See the resemblence?

Here are two pics - both of the boys at 6 months. They don't look like twins or anything, but sometimes I am so surprised at how similar they do look!!

Pumpkin Patch!!

Well, the boys and I joined the sweet Haines family for a trip to the pumpkin patch in Sherwood. Eli and Samuel had a great time picking out pumpkins and riding the hay ride. Samuel has been lacking a lot of sleep lately (I was up 4 times last night with him), so it was a great distraction before naptime. The black and white with the orange pumpkin picture is Samuel claiming that pumpkin as his own - of course it was one of the larger ones.

Hospital Trips

Well, we've been spending a lot of family time at Good Samaritan hospital up in NW Portland, as Colin's Grandma Mary was ill for a few days. She has been discharged, but I couldn't help take some pics of the family time. Colin and Samuel kicked leaves together (yes, Samuel is wearing his construction vest), Samuel played with his Auntie Erin, and Jude, as always, was chewing on his Tylenol bottle. Things are getting back to normal today. We are contemplating putting hardwoods in our entire house (I'm pretty much insisting on never having carpet), and will probaby being buying all the materials in the next few days. Who knew a fixer house could be so expensive?? Lately we are both feeling like this house is one we will stay in for awhile after we have completed the remodel.

The first picture is of Samuel feeding Jude his sweet potatoes. He fed him the entire bowl of food! Who ever said having two kids was difficult?

Jude at 6 months

Here are a couple of pictures taken of Jude yesterday - I guess they are his unofficial 6 month pictures. His doctor politely asked me if I am feeding him enough as he is drifting down on the weight charts. Funny, he doesn't look skinny to me! Turns out he is pretty long for his age, very opposite of Samuel in that respect. It seems like just yesterday that I had him, and as I strolled into the doctor office yesterday, I heard a newborn cry and it tugged at my heart a bit. Where did the time go?

More Photoshop Fun

Here is a photo of Jude with a stuffed monkey from yesterday that I photoshopped in two different ways - 1) playing with the saturation, and 2) completly converting to black and white then adding the color of the stuffed monkey back. This has taken me two hours, but what else do I do while the boys are out of town?!

Hasty Update

As I have been trying to understand Photoshop, a new addition to my computer, I have failed to upload numerous photos, thus lagging behind on the blog. Being the brilliant person I am, I figured out how to shrink the files that I am saving, and here are some photos I have altered. As my very astute friend Erin warned me "People have to take college classes to learn that program" - and now I understand why! Anyway, I took a picture (see below) of Samuel at the airport jungle gym having a great time. We picked up Sarah, as she just returned for good from Japah. Samuel, who has turned out to be extrememly emotional and affectionate, told her eleventyhundred times that he missed her and loved her. And she thought he would forget her over the course of a year! Samuel returned yet again to the airport this morning, this time for himself and Colin to fly off to San Jose to visit an ailing family member. They will be driving back up from California in a few days and I can't wait to hear how Colin occupied an almost three year old for two days in a car. Ahh, but he does have Uncle Goat at his beck and call. Should be interesting...

Jude's First Meal

I tried to hold Jude off of eating solids until he hit six months, but those pesky middle of the night feedings crept back into the schedule and he began grabbing food off of our plates, so I figured it was time. He did not prefer the rice cereal, as you can see from the pictures, but leaned more toward the cream cheese bagel Colin let him lick off of about two months ago. He also sucked on Colin's apple yesterday - food allergies, here we come!

Cute picture archives

As we just got a new computer, I have been perusing all of our digital pictures on file and had to post a few cute ones. 1) Samuel with his toy tractor when we first moved into this house; 2)Family photo a few days before I was due with Jude (yes, Colin and Samuel are wearing kilts - cute!); 3) Jude sitting in his Bumbo seat eating Samuel's spanking spoon; and 4) the boys having a moment on Papa's chair - fun for all!

Lincoln City Girls' Weekend!!

Well, we did it - we had a three day girls' weekend at a beautiful house in Lincoln City (well, Depot Bay). Barb, Joy, Malisa, Erin, Camille and myself were in attendance. There was lots of hot tubbing, watching chick flicks (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the like), piecing together a puzzle and lets not forget the carb loading we all did =). We even had a fondue night, which of course I took a picture of. I discovered how wonderful red lentil soup is (thank you Erin and Camille) and vowed to get a special coffee drink each day we were there. We went to the Tanger Outlet mall and began Christmas shopping, even exchanging a few Christmas gifts early - the Mikasa treats were just too irresistible to keep to ourselves. I felt the stress melt away while I didn't have two little people dependent upon me night and day, but by Sunday I was glad to be greeted by those little guys back home. The boys stayed home with Colin and when I returned everyone was dry and fed, be it a little smelly. And yes, I read my book - I even got half way through! It's called "The Mystery Guest" by a French author - and it truly is a cross between "When Harry Met Sally" and "Mrs. Dalloway". I would highly recommend it!