kids having kids.

a couple of weekends ago, friends & sisters, marcell & megan were home visiting. we were able to get all of the kiddos, old & young, together for a get-together. oliver was thrilled to find two new buddies to play around with. even though he called them "bom" & "tennis" aka vaughn & tevis =) there's nothing better than getting your offspring together & enjoying some vino & laughs as they play & run around...brings back the good ole days ;)

tennis ahyee & bom

i mean...look at that lil adorable awesomeness =)

and...introducing...the newest littlest member of the hanson-doxtad crew...

kate mikel doxtad. 

we love her so much! 

congratulations to cousins donna & luke! 

she's a doll!

a sad soul reminiscing the lakes.

having dealt in the past with losing friends/family, it's not a new emotion for me, but it's just putting things into perspective. this evening i learned about the passing of a friend i met while living in okoboji. he was my age. so at thirty years of age, i guess it's time for us to start doing this, putting our 'futures' into perspective. upon learning such sad news, i've just been so scatter brained, so excuse me for the rambling, but i felt the need to put some sort of tribute to my thoughts down. i was thinking wills. i have been running over a million "what-ifs" in my head. i've been thinking about my own sons. i've been thinking about family. i can already feel a very sleepless night ahead of me!

i briefly chatted with a mutual friend tonight & she really enlightened me when she said that she was at peace knowing that his last moments were spent in the very place where so many memories were made & good times were had. and then i got to reminiscing about all of the long-lost faces i spent so much time with throughout those summers. i considered these faces my "family". and it was refreshing to think back on all of the unforgettable moments that i had up there with a very special group of people...& i thank every one of them for that, including andrew. and although, his family/friends will more than likely not even know this blog post exists, i am so so very sorry for the loss of such an unforgettable charming young guy & and i'm sending them peace through this heartache. love to them.

the first hurdle of cold/flu season...

it was inevitable... friday, oliver was sneezing & had a runny nose...by saturday, my fears were unleashed & gus was sneezing snot balls out of his nose. which, of course, launched me into super psycho neb treatment mode. by sunday, i was in denial that my throat was scratchy & that someone had jammed an upholstery needle into my ear. i slammed some nyquil & thus began my 48 hours of a nyquil coma {i don't fully come back to making much sense of anything until tuesday}. monday, i stayed home, as i was unable to physically move, get out of bed for that matter, or breath. by monday afternoon, mike had left work & had brought both kids back home from daycare. we plugged away with cold medicine, vicks & 84 billion kleenexes...enough snot to sink a battleship i tell ya! i came around tuesday afternoon & immediately launched into crazy germ-fest abolisher mama! in retrospect, it wasn't that bad. =) i think i feared gus getting sick for the first time in 4 months the most. i feared having to go through another week after week of treatments & not knowing how to make him feel better. but, his breathing has been just fine. he was able to move the snot out of his little body this time, so i was relieved of knowing that his tiny immune system has matured.

and while it's still not fun to have to mend small little people back to good health, i think we all handled it well. we're emerging back into the world tomorrow, with drippy noses, but nothing on a scale to take us down any longer. whew! so, now i'm praying to the cold/flu season gods...we don't want anymore. and the best thing, is that mike didn't really come down with anything, a little sniffly, but a major man-cold alert was never put into effect. our cupboards are stocked if we need it, but i'm hoping to stay on top of the season's misery. moving on.

photo bomb of oliver & august.

and...it's only taken about seven months...but i finally captured both boys...together =)

as you can see...this was how my usual attempts played out...

ashley + aaron.

this weekend, we travelled down to ames, iowa to take part in our friends' wedding. michael was a groomsman for aaron & oliver was the "ring" bearer. pause for quotations gesture "ring" bearer. there were no rings that would be in oliver's possession ;) we were thrilled that the two of them wanted to have oliver a part of their big day, however, it kind of made me a little a lot nervous. currently, he's not the most compliant. and the lack of a nap lurking in the background was a little unsettling. but...we kept it positive & had a lot of snacks, some pirate stickers, apple juices & the iPod packed! and when i saw my little baby man in his tuxedo for the first time...pulled my little heartstrings *sigh*. the weekend went perfect...& we brought my parents down w/ us for babysitting reinforcements so we could take full advantage of the night/weekend out.

we had the most fun of times. seeing & catching up with old friends. great food. a crisp fall wedding day. a glass of wine {or six} & celebrating the marriage of our dear amazing friends. i'm a bit of an overachiever & i am going to get my photos posted already. i know, i know...look at me go. enjoy. we did.

august turned six months & bubble time.

little gus marked his six months in the world on the 27th of august. i didn't post at all during the month of august. whoops. busy busy. you know the spiel. this six month marked a lot of things...3 months of a healthy happy baby! relief. he's growing like a little fatso! i love it. he weighs in at 17 lbs 11 oz & is 27 inches. we started him on rice/oatmeal. and like his bro, he favored the oatmeal. we held off on starting any other foods before this six month mark as recommended by his doctor...despite my shear hatred for washing bottles...omg i cannot wait to be done w/ bottles =) given his past health history, it was vital that we take the introductions to food at a slower pace, as to not develop any asthmatic or allergic reactions. after the go-ahead to begin introducing the "oranges" {carrots, squash, sweet potatoes}...we started right up that night. on the gus menu...sweet tatoes! i referenced the chart i kept when we started new foods w/ oliver...accompanied by a smiley face {he liked it}, frowny face {he did not like it} or the straight face {no response, he just ate it}. it'll be interesting to see how gus responds to new foods in comparison to oliver. as for the sweet tatoes...he shuddered the first couple bites, so i distracted him with the more familiar oatmeal & switched in a couple of bites of the "questionable orange goo mama was feeding me". i supposed that i would give him a 'smiley face' rating on the sweet tatoes. however, mike would probably disagree! he tried the next day & said he gagged & puked up his first bite. next day, i had luck...maybe he just prefers mama at feeding time...i don't know ;) we'll continue to get through oranges w/out a horrific puke show that his brother put on for me after trying pumpkin. oh the puking pumpkin everywhere in the car episode...uggghhhhh...it still gives me nightmares.

