Picture Day!

Really... all days are picture day at our house. I probably have pictures of our kids almost every single day of their lives. I know most parents probably don't take pictures of their kids dressed up for picture day at school... but I tend to document everything with pictures... and Carter just looked so cute in his sweater vest this morning (Dan's not going to be happy about the vest! :)).

And I can't leave out this little girl. We get so many comments on those legs!! She's not been sleeping so great during the day... but last night she went from 7:00pm to 6:15am (with just a little visit from daddy at 11:30pm to re-swaddle)!!! Too bad her big brother woke us up at around 5am this morning... otherwise it probably would have been the best night's sleep I've had in almost a year!

Still can't believe he's a freshman...

That means senior year for Ty're is right around the corner! I'm serious! The high school years go by way too fast. Our first group of graduates are in their 2nd year of college this year! Two of those graduates moved into Joe's Place when they were sophomores!!

Anyway... all three of our boys got to go shopping with a group last night that does a TON for Joe's Place. They have done this "back to school" shopping trip since we first started. First they go to a shoe store where they each pick out a pair of shoes... and then from there they head to the mall where the guys can shop in any store they want. It's pretty awesome! The looks on their faces are always priceless. One of our boys came home and said..."Wow! I've never gotten to do something like that before!" Since I didn't get to go this year... the guys spent about an hour after dinner showing me the different outfits they got. I have to say it makes me feel pretty darn good when a high schooler asks my opinion about how something looks! Here is Ty sporting one of his new outfits before school this morning... he is getting so tall!

Dan said he's seen this look one too many times in his life...

It's funny when you don't even know the faces you make. We weren't exactly agreeing on where to take a quick family portrait. Too bad I wasn't smiling. It could have been a nice picture. :)

Here's what we ended up with. Not bad for the end of a long morning/afternoon. Poor Claire was so tired and hungry. Thank goodness for that paci!

All you need is a little custard...

Everyone was in a bit of a mood this week... I'm guessing it had a little something to do with us being out of town last week. It's amazing how a change in the routine can throw everyone off (a toddler and teenagers). We thought frozen custard might help get everyone back into the swing of things... and it totally did!! Doing these little "family" things can really make all the difference in the world! Dan grabbed his camera as they were running out the door Wednesday night to make it to our favorite custard shop before it closed. Was great to finally see some smiles again!

Pretty in pink at 5 months...

Really... it just feels like yesterday that she was born.

Carter's little bit of calm...

I was telling my mother in law last week about the first time I saw Dan. It was my first day of college... and like his 5th year or something... or maybe 4th. :) I was explaining that I never thought he would give me the time of day. He just seemed so cool and laid back. Thankfully Dan did end up giving the time of day... and he tells me that he still remembers what I was wearing that day! Anyway... these photos of Carter remind me so much of that side of Dan. He posed himself in these shots! I love it. I just wish he was this cool and laid back the first 8 hours of our day today! :)

We went to Chicago and only took 2 pictures...

...pretty sad. Although we technically weren't in Chicago... which I am still super bummed about. We didn't even get to see the skyline. Last Wednesday we left town at 4:30pm to drive 6 and half hours to a city about 40 minutes north of Chicago for a photography conference that was all day Thursday. It took an amazing amount of work to get ready to go... but we are so glad we did. Although... it did remind us why we don't ever take trips during the school week. Dan's mom (Paula) flew in from Seattle to cover for us. We would not have made it through last week without her! Not only was a new tenant moving into our rental property that Wednesday... we also had a donor tour of our home, Joe's Place, on Tuesday. So we were scrambling to get both of our houses into tip top shape before we left. Add that to making sure we had extra respite care on hand for Paula, meals for the boys and everyone's schedules sorted out... we weren't sure we were ever going to get out of town. But we are still SO glad we went. The main reason we went was to hear Jasmine Star. She was the final speaker on Thursday and really made the entire experience so amazing (we didn't get to meet Jasmine... but did get to meet her very cool and down to earth husband). We ended up having to take Claire with us... so we had to trade off listening to sessions and sitting out in the lobby with her... don't know if I already mentioned this... but still totally worth the trip! We left feeling recharged and excited about our growing business. And of course... my only two photos are of our sweet Claire hanging out in our room...

The "Up/Down" Bed...

That's what Carter calls his loft bed. I mean it makes perfect sense... you go up and then you come down. This bed has been a lifesaver for many reasons... the main being the fact that our kids can still share a small room and have a good amount of space. The one thing I wasn't expecting when we put Claire in with Carter at 7 weeks old... was the attachment he would start to have toward her. Makes me want to cry just writing about it. He cannot stand going to bed without her in there with him. He loves being up so high and getting to look down at her. I don't have a picture of both of them in their beds... but I do have this from a few nights ago. Carter was already tucked in while Claire was hanging out in one of the bean bag chairs while I finished something up.

Waiting out the storm...

We have lived in STL for 7 1/2 years... and I am still amazed by the summer storms that pass through this city. Incredible! Last night was one of the most intense I have seen since we moved here. It could have been the fact that I was out driving in it... but the lightning was really something else! It was like a spider web of light filling up the entire sky! Carter usually does ok with the storms... but the thunder was a little too much for him last night. This is where he was when I walked in the door around 9:45 last night...

Poor guy just didn't want to be alone. Thankfully he had Daddy and Kaylon close by...

The only problem with Carter falling asleep somewhere other than his bed... is trying to actually get his completely limp, sleeping body back in the bed!

The hair...

I love hair! I love to brush hair, put bows in hair, braid hair. I always have. I used to beg my little sister to let me braid her hair when we were younger. I always ask my nieces to let me do something to their hair when we are with them. Dan even let me braid his hair once... and I've put stuff in Carter's hair from time to time (there are pictures at the bottom of this Thanksgiving post). Maybe I should have been a hairdresser! :) Anyway... when we found out we were having a girl... I was excited for so many reasons... one of the first being the hair! Claire finally has just enough hair to put little bows in. I'm probably going to drive her crazy at some point. But will you just look at this picture!? I saw this flower linked on a blog I follow... and I just couldn't resist!! Is that not the cutest thing?!!