Grace Unmeasured

Luke at 5 months

2011-12-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

I think our bed is my new favorite location to take pictures of the kids. A few weeks ago I snapped a few photos of Luke to document his 5-month birthday while the older ones were napping.

Three

2011-11-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

Life with three little kids can be exhausting. The other day I realized I had put the milk away in the pantry. Yesterday I found a hanger in the dryer. I nearly locked the baby in the car by mistake a few weeks ago (yikes!). Sometimes it's all I can do to keep up with the crazy pace of life and just try to hang on till bedtime.

But other times, I get brave. I decide to get everyone dressed up and singlehandedly attempt to wrangle them all into position for a few pictures. This is a herculean feat and feels something like trying to catch a small herd of greased pigs. As soon as you get one in place, the rest have squirmed away. And you can pretty much count on the fact that at least two of the children will be making a weird face or crying in every single shot. I'm planning a blog post of some of my outtakes, because they are pretty hilarious, but here are a few of the better results we got today from our little 3-minute "session."

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

Took the kids out for a Thanksgiving photo shoot today. I guess there's no reason to call it a Thanksgiving photo shoot except that I'm thankful for them!! :)

These two really love each other. So, so sweet.

Video Thursday

2011-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

It's Video Thursday! Not that we've ever done Video Thursday before, or probably ever will again, but I figured I'd post a few recent clips of the kids in action since all you ever see are still photographs.

First up, Luke in his new exersaucer. Carter and Amelia love talking with him, playing peek-a-boo, and trying to get him to smile.

This one is from about a month ago. Carter's atonal rendition of Jesus Loves Me with Amelia looking on.

I love how she says "Hi, baby Luke" in her sweet little voice when she gets down next to him in this clip.

And here's Amelia doing her best to quote John 3:16. It's a lot of words for a little girl. :)

It's a wonderful life we have!

Amelia's birthday

2011-11-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm only about a month behind in blogging Amelia's birthday pictures. That's not too bad, right? :)

Our sweet girl celebrated her 2nd birthday in the middle of October. We had a little party with extended family about a week later, but the day of her birthday we kept it simple and just had fun at home.

Carter helped her open her presents. He even made a drawing for her and requested that Daddy write "To Amelia's Birthday" at the top.

Her magnadoodle was a big hit.

So was the punching balloon... although Carter enjoyed it just as much as she did.

After months of drooling over the cakes at the grocery store every time we went shopping, she finally decided on a simple chocolate cake.

She was pretty happy with her choice.

Did I mention this was around 10:00 in the morning? We figured 'breakfast dessert' was acceptable on a birthday.

Love this face. : )

She also requested this candy apple, so we enjoyed slices of that too.

Then Amelia and I went on a little Mommy-daughter date together. We hit Chipotle for lunch, then picked up some balloons at the store and walked around to take some pictures.

She's great in front of the camera; doesn't mind having her picture taken at all.

Happy girl.

How we love our Amelia Praise! Happy (belated) birthday, little girl!

A Bug's Life

2011-11-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Monday was Halloween. We don't take the kids trick or treating or anything, but we thought it would be fun this year to let them get dressed up a little just for fun.

While we weren't expecting this kind of weather the day before Halloween...

...we made the most of it and got the kiddos all dressed up after their playtime in the snow. Amelia and Anna were matching ladybugs (each with a stuffed animal or doll to match) and Carter was a bee.

Free at last

2011-10-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

If you know anything about the sleeping habits of our babies, you know that this picture represents a proud moment in Luke's life. Historically, all our children have been addicted to swaddling from the moment of birth (pretty much), and with Carter I believe this stage lasted until he was at least 7 months old. It got to the point where I was seriously considering using duct tape to hold the swaddler together, because he would break free from it and wake himself up countless times each night. However, he just couldn't fall asleep (or stay asleep) without it! His arms would flail about, he'd knock himself in the head, and immediately start crying until Mommy came in to swaddle him yet again.

The same was true for Amelia, although she quit a little bit sooner than Carter, and Luke has also been a swaddling addict from birth. He recently made the big switch, though, and now is officially an un-swaddled 4 month old baby! I had to take a picture to document this important milestone. : )

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be fall without the obligatory pumpkin patch photos.

Carter and Amelia joined me for a trip to a local farm the other day. It's so fun to see them both running around now and really enjoying each other's company. Even though we only found one or two pumpkins, there was plenty of other stuff to keep them entertained, like the wagon and even the dirt, which Amelia finds fascinating for some reason.

A long-overdue update

2011-08-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Oh my - this blog is sorely in need of an update! Here's a look into what each of the kids is up to these days.

Carter is three years and one month. He's quirky as always, regularly saying things that make us scratch our heads or laugh out loud (or both). The other day, out of the blue, he asked me, "Mama, did you know that at night, God comes down the ladder, takes the sun away, and puts up the moon? And then in the morning, he goes to the box of suns, picks out one sun, and puts it up in the sky, and takes the moon away? Then he goes back up the ladder."

He adores Curious George, has gotten attached to a little stuffed puppy he carries everywhere whom he calls "Puppy," is extremely compulsive about certain things like the placement of the animals and books in his bed, and has more energy than he knows what to do with. He reads very well now (although it's hard to get him to sit still long enough to get through a page).

He's starting to make some real progress in the potty-training area, thanks to a jar of gummy bears we keep on hand as incentives. He is far from shy, and will strike up an animated conversation with anyone he sees, usually starting with, "Hi! My name is Carter! My birthday is July 17!"

He can be strong-willed and is currently learning about how to ask for something without whining, and how to respond when you don't get your way. He likes bossing his sister around, and we often hear our words coming from his mouth as he speaks to Amelia:

"Amelia, I'm only going to say this one time, and then you have to say 'Okay, Carter!'"

"Amelia, I want you to be my big helper. Can you go get my puppy for me please?"

He eats most anything, although he's not fond of vegetables, and would prefer to live on a diet of gummy bears and Reese's Pieces if he was allowed (but what 3-year-old wouldn't?). He daydreams about playing instruments on the stage at church like daddy, getting to go back to the beach next summer, and has already planned out all the details of his 4th birthday party for next July.

Amelia is just two months shy of her 2nd birthday. Her big news is that her cast has finally come off...

...and she can walk again! It's been a process relearning how to walk; she'd only been walking about 2 weeks when she broke her leg.

She loves it and wants to walk constantly, although it's still slow going and she falls a lot.

We recently took her to the doctor to look into the "out-toeing" she's doing (her right foot is turned out quite a bit when she walks) and we'll be getting a sonogram on her hip to see what's going on there and if any treatment will be needed.

