lauren's wearing mommy's dress

my mom told me that this was my dress as a little girl. it was handmade by a family friend pat dilling. i hope that my mom has pictures of me in it. i think it would be neat to see me wearing it side by side with one of these photos. i should probably send copies of these pictures to mrs. pat. i bet she would be delighted to see that the dress is still loved and being worn. i wish i knew how to make more handmade things (besides my scrapbook pages). maybe one day i'll take up quilting...as if i needed another hobby!

"read to us daddy"

i love that my kids love to read books. even brandon sits still when it's story time. i think it is so important to start them early. i love that they have a daddy that will let them pile on and will read them a book or two or twenty!

happy 1/2 year birthday brandon!

trying to get brandon's monthly pictures is getting challenging! he is definitely a mover and a shaker. thank goodness he's a happy baby and no matter what position he is in...whether it's the one i put him in or the one he put himself in...he's all smiles!

"it's my 6 month birthday!"

"i'm six months old and i should have a say in how i pose for my monthly pictures!"

i'm a happy boy!

brandon is trying out for america's next top baby!

trying to show mommy that he's the boss!

oh, but he isn't! ha ha. gotta love the bumbo for helping me out!

isn't that onesie too funny? i don't normally buy these, but i just had to! and because i got this one...i had to buy one giving me props! especially since it's so true!!! i really am the best! :)

when i look at this picture, it looks like he's roaring!

i just think this is such a sweet picture. and i didn't even have to pose him for this!

now on to his monthly update:

• brandon is starting to put everything in his mouth. the barbie doll and lego pieces are in danger!

• we saw him roll from his tummy to his back on june 8.

• he still has his slate blue eyes

• had his first slumber party at my mom's house

• is very ticklish on his tummy and under his arms

• is so happy and content

• grabs anything and everything within his reach

• is smitten with his big brother and big sister

• loves to be held, especially by mommy

• sleeping 12-14 hours a night. SWEET!

• loves giving smoochie kisses, especially to his grammy

• weighs ??? and is ??? inches long (i lost the measurement somewhere on this desk!)

• loves going to the church nursery. and the little old ladies that work there just love him and all his easygoing personality!

• wakes up so happy, full of coos and smiles

• is getting harder and harder to change his diaper. he does not want to lay still anymore!

• loves to watch his big brother and sister play

• still takes 2 naps per day, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

• goes to sleep really well. he is a tummy sleeper, so i just lay him on his tummy, he puts his thumb in his mouth and falls fast asleep.

i can't believe how quickly the past 6 months have flown by. it's so hard to believe that a 1/2 a year ago he came into this world a very sick little boy. and now he's thriving and just the most amazing little guy. i am so very thankful that our prayers for a complete healing were answered, and continually thankful for all of our friends who were there for us then and throughout the last six months. it has been such a joy sharing him with those who love us.

happy 1/2 year birthday my sweet little brandon!!!

playdate with dion and new high chair

brandon and mommy were super excited about today's playdate! brandon got to meet his new friend dion and i got to shop at the galleria with kelly! we had fun looking for clothes for the kids. we found some really great deals. i fell in love with practically everything at janie and jack. one of my favorite outfits that brandon got as a gift (from jimmy & melinda) came from there. i got the sweetest little cuddle bunny.

after all that shopping, we went and had lunch at chili's. trying to chat, feed hungry boys and then squirmy boys, and eat our food proved to be quite a challenge...but we worked it out. we had a great time comparing notes and just catching up.

dion and brandon

kelly with the boys

dion, kelly, me, brandon

it's amazing how things work out. a few months ago i would have never thought kelly and i could be in the same room together again. we both had said mean things to each other and it was through lots of prayer and forgiveness that we were both able to put the past aside and be friends again. i'm so very thankful because i had always hoped that we'd get to enjoy motherhood together. and yeah...we can!

i wish we could have stayed and played longer, but i had to get back to the north side of town to pick up the big kids from summer camp. of course...i had to take a few more pictures before we left!

brandon thinks kelly is funny!

brandon and dion had a great 1st playdate

earlier this week we purchased brandon's new high chair. yeah! last night daddy put it together so we tried it out for the first time today. because jared and lauren both suffer from allergies, our pediatric allergist highly recommended holding off first foods until 6 months of age. so now that little man is 6 months old...he is ready. and so is his mommy! lots of new adventures are ahead of us! here are some pictures of the little man in his new graco blossom high chair. this is the sweetest high chair out there. not to mention i love the red and brown combination!

kids say the darndest things...

this was my facebook status message today:

Lindsay ***** has an unruly 4 1/2 year old today. she just informed me that "we need to bring brandon to someone else's house." and then "i'm not a good mommy and that she does not love me every day." and she "IS NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE!!!" i can't stop laughing. all this because i drew the stripes in her rectangle too close together!

this girl is a mess. i talked to my next door neighbor, mr. d, and he said to love her in all her craziness. i guess i should since i expect people to love me in all of mine!

and then tonight i picked chick fil a for the kids after my disco spinning and muscle conditioning classes, and jared picks up a french fry and says "this looks like a gun" with the biggest grin, and i reply back, "that's not funny. and my wittiness has now seemed to rub off on this one because he replies back to me with, "i wasn't laughing!"

these kids are just too much!

and of course in the meantime...sweet brandon is just watching and cooing away at these two goofballs!

