I will take Real-Life pictures anyday...

I know that posed photos at the park are so popular right now.  I love looking at the pictures people post on facebook of their newborn smushed up in a basket.  Or their family frolicking at the park blowing bubbles.  They are adorable.  All of their outfits match and are coordinated.  It's a beautiful sunshiny day.  Great pictures.

I tried it once.  I have done it twice - once with just the kids and once with all of us.  They were okay.  I am completely uncapable of coordinating outfits.  We just all had regular clothes on.  They were nice pictures.  

 

Here is my attempt at "pictures in the park". 
Their outfits are almost coordinated.  There is a background.
We're at a park on traintracks.  :)

But the pictures I really love of my family are real life pictures.  The selfies we take while sitting on the couch.  The ones were we ask a stranger to hold our camera.  We are in real clothes doing real things.  I love the candid shots of us.  When I think back to my favorite memories, it's not posed at the park.  It's real life.  We're sweaty.  We're dirty.  We're tired.  We're silly.  We're family.  I just looked through my old pictures and those are my memories.  I will take these pictures of my family over the professional ones anyday.  They are not for me.  But I will oohing and ahhing and loving everyone elses.

 

My current favorite picture of us. 
We're at the track.  We don't match each other or ourselves.
We have hats and are dirty.  We're smiling.
We're busy living!

Another oldie but goody - busy living and reading. :)

 

A new Sunday...

A few months ago, I mentioned the girl who sits in front of us at church.  Yesterday she came with a boyfriend.  It made me smile.  Again, i don't know her or her story - have they been dating awhile this is the first time she was able to bring him to church?  Did they just start dating?  I don't know.  But I knew that it would be fun to watch her life progress through all the stages and maybe she is in the next one.  :)

Calvin's Growing Up!

 need to get blogging again.  i've started several posts but haven't finished any.  So i will start with an easy one.  

Calvin is growing up!!!  He has been potty trained for 3 months!  He was 3 1/2 before he was potty trained which I think is on the old side, even for boys.  But it went just I thought - when they are ready, it's easy.  The whole process was harder on me than it was on Calvin.  I was very patient with potty trained until January when he hit 3 1/2.  Then I started to lose my patient.  Let me advise you, throwing a pull up at your son and telling him to change himself is not a successful potty training method.  But then one day in early February, he wore underwear and we haven't looked back!  He had a few accidents in the beginning and still have a few number 2 accidents (I don't know why).  He wears pull ups to bed but really doesn't need to.  Whenever he has an accident, we pull the changing stuff out of the closet and then he puts it back in the closet (wipes and changing mat) and says he doesn't need it ever again.  

But now that he is potty trained, he is officially in the preschool class at daycare.  He started March 3.  I am so impressed with his preschool and how much he has changed and grown up in the past two months.  He questions a lot.  He clearly listens to all his lessons and tells me about what he learns every day.  He is so proud of the pictures he colors and shows me very day.  When we listen to the radio in the car, he asks questions about what he hears and he asks so many questions about what he sees and always wants to learn more.  He has become so caring of Dog.  He brings Dog to school with him everyday because Dog would be lonely if he was left at home.  He places Dog in the cubby so he can watch class.  Yesterday, Dog had a graham cracker in his cubby.  He takes very good care of Dog. 

On the flip side, that boy is going to give me a heart attack!  He is constantly on the go.  We have had a few close calls running across the street or in parking lots.  Waiting for ballet class is a challenge. Although he always wants to join in and dance with them.  If he doesn't get his way, he throws himself on the floor and screams.  He is the cliche that it isn't the terrible twos, it is the terrible threes!  He has a very bad and mischievous side to him.  he was the quietest and most well behaved baby ever but once he hit three, he got loud and bossy! 

It has been so fun over the last few months to watch the grown up changes in my sweet little boy and watch his personality develop even more.  He has always been fascinated with music as most children are but he seems to have a real creative side to him.  He loves coloring and drawings.  I can't wait to see how his creative side develops and if it grows into more.