the blog-a-thon is over!

Wow, September's over! Which means the September blog-a-thon is wrapping up - the month totally flew by! I only missed two days out of the whole month, so I'd say it was pretty successful, as my main goal was to get kick-started back into blogging. I hope you guys have enjoyed the little peek into our family life. I'm glad it ends today because this weekend we'll be having some family time at our family cabin - of course it's supposed to be a really chilly weekend!!! Ah well, we'll bring sweaters and blankets and have a lot of fun.

Prior to September, I was blogging mainly to keep people updated about Kieran, but this month I have enjoyed sharing a bit more. Blogging daily, however, has been HARD! Many a night I did it right before midnight. It was so tough carving out time with the two kids and the other responsibilities I have. There are many things I wanted to blog about but simply didn't have the chance. But I definitely think I can handle blogging 1-2 times a week from now on.

Happy October tomorrow - my favorite month of the year! We have so many things to look forward to: decorating for our favorite holiday, celebrating our first wedding anniversary, apple orchard trips, making Halloween costumes, fall baking, carving pumpkins, and of course, Halloween (we are Halloween freaks!) I would love it if you'd continue to follow along with our little family!

wordless wednesday

This is the photo I was referring to last Wordless Wednesday. He just looks so old to me here! Like, in one instant I see him as a big kid....*sigh* They grow up too fast, don't they?

Maybe he just looks older because he's being so serious. Either way, he's so stinkin' cute...even if he has been falling asleep close to midnight and waking up 3+ times a night. Yeah, sleep regression? You can go away aaaany time now, thanks.

fun in dairyland!

I've been meaning to post these pictures and video for about a week now. We made a trip out to Wisconsin two weekends ago because Josh was asked to sing and play guitar with his friend Brent at Brent's cousin's wedding. Brent's family has a farm nearby the wedding locale, so we headed out there the day after the wedding and Maia LOVED it! They're a dairy farm, so there were mostly just cows, but we did see one goat as well as farm kitties and dogs. We had a ton of fun, ate well (thanks to Brent's mom!) and we can't wait to go back again soon!

amber necklaces, part 2.

The kids' amber necklaces arrived! Inspired By Finn had a 50% off sale the other week so I bought two for the price of one, getting Maia a longer size and Kieran his very own! How cute is he in his necklace!?

I had a few friends ask some questions about the amber necklaces after my last post on them. One of them wanted to know if we keep them on all the time. The answer is: Yes, we do! With Maia, we kept it on through baths, never took it off once. This time around though, I learned you are not supposed to get it wet and try to keep lotions off it because it will mess with the natural oils of the necklace. So now we're taking it off at bathtime and putting it back on when skin's dry. This is no big deal since we do baths every other night.

That leads me to the next question - do we let them sleep in them? And again, yep, we do! I'm comfortable with this for a few reasons. Since my children are so chubby, it tucks under their fat rolls, so they can't grab it easily. If they did grab it, and happen to pull on it, each bead is individually knotted so if it broke, the beads would not scatter everywhere. Also, because we put it on them at a young age, it sort of becomes "part of them" - they're just used to it!

Do you have any more questions about amber necklaces? Let me know! P.S. Isn't Maia silly? That's how she's been taking pictures lately!

how preemie moms are chosen

Well, it did not go unnoticed - I had a couple readers notice I missed two days of blogging! Yes, it's true, my streak is over! Ah well, the true goal of the September Blog-a-Thon was to get me back into blogging, and it's done that, right?

This weekend has been busy with a capital B. Or maybe it's just me that's been busy. Friday night Mr. Sleep Regression didn't go to bed until midnight, and that's why I missed blogging Friday - can't wait until he goes to bed to do anything lately! Then I worked at the group home (did you know I worked at a group home? I do! I've been there 7 years now, but I only work 1-2x a month right now.) Anyways, I got home, nursed Kieran for about 2 hours straight (ahh, gotta love the cluster feeding) but he went down at 11pm this time - an hour improvement over Friday night! So we're getting there. He is harder to put down to sleep but sleeps very well once he's down for the count, so that's actually nice. We'll see what he does tonight! The sleep regression will end someday, right?

