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super tired. hoping to get to bed before midnight tonight. #2010/09/03
My baby started preschool today and I’m happy to report that although I did get a teary-eyed, not a single tear actually dropped from my eyes. Molly did much better than I did — a little nervousness when she walked into the classroom, but her teacher said she had a great first day! I’m so proud of her.
Running ahead of Daddy.
As a former preschool teacher, I know important a quick get-away can be, so my husband and I said our goodbyes and headed out the door. I did snag one picture of her through the door though — I love how she’s grabbing onto her dress (a little nervous habit she has).
We spent part of our July 4th weekend at the rodeo in Frederick, MD. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we had fun! I processed these a little differently than normal to give them a true “western” feel. Before the show started, children were allowed to come out and take a turn on fake bull. Molly watched intently for a long time before finally deciding she wanted to try. And she wanted Daddy to take her. Of course, as they walked over there, an announcement was made that they were closing the line. I assumed my husband didn’t hear them because he kept right on walking. No one said anything to them, but after it was all done, I said “I guess you didn’t hear the announcement then?” He replied: “Yeah, I heard it. And if they wanted to look at her and tell her she couldn’t have a turn . . .well, they’re bigger men than me. I wasn’t about to tell her no after she waiting so long to build up her courage.” :)
Waiting in line holding tight to Daddy’s finger.
CJ was diggin’ the country music. He bopped up and down all night. He’s been giving me the cheesiest grins lately and I can’t get enough of them!
One of my favorite parts – wild cow milking. Yup, it’s just what it sounds like. Grab a bunch of volunteers from the stands, give them a cup and throw a few wild cows in. First team to fill the bottom of their cup with milk (and then drink it) wins!
Molly wasn’t a big fan of the actual bull riding. She didn’t like seeing the cowboys getting thrown off.
When you’re a photographer, you may have great shots of your kids, but unfortunately, Mommy rarely is seen in front of the camera. Fortunately, I have many great photographer friends who are always willing to do a session swap. A couple weeks ago, I was the one stressing over what to dress the family in and I was so undecided that I actually bought Molly two different shirts, CJ got a new pair of shorts AND a new pair of jeans and my husband now owns three more polo shirts. But, it was all worth it in the end, because my good friend Beira captured some AWESOME images of my family.
It was actually fun being on the other side of the camera and surprisingly, I had a pretty easy time “letting go” and letting Beira tell me where to go and what to do. I did have a little tea party set-up that I wanted to do though. My husband thought I was a little crazy for a.)having CJ participate in a tea party and b.)having someone else photograph it. But I didn’t want to have to deal with keeping the kids happy AND getting everything set up and taking the pictures. It was easier to just worry about the kids and not the actual picture-taking. And CJ LOVES tea parties. Especially ones where there are plates of food. I swear, I think he had more fun than Molly. He happily shoved graham crackers in his mouth while rocking back and forth going “mmmmm . . . . . mmmmmm”
Thanks again Beira! It warms my heart to look at these. I hope I got some ones of you and your family tonight that make you just as happy.
We had a pretty low-key Memorial Day Weekend which was so nice and relaxing (even if it did mean I had to cook since we weren’t invited to any bbqs). We’ve scrubbed the baby pools and broken them in for the summer.
CJ is pulling up on everything now.
Molly is getting braver each day with her balance bike that we got her for her 2nd birthday last September. I love, love LOVE the idea of it, but she’s just still too short to really get it going.
We also went strawberry picking a few weeks ago. Molly was in heaven and her basket was as empty at the end of the trip as it was in the beginning. CJ, however, was not happy to be confined to the stroller the whole time.
You can always tell when spring arrives by the number of personal photos I take. I separate my personal pictures into folders by month. January — 86 images; February – 108; March – 161 . . . April – 595!! Um, yeah . . I guess we’ve been a little busy, so here’s a whirlwind photo tour of my kiddos for the month of April:
Started the month off with a trip to Sesame Street LIVE. I have no idea why Molly was making such a silly face, but I love it. and have watched it at least a twenty times.
The very next day, we went to the circus.
Easter was fairly low-key. Molly’s favorite item in her Easter basket was the watering can. She loves helping Daddy water all the flowers. And the grass. And the driveway. And even her little brother.
We finally got around to getting both of the kids baptized. Our plan was to find a church that we liked and get them baptized there, but . . well, we’re just not that good about getting to church. Luckily, we have a friend who is a minister at a local boarding school. So had him do it! Not only was it awesome to have someone close to us perform the ceremony, we got to be in a gorgeous chapel on a beautiful campus.
The only downside to waiting two and half years to baptize your child? The next day you find them with a cup of water baptizing themselves and their baby brother.
It’s just so nice to be able to get outside! Plus I love baby toes in the grass
Plus this kid is just so darn cute! He literally smiles as soon as I life the camera to my face. What a ham! It’s been really interesting this month when we go out in public. People used to always comment on cute Molly is and now there has a been a dramatic shift of attention to CJ. It’s weird – feels like it just happened overnight. Molly is going through a shy stage, so I don’t think she minds if her baby brother gets all the attention from strangers. At least I hope not.
My husband’s birthday was at the end of the month, so I surprised him with a weekend trip to Vegas! I ended up caving and telling him two weeks before we left though. We had a great time and it was so nice to get away without the kids (who, according to Grammie and Grampy, were “perfect angels”.)
CJ got his first two teeth this month and he is *this close* to crawling.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my big girl, Molly. Biggest news is that she’s potty trained – yippee! Been going strong (with only a few set backs) for over two months now. And she is such a good big sister – loves making CJ laugh and smile and has a weird obsession with wanting to see his poopy diapers. I know – I have strange kids. :)
On St. Patty’s Day with her two little pitiful pony tails.
We’ve been thoroughly enjoying these spring evenings outside. I love her how her bottom lip is sticking out as she concentrates on drawing rabbits.
and her chubby little fingers holding the chalk.
She has the same super fine whispy, slow-growing straight hair I had as a child. I trimmed it ever so slightly a few months ago in an attempt to make it look thicker. The rain made it curl under just a little today and it looked so cute, we ventured out into the sprinkles to get a few shots.
Her ‘cheese’ face. Notice the purple bruise on her left cheek? Yeah, she fell out of her bed this morning and hit her face on the step stool. :(
So hard to believe that CJ is six months already! The time has just flown by. And even though he still insists on getting up every two hours at night, he is just the happiest thing ever. I am so thankful both of my kids seem to enjoy getting their picture taken.