gus has also began teething. again...his brother has paved a bit of a path for some of these milestones, so it's always interesting to make a comparison. so far...& i don't want to jinx it...gus hasn't had as much of a hard time w/ the teething as olly did. however, we haven't sprouted any toofers yet. he's been introduced to sophie the giraffe, drools like there's no tomorrow & gnaws on everything else he can possibly get his hands on. c'mon teeth! i just hope one morning we wake up & they're just all in. poof! like magic. if not, we have a mini airplane bottle of jack daniels on reserve =)

gussy's move towards mobility is in full effect too. he's conquered the roll from the back to the tummy, enjoys it for about 3 seconds & then gets mad. someday soon, he'll get the reverse figured out & then it's gonna be all down{up?}hill from there. get ready, he's gonna want to keep up with number one!

and speaking of number one...he has officially become a little boy that can pee in the potty. he has also since developed a non-stop obsession w/ his weiner, but that's another thing. and i'm proud to say we accomplished this all without having to get out the dreaded "potty dance" video. sorry liz =) but, i remember watching a commercial with the "potty dance" on it & i distinctly remember telling my mom "i will never be doing the potty dance. ever" - ha! just glad oliver took to peeing in the potty like eating marshmallows for breakfast. he has dubbed it "bubble time" b/c he enjoys watching all the bubbles he makes while draining the snake.

labor day weekend, we travelled down to ames to tailgate & head to the iowa state game opener. we spent the weekend with friends, ashley & aaron butcher. i had not been to ames since i moved, halfway preggers w/ oliver. it was a bit strange to be back & mike & i argued about how to get to certain places b/c neither of us wanted to admit that we couldn't remember the driving directions once we had to navigate around town. haha! we were also able to catch up with plenty of friends & family, since the majority of my fam willingly cheer for the cyclones ;) it was fun & we were very excited to see ashley & aaron before their big wedding day in two weeks! both oliver & mike are in the wedding, so this will also mark the first time oliver wears a tuxedo & {god-willing} does not make a spectacle going down the aisle as a ring-bearer! i have faith little man...& plenty of gummies waiting for you at the front of the church =)

i have no photos from that weekend...i pulled out my camera & realized the battery was dead...i know, i'm dumb. i do have photos on board to post from our summer ramblings, however, i need to get through my celebration barn wedding shots before i even focus on sharing those. i think i only have about 10 more hours of editing. here are a couple of random shots from the weekend in iowa city. gotta love food on sticks & the round up!

operation: potty train the oliver & summer so far...

summer has been a whirlwind. i've been strapped for time for everything. partially to blame most recently due to london 2012 olympics & my daily dosage of pinterest...but we have been pretty eventful so far this summer. photos to come by the end of the summer {i'm shooting for end of summer, that way, if i happen to get anything up sooner, it'll blow your pants off}.

so, in leu of the post title, we have placed operation potty train the oliver in full effect. with thanks to daycare "zee zee", it's been more of a success. i think as a parent, you witness your little people doing hilarious things & it makes you both laugh your butt off & proud at the same time. but as a parent of a child of the opposite sex, you witness things that you just can't help but wonder 'what is going on in that little boy head'?! so my story goes...tonight, as oliver was expressing his need to go potty, i escorted him into the bathroom. he rejected the potty seat placed on the toilet, so i threw it off...he then proceeded to step up onto the step stool & bare his business like the "big boys" do. i didn't object & sat back to see how it was going to pan out. surprisingly, he aimed with great precision & peed like a champ. and then, he ended his duty by hip-thrusting, hula-hoop style, a couple times to clear the pee off his nee nee. haha! what the what?! potty training is interesting to say the least =)

taking a few steps back from the potty training business...gussy goo has marked the 5th month of his life. after his 4 month check up, he weighed in at 15lbs 4oz...so i'm sure he's put on a little more since. we've started rice/oatmeal with him & i cannot wait until 6 months when we can start up the food! he's 26 inches long - little 2 foot man =) he's growing & happy & we've had 2 straight months of healthy goodness! he's sleeping all through the night starting at about 7-8ish! yay little happy sleeper man.

in other news, we took a long weekend after the fourth of july & headed up to okoboji. we stayed pretty relaxed, listened to some outdoor music, oliver jumped into the lake, just enough to give me a half of an anxiety attack & drink an extra cocktail =) while up there, i met up with some ole Ritz friends & their families for a photo shoot. and then, most recently, i shot a wedding for a couple in iowa city last weekend & cannot wait to share the photos once i get through the editing process. here's a sneak peek. look at that... it didn't even take until the end of summer - - ---i know, i spoil you guys =)

jude, jen & tj

baby jude

happy wedding at the celebration barn

and the boys...

gus working on rolling over...

i heart my baby blue eyes{es} =)