Photos by Colin

Colin took my phone the other morning and just started snapping photos of every little thing in Meli's room.  I thought some of them were cute, so I thought I would share.  Plus, it is neat to see what a child finds picture worthy.

Meli's dresser

Pooh flying a kite

Mommy & Meli

Meli's bees

Meli's head

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

More Colin Tidbits

Colin is always good for some funny stories.  My little guy is always making me laugh.

The other day when we were driving home he told me he needed to go to the doctor because his teeth were broken.  He uses the word broken when something hurts. He needs the doctor to give him new teeth and he wants red ones.

At dinner one night Colin asked Will for a drink of his wine.  Will said that only adults can drink it.  Colin then tried to convince Will that he was an adult.  The conversation went something like this:

Will: "Adults work, do you have a job?"

Colin: "I go to work!"

Will: "Where do you work?"

Colin: "outside"

Will: "What do you do at work?"

Colin: "I watch movies on my computer, talk to Joe (one of Will's friends), go to the snack machine, eat lunch and talk on the phone"

Colin is preparing to test for his white belt in Tae Kwon Do.  To get it he needs to be able to do certain positions, count to 10 in Korean, recognize the American flag and the Korean flag, and a few other things.  I think he is almost ready!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

4 months

Baby girl is 4 months!!   I think that Meli is such a perfect addition to our little family.  Perfect fit! We all enjoy our time with her. Colin loves trying to make Meli laugh.  He is good at it too. We call on his talent when she becomes a cranky pants. Thankfully, little princess has a great disposition and only gets fussy when she needs food and is sleepy. 

She has her appointment later this month.  I cannot wait to see how much she weighs.  She is still pretty thin.  Long and skinny.  Her face is getting a little chubbier.  I love baby chub!

Meli is smiling and laughing a lot.  That makes it easier to get pictures of her smiling, which makes mommy happy!  Pictures like these:

Such a happy little baby!

Working on crawling - not quite there (thankfully)

Meli loves her daddy!

Our little princess

~ Love, Hugs &

Kisses ~ The B Family

Can you say...Cutie Pie???



The first thing I bought when we found out we were pregnant

 A big difference between boys and girls are the clothes.  Boys clothes are cute and adorable but there are not necessarily a lot to choose from and for the most part boys do not care. It is going to get dirty anyway.  Girl clothes can get dirty too.  I know I was always making mud pies...but girl clothes are just so cute!  I have had so much fun dressing Meli up.  She gets dolled up but I am realistic and a busy mama so during the week it is usually a onesie but on the weekends or if we are going out then - dress up time! 

Meli and I went to a baby shower this last weekend...she was so cute in this blue dress with big white poka dots.  I failed to take a picture.  Darn! I will make sure to have her wear it again.  We moved Meli up to 3-6 month clothes last week (she is 17 weeks now and will be 4 months on the 10th)...I will admit I was a little sad.  No more 0-3 sizes. Well, except for dresses and sweaters. Just not onesies and pants.

We also went to Chucky Cheeses.  This was a first for all four of us.  Colin had a blast!  He was able play so many games and run around with his cousins. Aidan was celebrating his birthday.  We also let him run off with Alexei and Aidan without us parents tagging along. Such a big boy!  Meli has been wanting to stand all of the time this past week.  So she stood (with assistance) on the table and watched everybody.  She was such a good girl.  She ate.  She took a nap.  Then she watched some more.  Colin and I played whack-a-mole.  That was a first for me and it did not quite live up to all of the hype.  Maybe it was just an old machine.  A bit of a fail.

On a side note, Will and I are thinking of moving again.  We want to get something with a bit more room and a little newer. We met with our real estate lady this past weekend and will start exploring exactly it is we are looking for this next weekend.  We are thinking maybe building...but we will see.

Here are some recent pictures from this past week.

Playing with her little friend, Tux

Daddy's little girl!

Will had the headband on upside down - still cute!

Pretty baby

Hanging out

Talking to Daddy & Colin - she is a little talker!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

4 Years

Will and I just celebrated 4 years of marriage at the end of August.  I cannot believe it has been that long.  We have been through a lot together, good & bad - I am thankful for it all!  Every detail has made us who we are as a couple.  I am a very lucky woman.  Lucky to have a sweet husband, a caring lover, a fair partner and a loving father to my kids.  Lucky.

Here are some quotes that when I read made me think of our relationship in some way. 

"Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along". Rumi

"I love you, for putting your hand into my heart and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can't help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite so far enough to find". Roy Croft

"In marriage, each partner is to be an encourager rather than a critic, a forgiver rather than a collector of hurts, an enabler rather than a reformer". H. Norman Wright and Gary J. Oliver

Honey - I love you and am so thankful for our 4 years of marriage. Thank you for putting up with me and loving me only the way that you can.

