Eric's 4 year pictures

This guy was super fun to take pictures of this spring.  We threw on a nice shirt one day when the weather was warm enough to be outside and got lots of laughing smiles, forced smiles and goofy faces.  This boy's smile, laugh and silliness are contagious.  I sure love him!

Drake's 2 year pictures

Our Drake turned 2 back in December.  He and mommy took a trip to the Coralville Library for a photo shoot.  I have had much better luck taking photos of my kids outside but I did get this one cute one.

Six Year Old Sylvia

My baby girl turned six in November.  She can be shy and quiet while taking in her surroundings and she can be loud and boisterous when there's a captive audience.  Creativity and generosity are two of her strong suits.  She is very, very silly and very, very active.  However, you can also find her curled up in bed looking at books or spending extended periods of time working on one of her projects.  She is a good friend and I love her deep questions about God and the Bible.  So thankful for this girl in my life!  I love being her mommy.

Drake - 19 months

My baby turned 1.5 this summer.  He is growing up so quickly.  It's fun that he's big enough now to run around with his older siblings and attempt to keep up. 

Erickson is 3!

I can't believe Eric is already 3.  He has so much fun celebrating his birthday with friends and family in March.  We can't believe how much he's grown up in the last 6 months.  Looking like such a big boy now. 

 

Three brought about potty training for Eric.  Dan took Sylvia and Drake for an entire day while I stayed home and filled Eric with fluids and took him potty many, many times.  The final count was 27, I believe!  He's still working on it but I'm proud of how far he's come.

 

We waited for some nice weather and took his 3 year old pictures in our back yard.

 

Drake - 12 months

I can't believe my baby turned 1 this month.  The year has gone by so fast and he is quickly becoming a little boy.  Drake didn't settle into a routine like our other two did.  It made Sylvia's preschool schedule and running errands easier but also meant that he was a little grumpier at times.  He seems to love noise and chaos as he's always happy when we're out and about or staying up late at a friends house.  We always get compliments on how easy and laid back he is when we pick him from the nursery at church.  We love him dearly and can't wait to see what he'll be like as he grows up.

 

My Boys

Erickson James turned 2.5 on September 6.  He is growing and changing so much each day.  Eric is becoming very indepent and likes to do things "All be myself."  He asks, "What's it is it?" when he wants to know who or what something is.  Monday mornings he goes to a coop playgroup and loves having something special for himself while Sylvia is at preschool.  He still likes to get into everything and figure out how things work.  He loves his big sister and also loves to push her buttons (which he does very well).

Drake William was 9 months old on September 10.  He's crawling around, pulling himself up, walking around furniture and working on stairs.  He loves to laugh at his brother and sister and has a very loud cry.  Drake enjoys the outdoors just like our other two.  He'll sometimes cry when Sylvia and Eric go outside and the door shuts in front of him.  He's a good eater, is growing steadily and is currently wearing 12-18 month clothes.

Eric at 2 and Drake at 3 months

My mom and I took the kids in last week to get their pictures taken. Picking out outfits was the easy part this time around. Getting three kids to cooperate during a photo shoot was a little harder.

Drake was up first and he is not a very smilely baby at this point.


Mommy and Drake. We've had this picture taken with all three kids and they're hanging in our bedroom. I have a feeling they will be there for a very long time and will always be some of my favorite photos.

Erickson's 2-year-old pictures were my second priority. He was very interested in what he could find behind the curtain. It was hard to keep him still (not a surprise). At one point he laid down and said, "nap" so I knew we didn't have much time left.


Sylvia was all dressed up for our sibling picture so we went ahead and got her picture taken as well. These pictures actually turned out very good from a very goofy little girl that was having trouble following mommy's directions. I didn't order any individuals of these since we had school pictures taken in November but I did get a photo collage so I could get a copy of it.

These are our attempts at a sibling picture. Yep...that's all we got. I guess it will remind me of what it was like to take three kids under five-years-old to get their pictures taken.
I almost ordered this one but I chickened out at the last minute.

Family of Four

A few weeks back we joined my parents for a picnic in the park followed by photo shoot. I love taking pictures of the kids and thought we could try our first DIY family pic. Picking out what to wear was much easier than actually taking the pictures. I tried to pose the pictures and have my mom take them while Grandpa encouraged smiles. Sylvia was not in a cooperative mood that night. However, we were able to get a few good shoots. With a new family member arriving in December we'll be getting another family pic soon enough anyway. Just wanted to document our family of four for the time being.

The Winners

My baby is really starting to look like a little boy. He is so precious to me and, like every mama says, I can't imagine life before he came. Although I do remember what it felt like to be more rested. We were blessed by beautiful weather, big smiles and a big sister who was content (for the most part) to play on her own while I was taking these.

Runners Up

I warned you that I would be posting too many pictures for most of you. This boy just makes me smile. Plus, I've been slow at blogging recently so why not take a look at 20 pictures of my handsome son.

Goofy Favs

Sylvia, Eric and I went to Kiwanis park on Tuesday so I could take Eric's 1 year pictures. I've been putting it off due to large forehead bruises, cold weather, and sickness. There are going to be too many pictures in this post and the next for most of you.

Trying to see what his sister was up to.

I believe a plane or helicopter flew over at this point.

No description needed for this one.

Trying to get away from mom's camera. This boy is always on the move. I was impressed that he actually sat still for a few of the pictures.

If you look close, you can see his tongue playing with all those new teeth.

Quite a bit of dirt and mulch was consumed.