Capturing Our 1 Year Old

My photography skills are a work in progress, as is my ability to use Photoshop to its full potential.  Ezekiel's photos were taken over a few attempts and the end result we captured a handful of our sweet little boy.  Although he didn't want to share his smile in all of them, he certainty was willing to gave into the camera with his big round eyes and long envious lashes.  Those eyes can tell a story.  He's a deep thinker and is always absorbing what his big brother is doing, soon enough he'll be chasing that big brother around the house.  Here's a taste of Zeke's one year photos.

There's those beautiful eyes!

Tinkering in the Garden

We don't have green thumbs, but we have a little fun with gardening.  Sam and I get really excited when we see something actually growing.  When our first sprouts popped above the ground this past spring, we danced for joy.  Then our potatoes took off and Sam was thrilled to be able to dig up each treasured potato.  Now we have lots of carrots left to harvest, some onions, garlic, basil (which Sam loves to smell), and maybe we'll get a few more tomatoes to turn red.  This is a bit of what we've harvested thus far. 

Notice his garden gloves.  He LOVES these...they are not just garden gloves....they are work gloves too.  Anytime he's out helping Hans on one of the cars or in the yard he has to have these on...just-like-dad.

Nana.....and then Papa

Sam was counting down to September 1st all summer and kept asking "when is Nana coming?"  Now he wants to know when she is coming back.  We had lots of pajama days and visits to the park while she was here.  The boys very much enjoyed the extra attention and spoiling, and, I, the extra hands.  As always, we had to (this actually consists of my mom doing much of the labor and then I join in the easy parts) tackle a few sewing projects.  Papa came for the last week that Nana was here and they both were able to help us celebrate Z's 1st birthday.  We were very busy while both Nana and Papa were here.  During that time we toured around post, visited Mt. Rainier, took a boat out on the sound, and ate at some local places.  It was lots of fun.  Hans and I even were able to get away for an over night camping trip and visited a part of WA we had yet to see.  The boys were super spoiled, of course!

Is it a school day?

This morning I woke to Sam "whispering" loudly through my door "MOM, MOM, GET UP! Is it a school day?"  I must add that he had woke early and that usually my children do not have to wake me up in the morning.  To his disappointment, it was not a school day and he needed to go back to bed until it was time to get up. He is very much enjoying preschool and I love hearing about what he did at school each day.  Here he is on his first day of preschool this year and, yes, Lenny and Bunny made the picture.  I will miss the day he does not want to drag his two lovies with him and I think I will be just fine if he decides to stand holding them on his first day of his senior year of high school. 

What a Difference a Year Makes

It's amazing how much changes from the time a baby is born until their first birthday.  Just 12 short months and so much changes.  My perfectionist side is kicking myself because I forgot the sign in Zeke's 2 month shot!  Zeke's favorite word by far is "Baby" and all stuffed animals are "babies".  His best bud (besides his big brother) is his lovie "Pix" who is in all his monthly shots with him. Below is a sneak peak of Zeke's one year photos (more to come soon)....I think it captures the love Zeke has for his lovie.  If you ever see us out of the house you will usually find me with Sam and Zeke and 3 lovies in tow (Sam has 2 that are equally loved...the famous Lenny and Bunny and Zeke's Pix) hanging out of the diaper bag or dragging along behind a little boy :)

Our 1 Year Old

We were very busy around Zeke's birthday.  We had visitors at our house and Sam started back to preschool.  However, we did NOT forget to celebrate this special little boy's day.  September 17th was a big day at our house.  In one day we went from having a baby to having a toddler.  Zeke is getting a little more brave each day with standing on his own, however he is still quite content with crawling and scooting around things.  He was not so sure about his birthday cupcake, however after a few licks he discovered that the whipped cream frosting was very yummy.  You can see in the pictures how timid he was at first, then dug in a little more, and then decided he'd had enough and was ready to move on to bigger and better things.  Nana and Papa were visiting and helped us celebrate Z's day.  This day was hard for me to accept because this first year of his life went by so fast.  It was bittersweet.  We adore our Zekaroo and love watching him discover new things each day.  Happy 1st Birthday Ezekiel!

Sam couldn't wait to help Zeke unwrap the present he picked out for his little brother...A steering wheel so they each can have their own in the car

His favorite gift by far was all the tissue paper!