Finally some new pictures!

The last time I took the boys to get pictures taken at a photo studio it was when Andrew was a few months old. I desperately needed some new pictures of the boys for our living room wall. Especially since Carson came along! 

I am not a fan of photography studios. They always seem to rush through the pictures, never take safety shots, don't have patience for the boys, and don't worry about trying to get good smiles. This time I tried Portrait Innovations. Instead of being inside another store like Sears or Walmart, it is self enclosed, has a play area for the kids while you are picking out your pictures to order, and they print your pictures right there in their lab while you wait. They took 3 pictures of each pose so we were sure to get good smiles and no blinks. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Carson was a bit unsure at first.
So serious, but at least he is not crying!

He got more comfortable and squeaked out
some small smiles for us.

The photographer quickly popped on this hat
and I was instantly in love!
 I knew Ryan would like these pictures too.

Harrison & the photographer kept readjusting
 his hat so it doesn't sit as cute on his head.

I am not a big fan of scenery backgrounds,
but I think that this one looked nice with their outfits
and the crate they put Carson in was too cute!

Best Buddies!

One of my favorites! The boys are always kissing each other,
but let me tell you how hard it was to get a picture with both of them
kissing Carson at the same time!

Playing with Toys

Carson is growing up so fast. Probably because he had a jump start at birth. He turned 3 months old yesterday & is wearing 6 month clothes. He loves to smile, coo, laugh & blow bubbles. He also is starting to enjoy playing with toys. His brothers never played with baby toys much . . . at least not this young. The toy in the pictures is one of his favorites. It is easy to hold, jingles & he likes putting the ball ends in his mouth.

"Mommy, what's next on our plan?"

 "Mommy, what's next on our plan?" I hear this question a couple dozen times a day!

Harrison has some special things he only gets to do when Andrew naps & is always eager to do them. To help him realize that there were other things we could do until naptime, I would list things we were going to do for the day. "First we are going to do this, then that, then lunch, then Andrew will take a nap & you can play Legos."

This developed into Harrison wanting me to write down what we were going to do. I would ask him what things he wanted to do that day, write them on a notepad, and check them off as we did them. He loved this! So developed the question,  "Mommy, what's next on our plan?"

In the last month I have tweaked this a bit. I made a weekly calendar of things we are going to do, as well as the toys we are playing with for that day. It mixes it up a bit more and reminds him of toys he doesn't always think to play with. Part of our new play plan is a scheduled reading time & play-doh. We always read to the boys, but I wanted a scheduled story time in there. Now I read to them as they are eating their lunch.

 Here are a few pictures of the boys during play-doh time one day. Yes, they are in their jammies . . . sometimes jammie days are part of the plan too!

Snuggles in the sling

 Carson is a happy baby. If he is fed, he is content & rarely fusses. One day he just really wanted to be held. No big deal. I like baby snuggles, especially if the other two boys are playing nicely together, but I needed to make dinner. I changed him, fed him, snuggled him & attempted to lay him down in the swing for a while. He was not going to have it! So I gave my new baby sling a try & he drifted quickly to sleep. I get baby snuggles & dinner made at the same time! Perfect!

Pizza!

The boys used to never eat pizza, so when we would order one we would make them mac 'n cheese or something. Then I started making my own pizza and now they love it! The crust is softer & the sauce isn't as spicy. Harrison's favorite is pepperoni & mushroom but recently tried ham & pineapple and liked it. Andrew, on the other hand, will eat it with whatever we put on it . . . including the crust (which Harrison refuses to eat). We just couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of him in all his pizza bliss!

Andrew's First Haircut

Harrison was due for a haircut & I decided that it was about time for Andrew to finally have one. When his hair is freshly washed it curls up pretty good, but most of the time it looks like this mess. We headed to Nana's house this afternoon & I had her cut the boys' hair for me. Here are some pictures I captured of Andrew's first haircut.

BEFORE

The first few snips

Sitting so still

Checking out what Harrison was up to.

He was an angel through the whole thing:
sitting so still and smiling, happy as can be!

All done! Hamming it up for the camera!

AFTER
I think he is thinking,
"Ok Mommy, enough pictures already!"

2 Months Old!

 Our little Carson turned 2 months old yesterday! It is hard to believe 2 months have passed since he joined our family! He is such a happy baby. We love to see his expressions (especially his use of his eyebrows that he does all the time). He likes to coo & laugh too! His brothers adore him and are such good helpers. We can't imagine our life without our 3 beautiful boys!

Playing in his bouncer this evening. He kept holding onto the legs
of his bee toy or hitting it to make the bell inside jingle.
His brothers never played with the toys on the bouncer.
It is so cute to see him do it.

Animal Flashcards

We have big animal flashcards that I use to teach Andrew the different animals & I have him say their names. I used them with Harrison when he was younger. This morning Harrison got them out and started reviewing them with Andrew. I quickly grabbed my camera & caught a little bit of this precious moment. He is such a good big brother!

Carson Cooing

Carson has been cooing a lot lately, but by the time we get out the video camera he stops. This afternoon I was working in the kitchen & heard him in his bouncer cooing like crazy. Quickly grabbed the camera and caught a little bit of it.

He always uses his eyebrows . . . even when he is not cooing his eyebrows seem to be his biggest source of expression!

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The "Dinosaur Museum"

I promised Harrison that we would go to the "Dinosaur Museum" if he was a good boy. So, this morning I packed the boys in the car & headed out. The museum is actually the McKinley Museum that is part of the McKinley National Monument. There is a science museum, planetarium, and McKinley library. Harrison calls it the dinosaur museum because there is a dinosaur exhibit.

Ready for some fun!
(Andrew fell asleep during the car ride over
and is still trying to wake up when this picture was taken.)

Harrison already had his monkey backpack,
but we stopped at the store before going to the museum
to buy a backpack for Andrew.
His is a teddy bear.

The boys like their backpack.
They are cute, soft & cuddly with a little pocket on the back
for them to put "treasures".
Mommy likes them because she can keep them close by!

First stop: Dinosaurs!
This one moves & roars, but the rest of the exhibit is fossils.

Fascination Station (Science exhibits)
Checking out the tornado!

Learning how gears work.

Fire Station in the Street of Shops
Harrison wants to be a fireman when he grows up!

Posing with the Fire House Dog.

Checking out the fire helmets.

Time for trains!

This is a Thomas the Train table that is near the model train exhibit.

Checking out the model trains.

Our last stop whenever we visit the museum is the bearing ride.
Think of the teacup ride at Disney . . .
only this one has a button in the middle to turn off & on the bearings,
so you can feel the friction difference with & without the bearing working.
We always ride twice - turn one way,
then the other so we "unwind" and don't get dizzy!