Mommy & E

Day 219: This picture was taken by my friend Natalie at our Bunco night from July 20, but she just emailed it to me today and I hadn't taken my picture of the day yet today, so I'm using it! Just me and my sleeping peanut. :-) The funny thing is I didn't even play Bunco that night. There was one too many people so I volunteered to sit out. I ended up nursing Emmett twice anyway and he finally fell asleep on my shoulder. Gotta love that!

Playdoh and Chalk!

Day 217: Yesterday morning right after breakfast, while still in their pajamas, Julian and Vincent had fun playing with Playdoh. It's amazing stuff because they each play independently and there's virtually no bickering! Love it.



Day 218: Isn't outdoor chalk fun? I love their colorful driveway masterpiece.

The Little Boxer

Day 216: I snapped this photo right after I caught Emmett staring at his right fist. He recently discovered his hands. Notice that right thumb between his fingers again...

Butterfly, Grandma, and a Fort

Day 213: Grandma Ruth sent Julian an email with this photo she took in her backyard. She asked him to do some research to come up with the name of the butterfly. Using the computer, Julian and I were able to come up with the answer in about 60 seconds. He was so excited to call Grandma with the correct answer: Tiger Swallowtail. He obviously enjoyed the challenge because he asked her if she would send more mysteries to solve.

Day 214: We visited for a while with Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Lydon after meeting for breakfast. Of course Grandma loves holding Emmett!

Day 215: This morning Julian and Vincent played with their friends Ryan and Sean while my friend Natalie and I planned our upcoming camping trip. The boys had fun playing in their fort. Peek-a-boo!

Daddy Makes Me Smile

Day 212: I just can't resist taking a picture of a Daddy and his baby.

Young Scrapbookers

Day 211: This morning Julian told me he wanted to scrapbook. He started his album last year when he was five. Vincent can't be left out of course so he did three pages. I love when Julian scrapbooks. He knows exactly which photos he wants to use, how to lay out his page, what embellishments he wants, and what to write. He did his two pages in about five minutes. I could learn from him!

Teacher & Student

Day 210: Julian loves to "teach" Vincent from his workbooks by quizzing him. He says, "Vincent, do you want to learn?" Vincent, with his cute little lisp says, "yeth". The other day Vincent was "teaching" me with the book and said, "Mommy, you're learning".

"I've Got Your Nose!"

Day 209: Mark chuckled and grabbed the camera to take this slightly out of focus picture this evening when he saw Emmett's hand. I'm sure if the little guy could articulate beyond cooing, he would say, "I've got your nose!" :-)

Birds in my House!!!!

Day 208: This morning we had fun making "bird" masks. Julian did his own and I did Vincent's (while he gave me color instructions). After lunch I put on a movie (Muppets from Space) and Vincent was asleep within 5 minutes. That's what happens when you start giving up your formal naps and your older brother wakes you up every morning by 6am!

Photos of the Day Since Thursday

Day 204: I was going to fold a laundry basket full of towels but walked out of the room briefly. When I returned, Julian was folding for me and finished all of them! They're not perfect, but it was much appreciated. While Julian folded towels, Vincent put together a floor puzzle -- one of his favorite activities.



Day 205: I invited my parents over Friday night for an impromptu dinner and card game. My dad spent some quality time holding Emmett while I worked in the kitchen. We had a simple but yummy meal of an assortment of cheeses with crackers, hummus with pita chips and orange bell pepper strips, homemade tomato bruscetta, mini spinach turnovers, mixed fruit, and white wine (pinot grigio). And Mark and I beat my parents at shmear!


Day 206: Saturday we held a "potty party" day, like boot camp. We stayed home all day and put Vincent in underwear. We played games and did puzzles, did crafts, Mark got out his guitar, we listened to Raffi, and had all sorts of incentives to get Vincent on the potty. And none of it worked -- he wouldn't sit on the toilet even once. Sigh. We spend the day cleaning up the floor (and Vincent). I guess he's really not ready yet.


Day 207: This afternoon Mark took Julian and Vincent down to the park to ride bikes while I stayed home with the baby. Mark turned around to find Vincent sitting under a birch tree, playing with a stick he found. Cute.

Snoozing and Burp Rags

Day 202: Emmett invariably falls asleep in the car on our many outings (like taking Julian to and from two different summer camps today!) and he usually remains sleeping in his car seat for a while after we get home.


Day 203: One of my friends from my Bunco group has her own business sewing children's items and she gave me these adorable two burp rags for Emmett.

Outdoor Life

Day 201: Vincent helped me water the flowers outside while Julian was at a little space camp. While we were outside we discovered this barnswallow nest on top of the 2nd story window way above our front door. The birds were watching our every move!

Star Wars

Do you remember the first time you saw Star Wars? I remember seeing it in the movie theater when I was a kid and falling asleep! We promised Julian he could watch it this summer and today was the day. While Vincent took a big nap and Mark was gone for the afternoon, Julian and I watched Star Wars. (I call it #1, but I know it's really #4 -- so confusing.) He says he liked it (and he wasn't scared at all), but he seemed a little bored. A lot of if was over his head. His favorite part of the movie were the two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. And the funny thing is, I just figured out that I was also six years old when I first saw it when it came out in 1977.


