More of the red bike...

Yumm-0

So I have been trying a few of those recipes with purees in them. They're sooo good! I've been very impressed. The brownies are OK, not your normal melt in your mouth brownies. My mom would hate them. But for kids, you can't go wrong with a brownie that has 3 grams of fiber in it! I've added sweet potato to grilled cheese, excellent! And the chicken nuggets are coated in broccoli puree, whole wheat breadcrumbs and flaxseed. Also really good. I highly recommend it!

Partners in crime

This little girl, and this little boy are full of IT. Lately 4 out of 5 times when Tanner goes to the loo, Tae has her poop radar on. She sneaks to the bathroom oh so quietly, and Tan lets her in. Then she opens the drawer of hair stuff- barrettes, ribbons, you name it. IN it goes with the poop. Now, these are NOT things I can just flush down, mainly because there are tons of them in the toilet. So I have to fish them out!!!! It is so GROSS! I'm going to have to start locking Tanner in the bathroom I suppose. ha ha ha!

Oh how adorable you are!

This adventerous, sweet, kind hearted, terror has me wrapped around his tiny finger. All of his faces just make me want to sqeeeeeeeze him, and kiss him, and touch his blonde locks.
On Sat. he and I ran errands together. WE were in the grocery store, he was in one of those car carts, standing up on the windshield facing me (very safe), so I said, "Tan, I love you!" He looked back and said, "I love you too Mom, but when you are mean, I don't love you." It was said so matter-of-fact like. I was laughing hysterically inside. So then, we get home, I'm asking, OK more like commanding him to help me bring in the groceries (the kid does NOT know how to help) so he looks at me and says "Mom, are you being nice or mean?" I said, "nice!" So looks again and said very sweetly,"OK, then I'll love you." Ooooh, he's SO cute!


THIS is why I have such a hard time getting angry with this boy!

These pictures were taken yesterday right before church. He looks so handsome in his little jacket. Chick magnet all the way.
P.S. Rachel and Emily these were taken inside (no flash), in my prime location of my bathroom! It has two windows, one south and one east...it's perrrrfect!

What AM I going to do with you?

This is Tanners idea of using a dab of glue to paste a few tiny Halloween shapes on some paper. The sad part is I was in the room the entire time. He's soooo fast! He actually never stops making me laugh.

Isn't it a true work of art!?

Happy Birthday Jaren!

My Jaren just turned 5! To tell the truth though, he's acted 5 since he was 3...no joke. The day he was born I knew he had a heart of gold. He has always been an observer, he watches, soaks in everything and then remembers for eternity, it's pretty amazing. When he was a baby he was so aware of the spirit in our home, if there was any kind of contention, he would cry and cry. He's so sensitive to other peoples feelings, he's always taking care of me and Madeline. Almost daily, he'll tell Madeline he'll buy her this or that...it's hilarious. Mostly because he's promising to buy her things like cars.:) And he's always been so wise. I feel so blessed to have him in my care! Love you Jay Bay!
Here are a few pics from his party.



So this cake was made by my fab friend Emily. How brill is she?? She just out the blue offered to make his cake for him. It was such a big help, plus I'm very not domestic in the cake making area. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Kix...Kid Tested

Mother not approved. WHY does Tanner feel the constant need to dump out boxes of cereal and then walk all over it until it is dust? At least once a day....so I sweep and sweep some more. And now his new accomplice Taelyn is now learning just how to drop food on the floor and then stomp on it. How pleasant. So here is my brand new box of Kix, on the floor. Goodbye cereal...I'll miss you, I really wanted to eat you.

My new BFF

Jasper just got me this new toy...now I can be or-gan-ized. This iphone is amazing. I can't get enough of how cool it is. OK...that's all.

101

This is post 101! I can't believe I've done that many! Anyway...did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? I'm secretly a health freak, and I love love learning about food...well anything related to health really. So this was so fascinating! It was about Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook. She uses vegetable purees in everything- literally- everything she makes. So she's not fighting with her kids everyday about eating their vegetables. For example, kids love Mac n Chz, so instead of using the cheese crap, she purees butternut squash, it looks just the same! Kids don't even notice, and they love it. How brill is she!? So...I'm sure all stores are out of them, but there's always Amazon. :)

Family family family

Conference weekend...it was so good! Wasn't it sooo good (all those of you who listened :) ) It was just what I needed. I decided it was high time for some actual family photos- they're just so stressful!! But it was so fun! We let the kids decide where they wanted our pictures, they chose our bed. So...that's what we did. Then went into the backyard. It was so nice and relaxed just staying home for the pictures. Well, it was nice staying home all weekend, plus 4 of my sisters were here, as well as my parents. It was fab to see everyone! Anyway...XOXOXO to everyone.
And- for those of you who watched conference, what was your "personal message"? I'd love hearing what really struck you. Share...PLEASE!

Blessed

Just the other night I was able to photograph a day old baby who had just passed away. It was such a sweet experience. It was really difficult at first seeing her little body so lifeless, but she was so beautiful and just precious. It was the parents first child and had no idea there were going to be complications. The spirit I felt while I did that session was so calming. I feel so blessed to have taken part in such an experience. I'm a member of an organization that does infant bereavement photos for free. If you know of anyone going through such a tragedy- it's a wonderful service- I can get you or a friend more information. It made me realize more and more how delicate life is. We must appreciate it now while we have it so freely....we just never know what tomorrow holds for us.

Denver

These are 2 of my best friends in Denver. We moved from Colorado about 4 years ago, and I finally was able to go back. I went to do a bunch of photo shoots. It was a quick trip- just a weekend, but it was SO good to see everyone! The first little girl and her family just below lived right across the street from us. We became really close, I love Mary's parenting style and insights. Her advice is always welcome. They have adopted 3 children, the youngest Marliese was born right after Jaren so Michele and I (the bottom pic) were able to pump and provide milk for a good 6 months. So I feel connected to her. I was a milk machine at the time, not only was I nursing my 2 kids, I pumped a good 16-24 oz for baby Marliese everyday. How did I do that???
Michele and I clicked from the first time I met her. Isn't it strange how you do that with really special people in your life? That's happened to me only a handful of times, and she's definitely one of them. We talked everyday at 10am....we always had fun together...I miss these 2. But we decided we'd have to do it every year, no more 4 years in between visits!!
xoxoxo