an eleven year old you.

our sweetest max turned eleven last month.  we celebrated his special day a few weeks early with friends at the opening of the lego movie.  perfect timing for that lego-loving boy, who is adored by all who know him.  and for good reason. he is such a genuine and kind hearted person. smart, honest, and full of all kinds of information.  so handsome and getting to be so tall,  still i see him as that precious baby boy that changed our lives for the better.
he is something so special. and i am so, so lucky to be his mama.
happy birthday, my sweet boy.

as long as stars are above you.

a valentine's day spent with my three little loves. their dad was out of town, but not forgotten. 

baby bird.

4 months // fifteen pounds // a laugher // a yeller // an almost roller //  a mama's boy // a baby bird

8 years.

i was looking back at mad's old birthday posts (here, here and here.), and regretting not doing one for last year's (not too late). i love to look back at what seem like small changes over the year, only to see in pictures how big those changes really were. my chubby baby has grown into a bright, sensitive, and dedicated eight year old with a great sense of humor and a fierce determination.  he's amazing to watch master any new skill he tries.  he likes a clean house, a good adventure, and three square meals a day. you wouldn't know it from that sweet smile in those pictures above that we had to cancel most of his birthday activities because madden was sick with a pretty rough fever and cold that day.  he was happy with the humble celebration we threw and the promise of a trip to tepanyaki with his cousins at a later date.  a precious 8 year old boy. he makes us proud every day. 

late tidings i bring.

as per usual, our holiday season came and went much, much too quickly.  we skipped some of our usual traditions this year though, braving the chill was not at the top of my list with a little one in tow.  that included foregoing most of my shopping trips and staying indoors with my laptop, a warm baby, and zooey deschanel on repeat.  we wrote christmas lists,  hung a bit of garland and what not. and although, we spent christmas at my parent's home in florida, we still got ourselves a tiny tree to enjoy for a few short weeks. 

the boys got to ditch out on the last few days of school before winter recess and hop a plane to the sunshine state.  we flew out on what happened to be the day they shut down the slc airport for 6 hours. we spent 12 hours that day with a needy baby and a madden in an overcrowded airport. this could have been the death of me had mark and his friends not been flying out the same day for work.  so, we found a cozy spot in terminal c, got some cafe rio and watched the snow fall.  needless to say, walking into my childhood home that looked like santa himself lived there and smelled like homemade rolls that night was heavenly.  florida may not feel christmassy outdoors, but my mama makes the inside simply magical.  she still wraps the doors like presents and even decorates all the bedrooms,  it's wonderful. 

my sister and her family came down from savannah, and one of my fellow utah sisters came with her husband.  it was a small gathering as far as my family is concerned, and i think the first christmas eve in years that i haven't been up till 4 a.m. wrapping gifts. christmas morning was lovely.  marlow slept through his first christmas as grandma rocked him, max had the best christmas morning reaction for the second year running, and my niece, elly, got our old childhood dollhouse my dad built long ago and my mom revamped. sentimental and homemade gifts filled my suitcase home,  that's my kind of holiday. 

this season was the perfect way to end 2013.  it will be remembered as the year that brought us our littlest boy and changed our lives for the best. the year of a little adventure and a lot of growth. the year i finally did christmas cards and almost got them sent out. 

our baby boy.

marlow kenny was born 10.5.2013 at 2:46 p.m. in our home.

7 lbs 5 oz & 20 inches in length.

we are all so, so in love.

blue.

it seems i have a bit of catching up to do. not so much for those of you that still take a gander at this blog (most already know), but for my  own memory keeping. so, i'll start with the most significant and most wonderful change in our lives, the addition of a new member of the family.  

we found out in may that our little angel was a boy.  we were thrilled, none more than those brothers of his who had already planned to teach him all they know about football, soccer, legos, and video games. 

we love our boy. 

 22 weeks

a mover and a shaker this baby was. all day and all night, never slept. 

 37 weeks

last family photo of four...sort of.