October 1, 2012 l Ronan

October has arrived! (seriously, where did September go???).  Ronan turns 2 at the end of this month on the 30th.  As a way to capture all that Ronan is as he turns 2, I am going to take and share one photo each day of Ronan. I have completely and shamelessly copied this idea from my dear friend, Katie Anderson, who is doing the same thing with her daughter, Amity, who also turns 2 on the 30th of October. Katie did this last year and I think it is such a beautiful idea. Thanks Katie!

I'm not sure how I'm going to pick just one each day! This afternoon after nap time, we headed outside to enjoy the awesome weather we're still having.  Aislinn hung out on her play mat while Ronan and I played with bubbles and did a little weeding. Patrick took a little study break and suddenly the cool points I gained for bubbles and dirt were out the window. Nothing beats wrestling with dad! The relationship these two have is so special and it is the perfect way to start this month-long project.

The Fair!

It's that time of year again. That's right, the Fair! I think I look forward to it more now that we have kids. I was so excited to take Ronan to see the animals. He has been really into farm animals lately, so I was curious what his reactions would be. We went to the petting zoo for the first time. I think it was a little overwhelming for Ro, but he had fun letting the goats eat out of his hands.  He was totally freaked out by the horses; they're a little bigger than his rocking horse. :) He did not want to go anywhere near them, yet horsies are all he has talked about since that evening. Funny boy.

The big change this year is that there are babies, babies and more babies around. :)  It's great. 2 years ago, within this exact group, Wyatt was the only baby at the fair; this year there were 6! We certainly did not stay as late as we have in past years, it's just not worth it with the little ones.

A rare family pic

Aislinn got mad shortly after this, wanting to be turned around to see the sights :)

Ali's latest (and best) accessory, baby Cannan (yes, there is a baby in there!)

a classic Toby/Patrick pic

sweet Enslow fam

completely terrified

Summer Lovin'

I seem to have a thing with using songs for my post titles lately... Anyway, contrary to what everyone around me is saying, this summer is not officially over until September 22nd. C'mon people!  Since we have no school age children (and no adult students!!!) heading back to school and thus signifying the end of summer, and since the temperatures have been in the high 80's, we decided it's not quite time to call it quits for summer 2012.  Here are a couple of highlights:

Trips to the park (including this pizza picnic at Manito)

A trip to Couer d'Alene.

This is such a classic Ronan look right now. Cracks us up

Despite all that I've said, that last shot most definitely looks like the end of summer, doesn't it? We shall see...

Aislinn l 3 Months

Our sweet girl is 3 months!  I feel like she has changed so much this month, especially in the last 2 weeks.  She is just full of smiles and coos for us now.  She just loves when we talk and smile and sing, especially when we sing.  I think she loves singing more at this age than Ronan did! She lights up no matter what it is we are singing.  Aislinn is also taking more notice of her daddy and big brother. She loves to be in on the action, right in the middle of whatever is going on. Her wide eyes taking everything in.  Ronan continues to love on her and do so well with her.  He brings my the boppy and says "boppy, baby" when he wants to hold her. It is so fun to watch these interactions!

Aislinn is such a content baby and we feel so blessed that she has adapted well to our crazy life. She will now happily play on her play mat, staring at the baby in the mirror and reaching for (and catching) the little guys that hang from above.  When she gets a bit fussy, I just swaddle her, put her down and she falls asleep on her own. Yay! Unfortunately since we are often on the go, she rarely sleeps more than 45 minutes without needing a little extra comfort to go back to sleep. And she's not yet sleeping through the night consistently.  But no complaints here, she really is such a doll.

update

Aislinn's 2 month photos have (finally) been posted. Editing photos has been the last thing on my list lately, but at least they were taken when she was actually 2 months :)

Here is the link: http://patrickandnikki.blogspot.com/2012/08/aislinn-2-months.html

I'm really excited the 3 month photos I took at Manito Park! If all goes well, I should have them up in a couple of days. :)