coffee and cocoa tea: The photo shoot

Recently I did a photo shoot of sorts with each kid to create a fun gift for my dad for his birthday, but we now get to enjoy all of the wonderful pictures, too. Wonderful because of the autumn leaves and the adorable subjects, not because of my mad photography skills.

You're gonna try and make me get all pose-like, aren't you? We'll see about that.

I am extremely grateful for the children the Lord has given us. They are a blessing and a joy. They are also a challenge and a refining instrument, testing our patience and reliance on Him. I thought I would share some pictures while sharing a bit about my little blessings.

You want me to smile? You crazy.

Nate is doing really well. He's eating wonderfully, and is willing to try anything. He's very happy, laughing a lot and taking his siblings in stride {for now}. He started crawling in September, at fourteen months old, and has gotten really good at it. This week he started reaching up for things while on his knees. We recently had his therapy evaluation {we are down to one therapy a week and she comes to us - hallelujah!}, and decided to keep him enrolled for another six months. It's one-on-one attention that he LOVES and he improves with each session.

I am too forlorn to smile. See how I clasp my hands in forlorn-ness?

His first word was "Ella," and it is still his most common word. While he definitely says, "Mama" and "Dadda," he has several other words that are consistent and mean something to him, but we haven't yet cracked the code. He loves to imitate words and sounds, so I think his vocabulary will take off pretty soon.

Well, maybe this smiling thing wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe she'll leave me alone if I give in.

Because of his delayed crawling, he picks up on commands quickly. He definitely understands "all done,", "no drop {food usually}," and "no touch" but for some reason with that last one, while he pulls his hand away {from, say, an outlet}, he gets really upset and starts a tantrum almost. every. time. I realized yesterday that I haven't trained him to come to me on cue yet, so I have a new goal with him.

Clasp your hands like this and say pretty please, Mom.

Why is it that training babies and puppies is so similar?

Did you do it?

It's fun to see how much enjoyment he gets out of himself. He plays peek-a-boo all the time, and loves to hide behind a wall and peek out until you see him and then disappear again. He also loves hearing about his little piggies, and often when I finish one foot, he puts out his other one.

You got me! Aren't you a smarty pants?

He is my cuddliest child, preferring to sit on or beside me rather than exploring the couch like the other two did. He will sit with a board book and turn the pages while I read to the other two. He knows where his nose is, and will try to pull yours off to show it to you {we're working on the concept of gentle}.

Okay. I'm focused. You won't get me again.

I love this boy. I do not have words to describe how very much I love this boy except to say that I love this boy.

Don't look at her. Just keep looking at that tree. Don't. give. in.

You know something weird? Last year at this time we were in process of moving into this house with no clue that Nate was beginning to get sick. We had no idea that in two months he would need a feeding tube and that he would continue to need it for eight long months. I was afraid he would start crawling before Christmas 2012, not 2013!