The Weekend Was...

...everything that a weekend should be.

It started with some perfectly cooler weather that we enjoyed with a bucket of chalk.



And a soccer ball of course, which Jacob has become so attached to I think he would sleep with it if it was as soft as his little blankie.



And among many of the words Jacob is starting to say, I love, love hearing him say his name... which most often comes out sounding like jeq, jeq, as he points to himself over and over.





A right-footed kick, yes, but don't think Daddy is not working on the left.



Always smelling the flowers...



And then, in perhaps one of the cutest moves of the day, picking some of these little flowers and handed them to his momma.



And to kick the evening off... a barbecue with some friends. I'd like to proudly announce that, in my quest to become a better momma, I cooked dinner THREE times this past week - homemade pasta con broccoli on Monday, shish kabobs and au gratin potatoes on Wednesday, and homemade mash potatoes on Friday. But the winner with the little ones Friday evening? These frosted cookies my friend brought over. Pure sugar goodness.



And yes, I allowed my child to be fed this sugary treat.



Because this weekend was about enjoying the sweet things in life.



And enjoy them he did.



Making sure he got the whole thing down him.





Mom, why don't you ever give me these treats?



Saturday evening we enjoyed more great food and drinks with good friends and Jacob enjoyed another play date, this time with his very first girlfriend.

Photo compliments of our friend's iphone!

Yes, the weekend was everything it was supposed to be. We played, relaxed, and enjoyed our sweet little family and some moments alone with my Philip while the little one napped.

And then? Well, I managed to convince my husband it was not too early to purchase and try on Jacob's Halloween costume... just a little preview....

Stay tuned... many good things to come this week!

Happy Monday!

Monkeying Around.

I love staying at home with my little one. I think that if you are lucky enough to be able to do it, you absolutely should take advantage of these years that are so precious. These moments that won't last forever because they grow up way too fast and soon enough, they will be in school all day long. I love our mornings of getting ready and eating breakfast together, our days of reading together and our outings, and our adventures of new art projects and playing around outside.

Having said this, I also love nap time. Jacob's nap time, that is.

And it's not because I get tired of playing or reading or taking care of my little man, it's just that sometimes even momma needs a little break. And even though I always think about using nap time for productive things like finishing the laundry or cleaning the kitchen, I usually end up settling down by my computer, editing images from recent sessions or updating this little story.

And while I have learned many things during my eighteen months as a momma, I have learned that the little ones sleep better after lots of busy activities.

Enter, Monkey Joes. A little place we discovered the other day that, for a small fee of $5, allows you to bring your child into a bouncy (totally safe) zone. And bounce they did.





Occasionally tackling each other only to get right back up and do it all over again.











And after a much needed nap (success!), he was back and more excited than ever when he learned we were going outside...



He thought it was funny that I was laying down on the deck photographing him, so he just got right down there and did the same thing.





I always knew I wanted to be able to stay at home with my little ones, but I wasn't quite sure if I was going to love it, to really love it like my mom loved stayed home with the four of us.



Turns out, it's everything I imagined it would be....



And I really, really love it, more than I ever thought possible.

"Beach" Photo Challenge

One of my favorites from our cruise this past summer... Nothing like kicking back and soaking up the sun (and all the good times that come with it).




Check out more awesome entries by clicking below:

Eighteen-Month-Old Baby.

Eighteen months ago, we arrived home with our little six pound, five ounce new peanut and I remember thinking, "Now what?" Oh, how far we have come. We have survived sleepless nights, falls off beds (bad momma), eating wars, giggle fits, and, of course, all of "the firsts"... the first bath, first real food, first park outing, first plane ride, first temper tantrum, first kiss, and first real night of sleep.... I can't imagine a different, or better, way to be right now.

And now, we have made it to our eighteen month check-up.

Jacob waited so patiently in the office.



Little man is getting big....

26 pounds, 8 ounces and 33 inches!

Loved every bit of his visit until his three shots.



And now that we are eighteen months, we are doing much more grown up things.

Like going grocery shopping with our new cart all around the house.



Round and round he pushes his cart, only every so often banging it into the walls to which Momma receives the "did-you-really-have-to-get-him-this-toy" look from Dad.



Of course, he's learning to take care of his babies, giving them hugs along the way.



And counting and adding and maybe multiplying some small numbers as well.



And then I realized that, in fact, my little one is just looking at the animals on the cards.



And wanting to do everything and anything that I am doing... which most often includes taking photographs.



How quickly these eighteen months have flown by.. and how amazing it is to watch him grow every step of the way.

Starting the Weekend with a Bang (or a visit from the Firemen)...

I suppose after over a year of play dates with little ones running around each other's homes playing with new toys, munching on goldfish and pretzels, and us mommas chatting during free moments, some of us mommas might think our playgroup was in need of a bit of a boost.

Welcome, Fire Truck #2216.



And no, it wasn't quite planned and it wasn't quite funny at the time, but this momma did what we all fear, what some of us have already done I'm sure, and what we can thankfully laugh about six hours later.... She locked her littles in the car. In August heat. We were amazed at her calmness, her ability to keep her little twin ladies calm through the car window (true mom status), and the way in which she unwillingly turned an ordinary play date into one that we will not soon forget. And while I promised not to use her name, L.T., you rock!



And when everyone was free from their carseats and the firemen had distributed firemen hats to the little ones, it was time for a picture.



Take two.



And again.



And when we finally decided that this was the best we were going to get, and I decided that my little one would rather stare in awe at the fire trucks as they pass us on the street or read about them in his books or play with his toy fire trucks in the house or do anything beside sitting on this fire truck and look cute for one picture, hot and sweaty and thankful for kind firemen, we went inside.



For a delicious, perfectly kid-sized lunch.



And when my little one could not play any longer, it was time to go home. After asking for a slice of his bagel, I turned around a minute later to see this:



Little Man was too tired to even finish his piece of bagel. Fell asleep mid-bite and Momma had to pull over to, yes, take a picture, and, more importantly, to replace the bagel he was now sucking on with his binky.



A good day all around and a perfectly memorable way to start the weekend.

Happy Friday!

Welcome Back, Happy Baby.

Forty-eight hours. That's about how long we had a sick little baby on our hands. And with no medicine able to help this little virus, it was not a very fun two days. We tried to sleep, tried to eat, and watched the same episode of Sesame Street six times. And forty-eight hours later, my happy little baby returned...



Yes, it is August, but we scooted outside at 7:00 this morning when the weather was surprisingly cool. Jacob's great-grandma made several of the cutest hats I have ever seen and it just didn't do them justice pairing them with some shorts and a t-shirt. Hello, perfect opportunity to try on some new fall clothes.



The Verdict? Crazy cute.



Next up? A breakfast outing with a buddy. And these two little men did quite well eating up their french toast and fruit so that their mommas could enjoy some breakfast as well.



And during this little breakfast date, I couldn't help but think how grown up my littlest one is.



In fact, today he is officially eighteen-months.



And when bellies were full, we headed over to the play area in the mall for some real, run-around-until-you-are-sleepy-enough-for-a-nice-long-nap fun.



And aside from the fact that I initially cringed at how many germs were on this mall play equipment and my momma friend told me to get over it, we had great fun.





Little man can really jump!







Happy eighteen-month birthday, baby. Momma is so glad that your gorgeous smile is back and you are feeling more like your happy little self.