She talks constantly, and can be quite persistent if she feels she's not being heard. She's an endless stream of questions: "What's Mommy doing? Daddy at church? What's that sound? What's it called?" She rarely says anything that's not a question. She asks difficult ones too, like "What does 'easier' mean?" Tell me, how would you answer that in a way a 2-year-old could understand?

She's learning to share with Carter, and will now cover her mouth with both hands if she knows she's supposed to quietly wait for something. She's super attached to mommy and usually cries at the mere mention of a babysitter. She loves Grandma's house, and asks about her cousin Anna almost every day.

She knows she's having a birthday soon, and asks to look at the birthday cakes every time we're in the store (she's decided she wants one with balloons on it). In public, she is quite noticeable because of her high, loud voice and constant questions. She was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office recently and had the whole waiting room in stitches with her questions:

Amelia: "All done doctor?"

Me: "No, we're not all done at the doctor yet."

Amelia: "What's it called?"

Me: "That's a little girl, and it's a 'who' not a 'what.'

Amelia: "Doctor look at legs?"

Me:"Yes, the doctor will look at your legs."

Amelia: "Mimi show doctor walk?

Me: "Yes, you're going to show the doctor how you walk"

Amelia: "Doctor say, nice legs?"

Me:"Um... I suppose the doctor might say that..."

She's very opinionated and loves accessories like sunglasses, jewelry, and hats. She knows almost all her letters and quite a few numbers. She sleeps around 12-14 hours a night and takes a 2 hour nap. I often hear her say, "Mimi tired. Mimi go night-night?" She definitely takes after her mother when it comes to enjoying sleep!

She would live on crackers, bread, and pretzels if allowed. Oh, and birthday cake. She thoroughly enjoyed her daddy's birthday yesterday. When the grocery store clerk asked her, "Who is having a birthday?" she just kept repeating: "Cake? Candles? Chocolate cake?"

She asked me to take this picture and posed intentionally. "Mama take picture of Mimi with fork?"

Luke is growing well and is generally a very good baby. He started smiling recently and will spend several minutes cooing at the mobile above the crib. He is not a great sleeper; he rarely will sleep in the car or when we're out and about, and when we're home he requires a pacifier, swaddler, and his vibrating chair. Even with all that, he's still up many times per night, but not always to eat; he often just wants his pacifier back or to be swaddled more tightly.

He is around the 75th percentile for weight, head, and height (at last check). I'm guessing he's around 12 lbs. now but it may be more than that. He has a visit next week so we'll find out for sure then.

For Ken and me, these can be tiring days but they are also wonderful ones. Ken has been working hard during the month of August, traveling to various conferences and events, and enjoying serving in a variety of ways at church. I am home with the kids most days, having stopped teaching violin recently. We also spend some time with my parents at their home, and the kids absolutely love the time spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I do find myself exhausted at times, running low on patience or energy as I change another diaper or clean up another mess, usually with the sound of a child or two crying in the background. But those are opportunities to lean on the Lord for strength, remind myself of the incredible blessings I've been given and what a privilege and joy it is to be these children's mother.

And there are lots of other moments during the day that offset the challenging ones, like watching Carter sweetly sing ABC to his brother, or hearing Amelia shout "Daddy's home!" when Ken puts his key in the lock at the end of the day. It's not always easy, being parents of three kids 3 and under, but it's a job Ken and I wouldn't trade for the world and we are SO grateful to God for the blessing of our little ones.

So that's us right now, in a nutshell! Enjoying the end of summer and gearing up for the relaunch of my photography business in September. Living in the good of the gospel and thanking God for his kindness to our family.

Till next time!

Introducing Luke!

2011-06-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's a pleasure to introduce you to...

Lucas Simeon Boer

born 6/28/11 at 1:18PM

7 lbs. 19 inches long

I'm sitting in a hospital bed with this little bundle snuggled in my arms, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to post a few more of the pictures we've taken over the past several days.

He seems healthy and happy so far; we are so grateful for the blessing of another child to love and raise for God's glory.

This morning Carter and Amelia got to meet their new little brother for the first time. They absolutely loved him and kept asking for their turn to hold him. They sang to him, counted his toes (somehow Amelia ended up with the number twenty...), called him "Baby Wook," and gave him lots of hugs and kisses.

Mommy and Mimi

2011-06-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had a realization. With Baby Boer #3 due any day now, life is about to get a lot more crazy and I want to make sure to remember what life was like when there were just 2 kids (and capture who they are right now). I haven't taken pictures of our little ones in a little while because I've been so busy with the business, shooting other people's kids! So after dinner we headed outside and I snapped away while the kids played. Just before heading in for bed, I asked Ken to take a few pictures of me and Amelia... and this is what he got. :) I just love them.

We'll update the blog and Facebook when our little boy arrives... he's expected anytime in the next two weeks or so. We're excited to add him to this crazy fun family we've been blessed with!

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated this blog... sorry 'bout that. :) But rather than trying to fill in all the gaps today, I'll just post some pictures from our fun Memorial Day celebration.

The highlight was definitely playing in the little pools Grandpa had set up outside. It was seriously hot, but once the kiddos got in the water, they didn't seem to mind.

Carter was surprisingly tentative in the pool, compared with last summer. No running starts and bellyflops into the pool for him; he was content to sit still and play with a few toys...

Oh, and splash his cousin Anna. :)

She didn't seem to care too much.

Amelia sat in her own slightly smaller pool and played with cups. She loves pouring water back and forth from one cup to another, so she spent most of her time doing that, just like she does in the bath. She was a very happy camper and didn't want to get out.

This is her shy face. :) So cute.

Carter and Anna did plenty of pouring as well.

And, of course, splashing.

Pretty girl. Love how the hat rests right on top of her pigtails. :)

The other highlight of the day? A yummy dinner put together by Grandma and Grandpa. Burgers, pasta salad, grilled veggies. Mmmm....

P.S. Don't laugh at my feeble attempts at food photography. :) It's not my forte but I want to get better at it...

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day too!

Carter - April update

2011-04-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

I had a few pictures of Carter I wanted to share tonight.

So what's Carter like these days?

He loves making his sister laugh. Loves trying to read everything he sees. Loves pretending he's at the store and I'm the cashier (he always pays "twenty-six dollars" for his order). LOVES talking about birthdays, especially his own, which is coming up in July.

Whenever he meets someone new, he crouches down a little, looks them in the eye, and says, "Hi, man. Did you know my birthday is July 17th? I'm just 2 now but I'm gonna be 3."

