15 more days!! . . .

38 weeks

 Miss Lily wanted a tummy picture too.

And here are all of our tummies!

So far, Lily's guess date is the only one that has come and gone- she guess the 26th.  If you haven't made a guess yet there is still time!!

Introducing: Little Hands Photography

Do you ever put your SD card into your computer to get some pictures off it, and find a whole slew of pictures you don't remember taking?

And then you think to yourself, there is no way I could have taken these because I don't fit under the table.

All at once you feel a little ashamed, because the artistic quality of these unknown photos far exceeds your own.

The movement is just fascinating-- it really captures your attention-- and you almost feel . . . lost in the photograph.

The subject matter is so raw and real, not to mention creatively placed- every image is truly a unique one. 

You also realize, this photographer has an exceptional talent for capturing moments in time, the beauty of a second that will never be again.

Whether the shot taken was high or low, in the hands of this talented artist, something exceptional is discovered.

For instance, something as ordinary as a door jam, becomes abstract and yet, still it's pleasing to the eye.

Or something as boringly dry as a head shot.

Lastly, this photographer understands the importance of lighting-- lighting can really make or break a photo-- natural light and artificial light both have their own beauty.

I would like to personally thank the talent behind Little Hands Photography for sharing his knowledge and work with me- I love you Mr. Samuel!!  Don't stop seeing the beauty in everything you see.

23 days left . . .

Or 37 weeks, folks!  

“It’s an established fact. Some women can’t stand being pregnant, getting big and bloated, and hauling around a giant stomach, and some women, for reasons probably understood by Darwin, love it.”- Rich Cohen

(I am one of those women, for sure- I love being pregnant.)

  

“There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation.”

- Pamela S. Nadav

The Beast

Back at the beginning of this year, my Mom bought Lily a brand new Beauty and the Beast coloring book,

because Lily loves to color.

As a result of Lily’s love of coloring, she colors A LOT, so of course she has a plethora of coloring books, and crayons, and markers and pencils … etc., to switch things up.  Recently, Lily asked me if she could “olo” (color), so I asked her which book she wanted.  She chose Beauty and the Beast then danced over to her seat at the table, while I gathered up a handful of coloring utensils for her.  I went back to my motherly duties in the kitchen—I have to stay close in case Lily decides to “olo” on things she shouldn’t-- while Lily chattered and babbled happily to herself.

Suddenly there was a pause, I turned and looked at her, she met my eyes then pointed at the page she was coloring on and said in a mysterious tone,

“Uh oh!  The Beast.”

Then she turn to the next page and repeated, very seriously, “Uh oh!  The Beast.”  Over and over, until she had pointed out every picture of the Beast in her coloring book.  Then, just as suddenly, she went right back to her coloring without any more mention of … The Beast.

Lily was "olo"-ing . . . on her face.

Sometimes it is just easier to carry your crayons in your onesie instead of your hands.

More Samuel Quotes

"Awwww!  It's lockeded.  We are stuck in here forever."  Said as he was trying to open the front door.  8/23/13

"Hey.  That's yucky.  Don't do that, that's yucky." About Mommy and Daddy kissing. 8/26/13

Let's read scriptures!"
"Nooooo..."
"Well, what are we going to do?"
"I know what!! ...  These are my muscles." 8/26/13

"You want some cereal Samuel?"
"No!  These are not, these are not cereal.  These are FRUIT LOOPS."  (with 'duh' expression)  8/30/13

Spoken to Mommy:
"Look.  My tummy is getting really big- just like yours!" 9/17/13

While rubbing Daddy's tummy ...
"Is there a baby in your tummy too?"  9/18/13

"No, no, no.  Not those band-aids-- those are "spensive"-- Lightning McQueen band-aids."  9/30/13

"Can I walk with mine band-aids?  WOW!  Yeah.  I can walk."  (The band-aids were on his hands.)  9/30/13

"I was thinking about we were needing to watch a movie."  10/21/13

Mommy: "Samuel.  What do you think we should name the baby?"

