five.

well with all these updates on little ash, i  have to include an update on roman who turned FIVE over a month ago. it about broke my heart, but now that i've settled into it - five is pretty much the most perfect thing i can think of. roman is growing up so much but he is still such a little boy who needs his mom + dad so so much and thrives on being with his family and being at home. i'm so happy that he is still little and i'm so lucky to spend all day every day listening to his sweetness all around me. sigh. i absolutely adore this boy and everything about him.

he wasn't really into photos this day but i had to try because i absolutely love that hat and his little colorful skinny jeans that he always wears. he went through a phase of wearing that hat everyday all day.

one + a half.

happy one + a half times around the sun little one!

(turned 18 months on tuesday)

brothers.

life lesson that i am still learning - don't make photography forced with your children. of course i had in my mind these amazingly cute photos of my boys wearing matching outfits but i ended up just getting so frustrated with roman because he was being persnickety and wouldn't smile. which is just hilarious because why do i expect my son to smile on command?? oh well. regardless – still happy that I got an updated shot of these brothers :)

it is so interesting to see the way that asher looks at roman. he literally admires him in the deepest sense of the word. he is constantly watching roman and doing everything that he does. i constantly catch this happening. roman laying on his back reading a book on the bedroom floor - asher grabs a book and lays next to him mimicking him. roman jumping from bed to bed fighting imaginary bad guys - asher following him, jumping and making fighting sounds as well. the other day roman left the room to grab a shirt. when he came back in, asher was right behind him holding his own shirt. he watched roman put his shirt on and brought me his shirt to put on! I DIED.

just loving, loving the chance to watch my boys grow daily into their own individuality and also watch their relationship grow as brothers.

such a blessing :)

fifteen months.

asher actually turns 18 months old tomorrow, however i really wanted to share these 15 month photos from the fall before it's way too late :)

dear asher,

                i'm sorry that i get so frustrated when you kick + kick + kick my face, grab, scream, whine, destroy and get into everything. you have a strength about you that just tests my selfishness almost every day. but there is also a poetry about you that is a gift to my soul. the way you twirl  and twirl and twirl my hair, the way you lay your head on my chest and sing with me, the way you've always given such genuine kisses + hugs since you were only months old. tonight in the bath amidst a dreary weary day, we heard "rainbow connection" come on from the muppets movie playing in the living room and we sang and danced and smiled and hugged - all in slow silky motion. your special darling smile, your warm baby butter body melting into my arms. those are the moments that make me want to scream with joy. thank you my asher, for bringing me new life each day.

love ,mama

 (taken from my journal when asher was about 14 months old)

p.s. i'm SO excited to now be writing on the spearmint baby website!
read my first post from today here :)

these warm winter days.

these photos are from before Christmas on one of those crazy warm winter days that we seem to have more and more of over the past couple years! i usually absolutely despise winter. i don't do well without light and warmth i guess. the past two winters though have been AMAZING! i realized yesterday that i actually don't even mind winter that much this year! there have been so many random warm days that it really breaks things up and doesn't make me feel like i have just been holed up inside freezing for months at a time. i think another reason that winter is tolerable this year is that we have gas heat and our house is actually pleasantly warm as opposed to last year!

my boys LOVE to be outside. especially asher. when we open up the front door he bolts outs with a picture of pure happiness on his face! i am so blessed to have aaron who is always willing to take the boys out to play on days that are warmish but still too cold for me to want to go outside. during our big snow after Christmas he took roman out a few times and they explored while asher and i stayed nice and warm inside.  just last night roman was rambling on about someday when he'll go on camping trips with dad and i know that there will be lots of outdoors adventures in the future for 

aaron and my boys :)

naptime.

my little napping 17 month babe :)

so sweet, and peaceful and pretty.

roman of course was my little assistant during this photo shoot, 

taking photos by my side with the cell phone.

school starts tomorrow! and i finally just finished up everything on my to do list.

well no, not really at all. i don't even have a to do list, and if i did it would be horribly depressing to look at. but i have finished everything i needed to do online finally such as book ordering and form filling out. shew. i sorted through and edited a lot of photos today.

look forward to sharing.

my babies are growing and changing everyday.