Loves going to the park. Loves jumping.

Loves making up songs, dancing to music, and learning new things. Loves correcting us and disagreeing with us - he thinks he always knows better than his parents (oh, does he have a lot to learn!).

Loves cooking dinner with Mommy, playing with chalk outside, and TALKING. This kid talks nonstop. His teachers at church use all kinds of nice language to say he's a total chatterbox, such as "He's always so eager to share his stories during singing time...." :)

Loves Kindermusik class, his sunday school class at church, and even the play room at the gym... but for some reason he's terrified of other kids at the park.

He takes his afternoon nap about 30% of the time. On the "no nap" days he'll spend 1-2 hours in his crib talking, playing, and singing. But he refuses to read the books he keeps piled up neatly in one corner of the crib; I think he can't stand getting them out of order. He's very particular about things like that.

And he's probably going to kill me one day for taking this picture but I just thought it was too cute to pass up. :)

Oh, and in unrelated news, Amelia is 18 months old today! Update post on her coming soon. :) She's changing faster than we can believe.

Balls, bikes, and bubbles

2011-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of welcoming Grandma and Grandpa Boer in from Chicago for a brief visit. The kids love talking with Grandma and Grandpa on Skype each week, but seeing them in person is even better. We crowded in quite a lot that weekend, including a trip to the National Aquarium in DC (our first time on the Metro with the little ones)! But we also had lots of fun just hanging around the house. Oh, and throwing balls off the deck for Daddy to fetch. :)

See the soccer ball floating in the air there?

That's Daddy's part of the game - he tries to retrieve the balls as fast as the kids (and/or Grandpa!) can throw them, and tosses them back up. It's an awfully fun game.

Amelia's throws sometimes backfire - literally - and end up falling backwards out of her hand rather than forward. :)

Carter is finally proficient at riding his tricycle, although there's not a lot of room on the deck before you reach the edge and have to turn back around.

True to form, Amelia spent most of her time playing with bubbles. This has become her new obsession.

She does know how to blow bubbles herself, but her favorite thing is holding out the wand to anyone nearby and encouraging them to blow by making the appropriate facial expression.

Grandma was happy to comply.

Even Carter got in on the fun for a little while!

Well, till he lost interest. His attention span is about 4.6 seconds these days.

He's moved on. Trying to avoid her now.

But this sister of his is persistent!

She just doesn't give up! I think it makes her well-suited to live in a family with two brothers.

Especially when one of them happens to be this guy.

Fall in spring

2011-04-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

What's that you say? These pictures look like they were taken last fall? Oh, no, they were actually taken just a week or two ago, here in our front yard. That's right, our giant tree out front waits until the spring to lose most of its leaves, so the kids get to enjoy fall-time activities in the spring-time! I guess that's a blessing, right? Carter and Amelia certainly thought so as they "helped" Daddy pile up the leaves to be raked.

Our little reader

2011-04-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

I found a series of books at the library that are for beginning readers. Carter really likes them. Each one focuses on a particular letter sound or phonics rule. Here he is reading "Hot Pot." He has read this about 5 times before, so it's not like he's seeing these words for the first time, but he's still definitely working to decode them and put the sentences together.

It's about 5 minutes long, but I think it's cute so I uploaded the whole thing (mostly for the benefit of grandparents!).

You may not be able to understand everything he says... sometimes he talks fast. At one point in the middle he looks at a page and says, "Um... That one is a hard one for me. But - I can try it..." :)

At the end of the book there's a word list, and as he reads each one he turns around and puts the word in a sentence based on the context in which it appears in the book. For example, for "hot" he turns around and asks me, "Did you know the pot was hot?" And for "job" he asks, "Did you know we helped Mom to do a job, Mama?" just like it says in the story. Too cute.

At the park

2011-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today was the first warm-ish day in a while, so we took the opportunity to get the kids out to the park. Carter loves this particular park and spent most of the time running as fast as he could. In fact, he was so happy he was literally walking (running) on air! :) See?

Amelia is getting closer to being able to walk on her own. For now she insists on having two hands to hold onto for stability. Not much of a risk-taker, this one. But it's so cute to see her reaching out her arms to you, begging, "Walk? Walk?"

We also had some fun reading time together in the evening. I've been going to the library more regularly, so our selection is always changing, which they love. This was an "easy reader" book called Hot Pot (all about the short "o" sound). Carter sounded out several of the sentences on his own!

Looking forward to tomorrow; our temperature is supposed to reach the high 70s! Woo-hoo! I'm sure we'll be out enjoying the weather most of the day, and pictures will likely follow later in the week.

In celebration of toys

2011-03-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a couple of really warm, beautiful days. Carter took advantage of the weather to organize some of his toys on the deck railing.

One by one, he carried them outside and carefully placed them on the rail. Once they were sorted just so, he counted each one.

"One pickle..."

"...one pawwot..."

"...and three baby worms."

Hmmm... I counted all my toys; now what should I do?

Not surprisingly (this is Carter, after all), he decided on a spontaneous improvised song in honor of his toys.

Standing there in front of them, he sang about the duckies ("...and they say quack-quack...") the worms ("...wook at my cute wittle worms, all sweeping on the deck..."), the pickle, and of course the parrot ("...and I make him stand up and he's not going to fall down...").

It came a a rousing chorus at the end,

complete with exuberant arm gestures, as every song should.

There is nothing in life that is not worthy of a song.

Happy boy

2011-03-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't pass up posting this shot from today. Doesn't this face just make you smile?

2011-03-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last night the house was unusually quiet. Amelia had her first real sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house, without Mommy, Daddy, or Carter there. I received great reports, though - apparently she loved all the attention.

Carter also enjoyed the time alone -- this morning he and Daddy headed down to Washington DC for the first time. They took pictures in front of the white house, watched some guys playing soccer on the mall, and talked to a mounted policeman! :) Sounds like the perfect father-son bonding time.

I'm looking forward to having this little one back today! Even though she can test my patience at times with her incessant chatter and whining, I realize how much I miss it when she's gone. :)

The kids are changing so fast; I'll do an update post soon on each of them. We're so grateful to God for our two (actually three!) little blessings.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Amelia

2011-03-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

Sweet little girl got up on the right side of the bed this afternoon. She's always so cheerful after her naps. I love the bedhead too... :)

Snow

2011-02-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we had a little snow, and Carter decided he'd like to help Daddy shovel. Not sure why he ended up with the heavy metal shovel... But it made for a couple cute pictures!

