Family Picture

 I don't live close to my family, I sure wish I did but we make it work. They have this adorable little downtown area next to my mom with an alley that I adore. It is really nothing special, but I have always loved it. Every year I try to get a picture there and coax one of my family members to take it for me... #itwillonlytakefiveminutes #mykidswillbeadreamtophotograph. Well we probably took about 100 pictures and got...well...one. One decent picture. One. Not kidding. It probably didn't help that it was about 5 degrees out. The one above is our one, the one below is an outtake and I love something about it. I am trying my hardest to get Evie to stop crying. Ryder looks about as exciting as a can of tuna. My husband is doing exactly what I told him to do -- stand there and smile no matter what. However, these are my people and I love them. Looking forward to the coming year and continuing to watch these little humans grow. So Much changes in a year, I am so very grateful for this past year and all the love I received. I pray that god continues to bless my family in the year to come. Cheers!

Who Knew?

Ryder has been asking for Pie in the Face since it came out. My quick response was no way dude. Thinking I am not playing that game. Well Aunt Christy brought it over at Christmas and it was a hit! What a fun simple game. She had the battle one and it was so much fun playing. Ryder and Colin loved it and were referred to as the scavengers because every time it went off within seconds those two were picking up the whipped cream mess with their fingers and tongue. You can not play this game without laughing. Mr. Kratzberg of course was extremely competitive with as most who know him could have guessed he was in it to win it. I like to think I am decent at most things I try -- not pie in the face. I can not win it for the life of me. If you are looking for giggles and something to turn a drab day into one that is full of laughter go get this game and two cans of the spray Reddi Whip. It will be worth it.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours

Handsome Dude

We had an ice storm and this handsome dude was out sliding around on it with dad. I just had to get his picture because it was one of those days where you simply just can't believe how old they look.

Where is Ryder?

We are at grandma's house and if anyone needs to find Ryder for the next 24 hours, he will be in the other room staring at the presents and waiting.

First Christmas

She would lay here forever just talking to herself and staring at the lights. Love the ease of being home with family.

Sweet Little Girl

Love this little girl and her fascination with ceiling fans. They can almost always calm her down and give her mama about 10 minutes of quiet time.

Ornament

Every year we do an ornament for family. Every year I think why do I do this. He is not always the easiest to get on board when we have to make so many of them. We have to go in short bursts so we start it early. This year I asked him what kind of ornament he wanted to do and he said "a bear one" of course. So we made a bear one. I love having his ornaments on our tree. I know that one day I will put my tree up and he will be putting up his own tree with his family and I will look and hold each ornament in my hand and think back to the day we made those together, and it will seem like yesterday that he was running circles in the kitchen growling at me while I tried to beg him to just stamp three more.

Hurricane

Your hair Evie Gray. Oh my... sigh. I don't even know where to start. I find myself wishing it would hurry up and grow cause it is so ridiculous. Thank goodness for hair bows. I do find myself giggling from the back though and now I can see little fuzz in all her bald spots and I know this wacky little head of hair will be gone before I know it so for now I will try to appreciate this little hurricane Evie on the back of her head.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a little different at our house, because we always have to drive to family we always have to celebrate christmas a little early. I refuse to give up Christmas morning in our home. It is not something I want to bring to other homes. Thankfully we always have reindeer food and our snowflake that tells santa we are ready. :) Tonight was fun, filled with a Polar Express party, him making his own cookies, and even stealing a sip of Santa's milk. We are ready Santa.

Comic Book

His favorite thing right now is this simple DC comic book. The teacher's child is not a reader, I try and try and he doesn't want a ton to do with it. However this simple little comic book has held his interest for days now. He sits and reads it and laughs and acts out the scenes. I am always baffled at the difference between a boy and a girls brain. :)

Christmas Parenting

Wondering to myself what I am going to do when I have to put all these lights away. This girl will sit and stare at them forever. Maybe I could incorporate christmas lights into my everyday decor...

