Pictures--A Necessary Evil

I got a new camera for my birthday. I love it. It makes such a difference in the pictures I have been able to take. There's nothing evil about that camera, or the pictures it takes.

The necessary evil I am talking about is getting professional pictures taken of babies and toddlers (you HAVE to--because they change so much during the first year). But getting those pictures taken is always a painful experience.

We got pictures of Jonathan taken in the hospital. I'm glad we did, but at the same time, my babies look completely different as newborns. It usually takes my babies one to three months before they start to look like "themselves." Before then, you really don't know exactly what they're going to look like. So, while the newborn pictures from the hospital are very sweet, they look nothing like Jonathan.

I have been meaning to plan a trip to get some pictures taken of Jonathan and Peter for quite some time. In my wishful thinking, I was hoping to get to my pre-baby weight and get some family pictures taken around Jonathan's 3 month mark. However, by that time, I hadn't lost any of my baby weight yet and I was not about to document my pudginess in family pictures that could last for the rest of forever. I figure that those family pictures can become a reality around Jonathan's 7 or 8 month mark.

When I realized that I wasn't going to reach my weight goal in time for family pictures around the 3 month mark, I changed my direction and decided to at least get pictures of Peter and Jonathan. But there seemed to be something scheduled every Saturday and it's always so rough to get pictures taken in the evenings (I mean, you have to wait for the hubby to get home, eat dinner, and rush out of the house--in addition to negotiating baby nap times and feedings). And in my defense, if you are saying to yourself in your mind "Well, why didn't she just go during the day by herself without Jeremiah?" then you don't know my son, Peter. I couldn't have done it without Jeremiah's help!

But time kept passing and I decided that it was a now or never situation. Jonathan was quickly approaching his 5 month mark (which he just hit this week) and I wanted to get pictures before that happened. Our Saturdays were naturally booked, so I reluctantly scheduled a picture session on a Monday night.

I figured we could grab fast food, eat in the car, get the boys dressed once we reached our destination (because of course, we couldn't let Pete eat while we were driving and still expect his clothes for the pictures to stay clean), take pictures, get home, and put the boys to bed. Whew!

Well, we got there (JC Penney) and they were way behind schedule. So, my 6:20 p.m. appointment time became 6:40 p.m....then 7 p.m....then finally 7:10 p.m. As is the way with kids, Peter ate hardly anything on our drive over, so he was hungry and riled up by the excitement of getting pictures and the frustration of having to wait forever to actually do it. Jonathan could have had his evening nap on the drive over, but of course he didn't, so by the time we were ready for pictures, he was tired and hungry (in addition to having spit up on his outfit...you can see a little wet spot on his pants in one of the pictures where I cleaned the spit up off. Also, I know this is snotty, but Jonathan wouldn't have spit up on himself if we had started taking pictures on time).

And even though I had high hopes that we could perhaps get a picture of the two boys together, that hope didn't come to fruition because Peter would only hold Jonathan for about a split second and then he would decide he was done and try and push Jonathan off of his lap. Sigh. Lovely!

Jonathan is the most happy-go-lucky guy ever and he smiles at EVERYTHING. Well, guess who smiled at basically nothing that night? If you guessed Jonathan, you are right! Peter didn't quite understand the concept of getting pictures taken (basically, the concept of staying put and smiling on cue), so he was all over the place.

I was so frustrated and angry. We got barely any good shots of the boys because they were tired, cranky, riled up, and hungry. And after that, it took forever to get the pictures ordered. In addition to that, they were pricey and I had to spend a lot more than I thought I would. We got there at 6:15 p.m. and didn't leave until 8:15 p.m. (the boys' scheduled bed time is 8:30 p.m.). We didn't get them in bed until 9:30 p.m. It was a horrible night.

But, you wouldn't know it from the best of the best pictures, which are quite cute. So, it was a frustrating and over-priced experience, but I guess it's just one of those things to chalk up as a learning experience. But if anyone has any suggestions for places that we could get pictures from at a reasonable price, I'd love to hear about them! And we've already tried Kiddie Kandids. The last time we went, we had a cackling photographer who basically scared Peter rather than making him smile, so a lot of his pictures look very unsure and fearful. :)

Anyway, enjoy the best of the best pictures.








Above: All of the pictures of Jonathan turned out cute, but this is the only picture that I really LOVED. This is Jonathan heart and soul. He is so sweet and smiley. The photographer missed a few other really cute smiles (he seriously only gave me about 5 genuine smiles during the whole photo shoot--and this was really the only one that she captured). If the photographer hadn't gotten this smile, I honestly think I would have walked out without ordering anything!

But enough complaining! The pictures are cute and it is in the past! The only reminders that still remain are some pretty darn cute pictures.

Nine

I just thought I would write a really quick post before I forgot. I want to remember my children's sweet habits and traits. It seems impossible that you could ever forget some of them, but if you don't write them down, you do.

Peter's favorite number is nine. He doesn't quite understand numbers yet, but he knows that nine is a bigger number.

So, when we tell him something like "only five more minutes and then it's time for bed," he will winningly respond with a counter-offer of "nine?" Then, of course, we'll give him nine more minutes instead. Or, we will say "You can hit the ball with the bat three more times and then it's time to go inside..." and he will, of course, say "no....nine?" How can we resist? So, then we'll let him hit the ball nine more times.

When we play games on the Sesame Street website and he is trying to find a certain number of animals, you can bet that he wants to find nine of them.

