Sweet & Silly

Luke went out on a wet morning to pick a fluffy dandelion.  He had one hand in his pocket and just looked sweet - so I tried to capture that.  :)

"Take a picture of me!"

The world according to Luke...

Jonathan's latest trick.  :P

Picture Happy

For some reason, I took a lot of pictures last Tuesday.  Lots of silliness around here!  First off is Jonathan enjoying his teddy bear for the first time.  :)

Then, Luke started amusing himself by showing up next to me in outrageous headgear!  Once, he even showed up as just himself - to throw me off.  :P

I had a cold again for the second time in March, so I thought I'd make some chicken soup with my homemade chicken broth.  I threw in the veggie "trifecta" and it looked particularly photographic.

Luke wanting a picture of him as he watched me make the soup.

This is Jonathan eating well - wide open mouth!  The temp and consistency must have been up to his standards.  :P

This recipe is my excuse to use alphabet noodles, so I found Luke's name for him - he thought that was pretty cool!

And here's a snapshot of a laughing marathon when Jonathan couldn't stop laughing at Luke shaking his rattles.  Enjoy the video here!

I'm Picky, Mom

This is the face Jonathan makes when I'm trying to feed him cereal that's too thick, too cold, too SOMETHING.  :P  The little stinker is sure cute when he's refusing his food, though!

St. Patrick's Day 2011

I had my arms crossed on this morning because I was cold, and at one point, I noticed Luke copying me!  So, I asked him to recreate it for me for a picture - and I ended up with one of the sweetest smiles of him on camera in a LONG time!  Precious morning look... complete with pajamas.  :)

Spring has sprung!  I had fun snapping pictures of all the flowers in our backyard right now.  Of note were the tulips that I discovered!  This is our first spring at this house, so it's fun to see what's here.  :)  Oh, and if you know the names of any of these non-tulip flowers, let me know!

Goofball wanted me to take a picture of him, too - not just the flowers.  Now can you tell why I was so excited to get the above smile of him???

Brothers picture at family dinner - wearing green because we love St. Patrick's Day around here!

Clicking my tongue always got Luke to smile when he was this age, and it works for Jonathan, too!  Excellent for taking pictures!  :)

Joy

I think Jonathan likes this toy.  :)

Like Father, Like Sons

In the same afternoon, I found Luke and Jonathan sleeping like this.  Extra interesting because Luke almost never takes naps anymore.  But, apparently, he was just too tired to keep playing.  :)  When I showed Nathan these pictures, he said that's how he sleeps, too - on his tummy with one knee up.  Notice a trend?  :)

Writer

Luke is very excited to be able to write his name now!  It took him extra time to conquer the "K" and "E", but I think he's finally gotten them.  Even in the days after this picture was taken at the beginning of the month, he still had trouble with adding too many horizontal lines to his "E", but he's doing it very well consistently now.  :)

Aunt Jennifer's Visit

The "curse of the second born" has officially struck our household.  :(  I realized the morning AFTER my sister, Jennifer, flew back home to Oregon, that I hadn't taken ONE SINGLE PICTURE of her during her visit to our house last weekend!  Catastrophe!!!  That's something that can't be replicated.  Such sadness.  :(  No pictures of her holding Jonathan for the first time, playing board games with Luke, or smiling next to her sister (me!).  I'm blaming a cold/fever that I had at the time, but that's still no excuse really.  Hopefully this will teach me a valuable lesson to be more conscientious next time we have overnight visitors.

The next best thing is showcasing some pictures SHE took while she was here.  She's a great amateur photographer and finds fun shots of common subjects.  Here are a few of my favorites that she took while she was here in sunny Southern California.  Oh, and while we're talking about Jennifer, head on over to her new blog and enjoy her musings on life... one coffee cup at a time.  :)

5 Months Old!

Jonathan turned 5 months old about 2 weeks ago now (I'm kind of behind again), so I had to take time for a photo shoot.  I'm definitely a lot more neglectful of the camera this time around, but I have to at least capture a few milestones, right?  Here are a few of my favorites - savor the cuteness!!!  There are lots more on the Hughes gallery.

And another brother shot while we're at it.  :)

Puzzles!

I bought some of these puzzles for Luke forever ago, and at the time, he just wasn't ready for them.  I busted them out again, and sat with him a few times, explaining puzzle technique and giving him tips & pointers.  Now he LOVES to put together this car one and an airplane one - without any help at at.  Go, Luke!

Cute From Any Angle

We got out the doorway jumper a few weeks ago and Jonathan is really happy in there.  He doesn't go super crazy yet, but he stays content for quite awhile and likes to work his legs.

Coming or going, I can't resist this cutie!

Luke riding our new exercise bike as best as his short legs allow.  :P  He can actually turn the pedals around while sitting on this part!

Jonathan is now proficient at rolling over, and has turned into a tummy sleeper most of the time.  I still lay him down on his back, but almost every time we go get him, he'll be sleeping on his tummy.  He even gets his little baby bottom in the air sometimes!