A Horse's Day to Shine

This is how I found Lainey's horse this afternoon. Beautiful, no? Lainey even used a dog leash to tie the horse up to the art easel so she can't escape while wearing all of those beautiful accessories. I love the bunny ears and of course I almost laughed out loud when I saw the shoes placed so carefully on the horse's hooves!

Walker's Rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

Walker was sort of cooperative. You can kinda get the idea. This song was one that Lainey made Walker do over and over as an infant. She would make his tiny hands do the movements. It was so cute, and wouldn't you know that this is the first song that he will "sing" along with and do the hand movements.

 

And here's little Lainey Lou and her version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I think she was around 19 months old when we shot this video. :)

Ronald

Thank you, Lainey, for welcoming Ronald into our family. I'm pretty confident that he won't keep your necklace for long, but I know he appreciates being included and treated like a sibling.

Neighborhood Wildlife

Why travel to Colorado hoping to see wildlife when you can see bobcats and coyotes in your very own neighborhood? Goodness. I'm trying to monitor Reagan...I'm afraid that she will look like a tasty snack to one of these creatures!

Mama's Shoes

I'm noticing that Walker is often without pants. Ha. Oh well. It's probably just because I love his cute little legs! Oh, and maybe because putting shorts on Walker (or any kind of clothing for that matter) is an absolute battle these days. So, if we're in for the rest of the night...no pants it is. And sometimes, his shirt is off, too. The only requirement around here is a diaper.

 Cute little muscular legs!

 saying "cheese" while looking at the floor (pretty sure he was trying to not fall down)

"Uh-oh." (I think he had just stumbled.) 

This picture is blurry, but I love Walker's eyes.

 Lainey is pretty confident in her ability to "hold Walker." I love his little happy face.

Lainey's turn to wear my shoes. She had just gotten home from gymnastics, hence the leotard.

 This is Lainey's version of giving Walker a piggyback ride. :)

Big Yiyia, James, Yiyia, Bud, and Yiyia's sister Elsie came over after dinner last night. Walker and Lainey had SO much fun with James. 

And, jumping into Aunt Elsie's lap was fun, too. :)

So Dramatic

The Scene

Location: Yiyia's office at the church where the kids go to school

Date: October 4, 2011

Persons involved: Yiyia, Walker, and me - the Mom

Time: about 2:15 p.m.

Five minutes prior to this picture being taken: Walker heard Yiyia whistling to him...she has this signature whistle that instantly alerts the grandkids (and us, too, actually) that she's in the area. So, Yiyia was whistling from her office and Walker heard her, smiled, tried to find her, and when he couldn't, walked back over to me and grabbed my hand so that we could search for her together. 

One minute prior to this picture being taken: Walker and I found Yiyia in her office, and upon seeing her, he immediately collapsed onto the floor, in this position, and bawled. I think he thought I was going to leave him again after having just picked him up from school. Oh, Buddy.

One minute after this picture was taken: Yiyia won Walker over by giving him a sucker. The boy has a weakness for Dum Dums. :) 

Playing after school...

with this little one! Baby Audrey! (I think she'll always be called that...even though she's just four months younger than Walker.) After all the kids went to school today, Gage, Ainsley, and Audrey came over to play for a bit. It was so fun and I can happily report that the only person who cried was Walker. But that's not all that surprising. I didn't get any pictures of Gage...but he was there, I promise! Thanks for coming over to play, sweet Audrey. We hope to see more of you AND your big brother Keegan when he gets home from Boston! 

Walker is blowing out the candle. :)

Audrey was fascinated with Reagan. In this picture, she's in the process of waving at Reagan. Reagan wanted nothing to do with her, although she couldn't tear herself away. Our dog is a little crazy. She loves to be in the middle of the action but really can't stand the kids. It makes no sense to me.

Cute friends. :) One thing in common - they were both prohibited from going into the overly-crowded tent.  There were two girls in there (and 40 stuffed animals and toys) who had some certain opinions about who should and should not play in the tent. Actually, I think Gage might have been in there at this point, too. I'm grateful that the babies didn't go in there...they would have been smooshed!

Stinky Blogger....

that's me! I have not taken very many pictures lately. Here are just a few random ones...nothing special. As you will see for yourself.

typical goofy Lainey

Ironing!

A few sweet stories about this little one....

• Lainey took a break to (sort of) pose for me. She was in the middle of running up and down the stairs telling Ben (upstairs) and me (downstairs) "secrets." Most have to do with "loving the family" and loving us and loving Reagan. :) 
• She saw this picture on my camera and said, "Aww. I look so cute!" Haha!
• Today I forgot her tap and ballet shoes for dance class (duh) and she was so sweet about it. I said I was sorry and she gave me a hug and said, "That's okay, Mommy. I forgive you. I'll love you forever."
• Yesterday, she told her Sunday School class that everyone should "have a sweet little brother like Walker." (I am pretty sure that was a ploy to give him away to someone...!). 
• If Ben or I get onto Walker or ask him not to do something, she's quick to say, "It's okay, Walker. We'll always love you."  

But, that sweet side can flip right on over to a grumpy side in a heartbeat. As I'm typing this, she's just run into our bedroom and closed the door saying, "Walker, you can't follow me." The other day she shut him in the closet. With the light off. She's definitely three...happy, sad, sweet and mad, all in the span of 10 minutes. :) 

Someday...

We are looking forward to the day when this kid - Keegan - can come over and play with us again. We miss this sweet boy and are praying for him and his incredible family while they are at Children's Hospital in Boston. We miss you, Harrison Family.

Little Lainey and Little Keegan

And, this is my favorite picture of the two of them. Taken the day before Lainey knocked that front tooth right out of her mouth!

Flashback

2010

2011

***

We tried to capture a picture similar to this one from 2010. 

It is still one of our most favorite pictures of Lainey! 

Down by the River

A few pictures from Thursday evening...

...and a few pictures from Friday afternoon...throwing rocks down by the river behind Kip's, one of our favorite restaurants in Pagosa.

 
Lainey loves searching for "perfect rocks."

 

As Ben said, "At least the pictures of you with the kids are consistent for this trip." 

(Meaning: These kids weren't doing me any favors in the picture-taking department.)

A fisherman. I'm sure he was thrilled when we left! :)