February

First off - VERY IMPORTANT - if you log onto my blog, and you hear a horribly obscene noise in the way of a lady announcing as if she was speaking over a p.a. system at a department store ... I'm SO SORRY!!! I have the music playing from my blog as I type, and as soon as I brought it up, that played (complete with terrible swear words!) and I have noooooo idea where it came from. I looked over my music playlist several times, and clicked through all the songs just to make sure they were going to play what they said they should. Aside from deleting the music all together, I'm not sure what to do.

Promise me one thing: if you hear that please leave me a comment, and I'll delete my music. Thank you. Now, onto better things ;)

ETA: I think I found it, but please comment if you still hear it. Thank you.

Well, February is nearly over, and I've made a goal for myself. I need to put better effort into photographing my family. So - I hope with each month that comes and goes, I'll have a post devoted to my precious beings. Because they are just that - precious. They rock my world each and every day. And they also make me totally crazy each and every day (totally crazy)... funny how each balances each other out. On any given day, we've got a few pouty lips ... so let me just show you what I'm talking about ... because life is what it is ... and I'm loving loving every minute of it ...

Here's baby Sophie, 16 months old. As I type this, "Who's my pretty baby" is playing. I remember so vividly Sophie laying on my lap as I was editing pictures while sitting at the computer with my rear in the chair, my feet on the desk, and Sophie in all her newborn newness asleep - with that song playing. Well ... as short-lived as that was, it was amazing. Ah-freaking-mazing :) She started sucking her thumb at 10 weeks, and I'm STILL loving the thumb-sucking-babe. If anyone ever comes to tell you that you should try to get your baby to stop sucking their thumb, please send them my way (unless they are in school ;). I have a scroll list of reasons as to why babies should be born with a thumb sucking gene.

So much so, that I've already invested in her orthodontic fund.

Whatev.



Here's the pouty lip Sophie. This came on like a hurricane in the middle of a calm night. Seriously. Out of the blue. I snapped this on the fly. Everything to do with photography is off, but it's life ... in the midst of it happening, and that's why I love it.



More pouty 'tude. I have the pleasure of seeing this several times a day. If something is awry - off she goes. First, she turns her back to you and looks down. Her hands go up, and she sort of twiddles her thumbs at chest level. LIPS WIDE OUT. If one looks VERY closely, they'd see her shoulders rising and falling - indicating deep breathing is happening. And that not only indicates deep breathing. You're very close to hurricane status. So brace yourself.



Moving on. Here's Brock, three-and-a-half. Apparently, the harder you cross your arms, the more serious you are. I accidentally touched his hair when he was walking by.

Yes. It was that big of a deal.

I'll be more careful from now on.

The other day he was upset with me because I didn't realize that it was "serious" when his stickers wouldn't stick. Life IS a big deal. I understand that now.



And so, because it makes my goofy heart happy - here's that three-and-a-half-year-old-bum in skinny jeans. Can I help it? I'm his mom, and I think his cute little tushy is to die for :) He lost his mind when he heard the shutter snap with this shot. We're working on the snap-showy-ness of things.



He still loves his mama though. I hear it in the evening, when he's tired beyond all get-out (and Rod's not home), "Ma, lay down me...".

Melts my heart every time.



And so I don't leave anyone out ... here's pouty Tatum. She was REALLY upset with me, because I wouldn't tell her what colors to color her kindergarten school work. She showed me just how much, and didn't even change her tune when I showed her what the picture looked like.

She's showing me that side again as we speak ... it's wierd, because she feels funny - "every time I blink". It's late, and she doesn't want to sleep.

And there is nothing in her eye's (I'm a nurse, so I checked 'em good).



This is Jasper.



She was seven years old. We found out as a family what profound loss feels like this week. To say Tatum loved this cat would be an understatement. Rod and I got our two cats before we had kids, so she was definitely a part of our family.

Even if I complained about her every day.

I went to work February 17 at three p.m and all was well. I came home, went to bed, and Rod woke me at 6:45 a.m. telling me "I don't think Jasper is doing so well...". I flew downstairs, and he was right. Within minutes, we were ready to take her to the vet, which was 45 minutes away.

She died 10 minutes away from the doctor.

We've gone from gut-wrenching heartbreak, to being sad with the noticable abscence of Jasper. The personable cat. If you were ever at our house, you most certainly met Jasper ... the big grey cat.

The doctor said it was Mesenteric Torsion. The odds are similar to that of being struck by lightning, so she said.

Here are three cards made by Tatum, my nephew Ryder, and my niece Emily. It's still strange around here, but we're doing ok. Our other cat, Jevity, is still having a hard time. She wanders aimlessly. In the night she walks, and howls. It breaks my heart.









And because I like to end on a good note, here's my Brock again from a couple weeks ago :)