I have school this afternoon so I've got to get back to doing some reading before I go, but I wanted to share this poem that two of my preemie mom friends have shared with me. It makes me tear up a little each time I read it.

How Preemie Moms Are Chosen

(Adapted from Erma Bombeck)

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments

for propagation with great care and deliberation.

As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.

"Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Marjorie Forrest, daughter.

Patron Saint, Celia. Carrie Rutledge, twins. Patron Saint ... give her Gerard.

He's used to profanity."

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter?

That would be cruel." "But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.

I watched her today.

She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother.

You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own.

She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect.

She has just the right amount of selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive.

Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect.

She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied.

She will never take for granted a spoken word.

She will never consider a step ordinary.

When her child says 'mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it.

I will permit her to see clearly the things I see – ignorance, cruelty, prejudice – and allow her to rise above them.

She will never be alone.

I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

cute kid-isms

Well, it's been about 3 weeks and I'm finally stumped about what to write. Actually, I have things I'd love to blog about but have no time to do them. Kieran is still up, even though he usually goes to bed at 9:30, 10pm at the latest...what the heck!? He just refuses to sleep. Maybe the sleep regression is messing with us again, I don't know. Josh is trying his hand at getting him down, nothing I have done has worked!

So I'll leave you with some cute things that happened today, since I have yet to find my camera cord to share pictures. Maia was hovering above Kieran while he was waiting for a diaper change and got really close to him. He ended up grabbing her hair, since she was so close, and I heard "mom, Kee-wan (because that's how she says his name, you know) grabbing my hair, owwww!" So I go over there to help him unhand her hair, she stands up and playfully scolds him...and he laughs at her! A big huge belly laugh - SO cute! Which in turn got Maia laughing, which made K laugh even more. Ahh, siblings. I love seeing them interact these days, it's so fun!

The other cute thing happened when I went to Babies R Us with the kids. I had to grab a lock for the fridge because it's not latching very well on its own, and Maia gets in there a bit more than I'd like. Anyways, I was checking out and Maia tried reaching for the credit card machine. When I told her not to touch it, she quickly shouted "I'm mad at me!" I laughed out loud, because not only was that really cute, but I've been encouraging her to use her words instead of hitting or whining when she's mad and doesn't get her way, specifically, I have practiced with her "mom, I'm mad!" or "I'm mad at ____." So tonight she actually did it, albeit a little backwards. I was a proud mama.

wordless wednesday

Okay, I take that back. I do have a few words.

Have you ever looked at your child and suddenly, you can see their future self? As in, you look at your toddler daughter and suddenly "see" her as a teenage girl? Or you look at your baby boy and think "holy crap, I can totally imagine what he's going to look like as an adult!" It happens to me every so often and FREAKS me out. This photo really capture that, for me, anyways. (I had a cute one of Kieran, too, but Maia is in "hide-my-parents-stuff" mode and must have hidden my camera cord so I can't upload it! Ugh!)

Can't you just see my sassy future teenager in this shot of Maia? (She is very serious about her cupcakes, you guys.)

PS. Welcome to my new Wednesday feature! Maybe next time it will be more wordless...and be uploaded closer to Wednesday than Thursday, heh.

i'm a Gleek (and proud of it)!

Hooray, Glee is back!

Are you a Gleek like me? I absolutely LOVE Glee, and I think Kieran might be a fan, too! I watched the season premiere tonight with the kids (well, Maia was running around but she did manage to stop & listen to Rachel singing "Telephone" by Lady Gaga, ha!) Kieran was lying on a blanket next to me and kept leaning towards the TV chatting when a song was playing, it was so cute! Maia was then encouraging him to roll over, because he has yet to do back to tummy and he almost did it while chatting at the TV! Anyways, super cute. He loves music, just like the rest of us.