Haha - the poor kid could barely lift it. My favorite part about these photos is the fact that despite his attempts to be macho and strong, you can still see his pampers peeking out from underneath his little blue jeans.

Learning the finer points of shoveling from Daddy.

Then, after all the hard work was done, Carter got his first real taste of sledding. He calls our front yard a "hill" even though the slope is barely measurable. Ken had to literally pull the sled down the "hill" each time to get any momentum.

But Carter LOVED it.

Look at that sweet face!

I love seeing our little boy growing up. He's turning into such a good helper around the house and absolutely adores spending time with his Daddy. He'll jump at the chance to do anything with Ken, even chores like loading the dishwasher or changing the laundry. Of course, trips to Guitar Center top the list of fun father/son activities.

He is so precious to us and we love him more each day.

I mean, how could you not love a kid with a face as cute as this? :)

200th post

2011-02-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Can you believe this is the 200th post on our family blog? It started shortly before Carter was born, and now we are getting close to welcoming our 3rd child (another boy!) into the world. Amazing how much life has changed since then.

And can you believe that our darling Mimi is growing up so fast? In this picture I think she looks SO grown-up and mature... Sometimes I feel like I can see glimpses of the beautiful 15-year-old she'll be someday...

15 months old

2011-02-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our dear girl is growing up before our eyes! I put her hair up in a little ponytail the other day - so cute!

At her 15 month appointment, she came in at 30 3/4 inches long, 24 lbs, and 47.3 cm head circumference. Her height and wight are fairly average, but her head size is still in the 90th percentile. :) Oh well. I like to think it's because she's so smart. :)

She loves her brother and they are starting to have real conversations now, which is so cute. I mean, if the following counts as a real conversation:

Carter: "Mimi, what are you eating?"

Amelia: "Toast."

It's a start, I guess. A mother will take what she can get.

Some days, he is very encouraging about her language development:

"You said 'bird,' Mimi! That's right, that's a bird. Good job learning how to talk!" *clap clap clap*

Other days, he loses patience with her babbling and wants her just to master this language thing a little quicker:

"Mimi, can you say NORMAL words??"

She can be sweet as sugar, but can also turn on a dime and throw some pretty major tantrums, especially when we tell her 'no' to something. I have to say, her sad faces are pretty cute though. :)

It's hard to believe our little baby will be a big sister soon. We find out the gender of the littlest Boer on Monday, Lord willing.

Meanwhile, we're enjoying life with our two oldest blessings. I love being their Mama!

Sick baby

2011-01-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

Little girl is still under the weather. I'm looking forward to seeing this smile again soon... :)

Kiss

2011-01-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

It's a rare quiet moment here, and this blog is sorely in need of updating, so here's a recent picture (it's one of my new favorites). Love these two!

Big week

2011-01-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

I know I still owe you all some pictures from our wonderful Christmas celebrations. They're coming, I promise! :) But first, a few momentous occasions took place in our house this week.

Miracle of miracles, Amelia finally came to terms with taking baths. The hysterics she used to display upon even getting one toe in the bathwater were beyond imagining... but now she happily jumps in and was even content to share the bath with her brother this week.

Carter started spontaneously forming the alphabet out of the foam letters.

Then creating words.

"B-o-x... I read the word box!"

Amelia likes the letters too. Really likes them.

But for a different reason. :)

She's getting her top 4 front teeth in, so she's big into chewing on things these days.

The other big event this week was a special surprise we got for Carter. Kind of a belated Christmas present.

Here he is catching his first glimpse of it this morning...

He jumped right in and started playing.

As you can see, he was pretty thrilled with his gift.

I have a feeling our home life is about to get a whole lot noisier!

Smile!

2011-01-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd enter another one of the contests over at "I Heart Faces" this week since the theme was such a great one: Smile! I thought this photo of Carter was perfect for that theme. His bright blue eyes can just light up a room, and the way his expressions are so exaggerated... reminds me of a cartoon character sometimes! :) I just love this boy.

Head on over to www.iheartfaces.com to see some other great entries.

Updates!

2010-12-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

I thought it might be time for an update on this little guy...

...and his pretty little sister.

Carter is still as obsessed as ever with the drums. Any can, pot, box, barrel, or colander is immediately turned into a drum. Or, as in this case, a drum set.

He's got fairly good rhythm and nice technique.

Oh, and he plays the pot lids as cymbals. Of course.

He is also tall enough now to reach into the drawer for his mallet of choice. Ah, a ladle - that's just the thing!

He does love the piano too, and can now pick out the notes for the beginning of "Elmo's Song."

When he really tries he can kind of start to play play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but normally he is too active to sit still for long and concentrate on that one.

We've labeled a few notes on the piano to give him a starting point. He likes to play the notes and sing their names, which I think is excellent ear-training practice (the music teacher in me coming out).

Here he is trying to play a chord. I think he has a ways to go on his technique here. :)

Also, he has a thing or two to learn about correct posture.

See what I mean?

At least it's creative.

He loves playing with our computers, iphone, and ipad. He's a real Mac loyalist.

You can see who is influencing him in that direction.

Carter is still doing quite well with phonics. He can easily sound out any "simple" word (ie. ones that do not involve rule-breakers or long vowel sounds). He doesn't yet understand how to read words together in a sentence, though. He likes counting and we're practicing counting up to 100, but he doesn't quite have it down. I love when he says, "thirty-eight, thirty-nine, thirty-ten!"

He loves music and sings along with every song on his Kindermusik CD (which we listen to ad nauseam). He's got a few scripture verses memorized but we're hoping to do much more with that this coming year, using scripture songs primarily. He thinks it's funny when I sing harmony along with him but can't hold his own pitch yet against it.

He has beautiful blue eyes and a big bright smile. He is fearless around people and will go up to strangers in the store with a friendly, "Hi, Lady!" He loves most babysitters and is learning to share with his sister, which is hard. He can be sweet and encouraging to her at times: "Mimi said the word 'hat!' Great job, Mimi! Good job learning how to talk!" :)

He loves to run, has lots of energy, likes reading books (especially his children's bible) before bed and has recently begun taking long naps again (hooray!) after a season where he sang in his crib rather than slept.

He is a strong-willed little guy, and will test the rules, but is learning to obey and always congratulates himself when he does: "Good job, Carter! You obeyed Mama!"

He loves learning new things. His first time at a parade was a big hit; I can't wait to take him to the zoo when it warms up. He's happy as a clam in children's ministry (sunday school) at church. He adores Kindermusik and does his best to run the class, regularly piping up from his spot in the circle with instructions or song selections. "Now let's sing the Hokey Pokey!" Sometimes the class actually follows him too. I think he has a real leadership gift. :)

We worked on a gingerbread man together the other day. He ate half the candies before they made it on the little man.