Candy Canes

He has been begging me to put candy canes on the tree since we have put the tree up. I finally remembered to get them at the store and when he woke up I showed him the box. He literally squealed and asked me to let him hang them on the tree. I love the way he values the simple things, and enjoys some of the simplest traditions we carry on.

Mornings

My mornings are pretty wonderful with these two. <3

4 Months!

Christmas Magic

Man I love Christmas. 

Not Too Sure

We were putting the tree up when I found him like this.....

Macaroni Adventures

I am not one for posting our elf stories but watching Ryder with this guy cracks me up. The large elf is just a friend that occasionally joins in on the fun. Last night Macaroni was sipping hot cocoa. Ryder will jump out of bed before we wake and see what he is up to. Ryder is not one to get out of bed easily, except this time of year. This morning when I went out with him he told me, "mom last night I came out while it was dark and found Macaroni, I also ate a marshmallow... well 5 marshmallows". I said, "What do you mean Ryder you came out in the middle of the night" His response, "yeah, you and dad were sleeping". What in the world......

The Toes Have Been Found

Love this stage where they find their toes and their hands are constantly on them.

Gingerbread House Time

Love doing these with him, this year was the first year he was interested in eating the candy. In fact more interested in the candy than the house. "Candy is so good mom, are we done" "what do we do with the extra candy". It was nonstop.

Teacher of All Things Animal

His new thing is teaching. He loves to draw pictures of animals and find whoever he can to listen to him tell them everything he knows about them. This is while I nurse Evie. When ever I sit down to nurse her he pretty much sees this as a 10-15 minute opportunity to have my attention while I am not moving around. :) He points to his paper and then points to me and asks if I have any questions. It cracks me up. Sometimes I sit and think about how nice it would be to have 10 minutes of quiet while I nurse her, but I know I should enjoy the chats because one day I will be begging him to come in the room and talk to me for a bit.

Christmas Magic

I have always loved the magic of snow globes. I don't know what it is about them but it the magic of their own little world under that glass dome intrigues me. This particular snow globe has my heart, the last two years when pulling it out of its carefully wrapped box has brought me to tears. 

Two years ago my dad and I were sitting in the living room drinking coffee and talking like we do. He looked at me and said "hey I got you something". My dad loved to buy all of us things so I didn't think too much about it. He pulled out the box and said, "it's really not exactly what I expected, I don't know if I'm too happy with it" I opened the box and pulled out this gorgeous snow globe that plays music, has people who walk around the town, a house that lights up, and complete with Santa and his reindeer at the top. The snow globe was amazing-- but more amazing was that my dad knew I loved snow globes. He listened to me and he remembered that small moment way back when when I told him about my fascination with them. I thanked him and assured him I was in love with my new decoration. Little did I know that would be my very last Christmas gift from my dad. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift, it wasn't just a "thing" it was literally love. I honestly feel almost guilty I have it and my other siblings don't. Every single time I unwrap this snow globe it is like I'm opening his gift for the first time, because the magic of what it holds always seems to surprise me. 💙

Growling Bear

It was indian day at preschool and he came home wearing this cute getup. Love this boy. We are currently OBSESSED with bears so this title did not surprise me.

Evie Gray

This little girl. How can you not smile when you look at her? When she smiles she gets so excited and crinkles everything down to her toes and clenches up. Her nose will wrinkle and she will squint when her face lights up. Bad days can not stick around when this smiling baby is looking at you.

Hello Beautiful

Siblings

This group. This group is everything. They are an extension of myself. I am a hard person to crack and get down to my truths, I can thank my dad for that. Not with these people, I am blessed with five best friends. They are all beautiful people. We laugh, we tease each other, we cry together, and sit on each others laps. Two of these beautiful people are pregnant and we will have two new handsome little boys running around soon. I am so excited to meet them and kiss and smell their sweet little heads. Love you all, thank you for being you and making me who I am.