If you've never seen Glee, you're really missing out. I could explain what it's about, but in the interest of time, I'll let Wikipedia do it instead. Anyways, it's centered on a high school Glee club and I have to say, watching it brings back some of my favorite memories from high school choir, our spring concert and the musical I was in my senior year. And every time I watch the show and sing along, I wonder why I'm not singing anymore. I really miss it. Josh and I talk about getting into community theater someday, but the kids will have to be a little older before we do that. So, someday it is...for now I just sing to my babies, sing in the car with the whole family (oh yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit it! Our whole family jams in the car!) And for now I just enjoy Glee and think fondly on the brighter memories of high school. I am so excited for next week's show - it's Britney Spears themed! And I think she makes an appearance on the show, as well. Also not ashamed to say that I have always liked Britney Spears and still do ;) I'm excite dto see what they do with her songs.

Are you a Gleek? Maybe just a moderate Glee fan? Why do you like the show? Does it bring back fun memories of high school for you like it does for me?

school.

First & foremost, I am soooo freaking over this whole 4 month* sleep regression + 4 month* growth spurt + possible teething ALL at the same time. So over it. I have not been able to get a SINGLE thing done around my house except a couple loads of laundry. Josh wasn't feeling well tonight, so I had to put the kids to bed alone, and of course Mr. Sleep Regression won't go down easy like he used to. So finally, at 11:07PM, I can do some reading for school but I'm too tired to do anything now! But I will. Because I have two days to read a chapter and write a 2 page paper. Sure, it sounds easy, but with the stuff that's gone on with Kieran in the past few days I may have my work cut out for me. Man, what I wouldn't do to go back & tell my pre-kid self to just hurry up and finish school before having children! Ah well.


*4 month adjusted, I mean :D

tired!

So, I realized yesterday, when packing up to leave for a road trip to Wisconsin, that the Kid's Clothes Week Challenge starts tomorrow - oops. I have nothing prepared for it, and no time to gather any of my various to-dos up, so I'm going to have to pass on the challenge this time around, but that's probably a good thing. Despite my wanting very badly to get back into sewing, I have yet to set up a sewing area in our new place, I have multiple readings and assignments to work on and, like I mentioned, never made it to the craft store. Ah well, maybe I'll have my own challenge next month. But I would like to get to the craft store. I want to get the tulle for Maia's Halloween tutu! And some felt for Kieran's gnome hat. So, maybe that can happen this week.

I really want to post pictures from our weekend trip to the land o' Dairy, but that will have to wait. We just got home a few hours ago from Wisconsin, where we went to a wedding Saturday and hung out on a friend's family farm today, so we're all completely tuckered out. It's amazing what a mini road-trip & chasing after a toddler while juggling the baby all weekend can do to a couple people! The house is a mess but you know what? Sleep is more important. And the house will probably still be messy tomorrow when I take the kids to my grandma's house and then we head out to the apple orchard, but you know what? Fun and family time is more important. I guess the mess (and the homework assignments) will still be here for me tomorrow night. Until then...

sibling love

Just a couple cute pictures before we head out to a wedding in WI. Maia asks at least daily to hold Kieran and then quickly shouts "take a pick-cha, mom!" I usually get an assortment of various silly faces from each of them, but they did great this time around! I think I got at least one smile in each shot. Maia loves her baby brother SO much, and it's so fun to see him staring at her, following her, smiling at her and laughing when she laughs - I love it! Recently Kieran has started to cry when he hears Maia crying! Having 2 two years apart is proving to be really fun so far.

PS. Happy half birthday to Maia! (hey, Kieran got his own entry so I had to at least send a shout-out to her, right?)

happy half-birthday, baby boy!

