39/52 - A Portrait a Week

Jordan's happy face....

...followed by his poop face! 

 James and his best friend

And my just home from preschool with a happy icing covered face!

Some together love.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Been a busy few days...

Will catch up and post more on Monday but for now here's two pictures of my boys from my new fancy dancy iPhone (which I never thought I would get!)

James trying to be patient during the hour we were at Future Shop yesterday! 

My little Jordan the grouch (who's really not that grouchy at all!)

Will post portraits of the week probably tomorrow but today it's a quiet tidy home day and dinner with friends night!

September Preschool Art

I see myself tending to be the mother that wants to keep everything that my kids bring home from school and I also know already that we just won't have the space for all of it!

So, I've decided to take pictures and blog them so we always have a record of it. I'll keep some of the really special stuff but mainly this will be my way of recording those special arts and crafts my boys will bring home.

First painting brought home! 

His special project of the month.

Showing Daddy his project!

Preschool Show & Tell - Week 3

This week's item is James's new favorite toy...Buzz Lightyear! Ash gave it to him last week and he absolutely loves it. The first two days he had it he had to say goodnight and good morning to him before he would to me, Jordan or Jim. He carries it around and yells to Infinity and Beyond which swooping from room to room. This is a toy that I think will last a long time in this house, or at least as long as he's obsessed with the movie like he is now!

Last night he got dressed into the Buzz costume we borrowed from the Slacks and he jumped into his Daddy's arms yelling To Infinity and Beyond! Definitely a video to remember!

Some cute new comparisons

Jordan's Monthly Photos with Harris

Happy 4 Months Jordan!

We have hit the 4 month mark and our big happy little guy is almost 20 lbs now and is sleeping like an absolute champ. In the past few days he has put himself on a great schedule of going to bed between 8-9 pm and sleeping until 7-8 am and then eats an 8oz bottle, plays for 1.5 hours, naps for 2-2.5 hours, eats a 6oz bottle, plays a bit more, then another 1.5-2 hour nap, then another 8oz bottle, up for another hour or so, short little hour cat nap, then up for shower, one last 8 oz bottle and then off to bed. It is absolutely amazing....and I'm not sure how it will go now that we are back to preschool days again starting tomorrow!

This past month he has started to be really alert and is definitely starting to both recognize people and play a bit shy too. He will pull out a huge bottom pouty lip sometimes and burst into tears when someone picks him up or talks to him. I find it so funny! Sometimes when other people are holding him he'll look like he's going to cry so I'll poke my head near his and he'll smile, then I'll walk away and he starts it again so I know he's just getting used to seeing other faces other than mine and will be just fine!

We are getting close to the big guy rolling over but I think the combination of massive thighs and belly are preventing it from quite happening yet! He gets close but then just can't/won't push himself the whole way over. It is coming though and I bet in the next month it will happen for sure. I love watching my boys interact and seeing Jordan smile every time James talks just makes me smile. I can't wait till he starts really babbling at him in return...maybe give James a taste of his own loud medicine! 

We love you little guy and are so very happy that you joined our family 4 short months ago!

And just like every month, here are the pictures in order!

38/52 - A Portrait a Week

Starting off this week with SUPER BABY!

And my very happy and loving every minute with Buzz Lightyear big guy

And two cute together pictures too!

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

How did I get so lucky?

These two little guys just make my life feel so happy and full of love and fun. I adore them both for so many different reasons and capturing their smiles on my camera makes me smile when I look back at the photos.

I love you James and Jordan! 

Big guy loving his new train set.

Little guy giving Mommy some adorable smiles.

Oh Jimmy...

Wanna guess what Jim's snack tonight is?

Pop tarts and rum and coke! And it's not because we have no other food in the house either! 

This guy will eat anything! 

Wish us luck

Tonight is our first night that the little one shown below was put to bed at 8:30 for the night and we are not going to wake him for a dream feed and just see how long he'll sleep. I'm praying for his regular 6:30-7 and not the 4:30 or 5 that I'm dreading!

Here's the little monster sound asleep on his floor mat at Nana and Papa's. His big brother NEVER EVER fell asleep anywhere like that. This kid is definitely my good sleeper (so far anyways!)

Preschool Show & Tell - Week 2

Angry Birds watch

Jim and I brought this watch back for James from our trip to Seattle. He only occasionally wants to wear it but when he does he proudly shows it off to everyone around him. He really does love Angry Birds and it's funny how he can finally say it properly. For months he called them Angy Birds, it was so cute. Especially when we threw him his Angy Birds birthday party!