"Look at the be-YOO-tiful man!" he said.

His "camera smile." Haha - it makes me laugh every time!

What a creation.

Carter will be 2 and a half in January.

Amelia, at 14 months, is always busy exploring her world. She has definite preferences about things (ie. refusing to wear a hat for longer than 0.2 seconds) and expresses her opinions loudly, but she is a sweet addition to our family and we love her so much.

She's at that wonderful phase of experiencing lots of life for the first time. Like seeing her first snowfall the other day.

She doesn't walk yet, but can easily pull up to standing beside a couch or chair and will "cruise" a little bit that way. She's a fast crawler, so I guess she has no incentive to walk yet. :)

She is more beautiful by the day (at least, we think so) and gets lots of comments and smiles in the grocery store. She is very social as long as she knows Mommy is nearby. As soon as she senses Mama's going to leave her with a babysitter, she lets her displeasure be known very loudly. :)

She's not a fan of children's ministry, for the same reason. I'm hoping she'll get over this stage of separation anxiety, just like Carter eventually did.

Her language learning is coming along well. Unlike Carter, who acquired and used new words very systematically, she will try to echo any and everything she hears. It's often hard to understand her, but she is pretty much constantly babbling, trying hard to communicate. She can get frustrated easily if we can't tell what she's asking for. Her voice tends to be very loud; she definitely has no trouble being heard over her older brother!

In this picture she's saying the word "hat" while trying to take it off. :)

Some of her favorite words and phrases are:

Mama, Dada, Carter ("Car-car"), light, water ("wa-wa"), milk, doggie, balloon, thank you, help please, shoe ("oosh"), toes, eyes, hat, guitar ("gar"), baby, car, book, eat, cheese, and knock-knock. She says "hi" very sweetly when she first sees me after a nap or when she picks up the phone.

She can do lots of damage very quickly when playing with our electronics. She recently racked up $4.00 in internet usage on my phone, and erased the email application on Ken's phone within a matter of seconds. :)

She's got her two lower teeth in, and the upper two are just starting to come in now. She's had more than her fair share of colds and ear infections this winter already, but handles them fairly well. She drinks whole milk now and eats everything from grapes to garbanzo beans. Her favorite is a toss-up between bananas and cheddar cheese.

She loves her naps (between 2 and 5 hours a day!) and sleeps well from 7PM-8AM or so each night. We are so grateful for that! She loves watching Carter and has recently started laughing when he does something silly -- he likes that a lot. :) She's not a fan of car trips but we figure she'll have plenty of time to get used to them on our upcoming trip to Chicago!

She brings us so much joy -- both of our kids do -- and we're so grateful to God for the gifts they are. I can't wait to tell you more about baby number 3 once he/she arrives. I am 11 weeks now and we are planning to try to find out the gender at 20 weeks, the way we did with Carter and Amelia. I'm feeling much better (thank the Lord for Zofran!) and really looking forward to meeting this little one.

Thanks for being patient with the lack of posts lately! I'll do my best to keep you updated as the kids are growing up SO fast!

Oh, and Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

2010-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

Just one picture today.

Amelia getting caught touching the computer, which she knows she's not supposed to do. :)

And just one other note: Soon this blog will become just the family blog again. I'll no longer be posting clients' sneak peeks on here, since most clients are happier to have their images posted on Facebook where family and friends can easily see them.

So keep an eye out soon for a revamp of this blog and more posts about our little cuties!

Oh, and in case you hadn't heard, we'll be adding one more little cutie to the mix around the 4th of July, 2011. :) Looking forward to welcoming Baby Boer number 3 to our family! We are so grateful to God for this gift.

Enjoy this Christmas season, everyone!

2010-11-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am fully aware it's been about 17.7 years since I last posted pictures of our own kids on this blog. Since you last saw her, Amelia has taken up horseback riding, has started applying for colleges, and has her driver's license. Carter is a foot taller than me and is loving his second year of college.

Ok, not really. It hasn't been quite that long. But our little kiddos sure are changing fast. I'm realizing I need to keep this blog updated, or you're not going to recognize them soon!

Amelia has been pulling up and cruising, just starting this past week or two. It's cute to see her and Carter standing side by side.

Carter has been enjoying the fall weather lately. The other day we took some time to play in the leaves together as a family. Carter loved having leaves thrown on his head.

Amelia did not.

But she was ok as long as she was allowed to study them individually on her own time.

She tends to be very detail-oriented, from what we can tell.

Carter took a turn catching his sister on the slide...

...then went to town enjoying various ways to use the slide.

He started getting very creative.

Ken hooked him up with a big pile of leaves to jump in. Now that was fun.

Amelia even wanted to get in on the action. Can you tell she's a photographer's daughter? She instantly smiles when she sees the camera, even in the middle of sliding down the sliding board.

Love our sweet girl.

Love both our sweet kids. How cute is Amelia's face in this one? :)

That's all for now. More to come soon, I promise! Thanks for your patience while things in the business realm have been just a wee bit busy... :)

Baby Jake

2010-11-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Sweet little baby Jake was a dream for his session today. He was super alert at first, but eventually drifted off and made the rest of the session really easy.

Thanks, "W" family! Your little boy did great and it was so good to meet you all.

Robertson kids

2010-11-11T20:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's session with these two little cuties was one that had gotten rained out the previous week. I'm glad we waited -- we had a picture-perfect, warm fall day for our session yesterday.

I especially enjoyed this session since the little boy and girl are close in age to our little ones... so it felt very natural to work with them.

Kerry, enjoy your sneak peek! It was a pleasure meeting your beautiful kids.

Holiday minis and a newborn baby

2010-11-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

I am way, way behind on blogging, so I thought I'd take a minute here to try to start getting up to date. After every session I do for a client, I try to post a few pictures on Facebook and on our blog, so they can get a sneak peek and share them with family and friends if they want.

Last Saturday, I took an afternoon to do holiday mini-sessions with several families. I took 30 minutes with each of them and had a great time getting to know them and their wonderful children. There were even a few dogs in the mix!

I had my first experience shooting 5 lacrosse-playing siblings!

Heather and Matias brought a few Christmas-themed props for their little guy, who (amazingly) stayed asleep the entire session - and it was COLD out there!

Then on Monday I took a little time to photograph my friends Dave and Mariana's newborn baby. 9-day-old Mateo is a little doll and did great during his session.

