My not so little anymore 20-pounder!!!

Grady has been 9 months for a little over a week now. At his check-up the nurse said he was in the 50th percentile for height and weight and the 75th percentile for head circumference. Basically, both Luke and Grady are pretty average sized kids with big heads. I've decided that it's okay to have average sized kids, mostly because it makes shopping for clothes super easy! He also has three teeth. He's got his bottom two, and one random one on the top that isn't one of his front teeth. Anyways, Grady is incredibly mobile now. He army crawled (something Luke never did) for about 2 months, but in the past couple weeks he's finally figured out how to get that big tummy of his off the floor when he crawls. I can't leave him unsupervised for even a moment. The picture above shows what happened when I left him alone outside with Luke just for a minute - he practically ate the whole backyard! He has grown incredible leery of Luke. Luke likes to take toys away from him, and now Grady has been conditioned to start screaming when he sees Luke approaching before Luke even touches him or his toy! Too funny! He really does love Luke though, and always has a smile for everyone. He has also learned to shake his head "no" and to wave bye-bye. I love this kid.

Here are his 9 month pictures.

Oh, and the chair was his great-great-great grandmother's dining room chair.

The day that I really wanted to take Grady's 9 month pictures the weather was really miserable (I'm talkin' wind gusts at 50mph!), so I decided instead of being mopey about it I would try to do some indoor shots. I challenged myself trying something new and going for that "topless, really artsy, black and white look". I got the idea for the crop of the first one from my friend Erin (hope you don't mind!). Also, I couldn't help throwing one in of Luke too.

I feel like this one just screams "Gerber baby".

My Grandma & Grandpa

(This is the best 4 generation picture we got. Too bad it's not really that great a picture of anyone. Oh well! I still love it!)

My Grandma and Grandpa Moffat came down from Idaho last week. They stayed a couple days at my parent's house, so I went up to go see them. This was the first time that they got to see Grady. The first thing my Grandma said when she held him was "He's got Moffat legs!". (For those of you who don't know, that means he has short, very sturdy legs!) I imagine it would feel good to see some of your traits living on in your great-grandchildren. Over the weekend we all went down to the valley for my Aunt Michelle's surprise 50th birthday party. It was great seeing cousins that I hadn't seen in way too long! Thanks for the awesome party Celeste!

It was really great spending time with them. My grandpa is hilarious! He is always telling jokes, and a lot of his jokes are about things your average Grandpa would think are inappropriate! Every time I see him, he always tells me the same story about me. Before I turned 2, and still lived in Oklahoma near them, my Grandpa taught me this little trick he used to impress others. He would say " Rachel, what does Grandpa say?" and I would answer "I love you Rachel!". Then one day, he was trying to impress a lady at a check-out counter and said "Rachel, what does Grandpa say?". According to the story, I then got a sly grin on my face and said "Hello Rachel!"

Don't let this woman's nice and friendly exterior fool you! You wouldn't believe a 76-year-old could be so cut-throat! We played games one evening, and she was sooo competitive! That must be where I got my competitiveness from! Thanks for playing with us Grandma! You made it so much more fun! It was so funny, seeing as how there were two Grandmas under on roof, Luke started referring to her as "different Grandma".

Luke absolutely loves spending time at my parent's house! He gets so spoiled! I get spoiled too. My mom watched my boys, and let me go skiing one day. I felt just like Lindsay Vonn in men's skis (my little brother's skis) flying down the mountain! Okay, so I didn't go that fast, I just seemed fast to me! We also got to take the boys swimming in the indoor Show Low pool. It was only Grady's 2nd time swimming. They both loved it!

Of course I couldn't resist taking my sisters out behind our house during a few minutes of good light for a few pictures. I don't think it's possible for anyone else to have sisters that look so different, but that are both equally so beautiful. Necia argued against having her picture taken, because she had spent the whole day cleaning and didn't feel beautiful. Obviously, she has no idea how gorgeous she is! Oh, and please tell me whether I'm nerdy or not for loving these shots with the wind in Emily's hair!

Emily 2010

I can't believe my little sister Emily is graduating! She was only 10 years old when I moved out! When my sister Necia and I were younger we used to sit around and talk about how beautiful Emily was and how she was the prettiest one in the family! Anyways, I had a lot of fun taking these pictures. It was a whole new experience taking pictures of someone who would follow my directions (ie. not Luke!)! Necia came too, and we had some great sisterly bonding! Sorry there are so many pictures! I had a hard time choosing favorites! I'd love to hear some of your feedback on these shots!

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#12 (This one is my personal favorite!)

These past few days...

Potty training sure is an adventure! We've been potty traing Luke for about the past 4 weeks. So far, he's only peeded in his face once. He really is doing pretty well now though. Except, tonight he randomly came up to me while I was in the kitchen and placed a large nugget of poop into my hand and so innocently asked "Mama, what's this?" I was really grossed out, but calmly told him that it was poop and asked him if he had taken it out of his underwear. He said yes, and then we flushed it together. I think I spent at least 5 minutes washing my hands. On a happier note, Ty and I have made sure to give Luke lots of praise when he does it right. So now, Luke has started telling us "I'm so proud of you mom!" and "I'm so proud of you dad!" all day long, especially when we use the restroom! Whoever said parenting was a thankless job?!

Snow Day! On Saturday Ty and I took the boys up the mountain in the snow. Because they're so young, we didn't stay long. It was still nice to get away for a little bit.
These next two pictures speak volumes. Luke loved sleding. Grady did not.



