baby in the window

I stood Drew in front of the window today so he could watch the birds jump around outside... turns out he enjoys watching his reflection in the window much better. For a little guy that doesn't make much noise most of the time, he was sure noisy today, as he babbled, blew raspberries, swatted and waved at that baby in the window.

love him

my little mover

Drew is getting so big, so fast, but still...very little interest in learning to crawl. Generally, I'll put him on his tummy and he'll last about 3-5 seconds before screaming in disgust, then immediately flipping himself over to his back. Today he surprised me. This morning (wish I would have got it on video), he got up on all fours and made his very first attempt at moving an arm and leg in the forward direction-yay Drew! So this afternoon I thought I'd try again. Laying on the blanket at the end of the bed, he gave his best efforts :)

This is my favorite move

"please pick me up, now!"

Well, that lasted about one minute. Back to standing-his absolute favorite. Always. Pretty sure he will be walking long before crawling. He's pulling up on furniture and standing against anything he can hold on to.. not quite cruising yet.

Trying to hold on to the blanket on the end of the bed

I remember waiting for what seemed like forever for Grady to crawl and walk for the first time. But then I remember thinking, why was I in such a hurry-now he doesn't stop moving! I think I just need to enjoy this last bit of time of my semi-stationary boy... I will be chasing after this one soon enough.

one....of a million and one

There are a million-and-one things I love about each of my boys, and trust me, I could go on all day about that. But if I could chose one thing, just one, about Grady (just Grady for now), it would be his million-and-one expressions - all of which I love (and many I have captured in other pictures) - but I think this is one my favorites. I don't even know what to call it...thoughtful? I can just see in his eyes that he is trying to take in everything around him, always thinking, wondering, imagining, learning. And I love it.

bath time is a favorite in our house

lazy day

cheese dew!

I was playing with my camera this evening (delaying taking pictures I should actually be taking for my photography assignment this week), and this cute little guy just stole all my attention...

...then this cute little guy got a little jelous. he wanted a little attention too. I guess he is trying to take after mommy and learn to work behind a camera as well. he just forgot the camera in this case - turns out we both have a lot to learn :)

he says "cheese Dew!" "cheese Ma!"

sunny arizona

My mom turned 50 this month! So, the boys and I, (minus Jon-he couldn't get enough time off work) decided to take a trip to Arizona to visit her and my stepdad at their winter home.
They've had this place for a couple years now, but this is only the second time I had been there. It was a much needed little vacation and we all had a blast :)
The boys hadn't seen grandma and grandpa since last summer, but I was amazed Grady still remembered them so well. He was so excited to see them (and all four of their dogs) again. We had so much fun!
The weather was PERFECT - warm, 70s-80s, sunny, and best of all - no rain! All I heard come out of Grady's mouth all weekend was "side, side, SIDE!" over and over and over, meaning "outside". Grady wanted to spend every single minute of his time outside-mostly hanging out in the back yard, playing with his cars, trucks, tractors, rocks, and his favorite...picking oranges from the orange trees. By the time we left, one tree was entirely plucked of ALL it's oranges, and the other two were quite bare, heheh. I guess they were ripe and ready to be eaten anyway :) We also spent some time at a nearby park. Drew got to swing in a baby swing for the first time and really seemed to enjoy it. During the rest of our time, we went out to eat, shopped, visited the Phoenix Zoo, and also got to spend some time visiting other family we hadn't seen in years as well.
I swear, every time we go somewhere, the boys grow up sooo much in a short amount of time. Grady is so much more vocal-speech is more clear, vocabulary seems to have doubled, and he is putting more words together in a sentence! Drew's personality has come out even more now, he has branched out in the food department, and he is almost standing on his own!
Overall it was a wonderful trip. And although we all missed daddy very much and are happy to be back home, it was sad leaving and makes me wish we were closer to home and our families. I have learned to treasure those precious moments my boys get to spend with their grandparents and the memories we have to look back on...and we always look forward to 'the next time', which, hopefully will be very soon.

grandma and drew on the patio outside

fun at the park

My dog, Simba - he's almost 16 years old now! Grady looked for him every morning when he got up... "sim-BA?!"


under the orange tree. this was grady's favorite. drew tried to take a bite of an orange and got a big suprise :) not a fan I guess... hehe

mom, what am I doing in the bird bath?

my sweet baby boy

family...



at the zoo. I took way too many pictures to post, but these are a few of my favs.

the middle picture is the entrance to the zoo - kind of scenic.
the one on the left is grady's expression and excitement as he watches the birds eat the goldfish he was throwing to them...he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
on the right, he is watching the animals in the petting zoo. he wasn't interested in getting too close.

the big 2-9

Jon turned 29 this year. It was on a Tuesday, so it was a pretty low-key birthday, but another beautiful day. We spent some time outside again-went to the park, bike riding, sidewalk chalk, and then a quick dinner with the boys at Outback...followed by DQ ice cream cake of course :)

grades was so excited to get back on his bike again. we had to move the seat up though - he's already grown so much since this summer!

love the thoughful, happy face he has picking through his box of chalk

father/son time soaking up the sun

kisses - so sweet

as we were leaving to go out to eat, everyone was already in the car to leave, but drew just looked extra cute and handsome - I just had to snap a few pics before pulling out :)

springtime in the middle of winter, ahhhh

We had a few day stretch of gorgeous spring weather last week- 50s-60s, SUN, a break from the rain -BEAUTIFUL! So, my boys and I spent some time outside around yard and at the park down the street. I took my camera along to play a little.

ready to have some fun!

looking down at me wondering if he can slide down all by himself (a little scared) - he's my cautious boy

weeee!

BrOtHeRs

drew just sat and watched grady run all over - so calm as usual

drew holding on to auntie kristin

drew is finally big enough to ride in the wagon - their first ride together. it was fun to see :)