Family Visits

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Abbie

While I should be working on lesson plans, I decided the wait was long enough and here are the pictures from our weekend a couple of weeks ago to honor and say goodbye to Mark’s grandmother. As previously, there were 13 children and six adults in one house. And the ages of the kids this time were 10, 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 2 mths, 1 mth. I may have been the only one who felt this way but at one point I looked at all the kids gathered together and wondered where the rest were. It just didn’t look like that many kids all together.

Bryant & K meet

Book time with Grandmere is always a must!

Miss G was my shadow for a couple of events and so enjoyed watching Bryant.

Papa got some good Bry lovin’ in.

I’m probably getting this wrong but I think this is TJ. If not, it’s N. I’m still not good at telling them apart.

Now, I really don’t know who it is 🙂

He, I know. This is H. And behind him, a very small Ace man. We enjoyed watching videos from a looong time ago.

So if that was TJ above this would be N and if that was N above, this would be TJ.

Watching the videos.

J loved holding little Bry.

They almost look like Siamese twins they’re so close…and both have spit up cloths over them.

Brotherly love!

Cousin love

And lots more cousin love. Zoe got a quick hold of K before they headed out.

Stay Tuned…

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Abbie

We have been winding down some of our curriculum and getting ready to gear up for some other, plus taking clothing inventory before the big consignment sales here. So, stay tuned…I’ll be posting more pictures of Bryant as well as the rest of the crew sometime this week.

I can tell you’re all sitting on the edge of your seats biting your nails in anticipation.

Bryant’s 1 Month Old!

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Abbie

This weekend, we were fortunate enough (even if it surrounded sad events) to be able to visit with Mark’s brother and family. And Bryant was able to meet his cousin who is a month (to the day) older than him.

Now, the funny thing is that Bryant’s quite a bit bigger than Mr. K. In fact, the only way to tell they are four weeks apart is to try and get their attention. Mr. K will focus on you and smile and Bryant just continues to search for the light.

So, we took the opportunity to dress them in similar outfits and take pictures. Enjoy the baby overload!

One day, I’ll take the time to edit this one and get our feet (mine, Grandmere and Aunt B’s) and the diaper out. But, I wanted to include this because it’s the only picture I got of Mr. K’s smile.

Right hook!

This is to show the difference between a fed baby and a hungry baby. Just in case you don’t know the difference! Bryant had just eaten and Mr. K was about to eat (and was pretty demanding if I do say so myself). Contrary to this time, they were nursing at about the same times. Somehow, at the time we wanted to get pictures they were off their schedules (they didn’t consult their secretaries I guess).

Yes, I’m playing more with GIMP. This time I’ve learned how to do a vignette and how to make pictures look vintage (but I’m still playing with that). But, it’s hard not to take an awesome picture when we have such adorable babies.

By the way, I would like to give a shout out to all the people who told me this weekend that they read my blog (but never leave a comment…ah hem). So glad you enjoy our antics and my precious blessings!

Breathe

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Abbie

This has been a crazy and busy and sad few days. Mark’s grandmother, Mama Maude, passed away. She has been suffering with congestive heart failure over the past several months. We were very sad about her home going.

I could write more and more about the impact that Mama Maude (or Aunt Maude as some called her) made in our lives and the stories about the lives she impacted. However, to keep me from getting tearful, I’m going to link back to what I wrote close to our anniversary about her.

She was truly loved. She had such a hard time breathing with fluid building up in her lungs. But now…ah, now she is breathing in something more rich than oxygen…she’s breathing in the glory of God. And we feel so much the more excited about continuing her legacy in our children and their children…

The Bunch

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Abbie

Oh yeah…Tracy got our goofy side…and yes, this is the best we can do…we’ve got four boys!!!

And again…trying to decide, do I like the one below…

or this one:

Yes, I know Bryant was kind of “back there…” it was the best we could do with a little one who can’t sit up…maybe we’ll try it again when he’s sittable. I’m taking donations to get him and Ceili Rain new shirts!

Show the love to Tracy please! She was not feeling well when she came to do some of the pictures but I thought she did an amazing job. So, if you appreciated having your eyes overloaded with Bryant pictures, let Tracy know by visiting her blog or leaving a comment below!

To Mom and Dad…

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Abbie

More pictures from Tracy with us included!

Can you tell it was the end of the photo session? Bryant’s paci played an integral role in getting him through it!

Daddy love!

My absolute favorite!

I can’t decide if I like the black and white…

or the splash of color better…either way he’s a beautiful baby!

Safe in Daddy’s arms!

You Oughta Be in Pictures!

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Abbie

Tracy is perfectly capable and was more than willing to get newborn pictures of Bryant. So, instead of paying $50 for newborn pictures that have never been extremely amazing. We asked her to do them. She took some in the hospital and the next week came over and did some at the house. She’s wonderful! I got in on the editing side and played with our GIMP and did some color edits. That was fun and now I’m hooked. I may not be able to take the best pictures in the world, but I can use someone else’s and make them look even cooler!

Rock on!

This cap was waaay too big for him (it said newborn but his head was just small or something). Anyway, we managed a good picture.

And I had to include this one…he was so mad that we kept messing with him and putting stuff on him.

Meeting family

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Abbie

Okay, so Tracy and Kevin are not blood family…but Tracy is as close to a little sister as I have.

*She also has the cutest “giant” baby in the world (he just turned one and is way bigger than Ceili Rain)…hence the reason he’s called Super Wy! You can see more of Super Wy at their blog, Life as a Carr.

And she adores my kids (and Kevin tolerates them). So I have to share when she loves on my kids! Especially the new ones. This time, she did something even more amazing…but you have to wait tomorrow to see that!

Grandparents Meet Bryant!

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Abbie

Mark’s parents got the ~~short end of the stick~~ privilege of watching the other children while I was in labor and at the hospital. So, they got first dibs as grandparents!

My parents with mom’s bum leg and all traveled up after we got home from the hospital.

And got some pretty sweet cuddle time!

Party Time!

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Abbie

Party Day arrived and after five days of telling Ace that he turned six on his birthday, he finally believed us (he thought he was going to be six at his party).

Lots of pictures less talk!

This year’s cake request: Blue dinosaur with red polka dot sprinkles (hey, it could’ve happened…have you ever seen a dinosaur with skin on???). Made by using a cake that fell apart and cream cheese icing smushed together and molded to look like a dino, covered in blue dyed buttercream icing…verdict: Adults thought it was yummy. Kids tolerated it and quickly took off to play the Wii.

Look what we installed in our house just for Ace’s party!!! Nah, we actually went off location (which is a big first time for us…didn’t think I could plan and get ready for a party at my house after just having a baby). This is our Family Y (YMCA). They just moved into a new facility without a big play gym and I was iffy as to whether it would go well. The kids loved it. As a friend said, “They make their own fun!” The above is actually the toddler nursery room.