gavin {6 months}

I should probably get Gavin's 6 month pictures up before he turns 7 months in less than 2 weeks.

These summer days are passing all too quickly.

And this little guy is not missing a beat when it comes to growing and changing, and making his mama all too sad.

 He definitely was more difficult to photograph this month.

We had to reposition several times and I'd click as fast as I could before he'd notice I put the sign back beside him.

But he always found it.

As the sign got more and more eaten, we had to finally call it quits.

Gavin,

At 6 months you are eating more baby food, but you definitely are making us work for it. You don't seem to be a big fan, but you also don't act like you dislike the food.  You open your mouth willingly about 50% of the time.  Maybe I just need to figure out times that you are hungrier. 

You love to get down on the floor and play, rolling from your tummy to your back and back and forth, and you are loving your exersaucer.

Who would have thought the Bumbo seat wouldn't be a good thing for you.  You pretty much are already about to get yourself out of it.  You arch your little back and pull your little bottom up and are soooo close to pulling yourself out of it.  I definitely won't be leaving you sitting in that thing on the table and counter like I did your brother (I know, I know, probably unsafe that I did it at all!).

You are a pretty serious little guy.  You give us lots of smiles, but we have yet to really get a good laugh out of you. And you don't share your smiles with too many others besides us.  You just seem to carry this content but serious look on your face most of the time.  I can't wait till we can get a good belly laugh out of you.

 You loooooove bath time.  We got rid of the baby bath much faster with you than we did your brother and sister.  You love to just lay on your back in the tub and kick and move your arms like crazy.  Soon, you'll be able to sit and play and splash!

This month you had your first trip the zoo, your first car show, and your first little hike. 

At your 6 month appointment you weighed 17 lbs. 3 oz.

This month I started to see your big sister in your much much more.  I think a lot of people still say you look just like Mason, but the older you are getting the more you are looking like Taylor.

Can you believe that you STILL like to be swaddled?  Your arms are out, but the bottom half of your body is always wrapped up tight and you still love it.  Maybe this is just the trade-off for not taking a pacifier or sucking your thumb.

You are the sweetest little baby. But definitely not a cuddler. You like to be left alone to fall asleep
and even nights that I try to hold and rock you to sleep, you rarely let me. 

It's hard to believe that your first year is half over. I can't get over how much faster this seems to be going than before.

Happy 1/2 birthday sweet baby, we love you so much!

eyelashes and tongues

Taking pictures of our big events and fun outings and experiences is one thing.

But picking up the camera and shooting away while my kids are in their own little world is another.

Because it's time's like this that I realize I'm capturing the little stuff I never want to forget.

Like eyelashes and tongues.

 I don't ever want to forget this way he sticks his tongue out when he's working or concentrating really hard.  He does it when he's nervous too.

I wanted to soak up the way he can sit so peacefully, when much of his day is anything but that.

As I snapped away I thought about how this little guy has always been so good at coloring.  From very young we were blown away at how carefully and detailed he colored things.  Normally, I would say girls take on this trait more often, but man, this boy can do some serious coloring.

And he paints the same way.  So slowly and carefully.  He wants it to be just perfect.

He wants to use as many colors as he can.

Oh, and those eyelashes.

Every time I snapped a picture and looked down at my screen, those eyelashes were the first thing I saw.  I thought about getting a close up - but there was no way I was going to ruin this moment, and I know he'd never let me.  I'll have to catch him while he's sleeping if I want to accomplish that one.

Since birth, we've heard about these eyelashes.  Everyone from the cashier at Wal-Mart to the waitress at the restaurant, from blog readers to all those who see him often, everyone mentions his eyelashes. 
They also all mention that he's a mini-version of Dave.  Every where we go.

Even their eyes are the same.  The color, the lashes, the works.

I almost deleted this next picture.  I wasn't sure what I was focusing on.
But then I saw those little lips.  Oh goodness, melt my heart.

He's working so very hard on his rainbow painted dinosaur.

And then he noticed me. And it was all over.

But that's okay.  Little did he know I had already captured all that I wanted.

Little things about him that make him HIM.  Little things that I don't ever ever want to forget.

And now I won't, because they are forever frozen in these pictures.

Oh sweet boy. As complicated as you can seem sometimes, these few minutes watching you paint and create and concentrate and work diligently, were pure, simple, and perfect.

learning this camera thing

While we are all getting back into a routine after Dave being gone, and the little trip we took too,

I'll just share a quick post that pertains to nothing going on right now.

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One thing I've learned from taking Ashley's SnapShop course is that I really despise taking pictures inside my house. Which is kind of a bummer, since that's where most of our every day moments happen.

I've begin to despise my wall colors.  Okay, not despise.  But I definitely wish for something new.

.  I think I got on this kick of wanting to change things up since last year when we almost bought a new house.  And I'm still on it.  Dave's starting to agree also.

So we may have some huge projects involving a lot of paint somtime.

But then again, I'm really scared that I'll miss my rich, cozy colors.

BUT, with all of that said.  I have found that learning to shoot in manual helps my pictures inside to turn out SOOO much better.

And maybe an external flash or a diffuser will help too.

Thankfully I have 2 happy models that don't mind being in front of the camera.

