throat of my nine month old!

 
I can't lie though, Nolan takes incredibly good care of these Legos.  He has a tupperware container that he keeps them all in and he only plays with them at the kitchen table because he tells me "Bennett is too small to play with them".  Apparently we have scared the poor kid to death!  Mission accomplished.

Second

A couple of weeks ago I got the amazing opportunity to "second shoot" a wedding.  For those of you that don't have any idea what I am talking about that basically means that the bride and groom wanted an additional photographer the day of the wedding to capture more candid shots as well as focus on some of the details while the main photographer is getting the really important pictures.  This is perfect for me because though I love shooting weddings I really don't love the stress of it all.  Being the second shooter is ideal for me and being a second shooter to this particular photographer (Mel with Serendipity Photography) was icing on the cake.  I LOVE all of Mel's work and was truly honored when she asked me to shoot this wedding with her.  Check out her blog for the Real Deal but here are a "few" of my favorites.  Okay, maybe there are more than a few but it was really hard to just get down to these so please excuse the long post!

Its Okay...

I tell you what it has been one of those weeks.  One where I try to cram too much in, stretch the kids too thin and now I'm just plain tired. So this post is dedicated to moving past the bad and just letting it all go.  So here it is...

Its okay that Bennett has that awful "hand, foot mouth disease" thing, even though I have secretly always associated it with dirty children.

Its okay that I kind of like it when Bennett is not feeling great because then he likes to cuddle.

Its okay that today at Target I wrote "next time perhaps you could park less like a Jackass" on a napkin to put on the car next to me (who totally parked like an idiot so I could not open any of my doors and had to climb through the car holding a baby in a car seat)…but then chickened out and didn't leave it because I realized that more often than not I am that idiot that parks horribly.

Its okay that I had to buy Nolan all new underwear today because in an awful laundry accident the other day I turned about 10 pairs of his underwear brown…and that's just gross.

Its okay that Nolan has not gotten a nap the past two days at school and has been a total terror for dinner every night.  At least that means an early bedtime.

Its okay that my parents are moving to Kansas City and every time I see them lately I cry as I drive away (okay maybe the crying is okay, the moving…not so much).

Its okay that Chad and I have looked at about 30 houses in the past week and I find something wrong with each and every one of them.

Its okay to live with your parents when you are 31 years old!  Even better when you are bringing a husband, two kids and a dog with you (dog might still be a negotiation).

Its okay that I check my phone every 10 minutes to see if I have a new picture of my nephew that I haven't meet in person yet only to get really irritated when I have no new messages.

Its okay that I look totally wasted in this picture, because…I was...and it was glorious...and I wish I was there right now.

And there you have it folks, in a nutshell everything will soon be okay because my Mom told me today "it will all work out" and Mom's don't lie...right?

How Big is Bennett?

SOOOO BIG!

So big is right…and it makes me so sad.  He is growing up WAY to fast.  This is his latest "trick".  He certainly hasn't perfected it, he tends to just wave his arms around like crazy when you say it but some times he lands it and I happened to catch it on camera tonight.  My how I love this little boy.

He's Here!

My newest nephew Cy Geoffrey is HERE!! Now, I haven't gotten to see him yet in person but I have been blessed with many texts with pictures galore. I hope this trend doesn't wear off anytime soon. I love to see his little face and his happy parents. He is a little guy weighing in at 6lb 5oz, and he is just precious! I can not wait to see him, hold him, kiss him and spoil him. Welcome to the world little buddy!!

Mom's Day

 Well yesterday was Mother's Day.  Chad asked me what I wanted to do, and I think I responded with "I want to sleep".  And to be honest...that was no lie that was really what I wanted to do.  However, Nolan decided to wake up at 6:30am!  6:30, is he crazy?  But then I walked downstairs to see him preparing these for me.  I knew it had to be Mother's Day because Chad would have NEVER put chocolate chips in the pancakes otherwise.  I usually put peanut butter on my pancakes and that totally grosses Chad out.  I almost put peanut butter on these pancakes as well, but thought Chad might vomit if I did.  The things I do for him.

I attempted to get a picture of Nolan making the pancakes, no go.  I attempted to get a picture with Nolan, no go.  He was too busy running around the house doing stuff like this...

We then went over to Chad's parent's house for dinner.  Where Bennett apparently thought Aunt Mandy was HILLARIOIUS...

(maybe she should have joined us for family pictures!).

I did sneak in a photo with Bennett, and for once I think my hair is crazier than his!  I kind of thought that was impossible, but apparently not!  My new mission is to be in more photos with the boys though, so crazy hair or not here I am!

We did manage to get one picture of Grandma with all the Grandkids (minus two that weren't there).  And to my surprise it turned out pretty good actually.

 

  

Even though I kind of wanted to use this picture because this is more the reality of what I deal with on a normal basis with Nolan...doesn't he look thrilled?

The Tradition Continues...

Well we all know Nolan is not a fan of the camera, but up until recently Bennett has really been indifferent about the camera constantly in his face.  HA!  Yesterday we hired a photographer to come take pictures of our family.  I know I know, I take one million pictures why torture the boys with more is probably what you are all wondering.  The problem you see is…I'm never in any of them.  When my kids grow up I would like them to know that I was in fact present in their lives.  Well the photographer came over and we headed out for our session and Bennett was NOT having it.  She was singing, chirping, clapping, jumping…and nothing.  It was like she did not even exist to Bennett.  So what did that earn Bennett?  That earned Bennett his own little session with Mama yesterday afternoon to try and crack a smile.  Punishment? Maybe.  Mission accomplished? Absolutely.  Now, did I struggle as well you ask?  Yep, and I'll share some of the outtakes too.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, that Bennett…he is special.