treasure.

   .

     last week was stressful and i was preparing for an "outside of my box" photography job that i had scheduled this past saturday. and if any of you out there are photographers, you may know that it is less than easy to coax your littlest family members into playing model for you, especially when you really need it. this particular evening, i took roman and asher outside to practice with some new equipment and even though i had used a lollipop during asher's nap to bribe roman into standing still for me, he just about melted in drama for the camera. but asher! asher miraculously just kept saying, "ok!" and plopping down in front of me beaming with absolutely ridiculous toothy grins every time. it was just perfect. we've always said that asher's temperament is extreme in every way. when he is wild, he is wild, wild, wild as can be. but when he is sweet, he is the sugariest sweetest candy of them all. i was just about to put my camera away when i noticed that the sun was starting to set at just the perfect angle over the condo building across from ours. you know, that perfectly magical sunshiney/shimmery/golden light that i love best. so i asked asher to sit down one more time and these next photos are what followed. they are filled to the brim with so much sugary sweet candy-boy goodness. the littlest, wildest, treasure of my heart.

.

instagram lately.

just some favorite instagram photos of late for lack of better words. ;)
.
special brother playtime // the boys' bedroom light
sleeping baby - never gets old. perfect eyes, nose, lips + ears.

orange rocks // thrift store

colorado clouds

.

happy wednesday everyone!
.

(( follow me on instagram @bygillianclaire ))

brothers // friday things.

i died when i got this photo - perfect representation of their personalities!

happy and free. roman annoyed that i'm taking a picture; asher doing "spooky face" - his fave. i didn't realize that they were pulling on a broken part of the fence until after i took this picture -oops! brother love. <3      looking at my sons these days and looking through these photos, i'm thinking, "oh my goodness i kind of have two boys now." not babies. like real-talking-running-thinking for themselves-tiny humans. man, that went fast. it's super adorable of course being able watching these two interact and play and i know that their relationship will only continue to grow. ;)

.

     a couple of side notes: thanks for all of your comments on my defined post last week! i really loved sharing my heart and truly appreciated reading your sweet words. :)

.
     i have a few new sponsors up on my sidebar - be sure to check them out if you are looking for some new favorite blogs! also, i'm still open to swapping ads for *free* on my blog - so let me know if you are interested!

.

happy friday everyone!

asher // picnic tables.

.

     it's really cute to see asher tag along with roman and the bigger kids at the park. surprisingly though he usually loses his edge after a while and ends up wanting to hang out with his mama. it makes me happy to have time with my little toddler. it seems like when asher is outside, his tense little body can finally breathe a sigh of  relief. he has always been much, much more relaxed and happy outdoors. it's tough since we live in a small third floor condo and we only have a tiny porch and a small shared backyard downstairs. we still get outside a lot but it would be so conveinent for both of our boys to just be able to run out into a backyard. next house.

.

     taking these photos of asher exploring around the picnic tables while roman ran around with his new "friends" was relaxing and soothing for us both. ;)

.

my six year old right now.

.

     roman is quite possibly just the sweetest thing on earth. ok, one of the sweetest things on earth. but seriously, everything about roman just exudes cute + adorable + wonderful. his round little face and happy smile cheer me up all the time. he has cheeks for days and i just want to squeeze and kiss them always. 

.

     he is absolutely in love with kindergarten and it makes me so, so happy. they only have full day kindergarten where we live, but roman only goes for 2 and a half hours in the morning. i always drive him there. he walks around with me, always holding my hand, on the playground and we play "i spy" until the bell rings. we always kiss on the lips and hug goodbye. i'm actually a little jealous because kindergarten just seriously sounds like maybe the most  wonderful thing in the whole wide world. he seriously glows when he tells me about all of his new adventures.

.

     roman is just such a bright cheerful little boy. he is really starting to venture out and want to be with other children. it's so cute to see him making fast friends at the playground now. i'm happy that he is coming out of his shell and lighting up the rest of the world with his infection little self, but i'm also happy that he always wants to hold my hand and still tells me i'm beautiful. because really, i have truly fallen head over heels in love with this little, happy son of mine. :)

.

roman at 5, here + roman at 4 here

.

flyer.

     warmer days recently have given the boys and i the chance to walk to the park a couple of times while aaron was at work. the nearest playground is not super close but it's a perfect walk and a perfect chance to breathe the fresh air, get some exercise and spend time together. i have two little boys always grabbing at my hands and chitter-chattering away. i love the moments when they are both separately yapping about whatever it is they need to tell me and all the while i can't hear a word because they are talking at once. those moments make me smile.

.

     we play at the small playground and they are both finally at the age where they can climb and run without my immediate assistance. which is so nice. i can sit in the grass and soak up the sunshine. and on the walk home there are always mountains to lead us back.

.

     the day that i took these photos of asher swinging, i was relaxing while the boys played. asher was coming towards me and inside my laziness was hoping that he wouldn't want to swing again. when he reached me he said, "i wanna flyyyyyy," to insinuate that he did indeed want to swing.

.

     and really, how could i say no to that?

.

to see some photos that i adore of asher swinging at eleven months old click here :)

throwback thursday.

okay so after yesterday's post about asher's toddler days, i just had to spend a little time going back through old photos on flickr of roman at about the same age! this was back when i had my first dslr camera, the canon rebel, which i highly, highly recommend by the way to anyone
starting out in photography!
.
each of these photos hold such wonderful, precious memories for me!
isn't it amazing the power that photographs have on us?

i hope you enjoy ;)

.