My baby is 6 months old today! (and not even 4 months adjusted yet - he's 3.5 months adjusted, wow!) 6 months ago I was told that my pre-eclampsia had turned to HELLP syndrome and I would have to deliver my son 10.5 weeks early for the sake of my own health. His early birth started a medical rollercoaster (for him, at least temporarily) and an emotional rollercoaster for our family, but look at how far he has come! Isn't he amazing!?

From 2 lbs, 10 ounces & 15 inches long...


....to 17 lbs & 26 inches long. Look at my happy, beautiful half-birthday boy!




Oh man, the cheeks!


A little half-naked baby comparison shot might be fun, too...so...

This was taken the day after we brought Kieran home from the hospital (so he weighed about 5 lbs)


And this was last night - super chub!

I don't know if it's genetics or breastmilk to thank for making my formerly tiny little guy chub up SUPER quickly (averaging 3/4 pounds a week, just like Maia!) but I am SO thankful he did! Actually, I'm going to go with the breastfeeding for most of it. I have the fattiest looking milk I have ever seen - more like cream! I love his double chin, huge tummy, chubby thighs...all of it is so wonderful to behold because I remember exactly what it was like to kangaroo care that tiny less-than-3-pounds baby boy on the day he was born. I will never forget how he had literally no fat on his little body - and now it's everywhere! And wow, soon we'll be starting solids. Okay, well, not THAT soon, not until he's 6 months adjusted (which just so happens to be Thanksgiving.) But still...it's coming up quickly!

So, here's to another exciting, fun-filled 6 months - hopefully these next few go by slower, but I doubt they will!

fall baking starts....now!

Just a quick entry tonight. I had another rough day alone with the kiddos, so I'm only blogging for the sake of the September Blog-a-Thon. (And yes, another rough day, ugh! Kieran's most likely teething and/or going through his "4 month" sleep regression - he's 3.5 months adjusted, so that would make sense, right? And Maia's apparently going through some super-defiant 2.5 year old stage thing, where it appears she has lost ALL listening skills she once had and we're butting heads like crazy. Blah, whatever.)

Anyways, I want to share with y'all an amazing recipe. I looove to bake (my red Kitchenaid mixer that I got as a wedding present last year? I can't live without it!) And my favorite baking season is not Christmas-time, it's fall - mmm, pumpkin cookies with glaze frosting, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread pudding...those are just a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. I really could eat pumpkin anything all year round. And don't even get me started on my favorite apple goodies, or all the new ones I want to try to make this year (like pumpkin scones!) But back to the recipe: I had these at my bridal shower last year and they are phenomenal: light, fluffy and the perfect amount of pumpkin, plus the cream cheese frosting is SO delish. The cinnamon really takes the standard cream cheese frosting a step further.

Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcake recipe + Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting

The cupcakes, from Martha:

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions (yields 18 cupcakes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

The frosting, from food.com:

Ingredients (yields frosting for 20-24 cupcakes)

• 1 (8 ounce) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon.
2. Frost cake or cupcakes and let frosting "set" for 20 minutes on counter or in the fridge.

Hope you enjoy them! These will be just one of many fall goodies I'll be preparing in the upcoming fall months. I also plan on busting out my bread machine (it's been awhile!) and I'll share some of my favorite bread recipes, too.

missed opportunities

Do you know what today is? It's National Neonatal Nurses Day! And....I just learned that fact this morning, via my Twitter feed (thanks to the March of Dimes for the heads up!) I learned it a bit too late to do anything special or fun for the nurses who took care of Kieran. I couldn't even do an impromptu visit, since today was the first day I worked for my dad. But today's not the only missed opportunity I'm bummed about - I am embarassed and disappointed in myself, because I have not contacted the NICU once since Kieran came home! The sweet staff spent 7 weeks taking care of my son and I haven't even given them a SINGLE update - I feel horrible! They deserve to hear how healthy he is, to hear about our successes with breastfeeding (and to see the amazing results!) They were an integral part of the beginning of his life, and I'm so bummed that I have yet to update them.

