photo explosion :: vol. 9

{at the zoo with a moss monster}

{brushing a goat!}

{the day ezra fell asleep on our bed}

{the first of two front teeth lost in a week!}

{joy}

{blueberry picking with friends}
see more pictures of our day here!

{college roommates... almost ten years ago.  can't believe we are getting so old!}

{"how do i look mom?"}

{gabe wanted to bake "something".  turned out to be a banana cake of sorts with mustard in it.  not as bad as it sounds.}

{what one does, so must the others}

{chicks}

{homeschool friends beach day = 8 mamas and 28 kids}

at three years...

our sweet titus:

:: weighs 29 pounds (25th percentile) and is 36.5 inches tall (25th percentile).  he is little, but what he lacks in size he more than makes up for in ferocity. he can do anything his brothers can, and does it well.

:: is going through a daddy loving stage.  most afternoons something will trigger a sadness in him that can only be cured by a little love from steve.  it is really cute.

:: is really, really chatty.  and outgoing.  he will talk anyone's ear off about anything for as long as they will listen.  he never runs out of things to say.

:: sings the songs from frozen with a ton of enthusiasm. it is amazing, and i am working on getting a video.

:: sucks his thumb.  he hasn't always, but around thanksgiving he picked it up and has been going strong ever since.  he doesn't care which hand either and switches between the two.

:: has a special laugh that he uses when he is really excited about something or thrilled with himself.  it makes me melt a little every time he uses that laugh.

:: loves to making lists in whatever notebook is handy.

:: loves coffee. and often asks for it when i have one.  my solution:  a cup of milk with a splash of creamer.  he drinks it pretty much every day.

:: is really good at catching flies with his hands.  when he gets one, he feeds it to our geckos.

:: is sleeping between us every morning when i wake up.  i usually have no clue what time he came in, as it really no longer wakes me us when he stumbles into our room.

::  has declared his favorite color to be green.

:: is such a sweet, passionate, loving little boy.  we are so blessed that he is part of our family!

at one year...

sweet jonah:

:: weighs 22 pounds 6 ounces (50th percentile) and is 31.75 inches tall (97th percentile).

:: loves to empty drawers and cabinets. anything within his reach is daily spread out on the floor.  and don't even bother cleaning it up; jonah takes this as a gesture of love, as he now has another drawer to empty.

:: is by far the chattiest one-year-old we have had (to the best of my tired mama brain's knowledge).  he says mama, i love you, uh oh, ta da, gabe, jonah, hi, hello, night night, woah, and several others that are not coming to mind.

:: is the pickiest baby we have ever had.  all of the boys go through periodic phases of pickiness, but we have never had a picky baby before.  he hates most fruits (strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, apples that are cut up, the list goes on), and a number of vegetables as well.

:: has a very special love for steve.  it is clear that he simply adores his daddy.

:: has seven teeth.  four on top and three on bottom.  i am beginning to suspect that, like his biggest brother, he may be missing one of the bottom teeth. weird genetic flaw, i suppose.

:: loves to play ball and will throw a ball around the house for hours.

::  is beginning to play with the older boys.  sometimes i will catch him and ezra laying on the bottom bunk, playing some ongoing, unspoken game that they have made up.  its pretty sweet.

:: is adored by his big brothers.  every morning, without fail, when i bring jonah out of his room the older boys all yell his name and rush over to hug and kiss him.

:: has figured how to get off of the furniture by swinging his legs over and hanging one until his feet hit the ground.  scares me every time, but he can do it.

:: does not walk.  he is a pro crawler and stands well.  he also walks around the house holding onto various pieces of furniture, but he is not a walker.  he has the skills, but not the drive.  very much like his brother, ezra at this age, in fact.

:: is a really content baby.  he rarely gets upset and mostly spends his day quietly exploring the house.

:: has the most contagious laugh. and he uses it more and more these days.

:: still gives those precious open mouth baby kisses.  sometimes in great quantity.

:: is amazing and so very loved in this little family.  i am so glad he is ours.

easter celebrations

a little late, but there were pictures, so i figured it was worth posting anyways!  every year there is a parade down the street that we live on.  every year i forget about the parade until the minute that it arrives, and it is always a pleasant surprise. the boys love it (with the exception of the motorcycles, which can be a little too loud for them), and are always pleased to be able to step out of our door and be at the parade already.  there is an official city of st, augustine parade downtown each year, and we have attended it in the past. this parade, however, is distinctly west augustine, and such a perfect reflection of this community.  there are many disadvantages to living on a fairly busy main road, but every easter, i am pleasantly surprised by this benefit.