I don't think this ever made it onto the blog after I posted it on facebook, so here it is, better late than never. Life has improved a lot since this picture was taken (I'm thinking back in June sometime??), but some days are still like this. It's not quite as bad as it looks. When they are both crying, I try to remember how much of a blessing they both are.
We tried to show off the best of what Corpus Christi has to offer while family was in town visiting for Ian's blessing. First stop was the new Bayfront Park in downtown Corpus. Leah loved splashing around while Mom, Dad, Ian and I watched. She is a girl who loves accessories, so I had no trouble getting her to keep her hat on while in the sun.
Leah is having a quite enchanted love affair with my dad these days. While Papa is awake and around, she wants nothing to do with anyone else (including me!!). While visiting, Grandma could only get Leah to hang with her if Papa was still in bed. It was pretty cute. She would sit with him or stand next to him and lean over for a kiss every few minutes, just to make sure we all knew he belongs to her. It was only a problem when Dad was trying to pack up the car and Leah insisted on following him everywhere. It's hard to get things done with a toddler as a shadow. I wonder if it will be the same when we see them next.
We also took a trip to the beach. It was stinky and the beach was full of seaweed (so could not compete with the beaches that we're used to in NC!), but Leah was pretty happy to be there.
Our little Ian Alexander was blessed on Sunday. We were lucky to have lots of family in town for his special day. My mom made an adorable outfit for him to wear with a matching blanket. He was all smiles for most of the day.
I think he was getting lots of attention during his little photo shoot.
Umm, a family of four? What are we - real adults now? This picture kind of blew my mind when I saw it. Not a great one, but the best one that shows the whole family.
Grandma and Papa with little Ian. Mom did such a good job on his outfit - thanks Mom!
Poor Ian - he looks so pathetic and helpless (like he is, when at Leah's mercy). Leah has started acting more interested in Ian. She often wants to "hold" him and help me take care of him. She sometimes will walk up to us (me, sitting on the couch, holding Ian) and try to take him off of my lap. She is most interested in sharing his pacifier with him. If it's laying on the couch, she eyes it from across the room ("I spy with my little eye..."), darts over, her hand shoots out to grab it, and then she runs off, too fast for me to catch her. She thinks its the best game, mostly because she gets to suck on a passy.
Michael and I have recently had an "Austin Powers" marathon (should I really be admitting that??), so when I got this picture of Ian, I immediately thought of Dr Evil ("one hundred billion dollars..."). Here is our little guy. I think he's looking a little like Stephen, no? Maybe it's all the middle of the night feedings when sometimes I go to switch sides and I can't remember if I already nursed on both sides or just the one. Yikes.
Funny story: this fabric (I think it's called "linen-look" at Joann's) unravels quite easily, much more easily than the cotton I usually use to make her dresses out of. I noticed as I was dressing her at 8:52 on Sunday morning (church starts at 9!) that I had missed a bit of the side seam when I was sewing the front to the back. This is just fancy talk for what basically amounts to a hole in the side of her dress. In my defense, it was quite small and we were t-minus like 6 minutes for church. So, I just figured I could fix it later, hoping beyond hope that Michael wouldn't notice. I mean this kind of craftmanship would give him ammunition for years. As it turns out, the hole got larger as the day at church wore on. Michael did notice and continues to doubt my sewing abilities. And when I picked Leah up from nursery, one of the leaders said, "I think Leah might have torn her dress". How sweet to not say, "um, Becca, it appears that you need to go back to sewing school to learn that you shouldn't send your daughter to church in a holey dress (I couldn't help saying that, he he )". I haven't fixed it yet, but I did inform Michael that sewing is a skill that is developed as you sew. So, I have to keep on making things that might 'look' homemade to get a finished product that isn't noticeably homemade, or maybe could be described as 'handmade' rather than 'homemade'.
My brother Mark and his family drove all the way from North Carolina to visit a couple of weeks after Ian was born. Mark's wife, Keyla is an amazing photographer and she got some great shots of our new little boy. She worked so hard while trying to get him to pose just right! If you live in NC and you haven't had your family's picture taken in a while, hire Keyla. She makes everyone look good!