Of course, the first few weeks at home were a whirlwind of breastfeeding and catching up on sleep and adjusting to two children. And then when the fog lifted and I felt I had the whole mom-to-two thing down, we started looking for a place to rent, then packed & moved - all it took was a simple phone call or a quick letter (heck, I could have printed out an old blog post and told them to follow along!) but I haven't done a single thing. I feel silly for the missed opportunities.

But, there's no time like the present, right? I will give them a call tomorrow, because it's Kieran's 6 month birthday on Friday! What a great time to call and update them on my little dude. (On a side note, six months already!? OMG!) Hopefully we can set up a time to come in to bring Kieran to visit next week, and hopefully we get to see at least a few of our favorite nurses.

rough day.

I'd do anything to avoid schoolwork tonight. I know that I should do homework, but today was a rough day so all I want to do is veg out on the couch! Maybe I can muster up the energy to do a little reading...

Anyways, today was a little rough because Kieran got two shots this morning, which set the tone for the rest of the day. I can always depend on him to be just slightly cranky, have a hard time sleeping, and want to nurse CONSTANTLY on the day of the shots. Then the next day he's usually back to normal. So I knew what to expect, but it was still exhausting to sit on the couch all day. You really wouldn't think it would be tiring sitting on your butt, but it is! I get so sore, so I had to switch to side-lying nursing and of course, Kieran and I both I fell asleep! Well, I had to get right back up to get Maia from daycare (she goes 1x/week) so the nap was just pointless, it just made me crabby because it took forever to wake up from a 30 minute nap. Then we got Maia home from daycare and she was sort of crabby - so when Josh got home I went out for a quick walk to the bakery around the corner for a little pick-me-up. Just five minutes of me time and I felt so refreshed! The gorgeous weather outside certainly helped. I don't really know why I decided to take the kids to Target knowing both of their moods, but it ended up going alright, I was just pooped.

Speaking of Kieran getting shots - I got him weighed and he's 17 lbs! Geez, the kid just doesn't stop growing! Maia, who was full-term, was 18 lbs at 4 months. Kieran is 3.5 months adjusted, so that's very impressive - he might even pass her up by 4 months adjusted! I also spoke with his pediatrician and she shared with me the results of Kieran's ultrasound and labs done on the 1st. Kieran had an enlarged kidney in utero (hydronephrosis) and as a result of that and/or his prematurity, he had elevated levels of protein in his urine. His last ultrasound in May showed the kidneys were still slightly enlarged, and the protein levels improving. The ultrasound on the 1st showed that his kidneys are both still slightly enlarged, but they are growing (so no growth restriction) and he has 100% normal levels of protein in his urine - yay! We will have another follow-up in 6 more months.

Look at how big he is next to Maia! For reference, she's 27 lbs & 36 inches. He's 17 lb s & about 26 inches.

I'm going to give myself a pat on the back now - I managed to print out my homework assignments while posting this blog - progress! It's hard to get back into school in general, but when you go every other weekend + have an online class, you have to be super diligent about getting your work done on your own time.

Alright, I'll end with a cute picture I stole from my mother-in-law -it's my two handsome boys!

halloween

Well, we're almost halfway through September and I'm still chugging along with the September Blog-A-Thon! I don't think I'll keep up daily blogging when September ends (it's hard!) but it's definitely gotten me back in the groove. Hope you blog readers are enjoying yourselves :)

I mentioned earlier that besides this blogging commitment, I also committed to a week of sewing for my kids, specifically. And all that on top of starting to work again for my dad, once a week, plus I'm back to school full-time as a weekend college student (2 classes away from being a senior, woohoo!) This will be a busy few weeks (and months!) But I'm really looking forward to the week of sewing for Kieran & Maia because I'll be starting to work on their Halloween costumes. I am usually a bit of a procrastinator, so I have to start early or I may not finish in time! And I'm sure Halloween will creep up on us really fast - after all, it's already mid-September!

