Rex's 1st Month--The Photobook

I have had a photobook credit since I was pregnant with Rex. It expired August 31 which seemed SO far away at the time. Naturally, I realized it was expiring and stayed up late last night finishing it up.

If you see any typos--please don't tell me. I don't want to know.

It took me about three hours and I am very pleased with how it turned out!

Since I am fairly certain my scrapbooking days are behind me, I was really excited to complete this book in so little time and can't wait to see it in person!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Start your own Shutterfly Photo Book today.

Life (and Death) Lessons

Jellybean

May ?, 2011 - August 9, 2012

Lyla's second day of Kindergarten went great! Unfortunately, she came home to find an empty fish tank.

I went to feed Jellybean shortly after taking her to school and found him bloated in the bottom corner of the tank. Not floating. Odd, huh? Maybe not. Apparently, it was a rough week for Bettas because I know of two other Bettas who also died that same week and were found in the same way. Creepy.

Lyla went straight to his tank and noticed him gone. 

The conversation went a little like this:

Where's Jellybean?

Well, we need to talk about that. (long pause to find the right words)

Mom? Where is he?

Jellybean died, Honey.

He did? (pause) But where is he?

Well, do you know what people do with fish when they die?

No.

(deep breath) I flushed him down the toilet.

Gross.

I know.

*(This next part was the highlight for me...because she is so in tune to proper fish care)*

But was the water the right temperature for him?

(then it hits her)

It doesn't matter anymore, does it, Mom?

No, Honey, it doesn't.

(then she starts giving herself a pep talk)

It's okay, Mom...I can get another fish...it's okay.

(then the tears start flowing)

But I am going to miss him, though.

We cuddled on the couch and talked about what a good fish Jellybean was. Then I think she had a frozen gogurt. She asked about getting a new fish for a couple of days but we told her we might wait a while. The clean tank is currently on a shelf in the garage...until it is needed again...sometime.

Stretching

August 9, 2012

 Rex is cute no matter what he does.

 But stretching is his "cute specialty."

 He enjoys everything about stretching.

 And often works a toot or two out this way.

 Rex is truly one of the happiest babies.

 I just love his toothless grins!

Blog Folder Clean-up

I have this folder on my desktop appropriately titled "blog." It's where I save pictures to post on the blog. Then life happens and pictures just don't get posted. When I opened that folder yesterday, there were 523 photos in it. Thankfully, most of them have been posted but below are the ones that had been "left behind," so to speak. Enjoy!

 July ?, 2012

My daughter is fearless.

That's a spider in her bug kit.

She was very proud of herself for catching it without touching it.

Ick.

Outdoor Fun - July 11, 2012

 Look at that grin

 and all that hair!

 Lyla loves playing with her daddy

 and with her glider plane

 They raced to get it

 Rex has changed so much since then!

 Love those big, bright eyes

Sweet, sweet boy

 Lyla used her guitar box as a canvas and drew a picture of ME!

July 17, 2012

 Rex and I watched Lyla perform her VBS songs

 Rex did some neck exercises. too

July 25, 2012

  Lyla's friend, Aiden, invited her to Kids Place for a day of jumping, climbing and games!

They found a great game and scored TONS of tickets

 The little girl here was the Vegas equivalent of a "lurker."

Her mom left her and her brother there to play while she worked out at the attached gym.

So, she latched on to Lyla and Aiden wanting to play games on their tokens and earn tickets.

I felt kinda bad for her but at the same time...she had a pretty good, little racket going.

 Aiden's face cracks me up. It was a fun day!

August 10, 2012

 My college friend, Mary, got Rex this outfit and I was so excited when he finally fit into it!

And yes, I snapped a picture of my child crying...don't judge.

This blog is about real life and it's not all grins and giggles, is it? No. It's not.

So, here he is proving that he truly is "Crabby But (OH SO) Cute"

Later that night...

Rex is in bed by 7:30pm. In fact, now that school has started--Lyla is too.

It's a beautiful thing. Seth and I have hours (plural) of time together at night.

Another college friend (and mother of 6), Shana, once told me that when your kids give up their nap, it's a good thing because you get time with your spouse. I should have believed her.

But these pictures were taken on a Friday which meant Lyla didn't have to go to bed early and Seth was fishing. Lyla LOVES jumping rope and insisted I join her. So, I did. I am sure you are disappointed there are not pictures of me. Ask the guy mowing our neighbor's lawn that night--he'll tell you it was entertaining.

 Lyla is pretty good at it, though.

She has gotten up to 6 or 7 jumps.

 After I was completely worn out, we played fetch with Lane

 until he was completely worn out.

 Lyla wasn't so easy to wear out

 She was full of energy

She definitely slept well that night, though.

Some Bathtime Photos

Rex loves to stretch and roll on his side

 My long and lean boy

 Rex at 3+ months

 Lyla at 4+ months

I have recently been too lazy to scrub out the kitchen sink so he's been bathing in the big tub.
Rex really likes baths. He panics at first but once you start washing his hair, he relaxes and enjoys it.
He has recently started kicking in the water, too.

Family (Self) Portraits, July 22, 2012

I felt like we needed some more current family pictures so I set up the tripod and snapped a few!

 Trial shot before setting the timer

 Lightened and cropped a little

After this picture, I asked Lyla to try not to blink

 This is what I got

 

 Handsome Men

Grinning at Daddy

Okay, may a "few" more than a few.

What can I say, I love my family and can never have too many pictures.