The Trials of Family Photos

Whenever I receive a holiday photo card in the mail with a picture perfect exposure of friends and family, my first thought is that there had to be about 300 other photos in the scrap pile.

Landon more interested in boats. Anders more interested in fingers.

The fifteenth break to point to an "aaiirplaannne!"

My grip on Anders is fading fast. Landon's grip on sanity is fading faster.

Happy parents, grumpy kids. At least our nice little town looks beautiful behind us! Come visit us on our island!

5 Months

The A-man turned five months last week and he is becoming more smiley everyday. He is also tenacious in his attempts to grab anything within reach. Seriously, don't try to use a straw around this kid - he swipes it in three seconds flat. What am I supposed to do? Drink out of a cup like a normal person? Straws are one of my only wasteful habits in which I indulge. Children just take everything you have. This is on top of my omission of dairy and eggs in my diet (and a reduction in chocolate - can't quite break that one) due to a sensitive tummy and eczema. My poor little guy. 

Moving on. 

Here are some pics from the last month with the little big guy!

"Peek-a-boo! I gotcha, didn't I? Didn't I?! Ha!"

Love/Hate relationship with the bumblebee.

Official five month photo.

"Come, friend. This has been a successful photo session, has it not? Let us hug."

Likes:
-Freddy the Firefly
-Bumblebee Friend/Foe
-Tubby time
-Rice cereal - insists on "using" the spoon himself

Dislikes:
-When mom eats hummus
-Getting dressed after tubby time - "Just leave me naked, Ma!"

Gobble, Gobble

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner with dear friends who are conveniently neighbors. They just had their baby boy last week (aka Anders Best Friend) so we all welcomed a chill evening with enough food to feed the '84 Bears defensive line. Or two nursing mommies. It's probably equivalent.

This year, I was able to stick with the 30 days of gratitude challenge for the month. We wrote our tidbits on leaves and hung them up. Some of them were on the shallow side such as "Mom is grateful for Nick Jr. on grumpy days" and some were core blessings such as "We are thankful for a warm cozy home on cold rainy days." I will save the leaves each year and hope that the boys will carry on the tradition down the road.

The kiddies torturing Anders while we finish up preparing the grub.

Baby George yawns at the antics. Back to sleep. Zzzzz...

...while two feet away we slice into a freshly fried turkey.

"Woah, place settings?" says Emily. Yeah, we can get fancy once in a while.

Erik was thankful that the Redskins won. And so was I; who needs an extra grump around?

Final note: You know what's sort of depressing? Making a full Thanksgiving spread and then having to make peanut butter and jelly for your toddler because he is the pickiest eater on Earth. Gosh I love that kid and respect his vegetarian wishes, but oy vey. Why can't he just eat a huge plate of every type of food and regret it immediately just like the rest of us? And then go back for round two? And then hate yourself even more? I mean, come on. It's tradition.

Hope your hearts were warmed by time with friends and family and your bellies were full! 

Mustache Tickles

The little guy does throw us a giggle once in a while. Who can resist mustache tickles?*

*I can. I can resist mustache tickles. Children, however, apparently cannot.

Two Years Old

Well it happened: Landon turned two. It's cliche, but where does the time go? I look at photos from earlier in the year and he looks like a baby, still. I guess he sprouted over the summer or something because now all I see is a little guy growing up way too fast. Enter: Dramatic sigh.

I think Landon is such a great personality (says the mom - big surprise). I think he's awfully smart and charismatic with his smile. He seems very loyal to his small inner circle; he likes giving his best friends hugs but is wary of large groups of kids. He is a little quiet at school, but a chatterbox at home. He has so much confidence these days in his expanding vocabulary that it's causing a perma-smile. Mom and Dad are smiling, too: our ability to communicate with Landon more is leading to noticeable amount of reduced tantrums. 

He's just... special. In a lovely, awesome way. We love you, Landon.

So done with the photo session. Get this boy some snacks.

Likes:
-Baby brother
-Toy Story (Buzz Lightyear in particular)
-Puzzles
-Peanut butter and jelly
-High fives

Dislikes:
-Meat, casseroles
-Sing alongs
-Sharing puzzles

Built-ins: Check!

I spy... with my eye... 

a set of completed built in bookshelves hand-crafted by my hubby! I love them and I love him!

And now on to the next thing on my list: a new mantle. We are going to the salvage yard next week. Standby.