goofing off

the other day lucy loo was in SUCH a happy mood. i pulled out a hair band that i haven't put on her b/f & i tried it on her. didn't really love it (or the shots that i took of her w/ it on). BUT when G got up from his nap, he saw it & pulled it on. he does that w/ my workout head bands & so it wasn't unusual that he'd pull lucy's on.

he was happy @ first...but then acted a little foul. maybe b/c i was laughing so hard @ him! :-)

that little look...her eyes...so expressive.





this is soooo showing up in a senior year or rehearsal dinner slideshow. hahahahaha!!!

love how the bean looks @ her big bro. it's always with such adoration...for now! ;-)

happy valentine's day

the three people below...they are my loves. this is the 15th valentine's day brian & i have spent together. we celebrated with some time together last night. which wasn't really so much about valentine's as surviving the first part of this year.

we came home from the holidays feeling like we were firing on all cylinders. really working well together. & i don't mean that in a prideful way...in a way you just know you're in a wonderful, secure place in your relationship. in retrospect it was God preparing us - binding us together for the unexpected challenges we have been facing. it's nothing earth shattering, but enough to shake our world, exhaust us & in many ways truly test our faith. but in the last few weeks we have not only felt God's enormous grace, but one another's physical, emotional & spiritual support.

last night, as we were celebrating our survival :) (& our love, of course!) i was overwhelmed w/ just how blessed i am to spend my day to day with three such precious souls! so happy valentine's day to them & to all of you!

braves game (2008) in a big, giant red chair (though you can't tell it here)...i LOVE when we get time to ourselves - love our babies, but it is life giving to have time w/ my man!

in becoming parents, i believe God gives us the opportunity to see & love our spouse in a new & beautiful way. brian's been the most amazing husband (& father) through our transition...he was great @ garrett's & lucy's births - keeping me laughing & my spirits high. it is my joy to be on the journey of parenting our children w/ him.

happy, happy girl in her valentine's day outfit.

look @ those big blue eyes!

one sad, sick little boy watching 'CARS' after his (seriously!) almost 4 hour nap this afternoon!

he wants lovey & his drink & he curls up on the couch. or on us. we don't even care that he's been hacking all over us. lots & lots of snuggles from our little man in the last several days. wish he was better, but we'll take the cuddles while we can!

cracks me up

 

garrett's always saying funny things or doing funny things. in general, he's a really happy, full of heart little boy.

earlier this week he was on my lap. i was tickling him & we were wrestling. then i said...

me: garrett, are you a sweet boy?
garrett: nooooo!
me: garrett, are you a bad boy?
garrett: nooooo!
me: well then what are you?
garrett: i'm two!

hahahaha! his little mind. :-)

brian's been working crazy hours lately. they've had 3 big pitches in 3 weeks & it's requiring a lot out of brian. in fact, i don't know how he hasn't gotten sick or just fallen over from exhaustion. & you know that as much of a struggle as it is for you, your kids definitely feel it too. brian came home from work the other night & garrett shook his head "no" while saying, "done office!" he was so glad to see brian & to know B was done w/ the office (although he wasn't - poor guy came home to say goodnight to the babies & head back in!).

photo above was taken @ christmas, in TN. cousin J was driving G around brian's parent's neighborhood. they had so much fun!

our fun day

 

the monkey comes into sight & our bean lights up. smiles. reaches for him.

brian was off for MLK (though - bless him! - he did go in & work several hours). we went out for breakfast. & then later the weather was amazing. so we took a walk @ lunch; then after naps, we hit a local park. we parked @ the rec center & took a special "hike" around to the playground. garrett loved this b/c he got to "march" through the gravel, wet sandy mud, through a tunnel & past the water.

 

he ran like crazy & climbed. he went down slides. he's hard to slow down, but we did manage to get a few shots. i mean, are you kidding me? i love my little crew. it was so great to be together - just the 4 of us - today & spend some time playing (we did NO chores!) & having fun!

 

 

look! i've got toes.

 

lucy loo found her toesies today. but she's only interested if her feet aren't covered (hence no pj's from the waist down.)

she's intentionally reaching for everything around her. no more holding her on your lap while you're trying to eat.

garrett counted his toes today. he came up with 7.

BUT! garrett also counted to ten all alone today!

did i mention it? how much i love my job? :) ah, my babies.

(a little) snow day

 

this AM while lucy was sleeping, G & i stepped out to play in the little bit of snow that fell last night.

clearly, we are not equipped to dress for the snow, though. G did get some gloves for christmas, but they just hang on his little hands. no snow boots, well, because it basically NEVER snows here. so i put together a makeshift get-up...

he loved running around in the snow, even sliding down the little curb in the church parking lot. he liked marching & seeing his boot prints - & mine - in the snow; he would turn around & walk back on top of them. he didn't love it @ the end though - his hands WERE getting cold. so we only lasted about a half hour, but it was alot of fun!

long weekend

 

last thursday night we headed to TN...miss lucy's first road trip! the usual 4.5 hours turned into 7 to get there & 7.5 to get back home. long, looong ride. being just 8 weeks into life as a family of 4, perhaps we pushed ourselves a tad. :-)

but everyone was happy to meet our lucy bean & see how much garrett has changed since our last trip there in march. i'll post more pictures later, but the shot above is our big baby giving our little baby some love...& brian's sister, julie, is just eating them both up! being an aunt is such a stellar job!