Photo Shoot

I try to capture life's exciting moments like Mitchell sitting up on his own and Owen catching a ball. Unfortunately, life's exciting moments always seem to be blurry. Enter the professionals.

Despite scarred faces, runny noses and general late afternoon crankiness, we took the Linker boys for a holiday photo shoot. I felt a little better about my lack of skills when the photographer told me that Owen and Mitchell are at "really hard ages to photograph." I'm pretty sure she said this as Owen was tackling his baby brother. While in focus, we only got a handful of good pictures. The out takes, however, are still pretty fun.

"Take Me To Your Leader."

"Hmm, not quite sure what's going on here," says Mitch.

 "Hey, Mitchell, why are Mom and Dad waving and jumping? They look like a couple of idiots."

"Yup," says Mitch. "Pretty much."

My Middle Name is Kohler

Steve suggested we change Mitchell's middle name to Kohler. Like the faucet. It's fitting. This baby is a drooly mess. Owen often demands that I clean his toys after Mitchell gets his slimy little mitts on them. This has been going on for months with no tooth bud in sight.

Teething is certainly an adventure and while I remember Owen being a bear while he was getting his molars and angry-teeth (the canines), I do not remember drool and discomfort like this. We literally plow through multiple bibs and shirts a day.

Here is Mitch in his natural state. Without sock and toy munching. We even tried a Baltic amber teething necklace which is supposed to slow the faucet down to a trickle. The necklace was no match for this fierce drool monster.

 

Sleep tight drooly one...

O is for Owen

  

O is for Owen! My little smarty pants likes to point out the most important letter in the alphabet every chance he gets. I'd like to take credit for teaching Owen to identify letters but that honor distinctly goes to his teachers at daycare. I'd also like take credit for orchestrating leaf play but that was all Daddy. F is for fun!

Piece of Cake

The Linkers. Making travel look easy. Don't we look like a happy well-rested family? If you only knew the chaos that immediately preceded this picture.

We just returned to Rhode Island from a California adventure. While Owen is a seasoned bi-coastal traveler, this was Mitchell's first journey to the west coast. Three cities, Halloween and a wedding - our itinerary was ambitious. The three hour time change and daylight savings made things even more interesting. We were up everyday before the sun allowing for plenty of togetherness.

A few things I learned...traveling with a baby is exponentially easier than traveling with a toddler. You don't realize how long a six hour plane ride is until you've had to entertain kids. Along those same lines, playing video games helps pass the time while holding a sleeping baby. A friendly husband and cute kids helps to make friends and sympathizers. It also helps to have a loving aunt and Bubbie (aka Bubs) waiting in sunny California. One more thing, watching the sun set over the Pacific will never ever get old.

Here are some of the best memories from our trip.

Happy Halloween. A cop, his prisoner, a couple of ninjas and a little mermaid!

We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary at Kim and Artie's wedding. Yay!

Mitchell's first ride in the baby swing rocked his world;

And playing in the ocean rocked his!

Mitchell couldn't get enough of playing with his Bubbie and Aunt Amy. I think it's fair to say that the feeling was mutual. It's impossible not to fall prey to this sweet baby's charm.

Bunny. Bath. Brothers.

Good Times at Schartner Farms

A hayride, pumpkins, a corn maze and a even visit from Mr. October. All of this before nap time!

My Life in Cliches

Insert your preferred cliche about the passage of time but how is it possible that Mitchell is six months old? It seems like just yesterday he was smoosh faced newborn and now he's a smiley chubby baby. The last six months have been a complete whirlwind. Again with the cliches!

Life here is crazy. I keep hoping that things will get easier, become a little more manageable. I am told that I can expect this to happen around the time that we send Mitchell to kindergarten. Kindergarten! In the remaining 5+ years, I need to learn to embrace chaos, irrational little people and utter exhaustion. A tall order for this fun-loving control freak (how's that for a positive spin?). But, as they say, when the going gets tough...the tough get on the potty.

Ah, a picture's worth a thousand words. Sorry. Last one. Promise.

For the record, Owen is reading Good Night Chicago.  And no, he did not successfully use the potty. Figure it's a good start, though.