My Boys

I was playing around with the camera while prepping to do some photos for a friend.  I LOVE this camera, but I don't even know or understand most of what it is capable of....yet.  To me photos are the best way to capture your memories.  I have always taken lots and lots of pictures and had a really nice camera in the past that used film, but once digital took off I quit using it.  Hans convinced me last fall it was time to get that camera that I had been keeping my eye on for years.  I am so glad we did.  It's a learning process and I hope to get better a little bit at a time.  I have some really great people who are helping me along the way, too.  Here are a few photos that I think caught the spirit of the boys, if anything it caught their cuteness.

One Word...CrAwLiNg

That's right folks, Zeke is on the move.  He is also now officially 11 months.  This last month better go slow because I am NOT ready for the big 1 yet.  The last 11 months have gone by so fast and it has been amazing to watch this baby boy grow.  The other day I went to get him up from his nap and found him sitting up in his crib...another new thing this month.  He's moving and trying to get into everything.  His curiosity keeps him occupied but not always out of mischief.  Zeke loves to get his little hand waving and is quite the chatter box, he can now say "baby" and he's working hard on "papa".  He also loves to share his "tricks", a.k.a. various funny noises he can create with his mouth.  If you don't respond fast enough to what he wants you will hear lots of grunts, we are working on some sign language so he can better tell us what he needs.  Blueberries are a favorite snack for him.  The other big change for us is that Zeke has moved into a big boy carseat...he's enjoying the extra room to stretch out.  Sam and Zeke get a kick out of playing bumper cars...Sam in his coupe car and Zeke in his walker (shoes are a must during this time as they will not hesitate to run over your feet).  Ezekiel is a snuggle bug who makes us smile every day.

How can you resist that adorable face?

He's grown so much....the left is when he was just a few weeks old, the right at 10 1/2 months.

The first time he crawled....he was so excited to reach his destinations and get that long for toy.  Hans wasn't there the first time but the Sam and I made sure we cheered extra loud. 

11 months!

SuMmEr

Before our summery weather is all gone in the Pacific Northwest, I must say a little something.  I think that the 10 weeks of almost all sun ALMOST makes up for the long months of rain most of the fall, all winter, and part of the spring.  The key word there was ALMOST.   If anything it makes the rain bearable, knowing that eventually the sun WILL shine.  We have enjoyed lots of time outside at the park, eating dinner on our deck, taking walks, riding bikes, tinkering in the garden, and enjoying the landscape of this beautiful state.  Fingers crossed, the sun will stay out for another month or so before we all start to hibernate a little.  Sam told me yesterday that "it's ok if it rains.  We can still go to the park, we'll just wear our rain boots".  That's right, we still find a way to get out and have fun even if the weather doesn't agree.  We did hit the 90's here recently, and only one of those nights did I find it actually uncomfortable in the house.  To Sam's amusement we had a movie night and camp out in the living room. 

Our frequent mode of transportation...this day they both had their lovies tag along.

This boy is growing way too fast for me.  We keep telling him he can't grow anymore and he tells us "I have to so I can be as big as you"...I don't want to think about him getting that big.

Z's first feel of the sand.  He really liked it until he tried to eat it.

If there is one thing that can make this kid speechless (not much can) it might be an ice cream cone.

From a Toe Touch to a Bob

That is from dipping his toes in the water on the first day (only by intense bribe and stern talking on his parents' part), to finishing swimming lessons doing a bob in the water willingly.  Sam still has a ways to go to master the skill of swimming, however I will call his session of completed swimming lessons as a success because he now is enjoying getting in the water and will even swim around solo with his life jacket on.  It has even lead to requests to go swimming in our back yard (yes it has been warm enough in WA on a few occasions to pull it out).  We decided we'll have to make more outings to a pool to keep up that enjoyment of the water in both boys.

On his last day of lessons we got a smile while standing on the water platform....much better than the teary-eye look from the first two days.

Yummy Berries

We have now been berry picking a total of 4 times this summer.  Our boys attack any type of berry and gobble them up.  These photos are from our first outing at a local strawberry farm not far from our house.  Since then I have taken both boys to a blueberry farm and since then Sam and I have returned two more times.  Last week Sam and I went and picked almost 5 pounds of fresh blueberries.  The result of this hard work is homemade blueberry jam and lots of frozen blueberries for later.  Sam's favorite part, by far, was sitting on the tractors at the blueberry farm.  I didn't have my camera, only my phone, to take some photos, so those are missing.  To get the picture, just imagine a 3 1/2 year old sitting a top a large yellow John Deere backhoe tractor...grinning ear to ear and having the time of his life.

The Iowa Ladies

The long over-due update of our summer happenings thus far.  We counted down to this day for months, the arrival of the three aunts from Iowa (my sisters) and one of their friends (whom Sam really admires).  They were with us for two weeks and on the days Hans was off work we packed in what fun we could.  On the other days we tried to relax, enjoy the nice company, play at the park, catch some rays, and eat lots of sweets :)  They flew in on Kelsey's birthday and the ladies wanted to celebrate by going shopping.  One of the days we road tripped down to Oregon and spent the day in Seaside on the shore.  This was also Jill's first glimpse of the ocean.  Another sunny day was spent hiking in North Bend up to rattlesnake ledge (the same hike I did last summer at nearly 9 months pregnant).  Hans entertained by taking them practice shooting and also to go horseback riding.  While they were here our good friend, Lacy, took Britt's senior photos (see www.lacyjohnsonphotography.blogspot.com ).  Of course, almost a whole day was dedicated to shopping at the big mall, most of those hours were spent trying on many styles in Forever 21....these ladies LOVE this store!  Thanks for visiting Kelsey, Britt, Maks, and Jill....we missed you right after you left.  We had a  lot of fun and I very much appreciated the extra hands and laughs you shared.

The "besties" enjoying the waves

Our cookie bake-off....Kelsey and Britt's PB Chocolate Chip won hands-down!

What a difference a year makes...Sam's a foot taller and I think I'm a foot thinner :)

We all made it to the top...motivated by a handful of jelly beans to enjoy at the top.

This is all Hans' doing....they all had fun acting tough.

Our homemade tye-dye shirts....I think it may be Sam's new favorite shirt.

We took time to take some photos of us four sisters...I think this one is my favorite.