Oh.My.Word

Are these two kids just not the cutest ever???? Love them more than life itself. Thank you god for giving me all that you have.

3 Months

Happy three months sweet little girl. Your smiles remain to be out of control. You talk talk talk all the time, which is so fun and scares me a tiny bit. :)) You don't like sleeping all that much yet and love to eat. You HATE the carseat, oh my gosh you hate your carseat. I am baffled at how fast the time is going even though I have been through this before. You my little girl are so so sweet, strangers stop and talk to you because your smiles are constant.

Cousins

Love this group of kids and love that they are all going to be so close in age. Hard to believe that we will have two more added to this group in just a few months!!

Animals

We are slowly leaving our dinosaur phase and moving on to a severe love of animals. He knows so many animal facts I can't keep up. One of his favorite shows is Planet Earth on the discover channel. Insert me closing my eyes when the baby buffalo gets ran over by it's herd and my five year old telling me it is how the animals have to live. The zoo is like a magical place for him right now and it is fun to watch. He goes to the animals and tells you facts and things he knows -- he says he wants to work at a zoo or be a large animal veterinarian. This kid goes all in when he likes something, he is very much like his daddy in that way. I know this phase will more than likely pass as well but it is really fun to watch his passion for this. 

My Loves

I am so blessed to live the life I do. This time I get with my little babies is something that I will cherish forever. I have learned that life is short, losing my dad was so hard. We may not be here tomorrow and that makes me happy that today I am with my two that need me. I am looking forward to the months ahead and going to soak up this time.

Sleeps

I am not someone that has those children that just sleep wherever. So when they happen to fall asleep in a random spot I pretty much think it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I am also terrified of waking them up. :) This little girl is getting so big, I can not even believe she is 12 weeks old. Where in the world has time gone?

Fall

Fall is usually a crazy time for me. I try to fit in as many families as I can into my photography schedule. It usually means my pictures of my littles are far and few. With a two month old at home this is simply an understatement this year. On a plus side, my photo book might be a lot less expensive this year. :) We are having unseasonably warm weather this fall -- shorts and t-shirts in november, yes please! The leaves are falling and this little man wanted to jump. Who am I to deny it.

**insert giggles**

He had to dress up for preschool today, and just for the ones who can't tell he is a dino {not an alligator, not a crocodile, not a dragon}. :) I stopped to take a quick pictures of the two of them. Evie was supposed to be a cat and I went to put the hat on her head and it was no where near fitting. #bigheadedkidsproblem This pictures is so LESS than perfect, but Ryder kept putting leaves on her head and she shot me this look. It makes me giggle everytime I see it. The goofy costume, the look, the spider on the face the leaf on the head, it's perfect.

Halloween

Because one day I can hold these against him. :))

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Pretty Leaves, Pretty Girl

We were outside while brother was throwing leaves around and pretending to be a bear. This little miss was getting leaves in her face and not all that happy about it. She may not be too happy about it, but man she still looks cute. Love this beautiful beautiful girl.

... oh my.

This girl has absolutely stolen our hearts. She smiles, she talks to us, she loves her brother so much already. She is fun and makes us laugh. 

Happy Two Months Sweet Girl

Animal Obsessed

He has moved his love from dinosaurs to an absolute animal obsession. He is like an encyclopedia trying to suck up as much knowledge as he possibly can. He is constantly asking me "mom let's look this up on your phone and see what they eat". My favorite is when he tells me a fact and I ask him if he just made that up and he tells me to look it up and he is always right. Not sure where he gets all this information from but it is super cute to watch his excitement. This week most of the focus has been on bears. Grizzly and black bears seem to be his favorite. Today we made a cave (with a very makeshift sign :)). He played in there for hours. It's the little things I guess.

After Bath

I gave her a bath and came back to this sweet little relaxed profile. <3 That nose is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.