Milestones

I remember the day I outgrew my Grandma.

It really wasn't that hard to do, she was barely 4'11".

But it was what we all aspired to do when we were littles. The very first adult to be shorter than us, and she was such a great sport about it all; standing there with a patient smile on her face as we stood back to back, hoping with all of our might that it was THE YEAR that we were taller.

This kid would have outgrown her by the time he was 9 1/2.

He's been outgrowing adults for a few years now, so it wasn't such a big deal to outgrow his first Grandma. But I'm still re-living my childhood on a regular basis, so I had to get a photo of this day:

At 64 1/2 inches tall and not yet 12 years old, I struggle to conceive of just how tall he might become. I would be pretty comfortable betting on 6'5". He has less than five inches until he's as tall as me and we have to swap arm placement when we hug. I'm getting in as many top-arm hugs as I can in the meantime.

Summer Break: Week One

As far as first weeks of Summer Break go, this one was pretty uneventful. We mostly just caught our breath. Ran errands, did all the usual things, but without the added pressure of school. It rained way too much to get outside and play, but the local pool is covered, so at least that's something...

An official rite of passage (one that I'm not ready for)... this baby of mine was officially moved up to the church Youth Group. So proud of the person he is becoming, but it is happening so, so, so, fast.

Past Octobers

You guys! Someone stop time for me PLEASE???

These kids of mine are growing up way too fast.

I can't even start to believe that my babies are little people now.

When I try to cuddle with them, they are all elbows and knees instead of being soft puddles of baby fat that conform to every nook and cranny. There is morning breath and stinky you-know-whats and sweat now, instead of all the sweet smells that used to surround them (well, the diapers weren't so sweet, now that I think about it).

I saw a picture recently of my little sister's two year old and two month old together, and it reminded me of a similar picture that I thought I had somewhere. So I went digging through my 2008 folder (the year my daughter was born), and I couldn't pull myself out of that memory vortex until I had looked at e v e r y  s i n g l e  p i c t u r e.

I stopped myself before continuing the journey through the thousands of photos between that year and this, but I did choose one from each October since my oldest joined our family.

Watch and weep with me:

Riding Bikes

When you live way out in the woods, there are usually very few places for a kid to easily learn to ride a bike. Gravel and hills aren't very conducive for a couple of pretty cautious kids to get up the guts to pedal all-out and trust themselves (and their bikes) enough to get those training wheels off. We've been encouraging and training them as well as we can, but decided it was about time they had some smooth surfaces and time to practice. So, on Mother's Day (my choice), we headed up the road to a beautiful park called Wildwood, where we knew there would be ample space to ride.

With a new bike rack, and soon-to-be-purchased yearly pass to the park, we're hoping that by the end of Summer, our two littles will be ready for some family rides. I sure miss feeling that wind in my hair!

Flotsam

In which I display a bunch of random, unrelated photos because I like them but don't want to give them each a separate post...

There you have it, a glimpse of our Summer, which is fading away much too quickly. I keep trying to grab onto what's left... if anyone has mastered that particular trick, please don't hesitate to tell me how.

Looking Back

I recently used up the last of the space on my ancient external hard drive. With lots more photos and files to back up, I bought a fancy new one that holds more data than my computer hard drive (time to upgrade!) While waiting for files to transfer, I started looking back at the Aprils of the past, and thought it might be fun to take you on a little walk down memory lane with me.

All photos taken on or around Tax Day.

2006... Farmboy with a four-month old Firstborn.

2007... The Boy with his Dog (Bailey).

2008... Three-month old Baby Sister joins her Big Brother and parents on a trip to see some BIG FISH.

2009... The kiddos having fun with crayons and a butcher-paper covered table.

2010... Farmboy and the kids feeding the fish.

2011... Palm Sunday celebration.

2012... The kids in their new play fort.

And this year... looking so grown up, still the best of friends.

Lest you wrongly get the impression that they are always sweetness and light... this is the unprompted, spontaneous shot that came next.

I'm pretty sure they get it from me.