Fall Family Photos

In November we decided to splurge and get some family photos. I couldn't be happier with the results. 

Here are some of our favorites (which are almost all the pictures we received): 

We only spent about 25 minutes taking pictures, and that was perfect for us! There were less options to chose from, we finished before kids got grumpy and uncooperative, and my foot was ready to fall off after 2 minutes, so I was happy it didn't take too long (I had a broken toe). 

I seriously wish I had the talent of taking photos... or at least knowing how to use my camera to produce some good photos! I look at pictures like this and am so grateful that others can share their talents with me and capture the personality of our cute little family. 

He's Into Everything!

In addition to climbing, this boy is into EVERYTHING!

I swear! I turn my back for two seconds and he has found a way to escape and get into something. He's either busy climbing up and down, making messes, exploring, or creating more work for me! But honestly, if he's happy... I wouldn't have it any other way!

Getting into our toothbrushes

Finding his way into a neighbors dog crate.

Dumping out all the recyclable items in the trash. When this happened, I didn't even clean it up for an hour because it gave me 15 minutes of solitude while he felt so proud of himself for getting into the trash! The fifteen minutes quickly went by though, because the next destination was the lazy susan where I spotted him just in the nick of time.

Opening and closing drawers.

His favorite spot to play hide and go seek: in the rotating cabinets!

This is the mess I get to clean up for having a peaceful shower.

Getting into any snack possible, and dumping it all over himself!

At the end of the day (or nap time) when he goes to sleep... I can breathe a sigh of relief. Sometimes I just sit and stare at how adorable he is and think to myself, "How can someone so small be so destructive in such a short amount of time?" 

My little climber

Out of the blue, this little boy became a climber. It's on his daily checklist to climb up and over as many obstacles, stairs, and people as possible. He used to be so content with being held, but now has turned into a typical boy: one who gets into anything and everything!

Right now I feel like it's a full time job to keep him alive. I never thought a baby could be this much work. He wears himself out from how active he is, but more so... he wears me out too! When he goes down to bed (at around 5:30pm) I just want to crash and take a moment to breathe. I can tell... this is just the beginning... he's going to be trouble!

Lily Loves Marco - Part 2

I am fully prepared to take back anything and everything I ever said about not having two children, because having a second child was one of the best decisions I have ever made! 

Now that Marco is older and more interactive, these two are able to play together more often. 

Often times it starts and ends with Lily smothering Marco with hugs... or sometimes just pushing him away.

But there are rare moments when they are able to sit and play with the same toy together. Marco wants to be just like his older sister and he wants to play with everything that she does. It has taken a lot of coaching to help Lily understand that Marco is not trying to take away her toys, instead he wants to just "look at" her toys and see why Lily likes them so much. And that he wants to be like her so its important that she be a good big sister.

When she understands her role as a "Big Sister," she takes it seriously, she wants to protect Marco and make sure that he is happy and no one (but her) is bothering him.

And I feel that with each week, or month, that Marco gets older and plays more and more with Lily, that their bond gets tighter and tighter.

And while I still have to supervise everything that they do together, its getting easier and easier. More often than not, I'm able to steal away a few moments and just watch them interact and play together.

It melts my heart when they see each other and get so happy. And the climax of watching them care for each other (Marco likes to look to Lily for approval and laughter, and Lily likes to make sure Marco is okay if he needs help or new toys to play with) was watching them reach out to each other when we were in Utah seated in the back of Grandpa's truck. They sought each other out to hold each other's hands through the snowy ride. And they were so happy just having each other.

I can't imagine life without these two. And I am so grateful that they are growing up as friends and treasuring each other as much as I treasure them!

Swings

Fall 2015 has been good to us in North Carolina. We haven't seen any snow and have only had frost on the ground a handful of times. Because the weather has been so cooperative, we decided to capitalize on this and take advantage of the swings at local parks. 

November was a bit chillier than December. Michal and I bundled the children up, walked 2,000 steps (thank you Fitbit) to the swings, played for 30-45 minutes, and walked 2,000 steps back home. It was a nice 90 minute activity to get some energy out before bedtime.

But the greatest surprise was December. We had numerous days where the temperatures were over 70 degrees! I'm usually a person who likes to get all my errands run, and chores finished, so when the kids go to bed I have time to myself. Nevertheless, sometimes sunshine is good for the soul. It nourishes and strengthens us and our heavy load seems to become lighter - all by spending time outdoors. 

Instead of going home on Lily's last day of preschool in December we headed to the park to play on the swings. I should have been cleaning and packing for Utah. I was only leaving in 18 hours - but we took a necessary break to enjoy the sun. I knew that Utah was getting hit hard with snow and we needed this extra warmth before heading to colder temperatures.

I don't know how long this unusually good weather will last - but I am going to continue to take advantage of it for as long as I can!