It pays to have talented friends

Version II (I loved them both!)
Okay, I realize I am biased because I took the pictures and my good friend, Dana, designed the announcement but I think these are sooo cute!! I was way more than tickled when I got them in the mail. I have known for some time now that Dana is very talented but when she showed me some of the announcements and invitations she designed I was impressed, to say the least! She has always had an interest in photography. She felt like this was a good way for her to use her creativity to make a beautiful product with photographs and generate some extra income. She is a stay-at-home mom with two gorgeous girls and I say "you go, girl!". I am fully supportive of stay-at-home moms who want to find a way to work and be at home with their children. She is committed to providing beautiful, quality, custom announcements for much more reasonable prices that you can find on the internet. Please check out her website if you are interested in photo announcements. She has designs for birth announcements (you'll see little Luke here), graduation announcements, birthday announcements (all ages), christmas cards, and the list is growing. They are all adorable and she has more in the works. Her site is currently "under construction" (she is in the process of moving to a new state - I know how that is!) but I will be sure to let everyone know when it is up and running!

http://www.everythingpictured.blogspot.com/

The big fat lip

I'm sure that everyone in my family will laugh when they see this picture and say "That's Julie!". I caught a lot of flack growing up for sticking out my lip and pouting. Apparently I did this a lot. I can't say that I'm surprised - especially since Anna's face should be frozen this way as well. Must run in the family.
My little Luke is so sweet and sensitive. I'm not sure what happened but he must have gotten scared. He was probably tired of me taking his picture! He just happened to stick out his lip when I snapped the picture because I didn't even realize it until I looked at them on the computer. Of course, then I held him a little and we played and things were "all better" ;)

Go figure

I admit that I am not very good at putting my kids to sleep. I love to hold them and have them near me. They're little for such a short time! I've been trying to be better with Luke. Some days are better than others. I'll always be a sucker!
While Jaden was sleeping I took the opportunity to play with Luke and have some floor time on his little exerciser. The day we bought this we also bought something special for Anna and Jaden too. Despite our best efforts to think ahead and curb toy fights those two will not leave Luke's toy alone. Most days he's got only one (of four) little dangly things to look at/bat at/kick - if he's lucky. They take them all off and toss them around the room. This poor little guy doesn't stand a chance right now! I'm sure he'll be more than able to fend for himself one day (especially if he keeps up at the rate he is growing).
Anyway, I had gotten up to do something while Luke was content playing. When I came back he was sound asleep! I couldn't believe my eyes - I wish it were always that easy. He looks so sweet when he's sleeping :)

Anna and Luke

The other one wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a picture. I'm going to have to work on learning how to use the "action mode" on my camera if I have any hope of catching Jaden in a picture that doesn't capture him as a blur!
I got a new camera the other day and have been playing around learning how to use it. I think Anna is already getting tired of me using her as my test model. I still need to order a different lens and a speedlight. It will be much easier for me to get good shots with those. Right now I've got to have my camera pretty close to them to get the kind of pictures I like. And, I don't like to use the flash but I don't have good light inside in most rooms so it's easy to get blurry pictures. The speedlight will allow me to use the flash but have more natural looking pictures because you can divert the light upwards and use a diffuser. I'm having so much fun learning how to take better pictures. I'm definitely an amateur with tons to learn but I love taking pictures of these little guys. I hope I'll have some nice ones for them to share with their kids when they're all grown up one day.

Two months old

Luke in Chris' outfit from when he was a baby.

Each of the kids have gotten their picture taken in it. Somewhere along the way - I think with Anna - the zipper broke. It's stuck down near one leg and won't go up or down. So, the outfit is strategically placed on him to try to cover him up a little. He looks so cute as a little blue mouse. I love how the ears stand up. I can't believe Chris was this little once.

He'll probably hate me for this when he grows up!

Luke turned 2 months old yesterday. Today he had his check up at the doctor. It's official - He's growing like a weed!!! He is now 24 1/2 inches long (95th percentile) and 13 pounds 10 ounces (90th-95th percentile). Last month his weight was in the 50th-75th percentile.
New things Luke has done this month:

• he's more alert and squirms around- we see a lot more of his eyes these days


• he's starting to hit at mobiles hanging in his reach and tracking things


• he's cooing


• he's eating lots and lots and lots...


• he's settling into a little better sleep pattern (good for him and Mommy!)


• he's smiling: He smiled for the first time the day before he turned 6 weeks old. then we got just one smile per day - usually at night- for a while. But now we get smiles all throughout the day. It's wonderful. He seems especially enthralled with Mommy and Anna - we get lots of special smiles but then again he's stuck looking at our crazy faces all day long (and all night long in Mommy's case!).

For Mother's Day I asked for three things: I didn't want to cook, I didn't want to clean, and I wanted a picture of me with all the kids. Chris did a great job cooking and keeping everything cleaned up and he tried to get a good picture. The kids just weren't on the same page. Hey, this is what they usually look like, right? We'll keep trying but I'm still really happy to have a picture of me with my babies :) (I still can't believe I have 3 kids!!) I am so very, very blessed to be their Mommy.

Oh - and I wanted a nap. That didn't happen but it was okay. I was rested!

Where did Jaden's curls go?

