Generations

A few weeks ago I received a wonderful call: my grandparents were going to be driving cross-country to see us (and other family along the way)!! Well, maybe not us but my kids...let's just be honest. But I will take what I can get. My grandpa has been battling prostate cancer that has spread to his bones and lymph nodes, and he recently started on a new drug that is supposed to stop the growth. He got a good report from his doctor in July and so he and Grandma decided to cross a few things off Grandpa's bucket-list. One thing: go to Kentucky and visit his (only) great-grandchildren. I couldn't be more lucky that I am his great-grandkids' mom! :) When I told my mom that G&G were coming to visit, she decided to buy a plane ticket and "kill two birds with one stone" ...this became a big joke over the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my long weekend with my family. We had four generations under one roof. The boys really enjoyed the visit and Keagan is still talking all about "Grandma, Grandma, and Grandpa" or "the two Grandmas and Grandpa." I tried to take as many pictures as I could and was probably quite obnoxious, but I got some great pictures of my boys with their grandma and great-grandparents.

 

The first night we were all together, we celebrated (Great) Grandma's 78th Birthday! (Grandma, don't be mad at me for telling your age...once you get to a certain point you have to "own" it and be proud of your number!) Keagan wanted to touch the cake so badly...especially after being told not to. But then I don't think he even had a bite of it! What is it with my kids not wanting to eat cake?? Especially this awesome tie-dye cake!?

Grandpa and his great-grandboys, all three of them...

Grandma and her boys...there is no chance we could ever get both to smile at the same time. Oh well!

Great Grandma's turn to get some Finley and Keagan lovin'

One day we went to Paducah and ate lunch, walked around downtown, looked at the floodwall murals and the train, and sat by the river and just enjoyed the beautiful day and each other. The boys ate up the attention from their grandparents and, while they wouldn't sit still, I got some sweet pictures. Some are pretty funny ones, too, since we were wrangling boys whenever the camera came out.

A couple faces only a mother could love. Finn had a continuous stream out of his nose because he decided to get his one-year molars while everyone was visiting...thus he had crusties in every picture. And Keagan decided to play "knuckle sandwich" with Grandpa and anyone who paid attention to him...

My beautiful mother.

I had a really tough time saying good-bye to everyone. As my family has grown and developed, I have a different, stronger appreciation for my parents and grandparents and I wish with all my heart everyone was a mere stone's throw away from us. Keagan and Finley really soaked up every minute with their Grandma and Greats, and I am so thankful for the time we had. We made new memories and revisited old memories. I long for our next visit with everyone.

A Beautiful Disaster

The weekend of Finn's birthday we met Julie in Owensboro for a one-year photo session. We added in some family pictures, too. Of course, Finley was sick, teething, and/or in ill-form. He wasn't interested in smiling. He hated his smash cake. He just plain didn't want to cooperate. Poor Julie, who was super-concerned that I would be disappointed that we didn't get pictures of the kids smiling, kept trying to get the "perfect" shot. I tried to let her know that I didn't mind if they didn't smile, because, well, this is just how it is. Of course, I secretly prayed my children would behave, but the God's-honest truth is the photo shoot was a disaster and I seriously wondered if we'd even get one good picture. But Julie came through with flying colors, capturing our family as we are, and I love the pictures. The result: a beautiful disaster.

 

(like always, I can't pick just one to share, so I am sharing all of my favorites!)

 

The next two pictures are not even close to wall-worthy. BUT I am so glad Julie decided to include them in my CD because they are perfectly my children. And I love them!!

And then probably one of my favorites....

Now for the real reason we hired Julie. Happy First Birthday, Mr. Finley!! And it's ok that you weren't interested or participatory in your 1-year pictures. You are who you are. And we LOVE you!

 

Julie texted me while she was editing these pictures and said that she cracked up at Finn's expressions. And that he was looking at her like she was so mean in 20% of them. I told her that he gives me the same look 80% of the time!

And the Smash Cake. It didn't go over well at all. First of all, don't expect much from a Wal-Mart bakery. I showed them a picture of what I wanted and the lady did exactly the opposite of what I wanted. I even asked her if I could text her the picture. Nope. The cake was only 1-cent because smash cakes are free when you buy a big cake, even though we didn't. But I don't think I could have been paid to love this cake. And, Secondly, Finn felt the same way....

He also doesn't like grass...

Better now that he isn't in the grass...but still not a fan of cake.

No cake was consumed by Finley. He didn't even want to touch it. But I made sure there was a little mess to clean up. :) Not all fat kids love cake.

Julie just announced that she is expecting her first baby in March. I cannot wait for her to get to hold her own baby...she does so well with everyone else's that I can only imagine she will be a natural. Congrats Julie!!!  And thank you yet again for capturing so well the beautiful disaster that is our family.