Best.Buds.

My boys have a couple of best buds.  I just had to share and document how much they mean to us!!

Hayden (8 weeks) & Cohen (13 weeks)

Jude (5 weeks) & Hayden (8 weeks)

Addison & James (3 weeks apart)

James & Anna Kate (11 days apart)

We love you guys.  We are so thankful to have such sweet friends!!!

Tampa Tampa. Good 'ole FL.

We had a big adventure last weekend.  Matt, James, Hayden and I all flew together!  We headed down for Mr. Jim's first Sunday at his new church, First Baptist Elfers.  It was kinda nice to recognize some faces at a new place- Elfers used to send their youth on the same ski trips as Keystone- I know I continue to be more and more thankful for familiar faces!!

Most exciting (sorry Mr. Jim!! you are very exciting as well :-) for me was getting to see our sweet nephew Jack!!  He is smack dab in the middle between James and Hayden, actually just barely closer to Hayden's age than James- how crazy is that??

Check out these cute Prose boys.  (silly me remembered EVERYTHING except the camera. of course!! so this is the only picture I have!)

Jack 8.5 months, James 20 months, Hayden 7.5 weeks.  (James is 11 months older than Jack who is 7 months older than Hayden)

We had so much fun together.  We visited the Florida Aquarium which I will say was the coolest aquarium I've ever been to!  They have this wetlands exhibit where the water is all behind plexiglass so you can see under the water as well as above it.  You're thinking, big deal right?? Guess again.  As cool as that was where you could see the alligators above as well as below, it was even cooler when the plexiglass stopped at the water line in the exhibits with the birds!!  I was almost lighted on by some pink water fowl!!  I've never laughed so hard.  The birds were so tame, it was amazing.  It was like being out in the swamp with an up close and personal view with no snakes!  My perfect scenario, haha.  Thanks to Mimi and Grandpa for taking us- such a memorable outing!

I took this one with my phone.

You thought I was joking?? haha

We had a blast.  We also got to take the boys to Weeki Watchee Springs to see the mermaids.  Yes, I said mermaids.  They have a natural spring there where the water is crystal clear- it's beautiful.  So, they built this underwater 'stage' with an air hose system so the performers can be 'mermaids' and stay under the whole show!  Yes, yes.  We saw their version of 'The Little Mermaid' as only 'mermaids' could bring it. haha.  James loved the sea turtle character best (vs. the crab in the movie version)!  Thanks Nana for taking the boys.  :-)

Of course Sunday was a real pleasure to be able to attend the service and the welcome lunch for Mr. Jim and Mrs. Teresa, and we were to blessed to be a part.  Looking forward to more trips to Tampa in our future. :-)

We also got a chance to have a little family 'sprinkle' for Hayden.  Mrs. Teresa got his a Baby Einstein themed cake and big colorful caterpillar.  haha!  The boys all wore their Weeki Watchee t-shirts and we played in the pool.  James is getting to be such a good swimmer- I had the BEST time taking him swimming in the pool.  I felt like I was teaching swimming lessons all over again.  :-) So proud of him.

Hayden got some sweet handmade gifts from his 'uncle' A and 'aunt' Nikki- loved the onsie and the matching bow ties for James and Hayden!!  To cute!  Of course Mimi spoiled little Hayden with some super cute toys, but my fav was the See Kai Run's withe the flames on the side!!  You are such a stud Hayden Prose. :-)  Thanks everybody for helping us welcome Hayden and celebrate his arrival.  It meant so much.

Also, Aunt Natassja passed down a matching outfit for Hayden with a polo they gave James for Christmas- can't wait to take some more pics of my boys in matching clothes!!  Thanks so much Natassja. :-)

yeah yeah yeah.  A weekend of mostly Prose(es). haha. couldn't help myself.

life with a dirty kitchen.

ah my life with a dirty kitchen.  I hate having a dirty kitchen- now, I'm thrilled to have someone else clean it for me, but in general, I can't stand to 'leave it till morning' or more recently 'leave it till I have my hands free' which just isn't happening.

you may be thinking- get off the computer and go clean your kitchen then! haha.  I wish.  (no, really I wish it was just clean already.  I wish the whole house was!)  I am doing what I've been doing all day.  trying to get my baby to go to sleep. ! .  I'm typing this out one sentence at a time.

It took me 45 min to write this.

why do I have a dirty kitchen??  Because I get to have these.

Orange Cat Photo

Lord help me to be thankful for these days when I'm a mess and so is my house.  Help me be grateful for the opportunity to sacrifice myself for them and their needs over mine.  Lord give me the courage to not crumble under the expectations I hold for myself, but to give myself grace as you give me courage to overcome each challenge.  Lord help me be a good mom- help me to find a balance for my home.  and please Lord, help me get my kitchen clean. :-) Amen.

needed.a.break.

Just for a chance to catch my breath today, I'm posting a picture.  and I'm going to oo and aah over it for a minute.  Just try to stop me. :-)

as my sweet girlfriends with two under two would say....  "Momma said there'd be days like this..."

But my sweet Hayden is so worth it.

I'm sure you can guess who I have to give credit: Orange Cat Photo

Hayden Matthew Prose

Had to share a little digital birth announcement.

We are so happy to have our sweet Hayden.

Thanks again to Orange Cat Photo for these awesome pictures.  I love them so much.

have.been.dying.to.post.these.pictures.

I have been dying to post some of my favorite pictures from Hayden's newborn shoot!!  I think I'll enjoy spreading them out just for fun. :-)  I could definitely enjoy them more one at a time- I could just sit and look at it for such a long time.  I'm still trying to learn this new little face- soo sweet.

Dana you are my hero.  Seriously, check her out at Orange Cat Photo .

AMAZING.

i.love.this.face.

