2 years old | Chocolate Chips

Shep is becoming so energetic that he can't stand still for one second for me to take a pic. In order to get some two year old pics I had to bribe Shep with chocolate chips to keep him still. Haha. Thank goodness for chocolate chips! Anyway, I can't believe my little boy is 2 years old! Where has the time gone!? And just before you know it, Shep will soon be a big brother to two little brothers! They are going to be the best of friends and it will be so fun to watch my boys grow up together! Shep is going to be the best big brother, he is already getting into helping me with all sorts of things. He loves to throw his diapers in the garbage. He loves to help sweep and vacuum. He loves to help "fold" clothes. He is getting into putting on his own clothes. He loves to help Trav build things, etc. Like when we were putting together the dressers for the twins, Shep got out his own plastic tools and "helped" Trav put the dressers together. It was so cute to watch them work side-by-side building things. He is such a great helper and loves to help out any chance he can! So you better believe I will use that to my advantage when the twins come! ;) 

RECENT FAVES: (1) Shep is really into airplanes, cars, tractors and dinosaurs! He LOVES T-Rex, and he loves to pretend that he is T-Rex. He will do a HUGE rawr like a T-Rex, but the best part is the wind-up before the rawr. He will scrunch his face and hold his breath like he is getting ready to do the biggest rawr ever. It is seriously the funniest thing ever. And he takes it very seriously. (2) Shep is becoming so independent. He loves to do things on his own. Like take off his own shoes and his coat. Like clean his room by himself. He likes to brush his own teeth. He likes to "read" books by himself (speaking of reading, there are books Shep has memorized and when reading he can finish some of the sentences! Also, speaking of reading, I think one of Shep's favorite time of day is reading books with Trav at night. They snuggle up in Shep's bed and read stories and if I come in the room during this time Shep laughs and says, "mom, go away! haha. It's Trav's and Shep's special time together) Also, Shep can now sleep in his bed by himself through the night! It only took us 2 years to finally sleep train the kid, but we did and it's been the best thing ever! Haha. (3) Shep and Trav's wrestling matches have become so much fun! Shep is totally into wrestling with his dad and they have the funnest time doing all sorts of crazy moves! One being "crazy monkey!" It's Shep's fave. Shep will lay on the bed and trav will jump high in the air toward Shep on the bed saying "crazy monkey!" and then the wrestling begins! And lasts for like a good solid 30 mins. Haha. (4) Shep is our little adventure boy. He LOVES the outdoors. This past summer we went on all sorts of outdoor adventures and he loved every minute of it. He loves the park. He loves going on walks in the foothills or even just outside around our house. He loves going to the park and running around going on the swings, the slides, etc. He is super energetic and happy and so full of life. It is so special to see how genuinely happy a kid can be, especially when it is your own kid. Gosh. Seeing Shep happy is one of the best highlights of my life. (5) Shep is talking like crazy! Like I can have real conversations with him. He communicates super well which makes life so much easier. He knows what he wants and is able to ask for it, so there is never any guessing game. Also with this he knows what he doesn't want and will throw tantrums. haha. Like if he doesn't want to take a bath he'll yell, "NO! I don't want to take a bath!" And then we bribe him with a green (Shep's favorite color. It's the only color marker he will color with when we color! haha) jellybean so that he gets in the bath (again with the bribery. oops! But really, sometimes it's the only way. haha). He also is starting to say the funniest things and absolutely LOVES to make people laugh! I'll have to start writing down the funny things he says. He is such a light and joy and makes life so much more fun!! He's also getting into singing! It's so cute. During Christmas, Jingle Bells was his favorite song and he could totally sing it! Now he's into singing songs from his favorite movies, like Winnie the Pooh. He loves to sing the theme song, "Winnie the Pooh, (and then he loves to go WOO!) Winnie the pooh, (and then he doesn't know the rest of the words so he goes) la la la la la la (in the tune of the song). It's super cute. And I love it. (6) Shep is a HUGE animal lover. Like he loves ALL animals and isn't afraid of any animal. On our walks by the river he will see geese and walk right next to the them and just follow them until eventually they fly off. Trav is more scared of the geese than Shepard is! haha. Any time we see a dog, we HAVE to stop and pet it. Any time we see deer, we pull over and say "hi" to them. His best friend is Sofi, my mother-in-law's dog. Like we have to have "sleep-overs" with Sofi at our house because he loves her so much. They are so cute together. In a couple of years we will get Shep a dog of his own and it will probably be the best day ever for Shep. haha. Every time we go to my parents house he has to hold their bunnies and their cats and their dog. He loves all animals and isn't scared of them one bit, no matter how big or small. My parents have horses and he loves to go right up to them and pet them (with me holding onto Shep of course). He also got on it with me and was in heaven. haha. (7) Shep's cheesy smile has become a classic on all the pics I take of him these days. He scrunches his face, closes his eyes and does the cheesiest smile! Haha. I love it! It cracks me up. (8) color and crafts... (9) Shep is the sweetest little boy. He loves to give tons of kisses and hugs. He loves to make people happy. The other day Shep and Trav got home from a walk and I was resting on my bed and Shep ran in and said, "I'm going to make mom happy" He ran in and gave me the biggest kiss and said, "are you happy?" and I of course told him "you make me the happiest!" I am so lucky to have Shep, he is seriously the biggest blessing and gift in my life. And he most definitely makes me and Trav "the happiest".

