Boats, Fish, Sun & Fun

 Went boating with the Cousins on the new recreational lake in town.  E loved his first boat ride, and even caught a fish with Daddy! 

Daddy and E right before boarding.







 Mommy & E ready for some fun in the glaring sun!

They had the cutest little PFD for E.



 "Pop-cl!!!!"  Third mate helped himself to an endless supply of popsicles until we got to our fishing spot.



Oh, Captain, My Captain!

 My boys, minus Baby C.

 We just love fishing and boating.  It was so nice just to relax...

 E fishing for the first time.  Even though he's been fishing with us since he was about a week old, this was the first time that he used his own pole.

 And, look what he and Daddy caught.... "-ish!".

All boy when it comes to touching the fish.  He was giggling away at the baby bass.

After two hours of scorching sun, we heading back to shore to the new splash park.

He is our little water baby, both on and off shore!

He kept saying, 'E-de do et a-gin!'



Happy 3rd Month Birthday, Baby C !!!!

 Happy 3rd Month Birthday, C!

Where did the past month go?!  But, my, have you grown!

 At 3months old I:

* Roll over from my tummy to back.
* Hold my head up very well, and will follow people & sounds around a room.

* Love tummy time (unlike my big brother who wanted nothing to do with it!).

* Love to flirt with myself in mirrors.

* Love to flirt and smile with others.

* Have a blast watching my big brother play and be obnoxious.

* Sleep from 730pm-730am, waking once sometime between 1-3am.  Believe me, Mommy is thrilled!

* Am only swaddled during nighttime, unlike my big brother who was swaddled all the time for his first 3months.

* Only do a paci sometimes, otherwise I will launch it out of my mouth and over the crib side and onto the floor (unlike we know who ;) )

* Will swing my arms at toys and grab onto my cow rattle and hold/shake rattle toys.

* Coo away at anyone who wants to talk to me.

* Prefer nursing to bottle feeding (formula).  Mom would love to do more bottle feeding, but I haven't let her have much choice- Ha.  Sometimes she offers me different bottles but I flat out refuse till I get to nurse!!  I did it the other day at the mall and she had no other option to feed me except to nurse- haha.  I'm only taking ~1bottle a day (just for some relief for Mom).

* Nap a lot.  Hey, I'm a fast-growing boy!

* ...Am taller than 98% of other boys my age (where the gene comes from, I don't know).
* Wear 3-6mth/6mth clothing, and size 2 nappies.

* Am a bundle of sweetness and cuddles, and Mom is absolutely in love with me.

 More of his sweet little toesies!

 My sweet friend, Emmalee, made these for our boys.

She hand makes them- see her Etsy site, Wooden Moose (link on my blog).

 And, this adorable rattle for C.

 SMILE!!

Happy 2nd Month Birthday, Colin!

 Colin's 2nd Month photo

I'm in love with our dear Colin!  He is such a cuddly, sweet boy, and a wonderful baby.

Unfortunately, because of the fire, we will never have a one-month rocker photo for him.  I intended to take that photo the week of the fire.

C's new rocker- it matches perfectly with his bedding.

The outfit is one that we lost in the fire, but I bought a new one.  I have high hopes that we'll have little grandsons who can wear it one day.

 Oh my, oh no, is that a bit of red in the hair mommy and daddy see?!

He resembles his brother, but lighter complexion, less hair/different hair line, mommy's nose, and longer limbs.  I'm so excited to watch them grow and see all their differences and similarities.

I'm just in love with our two precious boys!!!!!

 Little toesies.

 Oh my goodness, has dear Colin become a bit of a flirt!

His smile is so contagious- it encompasses his whole face, and his eyes smile just like his daddy's.

 I love the little stretches.

 He's got the whole world in his hands...

 This little one came into our world right before one of the most trying times in our lives, and it is an incredible blessing that he arrived a week early, and not two weeks later. 

I'm so glad that he is such an easy baby- he has given me the time to spend with his big brother to help him adapt to all the changes not only just as a growing family, but also through all this heartache.   I look at him and I realize that he is too young to even know the home he came to from the hospital.  All he knows is that home is where Mommy & Daddy are, and that he is taken care of, and cherished.  And, I realize that this is all anyone needs to feel 'at home'.

For Better or For Worse....

 ...We will always have each other.

We enjoyed the sunset on Lighthouse Beach in Evanston where we had our ceremony four years ago.

A picture of the lighthouse hung in our downstairs bath.

I've already contacted the photographer for a replacement. 

 The gorgeous art center.

For our ceremony we scooped up sand and poured a little for each attendant in a votive.  Each anniversary since we collected a little to add to our coffee table candle vase. 

This is the start to a new vase for all the years ahead.
This was our anniversary gift to each other-- just about as sweet as it gets.
The poem in the frame is the one from the fire (mentioned in the post below).  It will be on a shelf in our new living room.

And we wined & dined once again at The Stained Glass.

Our wedding napkins survived, and I've always taken a couple with us to still enjoy.

Some things will always remain- one of those being our love for each other.