My Day Begins When Your Life Ends

The title has absolutely NOTHING to do with the post.  It just happens to be on one of my most favorite {pink} forensics T-shirts from Los Angeles.  Instead, this is just the typical "cute kids in fall colors and overalls" post.  So if you are all "cuted" out, then feel free to close your browser.  You won't offend me.  And I have pumpkin/kid photos to put up soon, so be sure to skip over that one as well if cuteness makes you ill.   And then you can walk into an empty well since you clearly have no soul, and then the title WOULD be appropriate...  I kid, I kid.

Hurricane Sandy coming into town... Hurricane Dakota is always here, but we are actively working on that.

 This little helper reminds me to clean and mop quite often.  Accountability goes a long way.  And she even volunteers for the grubby jobs like cleaning behind the toilet.  Fine by me.

Dakota has adopted this nursing stool as his own personal reading chair.  He has (finally) become a walker, and this was an earlier attempt...

 1. Drop the book and dismount from the stool.

 2. Straighten that back and throw the legs forward.

 3. Take 3 small steps and then come in for a landing.

4. Make a pouty face for the "earlier than expected" arrival of tushy meeting the floor. Clearly he had higher expectations for this little jaunt.

Summer means Birthdays

Where has the summer gone?  No idea.  How has it gone?  Beautifully.

 This little mischievous boy, Dakota, is pretty quick with his hands, especially when I am changing his diaper.  He had fun with the powder on this occasion!

 If I had a dollar for every time that neck has been kissed...

 Look at the love in these eyes.  Quinn took this photo of Cora (his favorite subject) with my Nikon D200.  She is happy to oblige, and loves him so much.

 Sometimes Love can get a little Squeezy, and can even temporarily cut off your air supply.

 Cora posed this way on her own, and she did her hair as well.  She felt very pretty in this moment.

I have been known to laugh this hard on MANY occasions with shoes on the wrong feet.  So funny.

Wow, my son Quinn has just turned 5.  And what an affectionate friend he has become.  We officially start kindergarten/1st grade next month!  So excited.

Sort of like having my dad around when my Uncle is around

Nothing beats getting a call on a Monday night from a special Uncle, saying he is in your state and would like to visit the next night!  

This Uncle has invested so much of his time, love, and godly wisdom into my life. He is 11 years younger than my dad, but it is like looking at and hearing my dad whenever I am with him.  Well, a version of my dad that uses the internet. ;)  We have never lived in the same state, but have managed to build a wonderful, close relationship thanks to the countless visits over the years, mostly my family traveling to Mississippi.  

Uncle Artis, Aunt Karen, and their two sons have faithfully visited me in Tennessee when I was foolishly and briefly playing collegiate basketball.  He also ventured to DC in the dead of winter, when I was getting my Masters at GWU.  And he brought my sister with them.  He could have spent that time and money on other trips, but he chose to spend that time with me and it meant so much, especially when I didn't have a lot of family in the area.  

It had been 3 years since I had seen him, but we do keep in contact via phone and email.  I was so glad that he could meet Cora and Dakota for the first time.    We had takeout (had to expose him to Wing Stop) and chatted for a few hours, and then he was gone.

 Reading Curious George with their Great Uncle.

3 special men! 

Dakota thinks he's super great too!

See the giddiness and admiration in my face for this guy?  I was sad to see him go! 

Love you, Uncle Artis, and I look forward to our next visit!

Cora, this is ballet

Cora went to her first dance class today with her little friend Erica.  She had the most wonderful time and never stopped smiling!  I am a bit concerned with this photo as it reminds me of myself in school, always enjoying the full attention of the entire class and teacher!  haha. We love her so much, and enjoy watching her grow and learn about new things.

surrounded by cute faces

Babies are like little love-sponges and so kissable, as you can see.

Israel took photos of the children at Butler's Orchard. Then they got to run around!

This is the annual hot cocoa series!

Eyes always on her big brother.

She was loving her yummy mug.

Quinn is an old pro.

All done!

3 Peas in a Pod

There has been so much personality coming from my children these days.  Dakota got to try food for the first time today.  He literally thought it was hilarious.  We could almost read his mind, and he was wondering why he was sitting in his Bumbo seat (as he had only been in it one other time) and why dad was watching mom stick gooey warm stuff in his mouth.  He got a real kick out of it.  

My children love snuggling with each other, so I will let these photos speak for themselves.  I think Dakota knows he is a loved little boy.

Quinn and Cora wanted to do silly faces, so I let them.  This is what they came up with.

I love Dakota in this old shirt of Quinn's. Quite the handsome boy!  It is hard to believe that he is almost 5 months old!  It is such a clique, but so true.  Children grow up TOO quickly.

My life is going at warp speed these days

I sheepishly ask, "Has it really been 2 months since I posted on my blog?"  Well, you can be rest assured that the less I post on the blog means the more full our lives have become.  Three children under five need quite a bit of tender loving care, and I am happy to give it!

Dakota is a plump 4 month old now, and already busting out of 6 month clothes.  Preemie?  Yeah, right.  He is very low-key, and patient with his busy mom.  He loves to smile and giggle at his family members, and is just a good companion to have around.

Cora has become quite a fun little friend.  She is very lively and outgoing.  She will climb anything she can, and loves playing with Quinn and kissing Dakota's cheeks.  Her style of play has really developed.  She loves pretending and reading books out loud to her brothers.  Cora told me yesterday that she is going to be a mommy and have 5 children.  An hour later, she said she was going to have 2 children.  So the standard deviation is +/- 3 children.

Quinn, what a character.  He is very silly and so smart that it is a bit scary.  He is reading so well now and is currently working on words with double L's like "windmill" and "hilltop".  Cora knows her letters and sounds and will now start sounding out words for the first time.  I decided to teach them the alphabet in sign language and they have really been enjoying that.  Our school lessons in the morning are such a nice time, as we all sit on the couch together and get to learn new things.  We work on learning Scripture, reading the Bible- learning about King David currently, and then each child gets 1-on-1 time with Mom with reading and sometimes writing.  I think this structure really helps the children with the rest of their day and they seem to really enjoy it.

Dakota is home!

The kids were playing outside on Saturday in the sunshine. Dakota was even catching some rays. The kids were listening to the soundtrack from Rango. It is really fun music!

Obey

family visit this Christmas!

It was so nice seeing Grandpa Ford (my wonderful dad) and the grandchildren together! It was certainly a special Christmas time.

Aunt Courtney (my big sister) came too! I hadn't seen her in a long time, so it was such a nice reunion. We are one in the same in so many ways. Sisters are such blessings!

Cora bent down and hugged Grandpa, which was sweet to capture on camera.