The other child usually wants nothing to do with it.

So I snapped away, as these 2 did their thing.

I seriously cannot believe how much I learned and understand from this course.

  I still take 20 bad pictures to 1 good one.
And my 1 good one, still probably isn't that good to people with a great eye for photography.

I still accidentally crop out things that shouldn't be.  I overexpose and underexpose and don't get the right things in focus.

But getting that ONE good shot that makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside is worth all the effort and mistakes.

You should take Ashley's course - seriously. She didn't ask me to tell you that. And obviously I won my course, and didn't pay for it.  But now that I've taken it, I would TOTALLY pay the cost for the course.  Worth every penny. Unfortuneately, I think a course just started this past Monday, and it may be the last one till the fall.  But go like her on Facebook at Under the Sycamore, so you can see announcements for future courses.

For now, here's her page of lots of photography tips.

InstaFriday

While the other half of me is on the other side of the world, I've been a bit consumed with surviving life with 3 children, keeping my cool, giving them some extra love, packing all 4 of us up for a week, and now making it through another 6 hour trip to get us all back home.  So here's a peak at our week or so through Instagram and a few other shots, along with some random thoughts about this whole situation...

We sent him off with a steak dinner.  Taylor referred to this dinner as "our last supper".

1. It's amazing how content and excited my heart is, EVEN if it means being a single mom for 12 days, that Dave is where he is right now. 

2. This is the longest time Dave and I have been apart since we've been married. Probably even since we met . Which means it's the longest time ever. I'm glad I don't have to do it often, if at all hardly ever. And I have a new respect for single moms, military moms, and even moms with hubbies whose jobs keep them away a lot. 12 days seems like forever.

3. The house has a different kind of contentment and peace with our dog gone for 12 days also. Who would have thought that getting a sitter for the dog would be so helpful. But I would say it is HIGH on the list of things that have helped me to survive these past days.

4. Technology is crazy awesome. And Dave being on facebook has been pretty handy too. He can log in and start messaging me and I get an instant alert. We've chatted back and forth that way almost every day. I love that I don't have to wait by the computer or make sure to be home. My phone makes me feel a bit closer to him.  And this is one HUGE plus for Facebook.

4. Evenings stink the worst, for obvious reasons, since those are the times Dave's presence is missed the most.   I put the kids to bed and then come out to an empty living room.  Why is it that the first thing that I want to do is grab some junk food and pepsi?  I made a little "comfort food" trip to the store, and it's a little embarrassing the amount of money I spent on just junk.  Not to mention a few bribes for the kids. I did get some yogurt, granola and fresh fruit too - so that makes up for it.

5. I will say this 1 million more times I'm sure.  But our oldest 2 children are so very different.  The way they are each showing their emotions and sadness from missing their daddy this week is on opposite spectrums. And I deal with one much better than the other.

6. We have the greatest friends and family.  So many people who are taking such an interest and supporting Dave on this trip and praying for all of us.  I have felt the prayers myself - so thank you to you who have prayed!  I have honestly suprised myself with the way I've held it together, got stuff done, kept the house up (and even cleaned it better than it has been in awhile), cooked dinners, dealt with children 24/7, and even took a long road trip with them.  But why should I be surprised.  God is way mightier than I am.  So of course I can do these things when he's the one providing me strength.

8.  I painted my nails this past week. For the first time in maybe 15 years.  Possibly longer.  All that work and they lasted 2 days.  And Dave doesn't even get to see them.

9. Dave being away from Gavin for 12 days will be way more noticeable than with the other two.  He's eating way more baby food, sitting up for a few minutes by himself, and I'm sure will look much bigger.  I'm excited to show him all his changes! 

10. 2 more days. 

Share your Instagram pictures and link up at Life.Rearranged.

spying on daddy

Last week we met Daddy for a picnic since he is working right across from a park.

After lunch, he went back to work, and the kids wanted to play and "spy" on him.

Dave's the one on top of the roof waving.

And since these days I'm trying to find any excuse to snap some pictures, I used this chance to play around.  The park gave me a great chance to practice with lines and thirds.

And Dave working in the background was the perfect opportunity to practice some things I had been learning in my online photog course.

We're crossing our fingers that Daddy gets to build another one here soon.
Once the sprinkler park is open.

end-of-the-year programs

I'm not used to so much happening in one month that I should keep up on.

Taylor finished her 2nd year of AWANA Cubbies and Mason finished his first.

And then we had Taylor's spring program for preschool.  It was simply adorable.

Our little girl is a performer for sure. She got every word and every motion right on. And her voice is the one you could hear above all others.  She loved being up there, and it was so fun to watch and HEAR her.

It was either on this night or their preschool graduation that Ollie told Taylor,

"I'm not going to see you again."

I guess he forgot where he lives.

I'm glad they will see each other plenty more

Gavin's been such a good little tag-along this month.

 And last but not least.

Pre-K Graduation. And our official start to summer.

They sang a cute little song about being ready for Kindergarten.  Definitely tugged at my heartstrings.

And definitely glad the camera was shielding my eyes.  I can't believe this has begun already.

Can it be?  Our first-born is ready for Kindergarten.

Good thing Mommy and Daddy don't have to be ready, quite yet.