Family Pictures

We got family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago by a friend of ours. She is starting to get into photography and she caught some great shots, even with uncooperative kids! It's always amazing to me how my sweet boys can become so obstinate when we're trying to get them to look nice for a picture. :)

But now I need some help. I can't decide which ones I like best. I've posted some of my favorites below--any feedback would be appreciated!

Posed Family

#1-Talmage's smile is ridiculous here, but at least we all look somewhat happy.

#2-Our faces are all okay in this one, but Talmage is kind of an outlier there on the side...and he looks smaller than Wesley.

#3-I like the boys' faces best here, but Sam's tie is twisted. And I just look strange in all of these (could I not keep my head from cocking to the side?). Oh, the dilemma! :)

#4

Posed Couple

#5

#6

#7

#8


Talmage

#9


#10


Wesley

#11

#12


#13-I already know this one is my favorite of his. But it doesn't match very well with Talmage's for the wall. Thoughts?

I loved it so much I had to make a B&W version.

Parent/Child

Mostly just because they're cute...

#14

#15

#16-We found this fishing pole lying in the grass. It made a nice little prop...even though Sam doesn't fish. :)

#17

And just because they're funny...

#18-These were the faces he would pull when we tried to get him to smile.

#19

#20-My friend's daughter found a large beetle. The boys were completely enamored with it! I love their faces!

#21-Talmage kept looking for more bugs and was totally done with pictures after that.

#22-I feel like this one needs a funny old-man caption. Something like, "Now, Erma, how many times have I warned you not to trifle in the neighbors' business??"

#23-Young and free!

So what's your vote?

Wesley's Climbing Escapades

As I've mentioned before, Wesley is my climber. He loves to be up high and especially finds great delight in climbing things he knows he shouldn't. But don't take my word for it! See for yourself:

The table is an obvious favorite. He loves to climb on it and jump around, chanting, "Dance! Dance! Dance!" Check out these mischievous smiles!

He also loves unscrewing parts of the light fixture.

He also likes to climb the piano. We often keep the piano bench upside down to thwart him, but he finds it almost as easy to climb on the couch and hoist himself up onto the piano lid and inch along it. (Again, note the smile...)

It's all in an effort to get the phone.

Or to change the settings on the thermostat.

I usually make dinner in about 1-minute increments. I cook, get Wesley down from the table, cook, get him down from the piano, cook, lift him down from the table and fix the light, cook, get him down from the piano and reset the thermostat, cook... (In fact, I just now stopped typing to get him down from sitting on the piano!)

He also learned how to climb up the bunk bed right after his first birthday, which is insane. When he first learned he would climb on Talmage's train table and pull himself up onto the top of the bottom footboard...

...then lift himself up to the top footboard...

...then hoist himself up...

...and flip over the end.

Now he knows how to use the ladder. Either way, he's incredibly quick about it and I can't let him go downstairs alone unsupervised for a minute or he'll usually end up running around on the bunk bed or sitting in the bathroom sink with the water pouring all over him.

He just thinks it's so fun!

But even though his climbing antics keep me on my toes all day and try my patience a bit, I absolutely cannot resist this boy and his sunshiney smile!

Boys are Fun!

I love playing with the boys! I love their sense of adventure, the games they engage in, their endless energy, and their desire to build (and destroy).

 They love jumping from the piano bench to the couch.

Step-by-step action shots:

Of course Wesley loves to do it, too. He just doesn't jump quite as far.

The stomp rocket my parents gave Talmage for his birthday is a big hit outside! Talmage gets very into it, and actually makes it fly quite high.

Wesley also figured out how to do it all by himself.

The other day we took down his train tracks and flipped his train table over for an old-fashioned game of tabletop ninepins! My sister got me this game in Philadelphia when she was in high school--10+ years ago.

Oh, play-dough. How we love you.

Wesley adores his big brother!!

Tinkertoys are some of the best classic toys out there! We built a church and a temple one night as part of Family Home Evening.

Sam took the boys on a little Father-Son outing to ride the MD Anderson train around Hermann Park in Houston. Even though it was pretty cold (for Houston!), the boys loved it.