I love all his little wrinkles in this one!

Got a couple more sneak peeks coming, then I promise some pictures of our own kids soon! :)

Two Families

2010-10-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of taking pictures for two different families.

This is Kate. She's in Carter's Kindermusik class and is turning 3 in a few weeks. Her mom wanted to get some portraits of the birthday girl as well as a few family pictures. She was just a dream to photograph. She was convinced that she was a princess and kept asking if she could go inside her "castle."

Then I had the pleasure of meeting up with the Vanas family again. You may remember their little baby Christopher, whose newborn pictures I did a few months ago. He's now a happy, content little 3-month old, and his 2-year-old brother Andrew certainly gave me a workout as I tried keeping up with him during our session!

Thanks, Vanas and Peterson families! Your kids are beautiful and it was such a pleasure to serve you yesterday. Enjoy your photos!

Some Friday pictures

2010-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I thought Amelia's hair looked especially sprouty. She didn't appreciate my laughing at her.

After Kindermusik class, Carter and I stopped along a country road to take a couple pictures.

He had a great time and was happy to have his picture taken.

Especially because he got to play with rocks. Rocks are a current favorite toy.

Well hi there, cutie!

Amelia's birthday, part 1

2010-10-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Amelia turned 1 recently, and she was blessed with two celebrations, one with each set of grandparents. I'm posting a few pictures of the festivities with the Boer side, when Grandma and Grandpa drove all the way out to visit with us last Saturday.

Grandpa entertained Amelia with bubbles for a little while while the cake was being prepared.

Grandma, who is an excellent baker and decorator, brought this beautiful cookie cake to share. Well, at least it is beautiful in the "before" picture. Can you guess how it got so mangled up in the "after" picture?

Look no further than this little munchkin. When she realized the cake had been left within arm's reach, she went to town on the icing.

Mmm....

I'd say she was enjoying it.

Then after cake we went outside and the birthday girl showed off her new clapping skills.

And her staring contest skills.

Carter got some exercise by riding his tricycle - which was actually a gift last year from his Grandma and Grandpa Boer!

They enjoyed watching him ride it.

Amelia posed for birthday girl pictures with Mommy

and Daddy.

She watched her brother ride circles around her,

and practiced her modeling for Mommy.

This one makes me laugh every time. I LOVE this smile.

And then there's this one, which I'll leave you with for now. :)

I'll get a few pictures from her Cooper celebration up soon. What a joy to celebrate our little girl's first year! She is such a gift to us.

Ellis Family

2010-10-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today's session was one of my favorites to date. The Ellis family was super laid-back, just out enjoying some Sunday afternoon sunshine together.

Little Emily is an absolute doll.

And Brendan will be quite the heartbreaker when he grows up, don't you think?

The love in this family is so evident.

We made sure to get a few shots of just Jeremy and Rachel... I like to do this if I can during family sessions, since most of my couples say they haven't had professional pictures together since their wedding day.

Thanks again, Rachel and Jeremy! I loved hanging out with your family on your afternoon walk. Enjoy your pictures!

One year old

2010-10-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

Our precious little girl turned 1 last Sunday and I'm working on getting her birthday pictures posted. But until then, I thought I'd let you see a couple I took the other day to commemorate her first birthday - the official 1-year-old birthday shoot (I want to do one for each kid for each birthday - we'll see how long I can keep that up).

She was a doll and only pulled the headband off once. :)

She likes the rocking chair I had painted by Heather.

She instantly started rocking when I put her in it.

Happy first birthday, Amelia Praise! We love you so much!

Smouse Family

2010-10-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

We had a windy, chilly fall day for the Smouse Family's session today. The little boys were troopers, even though a couple of them were a little sniffly from a cold. But what a sweet family they are; we had a great time running around and getting lots of great portraits of the family and boys.

I had a great time, Tara and Matt! Enjoy the photos; I loved working with your beautiful boys. Thanks again for the privilege!

Rachael Boer Photography - Holiday Mini Sessions

2010-10-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! If you'd like to get some updated pictures of your family taken for your Christmas cards, but don't want to book a full session, a mini session might be just the thing. Choose from a digital package so you can do whatever you want with your files, or a print package so I can custom-design your cards for you. Either way, you'll also get three adorable 3x3 mini albums which are perfect Christmas gifts for relatives and friends.

Contact me ASAP if you're interested; slots are limited and will be filled on a first come, first served basis!

(Visit www.RachaelBoerPhotography.com and use the contact form to contact me.)

Baby "E"

2010-10-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I spent a few hours with a couple from our church, photographing their beautiful baby boy. Even though he's already 3 weeks old (much older than I usually recommend for newborn photos), he did beautifully and slept almost the entire time. I love the images we were able to capture (I say "we" because it always really is a joint effort between me and the baby's mom - getting the little one into all those adorable props and poses)!

My favorite... I just love this hat! And the orange wrap was made by his dad - isn't it beautiful?

Thank you so much for the privilege of serving you this afternoon, Heather and Matias! Enjoy these precious days with your little boy, and enjoy the pictures!

Early October

2010-10-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well hi there!

Here's a little peek into our lives lately.

Amelia is as precious as ever and is getting sillier by the day. Her repertoire of funny faces is growing...here is her scrunchy-nosed face.

She is learning to talk and so far we can KIND of make out the words hat, mama, dada, baby, bubble, woof, meow, moo, thank you, and peekaboo. It's pretty hard to decipher, though, if you don't know what you're listening for.

Carter is starting to give more fake, "cheese!" smiles when I pull out the camera... :)

But I get enough natural expressions too from hi. Here he is feeling mischievous and proud of himself because he found his way into the front seat while I was strapping Amelia in.

Highlights of his week include Sunday school, "Music Class" with Mommy on Friday mornings, and trips to Guitar Center with Daddy to play the drum set. His love for drums continues and is only growing over time. He also loves singing and will often sing his responses rather than talk when having a conversation with me.

He is reading well and can sound out pretty much any word with a short vowel sound. He doesn't understand long vowels yet but we'll get there. Today he easily read play, bed, sun, top, book, fish, go, not, moon, and many other words.

The other day we spent some time with Anna and her parents up at Grandma and Grandpa's again. (We love all the time we've been getting with the family lately, enjoying this beautiful weather before it gets cold!)

Anna and Amelia didn't mind the close quarters in this bike trailer. Of course, the cheerios for Amelia helped.

After their ride, Anna asked to get down right away so she could go play.

See ya, Anna!

But Amelia was content in the trailer for a long time, just munching on her cheerios!

