baby curls.

just a little pre-haircut memory from a few weeks ago :)

then + now.

(asher + mama, september 2011)

(asher + mama september 2012)

a lot has changed since last fall when we moved into this house. but a lot is still the same.
a little newborn has learned to sit and stand and crawl and walk and turned into a toddler.
 our little peachy three year old has become an artist, a super hero, a tee ball player and has also turned four.
and aaron and i have gained another year as parents and as partners to each other.
 and now it's time to move on and move all our stuff with us to a new house. and a year from now, who knows where we'll be ;)

flashback.

(roman, 2009)

it seems like just yesterday it was this guy who was my little toddler running around. and asher was just a name and a dream in a notebook somewhere. i'm realizing just how different your first and second baby really are. at least it has been different for me. when roman was a toddler, he was my only and my everything. we lived in a one bedroom apartment and everything had a place. we took little adventures together, taking photos, going to the park, walking to daddy's work, picking dandelions and putting them in a basket. life was so much slower and roman was our world and our every moment. looking back i feel like i was just a girl playing house.

with the second baby, i feel like we are a real family and there are all sorts of real life family things going on. asher doesn't get every moment of my attention and it's going by super super fast. last night i took asher to the grocery by myself. i hardly ever go anywhere with just him. it was nice to be able to focus on my asher. it was so sweet to look at my second baby, sitting in the cart, wearing his brother's hand me downs and jibber jabbering away. later, asher and i spent some more alone time together while aaron + roman went to town. i gave him his first haircut in the bath and we playing with a little car together. i was so thankful for this time with my littlest. sometimes it is unsettling to me that i don't get to spend all my attention on asher like i was able to with roman for three years. i feel the need for everything to slow down so that i can get it all right, all these memories and moments. so yesterday it was nice to take a time out from everything family and have a few moments alone with  my littlest. to remember how special and perfect and wonderful he is, and how much i longed and wanted and waited for him.

roman.

just a little roman love...

life right now.

everything is back to "busy" around our house. however, our version of busy isn't terribly busy in comparison - so for that i am grateful.

summer is officially over, in a way. the weather is still mostly warm which is good because i can't bear to think about winter, christmas, thanksgiving, halloween, snow, ice, space heaters, coats,  boots, socks or anything related to COLD. there have been some sweaters and long-sleeved shirts here and there, and it's hard to admit but i've somewhat enjoyed it. hopefully by the time winter comes i will feel better prepared for it. and maybe not living in the middle of nowhere in a huge terribly cold farmhouse will help.

aaron and i have been back in school for 2 weeks now. there has been lots of whining, but also some happiness on both ends. we both feel a little more motivated this year. there is just more peace and clarity in our decisions right now and we have bigger goals and plans and priorities in mind. not to say that we have it all figured out in the least. i'm taking one class on campus this semester and one online. the best part about my on campus class is that aaron and the boys have taken me both weeks so far! i am so happy about that because i love long drives with my family and my coffee. (our school is over an hour away.)

there are homeschooling books all over the place. (i'll mention our start back to homeschooling another day.) we finally went to the library in the little town we live in (usually we go to the one in another town nearby) - and i was nicely surprised with it! i get to a point where i feel like i've read every book of interest in a library, so it is always nice to find a new one :)

we are moving sooner than later.  leaving behind all these pretty painted walls with nice lighting pouring in the windows and all the corn and soy bean fields makes my heart cringe. our new house has an adorable upstairs with white walls and wood floors and it has lots of trees and a woodsy feel - so that is good. and i like change. i actually LIKE moving. so for those reasons i am excited and happy.

these photos were taken at the end of july, the evening before asher's birthday at our neighbor's wood pile. i love how they are doing almost the exact same thing in these photos, it weirds me out when that happens. i guess they are truly brothers. and in just over a month they have already grown a little older and longer and bigger. sigh.

happy weekend.

many wishes for a weekend filled with cardboard box rocket ships, 

baby blond curls 

and rediculously cute little faces to you all!

grilling out + roman photos.

just some photos i took a couple weeks ago when we were waiting at the park to grill out with aaron's parents...
asher growing big and tall,

 baby bed hair

and asher and daddy hanging out. i always love how those two look together :)

roman didn't make an appearance in my photos that day, but he did agree to take some photos of asher and i in front of the silos that are across the street from our house.

we always try to keep roman awake on our way home by saying, "whoever sees the silos first wins!." i don't even know how many times we've said that phrase along with, "do you see the silos?" keeping roman awake is always a challenge and if he naps - it's a nightmare at night. it's so sweet because now he always pretends that he doesn't see the silos to give us a chance to "win" or he says, "the whole family wins!" love that little voice in the backseat. i still always think of the house we lived in when he turned two and how his teeny little 2 year old voice sounded when he said, "we're home!" from the backseat  as we pulled in. :) these little memories are some of the best for sure.