The Love Affair

My boys are smitten. They are head over heels for a little brown-eyed girl. (Are they brown?? Hard to say for sure, but they're big and gorgeous!) Ever since I've been watching Allie, these boys have been nuts for her. Eli loves her like a little sister, he sometimes gets jealous of her when she's being too "time consuming" of his mommy, but 90% of the time, he loves her.

Can I get a collective, "Awwww."?

Owen's love for Allie is different. He loves her unlike I've ever seen him love anyone. He cares for her comfort, worries about her, wants to help take care of her, he's very serious about loving her. It's amazing to watch him with her, because he will sit and hold her until she falls asleep- and even then, he'll sit still with her. During the time that he's home from school and she's awake, he's usually with her. He reads to her, plays with her, sings to her, builds things for her, and genuinely enjoys being with her. And you know what? She loves him too. She talks and giggles at him, she'll coo and carry on in a way that you rarely hear unless she's "talking" to him. It's pretty much the most precious thing that I've ever seen. It's really something that this little girl has tamed my wild, rambunctious 4 year old into a little boy who worries about Allie getting cold feet and spends his day trying to keep her tiny baby socks on.

We Gessners love our Walroths, our next generation is no different.

Little Loves

Look at these two little monsters... I'm just adoring how ridiculously cute they are in their new hats.

(Don't ask about the look on Owen's face... I can't explain him. Won't even try.)

Annnd look what I found in the sleigh by my tree. Allie seriously sat in this thing and allowed us to take pictures of her for probably close to 30 minutes. Quite the obliging little thing considering she'd just had the surgery the day before! Isn't she such a doll?

Autumn in Indiana

Fall is hands-down my favorite time of the year. The weather is generally mild, the leaves are changing, the world is rallying with a burst of color before its winter slumber. There's just something magical in the cool, crisp air. As much as I like pulling out my sundresses and flip flops in the summer, I savor tugging on my trusty brown boots and sweaters in the fall. I absolutely adore autumn decorations, and love the rich warm colors that call the season their own. I'm even beginning to enjoy football season... *SIGH*.

I think that Indiana holds a particular brand of magic in the fall. I don't know what it is, but as I've gotten older, I've become more and more proud to call this place my home. Last weekend, we went to a local pumpkin patch with the Walroths. Our Todderazzi did his thing with his amazing new camera, and the resulting photos were innnn-credible. As I looked through the photos, it was so easy to see the Autumn Magic. (sounds like a Yankee Candle scent).

So without further ado, prepare yourself for some spectacular displays of cuteness, and some fabulous photography by Dr. Todd. :)

Eli really wasn't in the best of moods the night that we went to the patch, but even with his
'tude, he couldn't mask the joy of finding the perfect pumpkin.

"Pumpkin Bliss!"

I spy with my little eye, a tiny, little, adorable, curly-headed noggin sticking out of that oh-so-fabulous baby carrier!

Walroths :) (We pried Todd out from behind his Nikon to capture this)

Now, if you've been around my sons lately, you'll know that we have a total "Monkey see, Monkey do" situation going on. The pumpkin patch outing was no exception- and Todd managed to catch the phenomenon on camera...

Monkey See

Monkey Do

Big brother is not too happy with you!

Oh well... If you can't beat him (without getting a timeout), join him!

Finally, I'd like to talk about the anatomy of a family photo. Most of you that read my blog either had kids, have kids, or are proud owners of freshly baked little nuggets (Which totally don't count as "kids" in this particular situation seeing as they just lay there oh-so-sweetly while everyone around them just snaps away." For those of you that don't have kids, you may or may not be suprised to learn that it ain't easy to get a nice photo of your entire family. For example- this is what a "family photo" looks like without kids...

See how everyone is looking at the camera? See how no one has their tongue out, and no one's rear end is facing the camera? It's lovely, no?

Oh but wait, what's that?? We're missing some key members of the family? Oh, well let's just snap one with everyone. No big deal (*Snort* famous last words!)

ummm- not quite. Let's try again.

Uhhh, yeah. Probably not.

Not so much.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!

Chaos!

Not too bad

SUCCESS! (Never mind that it was actually DARK before we finally captured this shot!)

I promise you that this was only a fraction of the photos that were taken to acheive the final product!

Thanks to Todd for being our ever-patient family photographer.

Four Boys

Last weekend was certainly filled with love and laughter. Saturday, both of my sisters-in-law came over with their precious nuggets. This was the first time that all four of the boys have been together, and it was wonderful.

(Too bad that it was my heathens that wouldn't cooperate for photos!)

I can't believe how big Nolan has gotten and how much he's changed since I saw him last. He's suuuuuccch a sweet little guy, and just all smiles.

Cooper is still so fresh and new. I can't get enough of his sweet little baby scent. I could hold him all day long. Too bad he really likes to eat :) I'm so thankful to have had such a fun weekend getting to see my "sisters" and our nephews.

Sweet KaeLynn

Perfection (n.) A sweet baby girl fresh out of the oven.

Thursday morning, July 29, I got the text that my little sister was in labor. I had all of these back-up plans for how I was going to get out of the house quickly and make it in time for KaeLynn's birth- but they didn't work out quite how I'd thought. Fortunately, Sar saved the day by coming over to watch the kiddos while I made a mad dash for Muncie. Perhaps too mad of dash? I got a ticket. in a work zone. (Explain THAT one to your road construction husband!) After the friendly state trooper sent me on my way, I made my way, within the legal speed limit, to Muncie.

I arrived at the hospital right right before Miss KaeLynn entered the world. I got to see her shortly after she was born, and she was so perfect and beautiful. Both girls were actually! Michelle was amazing and started breastfeeding KaeLynn right away. She tried so hard, and was unbelievably persistant as she faced a variety of challenges and obstacles those first few days.

I was excited to be there when the nurse gave KaeLynn her first bath, and I went all Stepharazzi taking a bazillion photos to document the occasion. Let me show you this one (taken during her bath) and I'll let you guess why I think that she might be Eli's soul mate.

Saturday, we went back to Muncie so that Matthew and the boys could meet sweet KaeLynn. Again, she was a hit! The boys were super excited to see Michelle too, and were up in her lap right away.

Michelle helped Owen hold KaeLynn and he just loved it. He adored that little girl.

I of course, also had to hold little Miss again, but it didn't last long...

Because SOMEONE got jealous. Let me clarify that it WASN'T KaeLynn...

But it's okay, because look how CUTE he is!! That's a ridiculous level of cuteness, no?

Now, KaeLynn is 6 days old and she's gained close to a pound already. Michelle is feeding that baby well!! I'm so incredibly proud of Michelle for sticking with her breastfeeding commitment even as the challenges mounted against her.

Seeing my little sister become a mommy was one of the most incredible things that I have ever experienced. She will give this parenting thing everything that she has. She will do whatever it takes to be everything that her daughter needs. She will be an amazing mother, and I couldn't be more proud of her! I love you Michelle! You're amazing!