James's First Black Eye

Over the past 7 days we've seen his eye get greener and yellower as the days went by. We joke that Nana's table attacked him but quite honestly I'm surprised it's taken this long for this to happen. Not only is he a bit of a klutz but he is also a typical rough and tumble little guy!

Day 1 

Ouch! Swollen and that black line that worried me.

Day 2

Not so swollen but you can see the outline of what is coming!

Day 4

The green has set in along the eye brow.

Day 5

Now it's crept down onto the eye lid, definitely the worst day.

Day 7

Starting to get a bit lighter and fading now.

37/52 - A Portrait a Week

I love this weeks photos a lot actually even though I thought I didn't have any good ones!

James enjoying Nana and Papa's backyard and the gorgeous September weather we have been having!

Look at the smile on this kid! He looks so much like his Daddy and I just love it!

I realize I've never included a photo of Jim with the boys in the Portraits of the Week so even though it's not a great photo of either of the boys it is great of him! This is a typical sight in our world, one of us will be holding Jordan and then James wants to hug us that very moment! It's actually really cute but yes Jordan does often get squished in the process :o)

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

What my two little J's have taught me

First and foremost James taught me the most important lesson I will ever learn and that was how to BE a mother and how to love another human being more than I loved myself. I had always been pretty selfish before he came along and I found after he was born that I no longer thought about myself, only how I could be a better person for him. I wanted him to know he was loved and taken care of, yet also how to be independent and confident in who he was. I can readily admit that when he was born I felt like he was a total stranger and it took me a few days to really feel myself falling in love with him. It was a huge transition in my life and in our family and at first I was very unsure if I had made the right decision. Within a few months I became comfortable and confident and even though there have certainly been rough times with him, I have loved raising him and watching him become this amazingly adaptable, creative, thoughtful, imaginative, funny little creature. He makes me smile even when I'm cranky and he has taught me to slow down, put down the computer and spend that time with him. I will never turn down the opportunity to read to him and I am proud of the love he has for reading and make believe stories. I love singing to him and I'll never forget the first time I realized he could sing his bedtime lullabies with me. I had no idea how smart kids could be and how fast of learners too. As he grows up day by day I grow more and more proud of the kid he is becoming and I look forward to seeing him grow into a young man.

Jordan's birth brought about a whole new emotion for me as a mother. If James taught me how to be a mother then Jordan has really taught me how to LOVE being a mother. I think with James I often rushed through the stages because I always knew there would be another child down the road. I am swearing to never make that mistake again, because I don't know if there will be any more babies for our family.  When Jordan was born it was a completely different experience for me. Maybe it was because I knew the love that I would grow to have for my child but I can again easily admit that I fell in love with Jordan wholeheartedly from the moment I laid eyes on him. After I had my little cry on the operating table and they brought him to me, I touched his face and he stopped crying and looked right at me. In that moment I knew I loved him and it didn't matter one single bit that he wasn't the little girl that I had been hoping and dreaming for. I had no idea the depth of love that I could feel for a child so immediately. It was exactly what people had told me that having children was like, and couldn't have been further from what happened when James was born. Since Jordan's birth less than 4 months ago I have felt such a calm in my life in my role as these boys mommy and adjusting my life to accommodate the needs of both boys, instead of just the life we had before he was born. I find myself feeling stretched sometimes, but so full of love at the same time that I just want to burst. I look in Jordan's face and I see my loving husband staring back at me and I couldn't be happier. He is definitely a mini Jimmy right now and his smiles, giggles and laughs just light up my life every single day. I make the effort to snuggle, hug and interact with him while also allowing him the opportunity to be alone and learn how to be independent so he will gain that confidence that his big brother has in knowing he can do things without needing me to always be there.

Watching my boys together has taught me how important it is to really encourage and foster that sibling relationship. I'm so glad they will always have each other and I hope they will always remember that and be each other's best friends both growing up and in their adult lives as well. The love that they share already is amazing. James loves to hold Jordan and kiss and hug him. He loves to feed him and help me with burping him. As soon as Jordan wakes up James is the first one to tell me he's awake and needs me. Jordan is absolutely enchanted by James and his eyes follow him when he moves or talks. I can tell already that they will be great playmates in the years to come. My boys have also taught me about my capacity to love and I know that although I would love to have more babies one day, I'm not quite sure yet what the future holds in that regard. Only time will tell whether we end up with more children or if our family is complete now with our two little princes.