Prior to this Halloween, I picked out Maia's costumes myself, because, well, she was too little to pick!

Halloween 2008 she was "turnin' Japanese"...

Halloween 2009 she was a ladybug. (Note that I only have one picture of her, and it wasn't even Halloween - she was in a "flee the camera" stage at the time, ha!)

This year we started talking about Halloween, dressing up and trick-or-treating a few weeks ago to jog her memory and get prepped - we're HUGE Halloween fans at the Collins residence, so I figure she's got to know what she's getting into. We pulled out her Halloween-themed shirt from last year, which happened to still fit, and when she asked what that was on her shirt - it was a witch, by the way - she said that SHE'D like to be a witch. So, teeny-tiny-toddler witch it is! A friendly witch, if you will. She's already got a mini-broom & some adorable black boots. I'll come up with a black top for her, and I'd like to make a tutu for her, plus some tights or leggings and she'll be set! She did request that I put stars on her outfit, so I'll pick some metallic fabric out and embellish the top. So cute!

I'll probably buy some Babylegs brand leggings (& Kieran can wear them later!)



And I'll likely use this tutu-torial to make her skirt, probably in some more witchy colors.

Maia also decided what Kieran's costume should be (well, I helped her.) I set out a few items for inspiration and allowed her to pick. I gave her some options I thought I could easily make myself, so I set out a plush owl, a gnome-print diaper, and a shirt with a monkey (wouldn't a monkey be cute!? I could sew tan fur on a brown onesie for a furry tummy?) Anyways, she picked the gnome, which thrilled me because I have a weird obsession with gnomes that I'm pretty sure stems from watching David the Gnome on Nickelodeon when I was growing up. David was so cool! (Did anyone else watch that show? I probably watched it in the early 90's.)

Anyways, here's the diaper:

And this is David the Gnome, bless his tiny heart.

For Kieran I think we'll make a pointy red hat out of some posterboard & felt, make a white beard, have him wear a blue shirt and tie a little rope or ribbon around his tummy, and we already have some brown fleece pants to go along with it. I'll try to embellish some shoes with a cute decoration, or try to add a pointy end to them. And we have a little mushroom rattle I'll have him pose with for pictures. How cute will that be!?

Well, what do you think? Can I handle these semi-DIY costumes on top of my other commitments? I think so, and I'm excited to try!

baptism

It was another busy day in the Collins household, and it kick starts a busy week! Kieran was baptized today while surrounded by the many family members who love him. What a lucky, loved and blessed little guy he is. He was such a good sport, too - smiling at the crowd, chatting with the pastor and there was no crying when the water was poured on his head! Such a sweet pea. Thank you so much to his godfather, my brother Devin, and his godmother, my bestie Angela, and to everyone who helped put on the luncheon!

Enjoy a few pictures of the baptism itself, courtesy of my mom - thanks for the photos, mom!

minnesota zoo

My in-laws are in town this weekend for Kieran's baptism, so we took the Minnesota Zoo for the first time! It was such a gorgeous day & it wasn't too crowded, which made for the perfect zoo experience. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. I am pretty annoyed (and embarrassed) at the quality because my camera's dying (hence the ultra need for a new one!) and half the time I tried to take a picture the camera started shaking - weird, I know - which then resulted in a blurry picture. Ugh! So, Canon S95, I shall be purchasing you soon!

We're monkeys!


My little bat


My boys :)


Sweet baby boy in the Beco


Passed out!


How many redheads can we fit in one shot!? (Josh's mom + the kids & I)


So gorgeous - another redhead!


Maybe I should get my husband some sunglasses?


Sally the camel had...2 humps, Sally the camel had...2 humps. Good song, right?


Maia LOVED that the tiger kept pacing back and forth in front of her!



And this shot's from dinner at Broadway Pizza - look at that proud grandma!