Big brother came over to make her smile.

Once the cheerio cup was empty, Mimi moved on to other things.

And so did the others. Anna, looking serious as she often does...

And Carter, looking silly as he often does.

A game of ring-around-the-rosie is always fun when you have a playmate your size.

And so is a group picture, although getting everyone looking the same direction is still next to impossible. :)

Carter loved this giant ball. He had a grand time trying to balance it on his head.

Falling down after the ball rolls away just adds to the fun!

I like the light in this one.

Getting creative...

And I'll leave you with this shot, of a little boy daydreaming in the grass on one of the last warm days of the year. (Can you tell I'm not looking forward to winter? I'm relishing the warmth while it's here!)

Have a great weekend, everyone! Stay tuned for pictures from Amelia's 1st birthday party (can you believe it??) on Saturday!

Outtakes

2010-10-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

On our blog, you're used to seeing pictures like this.

Cute kid, cute expression (don't you love how she's modeling that rain coat with such attitude?)...

But today I thought I'd show you some of the shots that don't usually make it onto the blog.

The outtakes. The bloopers. The ones that make me crack up as soon as I upload them to my computer. Today you're going to see a sampling of just a few of my favorites (and trust me, there are many).

Oh, and note: because these shots are not destined for anything except to be laughed at, I haven't done any editing at all, so the quality isn't quite up to my normal standards... :)

For starters, we have the classic "eyes closed" shot. Ok, so every photographer has lots of those.

Then there's the standard "Hey, come back here!" shots, when one of the subjects abruptly decides to crawl away.

But have you ever seen a shot like this? It was captured at the precise moment his foot hit the ground, and the force of the impact caused his cheeks to sag in the most adorable, creepy way possible.

Let's take a closer look at that, shall we?

Mmm. He's going to love it when I sneak that into his high school graduation slideshow.

Specializing in child photography means a have a LOT of shots like this in my files:

There are also a fair number of shots which would be ok apart from the fact that the baby is trying to eat whatever grass/dirt/leaves she can get her hands on.

Yum.

Then we have the "weird faces" category....

I have extremely expressive children, it seems. This results in some funny captures like the ones below.

The classic fall. It's like an "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment caught on camera.

He wasn't hurt, don't worry.

Due to the large volume of hair our children possess, sometime we end up with some rather unfortunate hairstyles.

Then there's my favorite category. Hugs and kisses.

Carter is still working on the basics of how to show affection without smothering the object of said affection.

Or knocking her over.

Or choking her.

Or blinding her.

But don't worry - she's learning how to get even.

And surely when giving someone a hug, all of us have, at one time or another, forgotten to use our arms.

This happens frequently to Carter.

It's an easy thing to forget.

Sometimes, being a photographer's child is just exhausting.

And you find yourself wanting to fall asleep right in the middle of a photo shoot.

Aaaaand so you do.

Carter, being the CONSTANT narrator that he is, talks about 90% of the time he is awake. This means that 90% of the pictures of him involve him making wacky faces as he is caught mid-word.

He is usually gesturing too.

Just to make his point.

(This picture is a bonus - Carter looking weird and Amelia trying to eat some dirt off the ground. Mmmm.)

Sometimes I just gaze at pictures like this and wonder what in the world he was talking about.

Carter has a peculiar habit of sticking his tongue out EVERY TIME he runs.

Please someone tell me that your kid does this too and mine is not a total freakazoid. Please?

Um, ok, I guess it's not just when running.

I'll close this installment of "Boer Bloopers" with this final bizarre and random photo.

There are just no words.

Hope you enjoyed some "behind the scenes" action with our wacky kids. I'll make regular installments in this series, I think... I get a kick out of them and I hope you do too. :)

Exciting news!

2010-10-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's official! I've got my new website up and running. It is updated with some of my latest portrait photography work, has all kinds of information about booking a session, and has a proofing section for clients to view their photos after their sessions. Check it out if you get the chance!
www.RachaelBoerPhotography.com

I've also started a Facebook "fan" page where I'll be posting sneak peeks of my sessions after I do them (I may continue to post some here on the blog as well). I'm thinking of having contests on Facebook every now and then where I'll give away free prints or products, or maybe even an entire free session! The link is here.

And because no post is complete without a picture... here's a recent one I asked Ken to take. I love the sweet look on her face!

Cousinly adorableness

2010-09-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we spent some time at the park with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie, and cousin Anna.

Carter sported an awesome hat.

Here's Grandpa pushing Carter on the swing...

...and Carter pushing Grandpa on the swing. :)

I got lots of shots of Anna... she is growing up so fast!

My favorite...

Carter was on the move as always. He loves the park!

And I stopped for a portrait of a stinkbug. It's not quite in focus because that little guy was moving fast!

If you don't know what I'm talking about or why I took a picture of a stinkbug, you are blessed. We have been experiencing quite the plague around here! (I think one of the news articles used the phrase "biblical proportions" to describe the infestation.)

Grandma requested a picture of both kids together.

Cute.

Very cute.

All was going well until...

Yeah. That was supposed to be a hug.

Needless to say, it resulted in the following face from Anna.

Poor thing!

But soon, all was forgiven, and after a quick check to make sure his belly button was still there...

(Whew! It was.)

Carter and Anna headed up the hill toward Grandma's house, hand in hand.

How could I not snap a million pictures of this adorable moment?

Oops. Detour.

"Hey! A tree!"

I love how distractible toddlers are.

There we go. Back on track.

We are so grateful to live near family and let the kids enjoy time with cousins and other relatives.

Well, off to sweep up a few more stinkbug carcasses. Have a great Thursday, everyone!

A musical duo

2010-09-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Meet my friends Mia and Jorge Amaral.

Mia lived on my floor a few years ago at Peabody, where we were both freshmen.

Soon she met and started dating Jorge, who was also a student at the conservatory.

Now, they are married and are an incredible classical guitar duo.

They are in the midst of producing a CD, so they hired me to take some photos for them to use in their CD and on their website. Seriously, go and listen to some of their gorgeous music. Amazing.

We met in Baltimore and captured everything from the casual...

...to the formal.

This was a little different from what I usually photograph, so it was a wonderful challenge and I enjoyed every minute.

Mia: adorable and stunningly beautiful. All at once.

Jorge: very intense and, like Mia, insanely talented.

Also in love with his wife. It was so sweet to see them together.

This location was amazing (MICA). They got married here two years ago. Right at the bottom of these steps.

Can you believe Mia walked down these slippery, steep marble stairs in a wedding dress? :)
But they made a wonderful place for photos yesterday.

