Fall fun with my boys...

The littlest brother...

Today Alli and I attempted to take some pictures of all 3 of her boys (including the one in the oven). Yeah, not the easiest task in the world when you're working with two extremely active little boys. But I think we actually ended up with a few cute ones. I can't wait to meet the littlest one. He's a lucky little boy and will have tons of fun with his big brothers, I'm sure.

Trouble shooting...

People, I kinda need your help. Today when I was at my sister Allison's house, I looked at my blog on her computer...only to realize that the pictures I put on the blog look very pixelated on her screen. They are crystal clear on mine. I'm trying to figure out why that is, and I'm also curious if they look pixelated to anyone else. I use a Mac, and recently I have been using Photoshop a lot more to edit the pictures. I'm wondering if I'm maybe formatting them wrong? Anybody have any advice? Also, I'm curious to know if these two images look the same to you or not. They are the same image, I just uploaded the first one from Photoshop and the second from iPhoto. Does it make a difference? Are they clear or pixelated? Ryke, I need your help. Not that it's a huge deal, I would just like for people to see the best possible version of the pictures, rather than a pixelated version.


This is the version that I typically upload from Photoshop:


This is straight from iPhoto:


Same? Different?

I can't believe our baby is nine months!!!

I almost can't even write this because I don't like to face the reality that our sweet little baby is already 9 months old. These nine months have blown by...that's for sure. But they have been 9 incredibly wonderful, joyful months! I love this little guy more than I can express. He's sweet. He's snuggly. He's BUSY. He's got a temper (that is endearing right now...but I'll probably have a different opinion on the matter when he's 2). He loves playing with his big brother. He's generous with his smiles and giggles. He loves eating dirt, rocks, sand, etc. He's got 6 teeth. He's a little trouble maker...he's currently at the stage where he wants nothing to do with toys, but instead wants to get into everything he's not supposed to (i.e. the fireplace, stairs, cupboards, cords, garbage cans, toilets, etc.) Holy toledo, do you need to watch him like a hawk. But most of all, he is simply precious. I love him so much I can hardly stand it. I praise God every day for my boys and for the privilege of being their mother. I never could have imagined being so blessed. And in case you haven't seen enough pictures of the little guy, here are a few images of him today:

Friends...

For the last few days, we have been blessed by a visit from Hale, Becky, and baby VD (on the way). It is always SOOO good to see these guys. I can't even express how badly I wish I could see Becky on a more regular basis...but I guess that makes the visits we do have that much more special. The boys played surprisingly well together, which is always nice. We only ventured away from the bluff once, and that was for a visit to the fruit stand to enjoy the hay maze and get some pumpkins:















Guys, thanks for coming. I'm so glad we got a good visit in before the arrival of the newest little one!






P.S. Since it's officially fall, I thought I would post my favorite fall pic, which also qualifies as one of my all time favorites of Owen in general. Can you believe how much he's changed in 2 years??? I can't. I love that baby.

The Fair...

No matter how old I get, I always enjoy our annual trip to the fair. And to be honest, it is getting even better now that I have kids old enough to enjoy it. Owen LOVED it and was very disappointed to leave. I just asked him what his favorite part was and he said "the planes." I personally enjoyed watching Oliver and Owen on the swings. They were quite excited! Oh yeah, and I also enjoyed the elephant ears. What's a trip to the fair without a good old elephant ear, right? The only thing that would have made it better is if Daddy had been there. And Owen was a bit disappointed we didn't get to ride the Ferris Wheel. But I wasn't really up for tackling that considering we had our sweet little baby in tow. Maybe next time!


Oliver and Owen enjoying the swings:











And here are all the big kids enjoying the airplanes:

Scarecrow...

Today, Owen and I decided it would be fun to make something fun and fall-ish. Ok, so it was actually more like I wanted to make something and Owen complied...but still. I absolutely LOVE my boys and wouldn't trade them for the world, but being a mother to boys is something I am having to learn how to do. Prior to having my own kids, I was just used to girls. I was raised around a bunch of girls, nannied for girls, and happen to find doing girl stuff (i.e. making crafts, baking, decorating, creating things, etc.) super fun. The only problem is, Owen is just not into it. As hard as I try and as often as I suggest doing something like coloring, painting, baking, making a paper Jack-o-lantern, or anything else crafty, he's just not that interested. He'd rather play Legos, or cars, or tractors, or build forts, or play in the dirt. And that's great, because he's a boy and in all honesty I'd rather have my son be interested in sword fighting than sewing....but that means that I just end up doing crafty stuff on my own. So goes the life of a mother of boys, I guess. So today, I decided to tackle making a Scarecrow, partly because I love fall and partly because it was a fun project that Owen was actually interested in doing. He hammered the nail for me, drew the face, and stuffed the pants with newspaper. And for Owen, that's pretty darn crafty. So without further ado, we introduce to you our Scarecrow:

Today on the bluff...

We had a wonderful visit from this adorable girl and her mama:














And then there's this sweet boy, who is growing like a weed and being his sweet lovable self in the process:





That's all for now, folks.


P.S. Maybe some day I'll re-gain the mental capacity to actually write something worthwhile. Until then, you pretty much get pictures.

After 4 longs months...

...we now have a sidewalk. See for yourself:









We (obviously) ended up going with the pavers instead of cement, and I'm actually really glad we did.

But in other way more important news, I LOVE FALL!!!

The days are getting shorter, cooler, crisper, and generally cozier...and you have no clue how much joy that brings to my heart. Seriously. I love staying home with my boys, reading books to the boys by the fire, baking yummy smelling goodies, lighting the candles, and cozying up the house. Oh yeah, and football, especially if it involves the sound of Al Michael's voice in the background. I also love sleeping through the night. All that to say, life is good.

For Kim...

Not sure when you'll get internet at your house or when you'll see these, but here are a couple shots of your beautiful girl. It was fun to see you today, and Brady was a sweetheart!