SHEP'S RECENT FAVES: (1) Shep loves the color green - it's the only color marker he will color with. (2) Shep's favorite movies are Disney's Airplane: Fire & Rescue, Disney's Cars, Winnie the Pooh: Huffalump, Robin Hood, Aristocats, Jungle Book and Land Before Time. (3) 

18 months | Mama Bird

Dear Shepard,

Thank you for making me a mom - your mom. There is absolutely nothing else I would rather be. This morning, on Mother's Day, when I woke up (you and daddy let me sleep in) I came and gave you a huge hug and you hugged me back just as tight. I started to cry. We held onto each other for a good solid four minutes. I know you felt how much I love you just as I felt how much you love me - which is why neither of us wanted to let go. I didn't expect to cry, but I did. I couldn't help myself. I cried because I love you more than any amount of words could ever come close to describing. I cried because you make me happier than I ever thought was attainable in this world. I cried because you are mine and I am yours. I cried because there is an incredible and special bond between us that can't ever be explained. I cried because you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. That is the song my grandma used to sing to me when I was a little girl. It's the song your dad sang to me on our wedding day. It is the song I sing to you every night as you fall asleep. Because you truly are my sunshine. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for teaching me how to love even more than I thought I knew how to love. Thank you for making me happier than I ever thought possible. Thanks for loving me unconditionally. I love you more than you'll ever know and will always be your "mama bird".

love forever,
mama

RECENT FAVES: (1) First off, I can't believe Shep is a year and a half! Sheesh! I know I sound like a broken record, but he is growing up way to fast!! And this little love bug of mine is becoming more and more fun every day! He is such a playful little fella'. He loves to wrestle with his daddy, play outside (Shep loves to play outside, like all day long. Some of the only times Shep throws a tantrum is when he wants to go outside and we can't because it's raining or something, which still doesn't always stop us from going outside and playing. haha. I just know that he is going to love all of the trips we have planned for this summer! He is going to be in absolute heaven), throw rocks in the stream by our house. He loves to play with his toy cars, animals, trains, blocks. He loves to throw and kick the ball around. He laughs his head off when you chase him around. He loves to ride on your back like a horse. He loves to snuggle and have books read to him. He can entertain and play by himself. You can tell he is developing quite the imagination. He'll sit there and play pretend with all of his toys. It's so cute! He loves to go to the park and run around and walk up the stairs and go down the slides (all by himself!). He loves to look for bugs outside. He likes to step on them but I'm teaching him not to. Haha. He is so much fun to play with and I love going on all sorts of little adventures with him! (2) This kid of mine LOVES animals! I swear 90% of the words Shep knows are animals and what animals say. Like it's crazy. Just to name a few he knows (and the sounds they make) horse, rhino, pig, giraffe, butterfly, owl, alligator, lion, bear, elephant (he can totally make the elephant sound with his lips. He's got skills. Trav can't even make that sound! haha), monkey, snake, etc. etc. One of his favorite books is a book full of all sorts of different animals and he literally knows every single one in the book. A couple of months ago we took Shep to the zoo and he was in heaven. The monkeys were his favorite! He kept just saying "ooh oohh ahhh ahhh." It was the cutest! And it makes me happy that he is such a huge animal lover like his mama. Shep is not scared of animals either. He will run up to any ol' dog or cat and try to pet them not matter how big or small they are. My parents recently got a horse and cow and Shep loves to visit them! And we of course have to go right up to them and pet them, for like hours. haha. (3) I love when we tell Shep to smile because he scrunches up his cute little face and squints his eyes! It's the cutest thing ever. I love it! (4) Shep is amazed by everything. He goes around all day just saying, "wow. woooow. wow." Hahaha. I wish I knew what was going through that little mind of his. (5) Shep is still the snuggliest kid out there. He LOVES to snuggle. And it makes me so happy, because who doesn't love to snuggle. (6) Shep is learning people's names. He has picked up on the fact that I call Travis, Trav. So guess what, Shep has started to call Travis, Trav! It's so cute. When he's looking for Trav, he'll walk around the house yelling, "Trav! Traaaaav!" I love it. He also calls my little brother Tate, Cate. He calls my brother Tryan, Try-Try. He calls my mom Bam-Bam. He calls Travis' mom, Nana. He calls Travis' mom's dog (Shep's best friend) Sophie, Oofie. He calls my dad Papa. He calls his neighbor friend Andy, Annie. (7) I just asked Trav what some of his recent favorite things are that Shepard does and his response was, "everything". And that's so true. Everything Shepard does is just the cutest. We love him so incredibly much and he is at such a fun stage right now! :)

I can't even believe how lucky I got with these two handsome guys by my side. Life couldn't be better. I am truly blessed. Oh, and THANK YOU to my super talented sister, Brooke, for taking these photos! I will cherish them forever.