First Smile. :-)

Hayden Prose - 6 weeks

September 8, 2011

James Prose - 7 weeks old

March 1, 2010

I think they look a little bit alike... :-)  Looking forward to many more smiles little Hayden!!

Walter Hayden Smith

Our precious Hayden was named for my great-grandfather Walter Hayden Smith, my mother's mother's father.  I have been fortunate enough that my Aunt Cindy has some pictures of him that she could pass to me for my Hayden to know see who he was named after.

Just to pass on from my Aunt Cindy- My Mom and her siblings called him Grandpa Haydie.

Haydie was a photographer, and he had a dark room in the basement of his house.  If you look closely at the picture in file labeled "1', you will see that the number of heads does not match the number of feet!  Haydie added himself to the picture in his darkroom, since he was the photographer and was actually behind the camera when the picture was snapped.  This does not see to be a big deal in the age of digital pictures and Photoshop.  However, as you can see by the date on the back of the picture ("2"), it was taken in 1951, and displayed his skills. 


how cool is that???

See you soon. :-)

Good bye is tough, but see you soon isn't so bad.  Most of the lovey-dovey stuff was too much for lil Madeline here. haha.  You can keep your hugs and kisses! Gross. :-)

haha, but seriously, what is this face about??  I love how much fun little kids are.  

This was so picturesque.  I love seeing my bro with his girls.  Such a sweet Daddy to such beautiful girls.

My goofy guss.  He was worn slap out.  Can life get better?  I submit that it cannot.  (oh wait, just wait till 'ole Hayden gets to join in the fun!!)

Love you guys.  Thanks for coming to our house!!

Can't help myself... too many pictures.

 Can't get my family together without breaking out the laptops.  It's almost laughable sometimes.  We all sit together with our laptops out enjoying being in each others' company without necessarily talking.  We were much better on this occasion.  We all gathered around one computer to watch Paul's entire family play a piece of I think Star Wars, including his grandmother in her 80s!  They were all required to play their 'middle school' instrument.  hilarious.  anyways,  we didn't do too much 'separate but together' computer time. :-)

Ah, my Mom and my goofy sisters.

"...and she threw her head back and laughed."  I'm glad we have photo evidence of this because this is how I picture my Mom. :-)

Wish I could remember what we were laughing at.  Did I mention that our family loves to laugh?? We are loud, boisterous, and unabashed.  It can be deafening, and I'm glad my husband, sis-in-law, and bros-in-law all put up with us. :-)

Too sweet.  Precious girls with their Papa.  Check out those little smiles.  Love it!

Time to play!!

Boy did we have fun just hangin' out and playing with the kiddos.  Our sweet nieces are wonderful and funny and clever and just so darn pretty.  They are too much fun and James is just starting to really enjoy hanging out with them.

Just gotta keep him from squishing their sand castles. haha.  They loved building them and James loved knocking them down...  Thankfully, Uncle Matt was able to save Corrie's from the J-monster. :-)

Grammy of course was in baby heaven.  She only had to share a little bit... :-)

 Hayden got to meet his Uncle Josh and Aunt Darcy.  Special props and thanks to Aunt Darcy who was able to get James to fall asleep so that the girls and he could share a room.  Way to go baby whisperer!!  First sleepover: mostly successful! haha

Yes, Hayden has zebra socks on.  compliments of Gram!!

Corn Hole... Lawn chairs... Guitar... Sandbox... Coffee... Baby... Family.

my little sweaty McGee...

Uncle Paul, can I play??

Playing is hard work.  Gotta take a break.  Rehydrate!!  My buddy has so many curls when he gets sweaty.  such a cutie.

SURPRISE!!

We had to have a surprise 'birthday' party for my Mom when we were all together.  She turned 50 this past summer- you would never guess because she looks so young!! :-)  We hadn't gotten to celebrate, so she was REALLY surprised when we did the whole party for her.  So glad we could celebrate with you Mom.  We love you!!!

If you can see James, he was pretty darn excited.  The beautiful cake was made by my sis Michelle.  My sis-in-law Darcy get the major props for picking out and bringing our group gift for my Mom.  We hardly ever do birthday celebrations together because we all live so far apart, so we had to make this one special.  New luggage for Grammy to travel in style to visit her grandbabies!! haha :-D

And how could I resist the 50 disco ball card that sang a song about being 50. haha. James loved it.

My favorite moment caught on film: 'hungry eyes...'

Farmers' Market fresh

Our first activity of our Labor Day weekend was to walk down to our local farmers' market and buy some fresh fruit and veggies to have with our big cookout!  Double yeah for fresh sweet potatoes that my Dad fried up into sweet potato fries. :-)  Nothin' like some good 'ole fried food for labor day.  The highlight of our cookout meal was definitely the ribs that my Dad brought up to smoke.  We had a whole outdoor kitchen goin' at our house.

So nice to get out for some fresh air, fresh fruits and veggies, and fresh flowers!! :-)  Best part: walking there.  Love living in a neighborhood where we walk more than we drive!

Labor Day Weekend: Austin reunion!!

Our Labor Day was pretty special.  My whole 'big' family (as my mom likes to say) was together.  This does not happen very often, and it was the first time many of them got to meet our newest member, Hayden Matthew Prose. :-)

Check us out- we are getting to be quite the good looking group! haha, with each new addition I mean.

I have so many pictures to commit to memory.  love that we got to spend time together and make some memories!!  Even though sometimes coordinating this many people is stressful and tough, it is always worth the effort in the end.  As I have started to learn, sometimes even if the timing is inopportune or the space is tight, I want to be grateful for the time was have been given.  Lord, help me not to miss out on my chances to ENJOY my family by being stressed!! That is my prayer- please help me not to forget it.