Well, we did it. We took Jaden to get his first "real" haircut. His sweet curls are all gone. For now... (at the rate I was having to trim it I don't think it will be long before the "wild man" curls are back!) It has been so hot and so humid down here and it's just going to get worse. His hair has been getting plastered to his little head with sweat when he's out playing. We just thought that he would be a lot more comfortable with it a little shorter. So, today after Anna's soccer game (at 3:00 in the afternoon in 92 degree heat) Jaden and Daddy both got their hair cut!

This is the "before"

"During" - he ended up needed a purple sucker to keep him still and cooperative.

The "After"
He still looks super cute! He just looks so much more like a growing little boy instead of my baby :(

Jammin in the van to Hannah Montana

Maybe we could be like the Partridge Family one day...

Jaden's Last Kindermusic class

Jaden has been taking a Kindermusic class the past 3+ months. We thought it would be a fun way to spend some 1:1 time with Jaden and give him an opportunity to meet some kids his age. We have really enjoyed taking him and watching him enjoy the class. They sing, dance, play instruments, and read a story (I think this might be his favorite part). I haven't been able to take any pictures until now because Chris and I could both be there. He's done really well. Being the youngest one there he's been kinda shy (hard to believe if you've ever seen him around his sister!). He was always so sweet with the other kids. He would wait and let them go before him and he would offer his instruments to let them try. He never got upset when the teacher said it was time to put away whatever they were using (even when he really enoyed it) and was wonderful at helping to put everything away. We were very proud of him! "jingle, jingle, jingle

go the car keys

jingle, jingle, jingle

go the keys

jingle, jingle, jingle

go the car keys

jingle, jingle, jingle

go the keys

lost them, lost them

where are the car keys?

found them, found them

here are the car keys!"

This is ring-around-the-rosie. Notice all of the other children are standing on the ground. Jaden is the only one who had to be held. Remember I had to do this the whole time I was pregnant and 3 weeks after I had Luke - with Luke in the Baby Bjorn strapped to my belly! The things you do for your children...

Since it was the last class they had a little party. He was such a good boy waiting for his treat.Before they go home all the children clean their hands with hand sanitizer and get stamps from the teacher. In the beginning Jaden didn't want anything to do with the stamps. Then, he was okay to get them but then wanted me to wipe them off. Now he's very proud to show off his stamps!

Jaden and his teacher, Ms. Diana.

Guess who lost her first tooth???

I can't believe my baby has lost her first tooth! I've been (not so) silently dreading it since we first noticed it start to wiggle. I am freaked out about loose teeth to put it lightly. I hate, hate, hate them! Today it was really moving around in there. I managed to get a quick picture while it was still in her mouth. Then I frantically prayed for Chris to hurry up and get home before it fell out or needed assistance coming out. Anna was starting to get a little nervous herself. It bled a little at one point because she bumped it. I really started to sweat. I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the rest of her teeth falling out, then Jaden's, then Luke's...

We have a playground in our backyard!

The kids have been soooo excited about their new swingset. Well, it's not "new" but new to us - you know what I mean. Aunt Kelli's friend Andrea and her family are getting a new patio/pool in their backyard and were getting rid of their swingset. Yay for us! The kids have been out in the backyard everyday - they are having so much fun.

Thanks so much to Andrea, Terry, Daddy, Uncle Mike and Aunt Kelli :)

The swingset even evokes sibling cooperation apparently. I highly recommend one to anyone with children who fight with each other alot (like mine!) If I would have known I would have bought one before I even had kids :)
Luke is the spectator -for now. He seems to really enjoy being outside. It doesn't bother him if its hot - he just looks around for awhile then takes a nap.

Faces of Luke

These are just some pictures I took of Luke last weekend. I didn't realize at the time he made so many funny faces. I think they are adorable!



Jaden decided to join in the fun - not sure what Luke thought about it...
"Mmm baba?" (that's Jaden-speak for "want a bottle?")

Poor Luke - Jaden loves him so much and he's always in his face! It's cute now but I can see fist fights in the future...

For Uncle Richie

Can you find the baby amongst (is that the right word?) all of the Steelers logos?

This was a little outfit and blanket that we bought for Jaden when we went to a Steeler game. Even though it's not football season he has to wear it now because it has no chance of fitting by opening game. This little guy is growing like a weed. I'm amazed at how much he is changing. You would think I'd get used to it by the 3rd child, but no. He has been pretty fussy lately and I've started to wonder if he is just plain hungry. He nurses all the time (at least it feels that way) and he pees and poops like crazy so, I know that he's getting plenty but it must just not be enough. Last night I gave him almost 4 ounces of formula after I nursed him and he actually slept almost 5 hours in a row!!! I kept waking up because I didn't know what to do with myself. He's been an around the clock eating machine. I'm starting to understand the mothers who succumb to giving their little guys cereal early. He seems to have slowed down today. He's been sleeping pretty good and eating "normally" (whatever that is). Maybe he's doing his growing now - don't babies grow when they sleep? I think I heard that somewhere. Or maybe he's just tired from all the fussing! Whatever the reason I'm just happy that he is calm and relaxed so the rest of us can relax too!

Watering the lawn...and the kids!

Meeting Luke and playing at the park

Anna before the ice cream

Not a very happy camper... (but still pretty cute!)