father's day 2009

happy father's day to the most amazing father i know! seriously, you are one of the best daddy's i know! thank you james for being the father to our children that i wish i could have had for myself. even though you work long hours, you are still an active participant in our children's lives. i giggle when i hear you talking to the kids on the phone while you are at work. you aren't afraid to give the kids MMMMMMM's on the phone even when you're out in the open space! i REALLY appreciate that you can carry the load when i need to take care of other things. and that i don't have to call and check on you a thousand times to make sure that they are still alive and fed! even though you get on my nerves from time to time, i fall more in love with you the more i see you with our kids. and how they see you with me...with them, is teaching them what they need to be like when they grow up. i pray that lauren marries a man as devoted to her and their children as you are to us. jared put all this into a lot fewer words...YOU ROCK! i love you. happy father's day!

and what would this special day be like without any pictures!?!?!

our happy little family

these three kids adore thir daddy!

daddy's boys

the boy that made him a father first!

daddy's little girl

time for presents!!!

our tie banner colored by jared and lauren

daddy is holding back some tears reading his card

how could you not with a sweet card like this? jared wrote his all on his own. i transcribed what lauren wanted to tell him and she signed it all by herself. and no card is complete without a footprint from brandon!

gotta love this expression!

who knew that this would have made him so happy?!?!? or was it the fact that i didn't go out of control shopping this year??? :)

sleeping in (YEAH!), spending time with the family, shopping for brandon's new high chair, dinner at h.b. steakhouse, fun (and practical) gifts, and the kids going to bed before 7:45 p.m........priceless day! i love you james!!!

monkeying around during the playroom renovation

because we were sequestered upstairs during the playroom renovation.......i figured i could (and should) get to work on sheíla's baby gift. her little boy is due at any time now. i love that she did his nursery in monkeys. i found these adorable outfits at babies r us, and i just had to get them! i found the little handpainted monkey hangers and i just couldn't not buy them! ha ha. and because i know brandon loves his little carter's puppy dog, i went to target and got the matching carter's monkey. i wanted to make sheíla something handmade, so i decided to make the baby burp cloths. i searched high and low for fabric with bananas, but never could find any. actually, i did find some...but the background was sage green and didn't match the outfits. and if you know me at all...burp cloths and paci's, etc. all have to match! at least they do on my kid! anyway, i slaved over my ironing board (inside joke) and then sewed my little heart out. i hope that when sheíla uses them, she is reminded of how special her friendship is to me, and it's my way of being a part of the baby's life even though they are thousands of miles away.

and a snippet of the card i made baby boy. everyone is already wild about him! i can't wait to meet him!!!

congrats chris and sheíla on the upcoming arrival of your sweet baby boy. your family is in my thoughts and prayers during this most exciting time in your lives!

brandon & bowser

look at my baby's bright blue eyes! i just love that he has dark hair and light eyes. everywhere we go people stop and say something about them.

brandon just loves his little puppy dog bowser. i bet when rachel bought this for him, she had no idea how much he'd love it! he holds on to it really tight! i love it when he pulls it up close under his armpit and falls asleep!

brandon is still enjoying sitting in his bumbo seat. i so wish i would have gotten this when lauren was born. i have already gotten my money's worth from it! the only time brandon doesn't enjoy sitting in this seat is when he wants to gnaw on his feet! he can't lean over because the support in the middle, so he gets REALLY mad!

which i of course have to take a picture of because this baby never gets mad.

can you believe he is almost six months and has barely even cried? we are soooo lucky! just one more picture of our happy little boy (since i can't end a blog entry with such a sad picture!).

last baseball game & team party

today was the last baseball game of the pirate's season. i am so incredibly impressed with this team! they tied one game, but won all the rest!!! i had my doubts, but the kids proved me wrong.

here is jared waiting patiently for his turn to bat. showing off his new glove. daddy had to get him a new one because they forgot to bring his other glove home after his last game.

lauren loving on baby brandon. between brandon and a snocone, she actually behaved herself today!

jared and coach joe

coach joe says a little something to each kid before he presents their trophy. he spoke of how far jared has come since he first started playing sports at the y. we have been with coach joe all but one season, so he knows the challenges we face on and off field. four years ago jared was picking dandelions in the field instead of playing the game, now his head is in the game. it's evident by how well he is hitting the ball and fielding. we are so very proud of him too. thank you coach joe for your sweet words. they really did bring tears to my eyes!

jared and coach joe and coach george

and jared showing off his trophy one more time

and yes jared...we KNOW that this makes EIGHT trophies in your collection!

sunday fun!

this morning we woke up to two out of three kids asking to go to church. (the third got on the bandwagon pretty quickly though!) we got everyone fed and dressed, and surprisingly we still had 30 minutes of free time before we had to be leaving. so i asked if everyone would come outside and take a few pictures. i was surprised because they were all game!

james and the kids

the "big" kids

jared and jacob

daddy and brandon

this is one of my new favorites!

brandon and mommy
and yeah for the weight loss...this is the shirt i wore to jared's adoption a few years ago!

after church we walked over to cafe express and had lunch with our friends. we let the "big" kids sit at their own table next to our table. lauren went back and forth. and french fries were used as light sabers, but as a whole...the kids were pretty well behaved.

me and katie

karen and david
(photo courtesy of lauren!)

steve-o, katie, and lauren

(lauren actually looks like she belongs to katie instead of me!)

jennifer and stephen
(thanks jennifer for giving brandon his bottle so i could eat with both hands!)

and last but not least...

james and thing one and thing two!