I sure love that sweet little guy. He's full of passion and he tuckers me out (with the aforementioned passion and energy that he possesses). But I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Sweet, Handsome Boys

I don't really have anything important to say this time around. I just wanted to share some cute pictures (and accompanying commentary) of my boys.

Above: I sure love my cute Guy Smiley. He's the nicest little boy ever. My cute "Smiles."

Above: I love his sweet smiles, but when he smiles AND clasps his little hands together? Soooo cute!

Above: Brothers sharing the couch. The space in the middle is for me so I can sit by both of my boys.


Above: Pete loves to drive Mimi's toddler 4-wheeler.



Above: You can never have too many accessories. The bottle is for the baby doll (also pictured on the trampoline). The Cat in the Hat slippers are my old slippers from high school. I knew if I kept all of my stuff I would get some more use out of it someday!

Above: Just posin'.

Above: Pete's new thing is that he likes to "play dead." I have no idea where he got that from. But he likes me to pretend to cry over him and mourn his passing and then he will miraculously come back to life and he expects me to jump out of my shoes and be petrified every time.

Above: Maybe his Daddy is letting him watch too many shows with him when they hang out on the couch together. Hmmm.

Above: The sacrifices I make. Every time I go outside, I get at least four mosquito bites (minimum). I'm allergic to them, so they HURT! And mine last for days. Sniff, sniff.


Above: Mornings at the Washburn residence.


Above: My sweet sister, Laurie, came for a visit in June (she had an art show near the U of U at the Finch Lane Art Gallery--her art is still on display there if you would like to check it out!). This is her sweet son, Thomas, who is exactly one week older than Jonathan.


Above: Cute cousins. By the way, Thomas isn't small...Jonathan is HUGE! He weighed 16 pounds at his 4 month appointment. He is in the 90th percentile for weight and he is off the charts for height. Basically, my doctor told me that Jonathan is taller than 100% of the babies out there his age (a whopping 27 inches long). Yup, my babies don't stay small for long. That's for sure. I think Jonathan might end up bigger and taller than Pete (and Pete has always been in the 85th-95th percentile for height and weight). Jonathan has a good two pounds on Pete at this age. At Pete's four month appointment, he weighed in at 14 pounds.


Above: Nammy with baby Thomas. We all went to the zoo for a fun outing.


Above: Aunt Laurie, Aunt Emily, Thomas and Jonathan.


Above: Peter enjoying his new shark swimming pool. Isn't it cool? You hook the hose to it and it sprays water at you. So, it's like running through the sprinklers and swimming in the pool at the same time! You can make the spraying water go higher or lower depending on how high the water is turned on.

Above: Sweet baby Thomas being held by his Grandpa Niel while attending his mommy's art show.


Above: More mornings at the Washburn residence.


Above: Piggyback rides with Daddy are the best.


Above: Cute baby body shot.


Above: Sweet bath time smiles and strategically placed bubbles to keep the picture family friendly!


Above: Brothers having fun during play time. The car wouldn't drive on the carpet. So we tried a blanket...but it wouldn't drive on a blanket either--hence the cardboard.


Above: One of Peter's favorite poses. He will speak all sorts of gibberish trying to explain himself and his actions while he is in this pose.

Above: I was taking pictures of Jonathan's feet and Peter asked me to take pictures of his feet...then his legs...and finally his back. This cute over-the-shoulder pose was when I was taking a picture of his back.


Above: Mr. Potato Head accessories aren't just for potatoes anymore...oh wait, we call Peter "Potato" all the time, so maybe that's how he pulls the look off so successfully. But then again, we got a picture of Peter's cousin, Mckinlie, wearing Mr. (or Mrs.) Potato Head's glasses recently and she looked adorable too...and as far as I know, she has no connection to potatoes whatsoever. So, I guess the Potato Head look is for everyone!


Above: Couch posin'.


Above: So sweet, so cute, so silly!


Above: My sweet little daredevil. Yikes. His daddy was at the top reaching down to get him (You can just barely see Jeremiah's hands). That guy is going to give me a heart attack.


Above: Daddy and Pete sharing some fun on a cool slide.

Reasons I Go To Church (With Little Kids)

Above: Church-going: idealistic view.

For those of you out there who are the parents of young children, you know that church can be rough (to say the least). Before church became super tough, I told Jeremiah that we needed to have a list of reasons that we went to church. We could use this list as a teaching tool for our children if they ever asked us why we went to church. I also knew that we would need to cling to this list on Sundays when church was particularly rough.

I would like to share this list with you.

Reasons We Go To Church:

1. Keep the commandments (Keep the Sabbath Day holy).
2. Consecrate our time to the Lord.
3. Serve in our church callings.
4. Support those who serve in their church callings.
5. Partake of the Sacrament.
6. Set an example for our children.
7. Be worthy of a temple recommend (in order to have a recommend, you have to strive to attend your church meetings).
8. Show our love to Heavenly Father and Jesus.
9. To learn (when we actually can hear over our children!).
10. To feel the Spirit (this can actually happen even when we can't always hear over our children.)

If any of you can think of additional reasons, I would love to hear them.

I tell you, this list has come in handy for me when church-going has been rough with my kids. I hope it helps you too. And if it doesn't, at least I have it written down now!


Above: Church-going reality.

Is There Anything Better Than Baby Laughter?

I think the two videos and the title say it all!

Johnny's Third Month