Wordless Wednesday

...except it's not Wednesday...and I guess now this post isn't really wordless.  I just love these pictures of my kids...

Maybe I should've titled it Thoughtless Thursday.

Five Months

Actually if I'm being completely accurate, it's five and a third months, but who's counting?  Oh right.  I am.

I am in total disbelief that out sweet baby girl is already five months old.  Time flew by with Hunter, but it's going even faster with Charlotte.  She's so sweet and smiley and brings so much joy to all of us. 

Here are a few of my favorite things about Charlotte right now...

*Her melt-your-heart smile.  Every time we go in to pick her up out of her crib, she smiles the biggest, sweetest smile you've ever seen. 

*How she laughs with her brother.  She's really been paying a lot of attention to Hunter lately.  He will smile at her or talk to her and she starts laughing so hard, which of course makes him start laughing.  It's been one of the best feelings I've had as a parent so far.

*That she's sitting.  Yay!  Char started sitting in really short spurts a couple of weeks ago, but last week she sat for several minutes for us.  We were all so excited for her...

*All of the vocal play.  Of course I love this...it's a professional obligation.  Her newest sound is this shrieky scream.  And yes, it is literally a scream.  I don't think love would actually be the best word to describe my feeling for it (especially after, oh I don't know, one minute), but I wanted to document it so I wouldn't forget.

*How cute she is in her high chair.  We started rice cereal this weekend, and she is such a little peanut in that big ole high chair...

I love you so much Charlotte, and I'm so thankful that God has let me be your mommy!  You are such a perfect part of our family!

It could've been worse.

Last Sunday morning James had to open the church, so I was home alone getting the kids ready.  I was in the back feeding Charlotte and noticed that I hadn't seen or heard Hunter in a while. 

Obviously this is not a good thing. 

Toys and tv only keep him occupied for so long, and when he's playing with them I always at least hear cute Hunterisms or sound effects. 

It turns out his mouth was too full of gum for his little tongue to move around and articulate any sounds for me to hear...

Yes, those are gum wrappers all over the floor. 

And don't kid yourself.  He's not embarrassed here.  Just laughing at how cute he thinks he is for getting away with stuffing his mouth with an entire package of gum.

I tried to get a picture of the huge gum wad in his mouth for James, but never got a good shot of it.  Hunter was surprisingly cooperative for this...

Probably because he realized he had just struck gold when my response was grabbing the camera instead of freaking out on him.  You know, since it's a choking hazard and all. 

Luckily, he didn't choke.  But he also didn't get his fill.  Today, James put an altoid in his mouth in the car, and H immediately asked for some gum.  When I told him we didn't have any, he replied, "I smell it."  Awesome.  The kid already has an addiction. 

We're starting detox tomorrow.

My Portfolio....by Hunter Richard Brooks

Grandpa got me this cool digital camera for Christmas, so I've been busy refining my new hobby. 

My favorite thing to take pictures of so far is my face, but I've also done some artsy shots of different things in our house.  Here's my portfolio...

Somebody's Watching You

Name That Toddler

Failed Smile

Pop Art

A Dentist's View (mommy said I could also title this, A Speech Patholgist's View)

The Natural Look (Mommy looooves this picture of herself.  I'm surprised she let me post it.)

Bright

A Room with a Chair

Fish on the Floor

This is my best piece of art yet.  Isn't it so modern?  It's so brilliant, I didn't even title it.  It speaks for itself, don't you think?

Sometimes I let mommy or daddy take pictures with my camera (and by sometimes, I mean rarely)...

It's not long, though, before I start to reach for it again.  It is my camera, you know.

Mommy loves when I use my new camera.  She says her favorite thing is that I don't have to use her's anymore, and a close second favorite is when I'm about to take the picture and say, "Say smile!"  She tells daddy that warms her heart.

Off to go work on my new, mad photography skills.  Let me know if you want some lessons!

Favorites

Just so I won't forget, here are my favorites from 2009...

(Yes, Boo Mama readers.  I totally stole this idea from her.  I have no shame.)

January - I was living a life of fatigue and nausea from my sweet, little fetus, Charlotte, so I really appreciated moments that could make me laugh and distract from the day-long wish to just throw up and get it over with already.  The day I found Hunter in pink, girl pants when I picked him up at school was for sure one of my favorite laugh out loud moments of the month year...

February - James and I traveled to Austin for my grad school friend, Liz's wedding.  Even if my toes did almost freeze off, it was worth it to see so many of those fun grad school girls!

March - Hunter turned 2! We had so much fun eating waffles and cupcakes for breakfast and sliding down huge slides at his Bounce Town party...

April - We went to a record number of Easter egg hunts.  We still have the empty eggs and Elmo basket in the coat closet.  Hunter will sometimes ask to play with them, and wishfully opens each egg hoping to find some candy...

May - Hunter had his first ever public performance.  He didn't quite have the singing down, but definitely won the prize for loudest crying kid of the group.  I thought he was cute even if he did cry and scream "mommy" through the entire performance;)

June - Hunter met Barber James for the first time.  I can't believe Hunter's only known Barber James for 6 months.  He's one of Hunter's favorite people, so his name comes up often in our house!

July - Charlotte Jane was born!  What a perfect day July 31st was!  I couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery.  This was definitely my favorite day of 2009...

August - We adjusted to life as a family of four.

Some days were rough...

But these moments made all the tears worth it...

September - Charlotte met lots of friends, and Hunter worked hard at figuring out this whole big brother job.  And what a great big brother he's become...

October - October was family fun month!  We did lots of fun stuff with both sets of cousins this month.  Hunter's favorites were the Arboretum, the Fair, and Trick or Treating...

November - James turned the big 3-5, and although he wasn't very surprised at his surpise party, we had a great time anyway.

December - This was one of my favorite months.  We did so many fun things as a family, but when I was going through the pictures, I found this one and immediately knew it was the one to post...

Because that is what makes my heart the most happy.  Those three people give me so much joy and fullfillment.  This year I am most thankful for the indescribable gift God has given me in them.

Happy New Year everyone!  I'd love to see a re-cap of your 2009, so go ahead and copy me...uh, I mean Boo Mama, I'm sure she won't mind!