Ali's newborn photos

The link to Ali's newborn photos has expired online, so for anyone who hasn't yet seen them, here they are. This is the new photo option offered through the hospital. A professional photographer comes into your room and takes the photos in about 10 minutes. It replaces the generic photo in the bassinet that they used to offer. I love that they do this, and would have given almost anything to have this of my boys. Unfortunately, with the chaos that reigned after they were born, they didn't have professional photos taken until they were 4 months old - something that this Mommy regrets:(. At least little Ali has hers:). Enjoy!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this shot!!!!

Thankful!!

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for this little pumpkin:

So funny how she got a hold of her paci:).

And I'm thankful for these 2 little turkeys holding the pumpkin. The pictures tell the story of what we hear all day, every day - "Can I hold her?? Can I kiss her?? Can I touch her?? Can I look at her??":

Oh, and I'm thankful for this guy, too:

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Brock and Kyle's first boat ride

All summer long, any time the boys would hear about someone going on a boat ride of any kind, the response was always the same - "When can WE go on a boat ride???????". Over Labor Day weekend, their wish finally came true, thanks to Daddy's good friend Mike. We went out on his ski boat on the Illinois River, and the boys got a true boating experience, complete with watching Daddy and Mike water ski:).


Kyle loved everything about it from the first minute we got on the boat. It was a VERY hot day (notice his red little cheeks), so it felt good to be moving. Notice the lovely brown Illinois river water in the background.

Brock's first and continuing question was "Is the boat going to sink????" Mike reassured him that he'd been boating for many years and hadn't sunk one yet, but Brock was still leery. He did feel a little more secure in the middle of the boat with Daddy instead of the back of the boat with Mom:).

Looking totally confident and cool on Daddy's lap.

My 3 cool dude's!!

Here we are at the end of the ride. Brock was relieved to be back at the dock without the boat sinking. Kyle was totally relaxed - a man of many faces:).

Thanks, Mike- for fulfilling the boys' summertime wish!!

Summertime fun!!

I'm trying to do some major blog catch up, so bear with me as I fill in some gaps in between baby updates:).

The nursing home in Roanoke has a fundraiser every summer with lots of fun kids activities. The boys LOVE the bouncy slide and all of the other activities, and definitely look forward to spending the morning in the kids area.

Love, love, love his smile here:).

He looks like a a real farm kid - riding the tractor barefoot:).

Farm kid - number 2:).

What a fun time!!

"I think she's cold, Mom......"

These words were followed by ".....so I gave her another blanket!", and they prompted me to go and see what kind of blanket he found. I'm glad that I did. It doesn't look like it, but he was very careful not to cover her face:), bless his heart!! The boys are always looking out for their little sister:).