Flower Girl!

 Well it was a big weekend for us. Adelyn was a flower girl in a friend's wedding so we were busy with rehearsals, pictures, dresses, and lots of bribery.

We weren't quite sure what Adelyn would do when it was her turn to walk down the aisle. It really depended on her mood at the moment. At the rehearsal, something set her off right as she was supposed to walk down down so instead she threw herself to the floor and lost it.

Well the big day came and we started prepping her.

We discovered that Adelyn loved Looney Tunes so I propped her up in front of my computer and played a few of them from YouTube. It worked GREAT. I was so surprised she let me mess with her hair. 

 Here she is all dolled up. She was loving all of the attention she got from the bridal party and wedding attendees.

About 10 minutes before she was supposed to be in the wedding, her hand got shut in a door. Not a big slam, it just closed on her slowly but enough to squish her fingers and to cause a scene. Luckily the tears were remedied with fruit snacks and a video on the phone. It could have been bad though.

She made it down the aisle like a champ. I was waiting for her at the front and when she saw me she exclaimed, "Mommy!" It was a crowd pleasing moment... haha.

Since were were all spiffed up, we took a chance to get a family picture.

Even Tyler got snazzed up for the wedding!

This little gal was EXCITED. After the wedding we let her party hard at the reception. She did really well despite the fact she was up 2+ hours after normal bed time. 

Ty Guy didn't make it to the reception. He got the luxury of a babysitter all to himself. 

Karis was a beautiful bride and was absolutely radiant. Adelyn came to know her has princess Karis.

It was a great weekend! We are catching up on some sleep today and enjoying the labor day. 

Ty-Guy: Three Months: Picture Overload

(I wrote this a month ago but just realized it didn't post!)

This sweet boy has melted my heart.

 He has such a sweet demeanor and is showing us more and more of who he is every day. The coos and gurgles are nonstop. He is starting to squeak and squawk louder and louder as well.

Ty Guy loves to be snuggled up in a soft blanket (I mean who doesn't, right!?) He has started to work his way out of his sleep sacks and wake himself up so we are fighting that a bit but over all he is a great napper during the day and still up 1-2 times at night. However, it doesn't seem that bad because he just goes right back to sleep after he eats. 

 So far, Ty has been a great on-the-go baby. I know that naps in the carseat will soon be a thing of the past so I'm taking advantage of the time that I know he can still sleep pretty much anywhere.

What we have noticed about Tyler is that he has a noise sensitivity like his big sister did (and still kind of does). There are certain noises that totally set him off. For example, when Adelyn was watching a video on my computer of herself dancing to the harmonica, he totally lost it. 

There was another time that Adelyn had a toy that made a cow mooing sound and he decided he hated that sound as well. 

And like most babies, he doesn't like the sound of other babies or kids crying loudly. He and Adelyn can really get themselves worked up. 

Tyler does great with babysitters and other people still. He's willing to give away smiles to about anyone who gives him one.

One of my favorite things to do is to get him up after a nap or in the morning when he's been by himself in his crib for a while. He is absolutely delighted to see someone and gives the biggest open mouthed smile. 

So far he's be super healthy. Other than a clogged tear duct we haven't had any problems whatsoever.

I seriously can't believe it's already been over three months since Tyler joined our family. He's been such a little blessing. 

Adelyn has entered into such a fun stage as well. She's got so much personality and passion about whatever she is doing. She has little routines that she has come to love. One of them is me putting Sophie in her bed in the morning. The first thing she asks me to do in the mornings is "Sophie in there..." meaning, put Sophie in her bed. 

Sophie is a good sport about it.

Adelyn is becoming more and more beautiful every day. Inside and out. 

We are Here. We are Busy.

I plan on keeping up with this blog. I really do. It's just, life gets in the way.

I'd rather spend time actually doing things with my kids rather than writing about the things I'm doing. My nights used to be my blogging time but I'm finding I have less time at nights as of late.

In the very few free moments I do get these days, I simply want to enjoy the quiet rather than blog about what we did that morning. Any blogging energy I do have goes towards Thriving Home so this little guy gets the leftovers- which isn't very much lately.

Anyway.

Ty-Guy is a lap hound. At least that's the affectionate name I've given him. He isn't needy- he just loves to be in a lap. He would sit contently and quietly in my lap all day long if he could. He plays well on the floor and is entertained by his busy sister but only lasts solo for so long before he starts politely requesting to be held. I love it though. I know that a year from now I will be chasing a busy little boy who will be hardly interested in mommy's lap. So for now, I have a baby in my lap during most meals and have learned to do a lot of things with one hand.

He's been a great little baby though. I'll be honest, he isn't the best night sleeper but I'm just kind of used to it. He wakes up to eat around 11-12. He then usually wakes up around 2-3 and needs a little snuggle and help to get back to sleep. He then almost always wakes up around 5 to eat again and then dozes until about 6:30. So yes, I'm still up 3 times from the time I go to bed until the time I get up. Being tired is my new normal so at this point it doesn't seem that bad. I know that one day he will sleep through the night. One day.

Adelyn's current favorites: Curious George stories, Dora and Super Why shows, chasing Sophie around the house, taking care of her babies, playing hide and seek with daddy, the song Old McDonald, blowing bubbles with babysitters and swimming.

She is going to be a flower girl in a wedding this weekend so we've also been practicing her petal throwing around the house.

Austin just started what is going to be the most demanding semester of seminary for us. He has a good attitude about it but it is going to be quite the challenge for everyone.

I'm busy keeping up with two kids, my job at The Crossing, and growing Thriving Home. The blog has been growing tons lately so we are having a lot of fun with it.

Anyway, I told myself I need to go to bed earlier so that's what I'm going to do. Good night.

Photography 101

I finally cashed in on one of the best gifts Austin has ever gotten me. 

For mother's day he set up two photography sessions with our friend, Gerik. Today, Gerik came to our house and helped me understand the settings on my camera better as well as identify good lighting and places to take pictures around our house. He also walked me through the editing process which was SUPER helpful.

It was SO fun. I learned so much in the short time that he was here and am excited to use my new skills and understanding. 

A few tips he gave me:

"Remember to find great light and clean backgrounds. Set your metering mode to the lighting conditions you are in. And shoot with light coming in from behind. Play around with the manual settings on your camera. And have fun."

Here are some of the pictures that we came up with from the morning. 

Adelyn was a great little model for us. Tyler was asleep the whole time so he didn't get to be part of the fun. In our next session we are going to work on how to photograph food and still shots that we often do for the blog. 

There is so much to learn! 

These Two...

I love watching them start to figure each other out. 

 This one is hilarious...

His eyes say it all.