one fish, two fish

I had a tiny little photo shoot to capture the kids in their matching shirts. The pictures could be better, but they could be worse too. 

If Eliza was looking, then Jonah was moving. If Jonah was cooperating, then Eliza had her hands in the way.  Oh well. I got pictures taken!

and, after editing, I've got my new favorite of my girl...gonna frame this one.

Elizabeth Anne 5.5 weeks

Rise and Shine

For most of Jonah's toddler life he has been pretty good about sleeping in. For a long while his wake-up time was between 8 and 9am. On several occasions he'd even sleep till 10! There were days he'd wake around 7:30, but they were rare. 

Recently (like since Elizabeth was born and we are up in the wee hours anyway) he has made 6am his new wake-up time. NOT COOL, kiddo. Not cool at all! 

To every problem, there is a solution. Now, I don't know if this is our final solution, but I came up with a plan. We will test it tonight/in the morning. 

A friend suggested that I teach him how to read his clock, and teach him to stay in his room until a certain time. Well, I don't trust him to stay in his room until the clock reads "7" just by teaching him to wait for the 7. I'm afraid he'd read 5:37 and think it was the right time to go find mom. 

So....I made a "7" for his clock and all he has to do is wait for the number on the clock to match right above it. 

We also rearranged his furniture. It is finally placed the way I'd envisioned since we moved him into that bedroom. 

meeting a great

Last weekend I loaded up the car and headed to Mom & Dad's. This was Miss Elizabeth's first trip to Arkansas. She sure did make a debut!! (lots of screaming). 

She also got to meet her Great Grandpa Brewer.

You may remember, from my earlier post, Elizabeth shares his birthday. 

They sure are a sweet pair! 

A Guitar

One day Jonah was asking to play on the guitar. Jonathan has one that he rarely plays and Jonah thinks it is great. Well, one day when I was on my own with the kids he wanted to play the guitar. I didn't have the ability to supervise him so I suggested we MAKE a guitar. He thought it sounded exciting. 

We created this:

Nice, huh. I was proud of our 15 minute effort. Jonah liked it!

(it looked a little nicer the first day)

Well, then, my amazing husband had another idea.

Did I mention the word AMAZING?!

it's solid wood.

 I came up with the strap for this one...other than that, this is completely an original Jonathan Atkins creation. He sketched it free-hand & everything. 

 While the boys were working on the guitar I was trying to get myself ready to go somewhere. Elizabeth was screaming, so I took her outside (to give myself a break). When I came back out Jonah was singing to her!!!

When I came back home later the guitar was finished and Jonah was giving a concert.

worth 1,000 words

i am loving this photo. it really captures the moment!

i'd love to know what it says to you. 

leave a comment with the caption you would give this picture.

Family Day:Legoland

I recently heard that Branson was host to a temporary Legoland. So, today we went as a family to investigate! 

WE FOUND IT!!
(it is at the Branson Landing...free fun for everyone)

 When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly guy...and Jonah was given a lego pirate hat. He is wearing it over his ball cap, so it's hard to see in most of the photos. 

 here he is with a lego guy that is as tall as he is. 

 building with Daddy

They constructed vehicles that they raced down this ramp. 

While the boys were playing Elizabeth and I just hung out...

sweet baby love