Family Photos... Finally!

I think the last time Ben and I were officially photographed together as a "family" was.... let me think... our wedding day EIGHT YEARS AGO. We've taken nice pictures here and there (my sister is a photographer after all...), but never an actual full blown photo shoot. I think I just haven't thought of it as a priority.

But times are achangin' friends. Now that our family is two whole homo sapiens larger, we thought it was about time. Our good friends, the Barkers, live in Texas, but because he works for Southwest they get to come up and visit their family here as often as they want. So a few weeks ago while they were in town, Kalli took us for an official photo shoot and I was pleasantly surprised at how fun and non-awkward it was! I think we've been missing out these past eight years of photography-neglect.

And I'm so excited to share the results...

There's a sneak peak on her blog here, but you can view them all by going to her website here and entering "parker" for the password.

And besides the images featured on her blog, here's just a handful of my favorites.:

PS) The adorable quilt you see in these photos was made for Lincoln by one of my oh-so-talented sisters. Thanks Andy! I just happened to notice the day before our photo shoot that the boys' clothes coordinate the quilt perfectly - I love the colors!

Yes... I know I look pregnant in this family shot, but I can't help but still love it because of Logan! This was one of the poses that didn't feel posed. Instead of following Kalli's instructions, Logan opted to just squeeze Dad's leg instead.

The funny thing about this shot is that it was blasted hot this day, but I know that layered outfits make for a more interesting and textured photo, so I insisted that we all have at least two layers on. Poor Logan had two layers, a down vest and a hat on. ha ha I'm a mean Mom, I know. I think we were all sweating bullets here. :-)

I think this was Ben's favorite part of the shoot... right hun?
I, on the other hand, like this photo because it shows off my cute new pair of shoes that were a steal of a deal ($10 at American Eagle!) It's been a while since I've treated myself to a new pair of kicks. :-)

I loved this one of Logan too because he was insistent on getting his picture taken with this train holding the wheel. Kalli made him a deal that if he sat good for the family shot with the train then she would take a picture of him holding that wheel. Can you see pure delight in his eyes here? So satisfied that his wish was granted. :-)

My walls have been bare for almost a year when I got claustrophobic and just took everything off my walls one day. :-) I can't wait to show others who visit our home what is most important to me.... family!

Robots

I have a friend who has a live-wire child like Logan and she put it well... she said, "If he doesn't have a project to work on he'll go make his own project." Very well put.

If Logan doesn't have something to work on and focus on and has interactive help focusing on something, then he wanders aimlessly, explores and makes naughty choices. :-)

I try to have structure here at home, but it seems that only so much is possible in between feedings, getting ready for the day, running errands, changing diapers, cleaning up messes, cooking, etc. But realizing how much better Logan does with more structure, I recommitted myself to teaching him more and providing more activities for him here at home.

To give me a springboard for ideas and direction, I have decided to have a theme each week to focus on and do one thing each day revolving around that theme. For example, themes for September are water, flags, robots, bugs and trees/flowers. This is nothing fancy - I'm going for simplicity, but I figure this is better for Logan than nothing.

Last week was Robots week so based on this idea from No Time For Flashcards (I love this site!) we made these felt flannel board Robots:

I was going to make the magnetic kind just like the website, but after days of unsuccessful attempts to make it to the craft store, I decided to just use what I already had on hand. Plus Logan loves his well-used flannel board!

Step 1: cut Robot body parts out of felt


Step 2: glue eyes together and glue the ears to the robot heads


Logan's job was to take pictures :-)


step 3: create robots over and over and over again. Easy peasy!

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

I found a good reminder tonight of why I do what I do, and a good reminder to try a little harder to be a little better every day.

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

Milk Toast? I'd say not...

This boy has plenty of personality.

Fire-fighter super hero with stripey jammies.

These days he loves falling asleep to the Wizard of Oz sound track.
(These are Tin Man hats from his Wizard of Oz birthday party. He insisted that Linc needed to wear one too :-)

He informed me today that he can't go poop in the potty all by himself and that Jesus needs to help him and tell him when to go. So of course we said a prayer asking for help going poopoo in the potty.

His stick horse sometimes makes a guest appearance in his bed at night.

He firmly believes that everyone needs a pair of cowboy boots, and insists on sharing with those unfortunate souls who have none. I must say, though, Jane would make a darling cowgirl.

He loves his brother, sometimes a little too much...

and drags his bouncy chair in front of the tv so he can watch Curious George too...

and then insists on holding his hand...



even during story time.



Where does he get all his energy? From taking generous naps. This day he slept one hour in his room and then came out, still half asleep and proceeded to sleep another three hours on the couch. If only he did this everyday!

Officially White Trash

(Ignore this post... it's old from 2010. I just had to edit some words in this post because I was getting so many hits just from people searching for wizzardd of Ozz (mispelled on purpose).

I'm not sure how the term "white trash" ever came to be, but I'm pretty sure we would fit under the definition a few weeks ago when we went to Thanksgiving point.

We decided to meet up with our friends, Megan and Sol, for the last $2 Tuesday in August at Thanksgiving point. It wasn't until we were already on the way there that we realized they had a splash area, therefore I had no swimming suit in tow. "Oh well," I thought, "Because my child is the poop-master these days, I have a couple pairs of undies and diapers and extra pants. I'll just save swimming for last and we'll be good."

Well.... because I had to save one last dry pair for the ride home, and because of a series of unfortunate events... by the end of the day this was all that was left for "swimming"...

and of course they had to be white.

So there was my child, splashing around in his white Wall-E unders, happy as a clam and completely unaware that mostly everyone around him was a tad more modest than he.
Oh to be free like that again! :-)

A little white trash? Yes. But I think a complete melt down would have ensued had we tried to sneak past this gargantuan Noah's Ark splash pond.
In spite of our moment of white-trashiness, we had a super fun time! I had never been to that part of the park before but there was so much to do! I highly recommend it.

Logan and Sol. FYI - that's not a choke hold... it's just a hug. Poor Sol!

Lincoln doing what he does best, holding down the stroller.