Morning Light

The lights of my life.

Reprising "The Hill"

One of my all-time favorite photos of Ellis is of him at 8 1/2 months, in October of 2009, on top of a hill at a local park.  I love the sky and the clouds behind him, the autumn leaves...but most of all, I love his chubby little face.  

Can I go back in time and get my foot out of the shot, though?

Ellis, October 2009

I had my camera at the park the other day, and so I decided to reprise this photo with Oliver.  I love it.  I love these boys, and I love creating a legacy in photographs for them.  

Note the absence of my bony foot.

Oliver on the hill, March 2012

Young Picasso

Ellis had his creative juices flowing this morning. Just call him Pablo ...or Henri.

Do you think Picasso or Matisse had a kid brother under the table while they painted?

Dallas - Part III

The biggest hiccup in our trip was that little Oliver got sick while we were in Texas. He started running a fever the first day, then we took him to a doctor the next day and he was diagnosed with a virus that causes a sore throat and high fever for 7-10 days.

Consequently, our vacation agenda got seriously cut, including a side-trip down to Houston to see my BFF. Overall, it was still a fun trip. We got to visit with family friends in Dallas, see a glimpse of the aquarium, visit the zoo, and Eric got to do some flying.

Here are the last of the vacation photos. We're home and almost back to normal; Oliver is feeling much better.

Dallas - Part II

Our Texan hosts were kind enough to treat us to one of Dallas' finest restaurants... finest theme restaurant where storybook and movie characters wait on you, that is.  We spent an enchanted evening at The Magic Time Machine, where Fate smiled on us and appointed us Jessie, the cowgirl from Toy Story, as our waitress.  The food was okay, as it often is at novelty eateries, but the smile on Ellis' face was absolutely delicious!

Ellis, star-struck, with Jessie.  So cute!

Ellis couldn't take his eyes off Jessie, even for a family photo opportunity.

Ellis talked about Jessie all the way home that night, and even today at lunch, he told me that meeting Jessie was his favorite part of our trip.  It was well worth the trip, and I hope he always has fond memories of our time in Dallas.

Dallas - Part I

In a nearly unprecedented move, our little family took a vacation last week.  We flew down to Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday and came home Saturday.  We had a really nice time, minus a few hiccups--but what vacation is complete without those?

Our first day in Dallas, we decided to go to the Dallas World Aquarium.  Ellis was excited, we paid our $96 admission... and before we knew it, eleven minutes had passed and we'd only seen the inside of the restroom and a shark tank, but a terrified Ellis was wailing, "Get me out of here!"  (Noted: the child is terrified of birds and fish.)  Thankfully the lovely people at DWA were willing to give us a refund.  On to Plan B!

We regrouped after nap time and went to the Dallas Zoo.  Thankfully, no refund was necessary.

Eric and Ellis at the Aquarium, pre-entry/pre-drama

 Eric at the zoo

Content with the promise of no "feathers" and no fish 

Kaolas

Admiring the elephants

Our little family at the zoo

My sweet boy

Who needs animals when you can pretend to drive a safari vehicle?

Up close and personal with a giraffe

Carousel fun

Oliver, worn out

Garden Helpers

I had some work to do killing planting my garden, so I set up a super-deluxe outdoor activity for the boys while I worked.  I took an empty sand/water table, filled it with dinosaurs, jumbo farm animals, fake trees--the works.  At least it entertained one child...

Oliver was impressed...

Ellis preferred hijacking my neighbor's rake.  Whatevs.

Pobrecito

Poor little Ollie is sick. He has a virus that makes his throat sore and will cause him to run a fever for 7-10 days.

You know Mama hates to see her baby sick! Hopefully he'll be back to his usual happy self soon.

We've Been to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

...How 'Bout You, You, You?

7th Heaven

They say there's a first time for everything. On Sunday, Eric experienced a new "first," and was totally in heaven. Usually, I put Oliver in a sling and nurse him at church, and he sleeps on me during the service...same story minus the church part for every.single.time Oliver has ever slept in his life. I nurse him. He sleeps. I don't have a problem with this, but Eric dreams of putting a baby of ours to sleep (funny how that works, huh? I'd love for him to put somebody to sleep!).

This Sunday morning, Eric's dream came true when he held Oliver during the song portion of the service, Oliver laid his little head on Eric's shoulder, and he fell asleep.

It was so cute and sweet I had to take a photo. I hope you enjoy it, even though it's a cruddy, dark cell phone photo. They stayed like this through the whole service and communion, and Eric was enjoying himself so much he didn't want to get up after church.

I must admit, it is pretty blissful to have a sleeping baby on one's chest, and I'm lucky to have it be part of my daily "grind."

Erin Go Bragh!

Happy St.Patrick's Day! We got up and at 'em early this morning, dressed in our finest green attire, and celebrated St. Patty's Day in the traditional way of our Irish forefathers...

...by going to a dinosaur exhibit.

What? That's not how you celebrate your Irish heritage? Celebrate the introduction of Christianity to Ireland?

Well, we sure as heck weren't lugging these kids downtown to the drunken fest that is the St. Patrick's Day parade. So dinosaurs were the next logical thing, I guess. :)