Wedding day 2007

2nd Anniversary - hiking

3rd Anniversary - Mt Vernon

4th Anniversary

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

 The B Family

TKD Tiger

Colin started Tae Kwon Do a few weeks ago.  He LOVES it!  The first class he was a little timid, but the Master is really good with kids and had the parents get involved (Will) which put Colin at ease.  That class there was only one other boy and Colin but now the class is growing.  They had just opened, I think we were even the first people to sign up.  Class is twice a week and has been a good outlet for Colin's excess energy.  He also seems to be getting more confidence when it comes to certain areas that he was a little timid in before.  I think this is going to be such a great thing for Colin and I am hoping it is start to his experience with sports.  We are not going to force him into sports, but I am hoping that he shows an interest.  Watching tee ball and soccer at his age would be so fun!!

I keep forgetting to bring my camera to his class but sooner or later I will.  For now, here are two pictures from my phone.

 

Here are a few bonus pictures of Colin.

Well the first is a picture of the drawing Colin gave to me so I could hang it up at work.  He drew Power Rangers (the red) fighting bad guys (the black). 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Playful Baby

Well it is 4 a.m. and I am awake.  Meli woke up for a second and I cannot get back to sleep.  So, I am blogging and watching Bones.

Our sweet baby girl is 16 weeks! It is amazing to watch how much she changes each week.  She is now grabbing at everything!  My nose, my hair (ouch), her toys, mama's food, plate and anything else she can reach.  She loves hair. I think she is a little jealous for not having as much. She did not lose her original hair and it is slowly coming in fuller but she does have a circular bald spot from laying on the back of her hair.

She has been razzing like crazy!  Her face turns red she tries so hard. It is super cute to watch.  It also has Colin doing it again but he spits a lot - not so cute.  She also talks a lot and is trying to sit up.  She just amazes me!

Mama and baby girl.  Isn't my necklace beautiful?!  Will bought that for me as anniversary gift.

Meli loves daddy's hair!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

We Should be Better

After 4 years of taking the 'couple' picture we should be better...but were not.  So not.  When I take it, I am too short and always get weird angles.  When Will takes it he usually has me in a little corner of the picture.  When we made another attempt after our anniversary dinner on Saturday (because Will is not a fan of cameras I save my request for a 'couple' picture for special occasions so he cannot refuse) we ended up with quite a few shots that were just, all over the place! 

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3 LOL

Attempt #4 - we are getting better

Last attempt - we at least had fun!

The sad thing is that Will's phone lets you see what you are taking a picture of! Maybe he does weird angles on purpose...  Gotta love him!

Today is our actual anniversary.  4 years!!  It has been a blast so far and I am sure there will be many more crazy adventures to come!  Love you honey!  Happy Anniversary!

Oh, a bonus picture because this mama is so proud that she can fit into a new dress that she bought after Meli's arrival as a 'skinny' dress for motivation! 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

 The B Family

Going Book Crazy

So, Will thinks I have a bit of a problem.  With buying books.  I normally can resist the urge for the most part but when the books are majorly discounted it is a bit hard.  I find it very sad that a bookstore is going out of business (yeah you Borders) even if I am a pretty loyal fan of Barnes and Noble.  I would much rather that a clothing store or electronic store go under (we have so much more of those around).  I understand the allure of online purchases in general but not for a bookstore.  At least for me.  Part of the experience is going into the bookstore.  I just love it!  But I am also a tad obsessed with books so that may not be the norm.  I do feel I was a very smart shopper and bought the books that I tend to avoid because I find them way to expensive.  Children hardcovers.  Crazily overpriced.  So, I got a whole bunch for future birthdays and Christmases at 60 or 70 percent off! 

I am not going to lie...I did buy a few for myself - which I am so excited to read. 

Like:

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong - a controvesial book from the 70's about women's sexuality.

Omnivore's Dilemna - I will probably go back to vegetarinism after reading that!

As well as books by Isabel Allende, Lisa See, Kurt Vonnegut, Amy Tan, Philip Roth, Alice Hoffman and Kate Choplin.

And look at the perfect book for my baby girl that I just happened to stumble upon...

I was so excited for this one.  Meli will probably not like Audrey as much as I do but hopefully she will a tad at least.  I mean, Audrey was on her list of possible names!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

 The B Family

Miss Content

Meli is 15 weeks.  She is such a happy, content little baby.  She just takes it all in.  She loves to watch everyone.  Especially Colin.  She is also our little talker.  I am not sure yet if she will be as talkative as Colin.  That boy could talk!  Still can.  She is content laying down on a blanket just talking away to herself.  Cutie pie.  A talker...and a mover.  She lays on her back and swings her legs to one side and then the other.  She wants to crawl and can definitely move her self to where she wants to go for the most part.  Just a long process.  If you lay her in one direction it will not be long before she is laying completely the opposite direction. 

Unlike Colin, she is a fan of her pacificer.  She does not always have to have it but definitely prefers it.  For now, her eyes are very blue.  Way more blue then Colin's were at first.  His started as more of a steal blue and now are more of a green.  I wonder if Meli's will change at all.  She is so good at moving her head around and keeping it steady.  She has been trying to pull her self into a sitting position when she is laying down.  Not there yet but looks like she is doing sit-ups!

Is she not the most precious little thing?!?

 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family