12 months | It's My Party and I Can Cry If I Want To

Holy Cow! I have a one year old. How did that even happen?? Time needs to seriously slooow down. Shep turned one on Oct. 24, and we just had to have a celebration! In the morning when Shep woke up we put balloons in his crib, which he loved! We then had a lunch date with daddy and Shep got to pick out a stuffed puppy dog at a local candy shop (the one he happened to pick was named Travis. haha. What are the odds?). And then we had a, yep, you guessed it, dog themed party with family and friends! Though Shep didn't particularly like wearing his party hat (which resulted in a lot of crying birthday pics, haha!), he did have a ton of fun eating cake, opening presents, playing with friends and family and loved all of the extra attention! Thanks everyone for coming and celebrating Shepard's birthday! We love our baby boy to a million, kajillion pieces! He truly is our bundle of joy. :)

RECENT FAVES: (1) Shep has turned into quite the little helper. He loves to try and do anything I do. He likes to help me brush his hair by grabbing the brush and brushing his hair the best he can. He likes to try and put his shoes on. He likes to try and sweep the floor even though the broom is twice his size. He likes to pick up his toys and put them away. He likes to feed himself (which turns into a huge mess usually, haha.) The other day a spaghetti noodle fell on the floor and Shep picked it up and threw it in the garbage! I guess I've trained the kid well. Haha. JK. He totally learned it on his own. I'm a proud and happy mama to have such a good helper! (2) Shep loves books. He loves to snuggle up on the rocking chair and read books. He also loves to sit by himself and flip through the pages babbling to himself. He totally thinks he can read, it's adorable. (3) Shep totally has "moves like Mick Jagger". When music is on you better believe Shep is getting down and shaking his tush and waving his arms in the air. It's seriously so cute. (4) New words shep can say: bubble, balloon, touchdown, bye-bye, car. Shep will raise both of his hands over his head and say "touchdown!" It kills me every time he does it. Whenever Shep sees people getting ready to leave he'll start waving his hand and say, "bye-bye". Shep is into cars now. Whenever we go outside and see a car he'll point and say, "Cawr. Cawr." He also loves to play with little toy cars and says, "voom. voooom." It's so cute. I love hearing Shep say his little words. (5) Shep loves animals and so I've been teaching him how to say and do things animals do. When I say, "do frog," he'll get down and start bouncing around on his hands and knees while I say, "Ribbit, Ribbit." And then when I say, "do gorilla," Shep will pound his chest with his hands and go "ahhhh." It's so fun! (Unrelated to animals) When we say, "do bubbles," Shep can blow spit bubbles on command. I have no idea how he learned to do it so well, but it's pretty impressive. haha. (6) Shep is walking!!! He is quite the little cruiser. It's hard to keep up with him sometimes! He is now learning to avoid getting his diaper changed by running away from me when he sees me pull out a diaper. Haha. He's such a little stinker pot! He thinks it's pretty funny though and just runs away giggling. (7) Shep totally gets jealous when he sees me and Trav hugging or kissing. Shep will look at us hugging and then start whining, walk up to me, make me hold him and then pushes Trav away. It is so funny. He's a total mama's boy and apparently he is the only one I am allowed to give kisses to. (8) Speaking of kisses, Shep gives the cutest kisses ever! It use to be just him putting his lips on my face, but now Shep makes the little smacking noise when he gives me a kiss. It is my absolute favorite! He gives me kisses all the time. When he wakes up, he'll give me a kiss. When I pick him up, he'll give me a kiss. When I'm just sitting there he'll come up to me and give me a kiss on the cheek. It's the best. I love his little kisses. (9) Shep is such a little jokester. He loves doing silly things to make people laugh. He loves to entertain! It's so cute. He thinks he's so funny and will laugh at himself after doing something silly and then look at you to make sure you are laughing too! (10) I am incredibly blessed to have such a fun, happy and loving one year old boy! :)

Happy Birthday Sheppie G!

Mommy & Daddy love you so, so much.

XOXO

Autumn Days

Perks of having a super talented little sister in a high school photo class? We get free family pics! Her assignment was to take portrait pics with fall colors, so we dressed up in our most autumn-like clothes and headed to Albertson's Park where the trees are on fire! Fall is definitely my most favorite time of year. As the great L.M. Montgomery once perfectly stated, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." I love when the weather starts to get cool and crisp and bundling up in sweaters. I love watching the trees turn into a beautiful warm array of colors, drinking hot coca, snuggling up by the fire reading a book. It is such a cozy, peaceful time of year. It's the best. Anyway. Thanks Brooke for doing such a great job with these pics! We will cherish them forever! You'll totally get an A+++ on your assignment! :)

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