I think this one belongs on the cover of Classical Guitar Magazine. If that even exists.

My favorite moment of our session was when they started playing together.

"We haven't practiced in a few weeks!" they apologized. "Not since our last recording session."

Trust me... I couldn't tell.

Mia and Jorge, thanks so much for choosing me to do your photos. I had a great time and can't wait to show you the rest! All the best with your new CD... I'm looking forward to hearing it!

The little drummer boy (and girl)

2010-09-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is a very common sight around our house. Carter gathers up everything that will serve as a drum and goes to town making the biggest racket possible. For hours.

And yes, in case you were wondering, the colander hat is a crucial part of the set-up for this activity.

But look who's starting to follow in her brother's footsteps now!

Anyone have recommendations on reliable sound-proofing options for our basement? : )

A few more...

2010-09-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist; I had to share a few more pictures from this afternoon as a "part 2" to that last post.

At first she started to pull the headband off, but as soon as she took a look at herself in the mirror, she laughed and laughed, and stopped trying to pull it off. I think she liked how she looked.

I think she is one seriously beautiful girl. I'm a bit biased, though, I know. :)

Love her toes sticking up in this one. :)

Baby in a bucket

2010-09-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

I decided to invest in a few new props for my newborn and children shoots, as these are the areas I'd like to be focusing on with my photography. I can't wait till everything arrives; you'll be seeing some of it in upcoming shoots (I'm especially excited about a newborn shoot I have scheduled with some good friends as soon as their baby arrives). Today, Amelia was kind enough to model for me to test out some of my new props. :) What do you think?

Baby Emlyn

2010-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Meet baby Emlyn.

She is only 10 days old and has the most beautiful golden hair I've ever seen on a newborn.

Her family asked me to capture some pictures of their whole family, as well as their adorable newest addition.

Big brother Gavin was a natural in front of the camera.

And so was Emlyn, who was surprisingly alert through most of our session.

Shay is enjoying her first few days as a mother of two,

and Colin did a great job keeping his little boy entertained today while we were photographing the baby.

Sweet girl didn't even complain when we moved her outside for a few shots.

Thanks so much, Shay and Colin. I enjoyed meeting your beautiful family and spending a few hours with you. The rest of your pictures will be on their way soon; enjoy!

Labor Day photos, part 2

2010-09-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the next batch of pictures from our Labor Day weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Playing ball with Grandpa. Carter definitely cannot catch yet; he always holds out his hands and then just stands there, watching as the ball falls to the ground near him, but making no move try actually try and grab it. It's the low-impact version of catch.

Happy Amelia playing on a blanket. Check out those two adorable little teeth!

This was our first attempt at getting all 3 grandchildren together for a picture. Ok, so Anna's not that into it, and Carter is mid-word (big surprise there) but otherwise it's not too bad. At least one in the bunch gets the idea of what she's supposed to be doing... :)

The beautiful (and usually serious) Anna. She is starting to look so grown up to me!

I remember playing on this equipment as a kid... fun to see the "circle of life" as I now push my son on it.

One more of smiley Amelia. I can't resist.

I mean, really. Just look at this child. If that little happy face doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.

More pictures to come as I find time to post! Hope you all are enjoying the start of fall!

Labor Day photos, part 1

2010-09-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

I was planning on waiting till I had time to post a bunch of photos all at once from our Labor Day weekend, but I'm realizing by the time I have "time," it will be Christmas already! So here are a couple... I'll add to them bit by bit. We had a great weekend with family!

Chewing on golf balls in a baby pool which was transformed into a ball pit. :)

Reading with Aunt Julie and Anna.

This is an awesome box house Grandpa made - with a real wooden doorknob installed! This is SUCH a Grandpa thing to do and so kind of him to take the time. Um, you can blame Amelia for some of the missing "siding" - she ripped off that paper like she was opening a present!

3 generations... What do you think - do we look alike?

Our big boy (when did he get to be so grown up???) playing on the playground.

I am getting into the habit of handing the camera to Ken every now and then because I recently realized we have almost no pictures of me at all in our archives... which makes putting together a family photo book (like I did recently) a little tricky. Ken did a great job capturing a few shots of me and the kids the other day... fun to see how big this little girl is getting too!

Keep your eyes out for the second installment, coming soon! :)

Labor Day

2010-09-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week for me; sorry for the lack of posts lately!

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend with family up at Grandma and Grandpa's. The kids always enjoy their time with the family but they seemed especially happy to be there this time.

See?

More pictures soon to come!

Hug

2010-09-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Took the kids out this morning to one of my favorite locations for a few pictures. Carter in particular did REALLY well! I think he's getting the hang of being a photographer's son. He follows directions well, smiles on command, and is starting to become a natural poser. He also carried my bag and waited patiently every time I had to pick up Amelia and carry her to the next spot. He's getting to be such a big boy!!

Here is just a teaser from today's photos. I'll post more at some point soon when I get time. I loved this one.

Family updates and archives

2010-09-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wanted to post a couple of snapshots tonight to keep all you blog readers up to speed on changes in our family. Two changes in particular.

Carter has a buzz cut. :)

It was quite by accident (Mommy chopping off a huge chunk of bangs by accident and thereby having no choice but to buzz the rest). But, as you can see, he likes it.

He touches his head and says, "Feels good."

Cutie-pie Amelia...

...is starting to pull up on her own! She's very proud of herself and is going to be cruising in no time, I imagine. It's crazy to me that she's not a "baby" anymore. She's catching up to Carter quickly!

That's all the news in the Boer household. So long for now! Thanks for reading!

Oh, and by the way, if you want to keep up with our little family, feel free to scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page and click "Follow" to follow us with Google Friend Connect. You can also access the "archives" down there which are nicely organized now! But... now that this site also showcases my current photography work, I have to ask you to kindly overlook the blurry, dark, out-of-focus pictures from when I barely knew how to turn on my camera, much less use it, and also please forgive me for any pictures which were over-edited within an inch of their lives during my crazy just-discovered-photoshop mania! :)

Thank you.

It is fun to watch the progress, though, in my photography, as the months go on. But of course, the most fun thing is to see the progress in the kids' development. So click back, and catch a glimpse of baby Carter wearing a sunflower costume, or revisit one of my favorite posts, Outtakes and Bloopers, or see the day Amelia was born. It's a great way to remember some of the fun moments of the past two years, and for us, it's a great way to be reminded of all of God's grace and kindness in our lives. Enjoy!

Just one picture today

2010-09-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Brotherly (and sisterly) love