Growing Boys...

For both boys, I've done portraits at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months... after that it's a yearly thing... here is Josiah at 9 months and Jared at almost 3 years.

Family Fun Night

A local gymnastics club hosts a family fun night once a month and we try to take the boys whenever we can... here they are at the recent one.

T-Ball

Although Jared is only 2 (although he will be 3 in July), I thought it would be a neat experience to let him play t-ball in the YMCA league this summer. The league is for kids between 3 and 5 but they made an exception and let Jared play. It's really casual, so I figured it would be fine even though it's probably a little early for organized sports!

Even though his attention span isn't really long enough for a full game, he ended up having a great time. Here are a few pics of his first game.

Go Pirates! :)


"Dad, can you help me get my glove on?"

"Daddy, practice with me before the big game!"

A little pre-game pep talk!

"Okay-- I think I am ready now..."

"Mom, wish me luck! I am up at bat!"

"Wait.... NOW I am ready! GO PIRATES!"

"Okay, Dad! I know what to do now! Let me hit the ball! "

"Okay, Dad-- I am running as fast as I can! First base, here I come"

"Whew, I am tired! Can I get some Gatorade?"

"I am beat now! Can we go home?"

Father and Son

Jared LOVES matching Daddy!

Sleeping Boys

By the time I wake up every morning, I have 2 additional little beings in the bed with me... a few days ago I left the bed to go to the bathroom. When I left Josiah (almost 8 months old now) was between me and Dalvin and Jared (2 3/4 years old) was asleep at the foot of the bed. When I came back, Jared had squeezed into the small space between Josiah and Dalvin and this is what I came back to... so adorable! Josiah loves his big brother and doesn't mind being used as a cuddle pillow. :)

Jared Singing his ABCs

Here is Jared singing his ABCs- he has been saying them for awhile but I finally managed to video him singing! :)

The Boys

We had Josiah's 6 month portraits on Friday, and this was my favorite shot! :) The rest of the pictures are on slideshow at the top right of the blog.



To see bigger versions of all the pics in the slideshow, go here.

The Land

After the Easter egg hunt, we all went for a walk on the land...





The first stop is almost always the pond, brimming with fish that the kids LOVE to feed! Papa built this deck, too.



As we ventured along the perimeter of the land, Jared kept stopping to explore...

Papa and Micah takin' a break...

I just love this picture of Jared!

Another one of Jareds pit stops; all he wanted to do was draw pictures! Yes, that is everyone else off in the distance!

Jared walking back to the swings trailing another stick... he was quite the loner for the walk...


Papa always takes the kids to see the chickens....

and the puppies...
And back to the swings! Here is Sarah, pretty as a picture...

and Hannah Banana...


And Micah!

Jared finished up the day once again... drawing in the dirt!

All in all, it was a wonderful Easter day!

The Easter Egg Hunt is On!

Sarah and I hid the eggs for the kids to find...

As you can see, Sarah didn't make it TOO hard for the boys to find the eggs... I think there are 6 eggs under this ONE tree! :)

Jared found one of the plastic eggs w/ a toy car inside and has stopped to examine it more closely! Micah is not far behind...

Sarah occasionally gave Jared a helpful hint!

And even after one of these "hints" he was gleeful! "I found one, Mommy!"

Finally Jared stopped to examine his hard won treasures!

Yay, they are here!

Finally, JR, Laurel, Sarah, Micah and Hannah arrived!

Sarah (who is now 10) has always been good with the kids. Josiah is certainly enamored of her!


Micah had a great time riding Jared's new tricycle!

Here is Jared putting on his shoes for the big Easter Egg hunt!


Laurel and her lovely kids-- Micah, Hannah and Sarah...

Waiting for the Cousins to Arrive!

Here is Josiah hanging out with his Papa-- one of his favorite things to do! He has fallen asleep many times in that very spot!

We decided to go outside and play until JRs family arrived. You can't really see it but Jared is playing with a bubble wand...

Meanwhile, Papa is playing with Josiah on the swings (that he built for the kids)! Halmonee is inside making Easter dinner.

Whew, did Papa push you too hard, Josiah?

Ahh, thats better.. :)

Jared loves to play in the back of Papas truck! Micahs not here yet, but he will join him soon!

A Sunny Easter Afternoon

On the afternoon of Easter, we went to Halmonee and Papa's house... but while we waited for Dad to load up the car, I took some pictures of the boys in the yard. As you can see, Josiah is sitting up now... he is SUCH a big boy! In fact, he was the only one sitting still long enough for me to get a few photos. Jared was zooming around the yard in anticipation of the long awaited Easter egg hunt with his cousins.

Finally, I got Jared to sit down with Josiah for a SECOND before he zoomed off again! :)



More pictures of the afternoon at Halmonee and Papas to come...