*long pause*

Samuel:  "SANTA CLAUS!!"  10/24/13

30 more days . . .

My view right now . . .

We also made a countdown to baby Abram, and everyone put their guesses on it.

Samuel wanted me to put Abram's guess on the calender too; I told him I didn't know Abram's guess but I bet Abram is going to guess the right day.  Ha ha ha.

What day do you think baby Abram will come?

We love Pete the Cat

A very BIG, "thank you" to Amanda and Jake for showing these to us- we LOVE them!!

Soccer Samuel - Little Rascal Kickers

Somewhat on a whim—we learned about the little league ONE hour before the first practice-- AJ and I decided to sign Samuel up for soccer.  The very first practice was on January 30^th and we were 15 minutes late, so we missed the majority of practice time- whoops!  Samuel’s first game was on February 1^st, and he played pretty well after having 10 minutes of exposure to the game of soccer . . . two days beforehand.

"That way coach!!!"

Samuel was assigned to the yellow team, and the first thing the coach went over was which way to run the ball.  The coach asked heartily, “Which way are we going team?!”  And all the players, except Samuel, responded-- just as enthusiastic-- “That way!!!” while pointing at the opposite goal.  Samuel, however, was looking in the direction everyone was pointing with a look that said, “Why are we going that way?  There are a lot of ways to go.”  The coach repeated the question, and the kids repeated the answer, Samuel included in spite of his confusion.  By the third time coach asked the question Samuel knew where to point although he was clueless as to why they were running that way. 

In a whir the game started, and all the kids, save my dear Samuel, were after the ball!  Kicking it this way, and that, all over the field, while Samuel stood- watching.  Suddenly he ran over to us, and explained in his innocent way, he would play with his soccer ball because there was no way he was going to get a chance to play with that one.  It was a struggle to clarify why he couldn't take his ball onto the field, because there is only supposed to be one ball.  We managed to convince him to try to kick “the” ball.  Then when he tried and missed he burst into tears and ran straight into Daddy’s arms.  This, is NOT a fun game, because they aren't taking turns.

I guess I will try again.

It took a lot of reassuring words and plenty of hugs to urge Samuel back onto the soccer field.  This time he was running after the pack of little athletes, still a slightly unsure.  Right away, he got a few opportunities to kick the ball so he perked up and ran a little faster, a wee grin on his face.  Until one of the blue team members scored a goal . . . Samuel BURST into tears, turned toward us and yelled, “WE LOST THE GAME!!!”  (Insert water works and a lot of gentle encouraging, all the while trying not to crack into a belly laugh.)    After Daddy made it clear that the whole point of the game was to kick the ball in the goal, Samuel decided it wasn't so devastating, and went back to playing.

Ok.  This isn't so bad after all.

Thankfully, that was our last waterfall outburst, and Samuel enjoyed himself for the last half of the game.  He kicked the ball hard into the legs of another player which made the little boy fall flat on his face.  In the heat of the game, Samuel ran off without helping him up or anything- oh, kids.  Children make me laugh because whatever direction they are coming at the ball, is the direction they are going to kick it.  So, Samuel was kicking the ball whatever direction he was facing, without thought.  Later in the game, he ran up to the ball and stopped, because if he kicked it, it would go towards his goal.  Samuel could see the problem, he just didn't solve it before another player came and stole the ball.

I don't want to be the goalie anymore.

Samuel also had the chance to be the goalie for a short while.  He stood back, inside the goal and watched the ball roll right by him, without so much as twitching a muscle.  Next he was down inside the goal facing the backwards, so he couldn’t even see the other players or the field.  Then, randomly, he decided he was done being the goalie and he took off to the other side of the field where the action was.  *Giggle* AJ and I greatly enjoyed watching our little boy’s first soccer game.  He is a champ! 

Soccer Samuel!

We are so looking forward to this season, and I believe Samuel is going to make some great improvement while having a fabulous time.

Oh!  The sun is bright.