find joy in the journey

Easter Beauty

Anna has recounted her Easter experience with much excitement to nearly everyone she talked to this weekend.

"I actually heard the Easter Bunny hopping in the night! Well, I wasn't sure if it was a monster or the Easter Bunny so I stayed in my bed. But he brought treats so I know it is the Easter Bunny!"

My parents were here for a quick visit last week (we were the pit stop on either end of their trip), and Papa took the opportunity to take Anna shopping for an Easter dress. And accessories.

These photos are for him.

Doesn't she look just beautiful?

 

joy of love: 1-5

1. what they do

This girl loves to be outside.  And ride her bike.  Or her scooter.  We were blessed with a WEEK of dry weather and sunny days.  Cold, sunny days . . . but we'll take it anyway we can get it.  She bundled up, placed "kitty" in her bike basket, and off she went.  Up and down the culdesac with a permanent smile on her face.

2. how they look

 

The handsome in this one is starting to come out.  Which is hard for me to say because I have always had a soft spot for his adorable cuteness. He's still cute.  But now I can see, right here, right in front of me, that he is growing up.  I took these pictures for his baptism announcements/invitations.  It's just a week away!

3. then and now

These two blog posts will give you some background on the story I'm about to share:  for the love of shorts and it's so hard to say good-bye.

The collage of photos features Conner in his new favorite shorts from Old Navy.  2007

The second photo shows the sad, sad face of Conner saying good-bye to his favorite shorts and shirt.  2011.

At least 5 times a week Conner wears this outfit around the house.  I say "around the house" because he is forbidden from wearing it outside the house.  He looooves these clothes.  But after almost 4 years, they are getting a little small.  And we're getting a little tired of seeing him wear it.  Back in December we told him that they would have to go after basketball season . . . but we forgot.  Thursday we remembered again and told him it was time to say good-bye.  In a panicked shock he said, "But I was going to give these to my first son!" And just before Scott was going to throw them in the trash Conner came up with a better idea.  To burn them at the Father-Son campout.  It has been tradition for Scott to burn an old pair of pajamas at this camp-out and the boys love it.  It was a great idea.  And so the shirt and shorts have been stashed in the camping storage bins, awaiting their fate.

4. what they wear 

The boys wear uniforms to school.  Conner always prefers the navy on navy look.  Payton is pretty easy-going: navy, khaki, white, whatever.

5. love to hate

(photo prompt description:  something your loved one does that drives you nuts, but the day just wouldn't be the same without it)

Everyday Scott works out on the elliptical.  And everyday he leaves his athletic shoes in the middle of the floor.  Along with his giant exercise ball that usually lives on the ellipitcal's steps when not in use.  I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it to him . . . the fact that everyday after he's gone at work I pick up those shoes from the middle of the floor and place them in their home in the corner.  Sometimes I'm mildly perturbed.  But really, it takes only 5 seconds out of my day, so it isn't that big of a deal.  But sometimes I wonder if it ever occurs to him to pick them up.  Hmmm . . . . Maybe he purposely leaves them out so I'll have to pick them up later in the day and be reminded of him and how much I miss him.  Maybe.  :)

her world

Some photos from my recent shoot with Anna.  I love how they capture her softness, curiosity, playfulness, radiance, and youth. 

whole wide world from Shannon on Vimeo.

And some notes about Anna at 5 . . . her little world

- she loves to eat hot cheese sandwiches.

- she loves to sing!  In the car to Glee, at home with her made-up songs, and even in the store.  A couple weeks ago we were in Jo-Ann's and she belted out, "Hoo, baby do you know what that's worth, Hoo heaven is a place on earth."

- she is a collector of things. From rocks to bits of paper to ribbons . . . a lot of what I consider trash is a treasure to her.  We have to do a serious de-clutter of her bedroom a couple times a month because she collects so much stuff.

- she is good at giving compliments. "Oh mom, I like your dress."  :)

- she loves to color and brings pictures (in an envelope) to her preschool teacher nearly everyday.

- she loves to play outside.  Riding scooters, bikes, playing soccer or football with Scott and her brothers.  She is an active little girl.

- she wants to be an artist.  She has a spiral bound notebook which she calls her scrapbook.  Each page is covered with drawings, collages of leftover pictures that she gathered from my scrapbook room, paint chips from Home Depot, whatever she can find.

- she loves to bake and gets offended if I bake something without her.

- she loves to be read to and share her made-up stories with me.  She especially loves it when I tell her a story of my own.

- she is silly.  That's an understatement.  I need to record her funny quips and sayings more often, because before I know it she's moved on to something else.  One of our favorites of the last few months:  "I'm going to stir you in a pot!"  Which evolved into "I'm going to toast you in a pot!"  We love it when she pulls this one out.  Especially with pretend stirring motions.

- another line:  "are you staring at my eyeball?"  And "there's a chicken on your head."  

- she is great at establishing eye contact and stays very engaged in conversations.  She can win a staring contest any day of the week.

- she is hyper-sensitive to smells (like her dad).  Sometimes her stinky brothers are too much for her to bear.

- she likes to get pretty.

- she loves horsies and puppies.  She is not shy around animals at all and asks to pet every dog that we see.  And we regularly get the question, in a sad sad voice, "mom, when can I get a puppy?"

- she doesn't name her animals and dolls.  They are known simply as Bunny, Pillow Pet, Puppy with the Big Head, Pink Puppy, etc.

- she weighs 43 lbs and is 45.25 inches tall (that's the 92nd percentile).

- she is a pretty amazing little girl.  We love her.

7, 8, 9

Do you have certain ages, years of your childrens' lives that are your favorite?  I love age 3.  They're just so darn cute and finally able to understand & communicate back and forth.  In Conner's case (and I'm assuming it will also be true with Payton), age 7 was absolutely delightful.  He was happy.  He was so helpful.  And did I mention happy?

8 was a little more rough.  Learning about impulse control seemed to be a big one.  Making good choices & asking forgiveness when it was necessary.  And a new, unfamiliar grumpiness also set in.  I talked to a friend about this once and I liked her take on it.  She thought that when these children turn 8, and they have just been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, the adversary seems to have more pull on them.  As soon as she said this it was like a light bulb went on . . . yes!  It felt good to see that there might be a reason for all this.

In the last few months, though, as he has approached 9 . . . I see happiness, more smiles, more willingness to accommodate and go with the flow (sometimes), more helpfulness.  If this is any indicator of what age 9 will be like I think I might be adding "9" to my list of favorites.  :)

Remember my "plan" for getting my kids' portraits?  Well, last year when Conner turned 8 it didn't quite happen.  So, last month after getting some great ideas from Anna's photo session, I took Conner on a little walk around town and captured some great personality shots.  Here they are to share:

 

 

Happy 9th Birthday, Conner!  We love you a ton and I'm looking forward to a great year with you!  Kiss, hug, spank!