Dashing

He can look at me
And I can look at him,
And without saying a word
We know what the other is thinking.
It’s always been like that.
I love it.
And I love him!

This boy is special.
I love him no more than my other babies...
But there is something about him that is so beautiful.
I can feel it radiating from him.
I think everyone can.
My theory is that his spirit is the reason being pregnant with him was so magical.
I felt so physically empty after he was born that I could hardly stand it.

He is my little gentleman;
always opening the door for Mama and taking such good care of me.

Dashing. He is.
How could anyone resist?






















All chimneys are "smokestacks"
He notices them everywhere we go, with the chilly weather, and it's, "Look at all the smoke swirling out of that smokestack, Mama!" every time we pass one by.

Have I mentioned before how much I love him?

The Name Game...

Those of you who know me well know that I have a thing for names. I will probably be discovering names I love for the rest of my life. So, it's no surprise that I had a list a mile long before we even found out about our June-Bug. Thought I'd share as it will be fun to look at years down the road while laughing and asking June-Bug, "Can you imagine? You were almost a _____!"

Some of these I adore,
some; not so much.
In no particular order,

Boys:

Adriel: of God's flock
Ezra: helper
Ellis: my God is Jehovah
Audin: old friend
Ainsley: place name

Girls:

Adah: lovely addition
Adair: ornament
Ethne: little fire
Elodie: white blossom
Eleanor: shining light

Looks like it'll either be "A" or "E" (Daddy, of coarse, has a say too.) In all honesty, this baby will probably not be named until we see it. I have a couple favorites but nothing that really pulls me...maybe I'm having more than 1? (:
Let me know what you like, and what you hate! I know what I love and I'm not easily swayed, but I love to hear everyone's thoughts...

Totally Pooped...

Well, I spent most of my weekend at Sandy Beach,
either having pics taken of me or taking photos of others.
You guys totally wore me out. I am toast today!
But it was worth it!

I ended up with Holly for our last Christmas drawing with Grandma-Great, almost 2 years ago now, and gave her some picture frames and a "gift certificate" for family photos...Well, now their house is finally finished and she decided to take me up on my offer.

This photoshoot was easy-peasy.
I can't wait till my babies get a little older and a little more cooperative...
Holly has great taste and everyone looked wonderful and the weather was gorgeous!

All in all I think we were there for 20 minutes and we captured just what she wanted (whew!)
Maybe I shouldn't, but I just can't help myself and had to share!

I love this little family so much! God knew what he was doing when he knit them together.
To see them so happy makes my heart sing!

Please excuse the yucky quality of this one.

I had to share 'cause I love it, anyway.

What was Camden doing...?

Well, he was doing what any good photographer does...
getting a shot of the action!

It was so cute. As soon as he saw me grab my camera he raced upstairs and retrieved his new camera from on top the bookshelves in his room. Then he raced back down and had a hayday. He was telling Jude and Gwyneth how to pose, not to jump, to keep their socks on, that he needed a couple more pictures, and all the other things I've ever told them during a photoshoot. He sounded just like me and it made me giggle to watch him. He was so giddy with excitement. I'm not sure I'll ever get him in front of the camera again!

I took my first visit to the Dr. today.

You know.
The one where you take a pregnancy test,
they tell you you're pregnant,
and then charge you $30 for it.

That's it.

Then you get to go in a week later to see a Physician's Assistant and get your bloodwork done.

Then you get to go in a week or two after that and see the Dr. for your first exam.

Does anyone else feel the way I do about this?

I find it very irritating to have to go in so often, when it would be easy for them to roll all these into one appointment. It just seems very unnecessary...coupled with the fact that I'm lookin at going in 1-2 times a week for the entire second half of my pregnancy (for progesterone shots) and have no choice but to finish it off with a c-section, because insurance won't cover a vbac. Don't get me wrong. I would gladly do anything for the welfare of my baby. I just don't feel all of this is necessary and I feel I'm left with no other options....it's frustrating.

Sock Monkeys

I had started in folding my Mt. Everest size pile of laundry on the bed the other day when Jude and Gwyneth decided to help. They soon discovered a fun new game to play together. Usually Gwyn stomps around the house with a sock hanging out of her mouth while screaming like an "elephant." This time they decided to make themselves gloves out of Daddy's socks.

And quickly moved on to bouncing on the bed, effectively smashing my neatly folded piles to smithereens.

Pony Rides

See my pony

Jet black pony

I ride him each day

When I give him oats to eat

Trooting, trotting go his feet

See my pony

Jet black pony

I ride him each day

A song that my mother sang to us when we were little. My kids love it when I sing it to them. Funny that they call it the "Horsie" song when it never says anything but "pony." They get the connection. Yet, yesterday when we asked the kids if they wanted a pony ride they all shrank back and declared, "NO!" It wasn't until later that we thought to say "horsy" ride, to which they all responded, "YES!" Still, no one was actually brave enough to attempt it once we finally made it through the line. No one, except Preston. Who woulda thunk it? I think he surprised us all. And he inspired all the other little ones. We got to hear for the rest of the day how badly they needed a pony ride. Thank goodness the last place we stopped had them! We made it just in time. The ponies were hungry and tired and they were about to quit for the night. Gwyneth's pony was none too happy and was quite feisty. Perfectly matched to Gwyn, I say. They would have done this all night, they loved it so much!

Pumpkin Patch...

We don't do jack-o-lanterns.
I think they're creepy, ugly and messy. (:
So we told the kids they could each choose a little pumpkin all their own to take home and set on the doorstep.

We got a tractor-drawn hay ride out to the pumkin field.
I think that was the boys' favorite part.
Gwyneth was so concerned they were going to leave us there.
She kept a close watch on the tractor as it came and went with more groups.
Every time she saw it she would try to run up to it before it left again, thinking it wasn't coming back.

How many times did I tell the boys to stop kicking the poor pumkins?

And how many times did I tell them not to stomp in the dirt?

Many.

Jude. Always so much energy...

Gwyneth.

Faithfully trudging along on the quest for the perfect pumpkin...

Jude found one he likes!

Looks like Daddy is planning an ambush.

Love this one of Daddy and his boys.

Do you see how green these pumkins were?

Well, this is the shady side.

And this is the sunny side.

Quite the difference.

The prized pumpkins...

We'll pick another field next year. For sure.

This place was a little off.

No one working there seemed quite right in the head.

Very eerie, it was.