Day 200: Star Wars!

Helicopter Ride

Day 199: Last night we went to the annual festival in the city where Mark grew up. We hung out at Mark's parents' house and ate, played, and chatted. Then the kids walked to the park and went on rides until it was time for fireworks. The kids had a blast. I just wish they would've slept in this morning....

Zzzzzzz....

Day 198: Mark snapped this photo this morning. I love snuggling with my peanut after the early morning feeding.

Abracadabra!

Day 197: This was the only (blurry) picture I could get from my uncooperative wizard. Today was the last day of Julian's afternoon camp at The Little Gym entitled "Harry's School of Magic". He loves Harry Potter and loved the camp. For three hours they would play games, do gymnastics, do a craft (notice the wizard hat and wand) eat a snack, and have free play.

Fun with Chalk

Day 196: What's more fun than drawing all over the driveway with chalk?

Everyday Life

Here I find myself getting caught up again. Ah, the busy life of a stay-at-home mom with three young boys!

Day 187: Within minutes of his birth, I noticed Emmett had a dimple on his right cheek. Actually, he has the one you can see in this picture, and a smaller one that also shows up occasionally. This is the first time I was able to capture it with the camera. So cute! (That's Vincent's hand.)


Day 188: Julian and Vincent played and read books in the baby's room (not being used yet!).



Day 189: The boys and I met a friend and her two boys at our park across the street. It was a beautiful day and I think we stayed over an hour just chatting and playing before lunch.


Day 190: I keep a small stash of new things the boys don't know about for those times when they're bored and need a change. This was one of those days so I broke out a cute book that opens into a bug treehouse, complete with the materials to make five bugs and little furniture and accessories. Very fun.


Day 191: Every Friday afternoon Julian has a combined gymnastics and sport skills class. I snapped this with my mobile phone through the glass. He seems to really enjoy this class.


Day 192: Mark was holding Emmett and the little guy was grinning and cooing at me. Another dimple shot!


Day 193: Emmett fell asleep on the floor during "tummy time" again! While he was having a lazy Sunday afternoon, I put together a little photo album for him. It was a beautiful day with the windows wide open.


Day 194: When we had some landscaping done a few years ago, I insisted on having some hydrangeas. They're so pretty and blooming by my front door. I love them! They remind me of my honeymoon when we saw some absolutely gorgeous hydrangeas in a small town in France.


Day 195: These ceramic veggies are hanging above my kitchen sink. They were my grandma's and I remember them always hanging up in her kitchen and I always loved them. I was so glad to inherit them when she passed away. They just make me happy and I think of her when I see them.

Weekend Fun

Day 186: Me and my two big boys on the dike. We had a fun time outside yesterday, enjoying the last of the long weekend.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Day 185: Here's to spending a quiet Independence Day outside playing with the water hose and sticks.

Day 184: Emmett is not a big fan of "tummy time". He usually gives up at trying to lift his heavy head pretty quickly and just lies there. Sometimes, he'll even fall asleep, right there on the floor. Why go through all that hard work when you can just take a nice little nap? I can't blame the little guy!

Staring Back at Me...

Day 182: I went to the kitchen last night for a glass of water after nursing Emmett before bed, so I handed him to Mark for burping. When I glanced back, I saw my little peanut staring at me -- his life source. I'm sure I must look like a big jug of milk to him! :-)


Day 183: Today as I look up from the family room couch I see George and Thomas staring back down at me (the boys' birthday balloons). They escaped weeks ago and have been hovering on the 2-story-high ceiling, just waiting for the helium to slowly leak out enough so they can descend.

8 Weeks Old!!!

Time seems to speed up when you have kids, and the more kids the faster it goes! My sweet little peanut is already 8 weeks old today.

Day 181: A sweet friend of mine sent this "Emmett" shirt and I thought it was appropriate to take his picture wearing it today.

And yesterday's picture:


Julian is obsessed with a video game on Daddy's iPhone called Toy Bot Diaries. So as he was playing with cardboard bricks, he spelled out the word "TOY" because he has Toy Bot on the brain! He's been reading a lot lately and starting to practice writing words, too.

Boys and Their Robots

Although I haven't posted them lately, I've still been taking my daily photos for Project 365 (taking a daily photo and journaling about it). So here I am, diving back into it!


Day 181: Mark helped Julian build a robot during the quietest part of the day -- while Vincent was napping! Julian and Vincent spent the afternoon before dinner today playing with robots, complete with the appropriate sound effects. It was cracking me up listening to Julian saying "alert, alert!" with his robot and Vincent copying him. Gotta love little boys and their robots!

Meet Baby Emmett

Sigh. What can I say about baby Emmett? He's wonderful. He's very sweet. He's adorable. He's my easiest baby yet. He's smiling at me daily, starting to coo occasionally, and a few days ago -- only once -- he attempted his first little laugh and it was the cutest thing ever. He's got the best little dimple in his right cheek when he smiles (or makes grimaces), which was evident in the first minutes after his birth. I'm totally in love with Emmett, as are we all, and he's been a wonderful addition. Our family is complete.

Here are a few of my favorite portrait studio shots of Emmett at one month. We decided to do a family portrait of all five of us when Emmett is a little older.

Many more pictures are coming soon, I promise!