Ian's Blessing

I found his blessing outfit on ebay for a STEAL. It was a cotton/linen blend, and just darling. I loved it. Not too cheesy. Not too girly. Just right. My little E-boppers (that is what we call him these days) looked so cute!We were able to do Ian's blessing on July 4th this year. It worked out great bc the day before we had a family reunion for Reuben's side of the family--so a bunch of aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins were able to stick around for the blessing on Sunday. Afterwards, we had a bunch of goodies and dinner at our place. Reuben's family helped me plan it out. It was a great day! And the weather was gorgeous!

Here's a pic of us on the porch...
Me, Roob and Ian. Yeah. We are sort of like wooden statues in this one...can ya say, "Awkward!"
Ok, I like this one MUCH better. BUT I only posted the pic above bc it was a better shot of Ian. LOL.
And here's my entire little fam...we had to get one with Jasey, too!

The MOVIES!

I have been dying to take Jase to the movies as soon as I thought he could actually "sit" through one. So when I scored free movie passes (btw, Disney makes it very annoying to redeem these things!) for Toy Story 3, I knew it would be the time to try it out! We were lucky the day we went--hardly anybody was in the theater. We chose our own seats (top back row by the aisle) and that turned out to be perfect. Armed with popcorn & drinks, we all took our seats excited for the show to begin. I snapped a couple pics to commemorate this momentous occasion!

Jase watching the previews...(and Ian...you can see his carseat in the upper right)
Mom sneaking in to prove I was also there, hahaha (Daddy was there, too)...
Chowin' down while watching the opening scene!
So I think I can say that Toy Story 3 is my new favorite out of the series! Spanish Buzz is hilarious!!!!!! And I totally cried at the end! OMG! (so did Roob, haha) As far as Jase goes, he was pretty darn good throughout the show! He stood up a lot of the time, but he stayed close (we had to say something to him once or twice). He was so good that we took him to see "Despicable Me" the following week! (super cute movie, too, gotta get me some minions--and Steve Carell did a great job with the character--i loved his voice)

Photo Session

Ah, photos. I am always drooling over everyone else's pictures I see taken by photographers. The lighting is incredible, the editing; perfect, the people; gorgeous, the oufits; A-list worthy. I personally know two photographers and follow their stuff--Wendy & Sharstin. Both do amazing work (click on their names if you wanna see their sites). Sharstin did Jase's 1 yr pictures and they are fabulous! Wendy was able to squeeze us in for a session just last week while she was here for a friend's wedding (she currently lives out of state). I don't do this very often (if I were rich I'd do it every 3 months! ha ha) so when I do I have all these things in my head that I want to bring for the shoot--like creative props (chairs, wagon, stroller, favorite blankets, toys). I also try my darndest to coordinate all of our clothing for group shots. I need a fashion person to do this for me bc I STINK at it. I am so un-fashiony. I always end up "matchy matchy" bc I am at a loss.

Anyways...So d-day comes and it's all I can do to get myself dressed (changed my outfit at least 4x), kids dressed & fresh diapers put on, then out the door. All the while asking myself "why am I doing this?" and fussing at Jase to hurry up. I did manage to grab a hat, a couple changes of clothes for the baby (just in case)...I was in the WORST MOOD! Then once we got there Jase was completely uncooperative (kept shying away from the camera and making goober faces) and I couldn't get Ian to smile for nothin'! What? ARgh! Kids! Then Reuben was going to come, too, but of course I was running late (what's new) and that meant he had to go to a work appt before I got there! Oh well. I tried. So that meant poor Wendy wasn't able to just take pictures--she ending up being like my assistant nanny! (Running after Jase while I changed Ian, etc). And she drove an extra hour just to do this for me. So it felt like the day was a bust and I was so sad that I wasn't able to pull off what I intended to do...that is, until Wendy sent me two preview pics and I cried when I saw them. They are SO GREAT! I am amazed at what she captured with her camera! I can't wait to see the rest--thought I'd share a couple with you for now...

I love the look on Ian's face in this pic. I also love that I am kissing him on his sweet head. I love him so much!
So stinkin' cute! I found this little hat for him for a steal ($2) and the tie is actually one I bought for Jase a long time ago. I think this pic is too cute!

Jase Cuts Daddy's Hair

So Jase haaaaaaates getting his hair cut. Hates it. Roob made a deal with him the other day that if Jase would be good for his hair cut (Roob cut it) then Roob would let Jase cut his. Can I tell you how INTO THIS Jase was? LOL! You'll notice in the video that Jase was pretty much copying what Reuben did and said to him word for word. Adorable!

Ian's First Laugh!!!

This is the CUTEST THING EVER! Get ready to put your cute boots on! I was swaddling up Ian for his nap and just talking to him and I started wiggling his legs. All of a sudden this little laugh started coming out! It was MUCH better before I ran and got the camera (because I could use 2 hands to jiggle his legs)--but I am glad I at least captured something! Enjoy!

Paw Paw Ron's Visit

Ok, wow. I haven't blogged in forever! My laptop went "kaput" on me, so that is the main reason for my lack of online presence. Trust me, I've had withdrawals. I have a minute right now while the boys are both sleeping (woohoo!) so let's see how much I can do before one of them wakes up!

My dad came to visit back on June 12. He was here for a week! It was so fun! But now that it's been so long I'm having a hard time remembering what exactly we did. One day we went on a hike. It wasn't terribly difficult, but I had Ian in the baby bjorn carrier and after an hour or so my back was KILLING ME. I don't think those things are meant for long-term carrying. UGH. Jase was doing OK but definitely walking at a toddler's pace. He started getting hot and tired, and it took a bit of coaxing to get him back down the mountain so we could go eat and get drinks. My coke never tasted so good! Ha ha ha.

Speaking of Coke, another time we took dad to one of our favorite pizza places in town. They have the best Coke, I swear. So I was making all these comments about how good it was and he teased me about it ALL WEEK. Whatever. It really WAS the best fountain coke ever! :) Ahhh.

We also went to the zoo. That was fun. The weather was great and it wasn't too hot. Jase enjoyed the zoo a bit more than he did last year (ie, he rode the carousel and was happy about it). We were really excited to show him the gorillas since lately his favorite animated movie is "Tarzan,"(or as he calls it, "Carzan") but there was only one and he was lying down way back in the corner. Poo. We took the scenic drive home and I think dad enjoyed the ride. All in all it was a good day, but really, the zoo here isn't THAT awesome. I think I am spoiled from the HUGE zoo back in New Orleans. Oh well. But NOLA can't touch our good weather here! :)

I figured Dad could use a break from the hustle and bustle of 2 little kids, so I lent him my car and he went to spend an afternoon at the airforce museum. We all went together last time he came up, but this time I think he was able to enjoy it more without the grandkids. And I enjoyed it more staying at home and not having to fuss at a 2 yr old to "stop touching that!" every 5 seconds. Heh.

I hate saying good-bye at the airport when he leaves bc it's just SO SAD to live far away from family. I hate it! Anyways, since I was, of course, super awesome about taking pictures of everything we did (not), here are a few pics we snapped on the way to bring him back to the airport on the day he left! LOL. I am awesome. I know.

Paw Paw with Jase (2 yrs, 8 mos) and Ian (2.5 months) on the front porch.
We took a few more on the steps with me included, but since the sun was pretty bright out, I was squinty jones magoo and recommended we move over to the shade, pictured below:
One last pic of my dad and I at Texas Roadhouse (was sort of our father's day dinner outing), but I think Dad paid, so that sort of rules it out as "my treat," eh? Heh heh.
Random pic I took of the boys while bathing...(cute how Ian is looking at Jasey)