Our Snowman. Luke loved helping to build him.

It was funny watching Grady try to eat snow with those mittens on.

Afterwards, we had a nice picnic lunch. Like father, like son!

My boys. I snapped this picture this afternoon. Ty, Luke, and Grady were watching a wind storm together. March in Thatcher = wind, dust, wind, tumbleweeds, wind, occasionally a couple of hours of perfect weather, and more wind!

My baby has hair! Yikes!!!

I had fun trying out the mowhawk on Grady this past week just for fun. I think it really exaggerates/emphasises the length of his hair! It's probably time for his first hair cut, but I find myself really hesitating to cut his hair. He's only 8 months old! Luke got his first haircut when he was only 6 months old ( he already had enough for me to put it into a pretty good sized whale spout and cut it off)! I know I couldn't wait for Luke to grow up when he was a baby, and once I cut his hair he looked a lot older. I'm afraid that if I cut Grady's hair that he'll loose a big part of his sweet baby look. On the other hand, his hair is starting to get into his eyes, and I feel like I'd be a bad mom if I didn't do something about that. I was talking to a friend and fellow mother of very long haired babies, and she was saying that she doesn't cut her kid's hair until they are a year old. A big part of me really agrees with what she said. I'm thinking though, that I should just give him a little trim. I feel like baby hair is different than toddler hair or kid hair, and that the first hair cut is a pretty big deal. I'd love to hear your philosophy on baby hair!

Below: A picture ,taken yesterday, of what his hair looks like pretty much everyday.

Sweet Little Newborn Boys

Two friends in my ward both had their first babies about two weeks ago. As shower gifts I offered to do mini newborn photo shoots for them. After Grady was born, I decided that I really love newborns. When Luke was a baby I really couldn't wait for him to grow up, but with Grady I've really enjoyed just having a baby. I loved spending time with these sweet little boys! Photography wise, this was a great learning experience for me.

(side note to Lauren and Jessie- Uncle Sam made this hat. Isn't he talented?!)

Just one more, because who can resist those sweet newborn sleep smiles!

A Bit of Honesty

Whether you think you know me pretty well or not, you'll probally learn something new about me from this post. Maybe you'll know me a little too well after this! My cousin Jessie tagged me, so now I'm going to write 10 honest confecessions about myself. This should be fun, challenging, and emberassing all rolled into one!

1. I've always wanted to be a doctor. My dad's a doctor, and for as far back as I can remember I've wanted to be a doctor too. When I was around 4-years-old, my mom found me and the little neighbor boy playing doctor together, behind closed doors, mostly naked! I used to fill my pockets with cotton balls, band-aids, and other random medical supplies that I found around our house as a kid so I would be prepared in case anyone ever got hurt. I've always loved wandering around hospitals. One of the hardest things about becoming a mother and wife, was realizing that I would not be able to realize all my dreams. I could have tried to be a doctor and a mom, but I learned that it was the right decision for me to focus my attention on being a mom.

2. I talk to myself. I'm sure everyone has talked to themselves at one time or another, but I'm really bad. I've walked by people in public places talking out loud to myself. It was especally bad while I was in college and stressed all the time. Now at home, Ty will call to me from another room and jokingly ask "Rachel, who's in that room with you?". I have had 100s of conversations with myself out loud about how I need to stop talking to myself. (Just for clarifacation, I've never heard any other voices in my head besides my own! Yet!)

3. When I was about 4 and my little sister was about 2 I stuck her in the dryer and turned it on. I immediately felt horrible and let her out. ( I really hope my kids take more after my husband than me!)

4. Ty and I only own about 20 DVDs (most of them were gifts), and we've only watched about half of them! We're just not movie people. We never went on a date to the movies until we had been married for about 6 months!

5. I graduated from ASU with a 4.12 GPA. Through out all 4 years of college I never got any grade below an A, not even an -A. I have to give credit where credit is due though, I know I was blessed because I never did any homework on Sundays.

6. I cried myself to sleep almost every night in 7th grade and a lot of nights in 8th and 9th grade too. I didn't have many friends, no friends that I would have considered close. I also felt the cruelty of how mean some kids can be at that age. I suffered from pretty bad social anxiety too, and was known as the girl that didn't talk. I've outgrown most of it now, but inside I'm still that really shy and akward girl. All of this taught me that the Savior is still there for me when I feel alone, and that nobody knows what it feels like to be alone more than He does.

7. I'm ridiculously competitive. There's nothing I love more than playing games. My competitiveness has a real down side too, because things that shouldn't be competitive are competitive to me.

8. I hate scrapbooking!  You would think that since I love pictures so much that I would love scrapbooking too. No! I've discovered that online scrapbooking isn't quite so bad though.

9. I threw-up 3 times my first time going through the temple. I had been fasting all day, and I think that was the cause. I was sitting there, then all of a sudden I started to get really weak and pale. I even threw-up into one of the nice temple workers hands! I'm a lot more careful when I fast now!

10. I love dirt! I wouldn't mind being covered in mud from head to toe. When I worked at the plant nursery, I loved planting things with my bare hands - no shovels or gloves.

 I'm not going to tag anyone. I love being tagged, but I hate tagging people. I really just don't want anyone to feel bad because they didn't get tagged. If you've read this and want to be tagged, just consider your self tagged please!

Pictures Just for Fun + 1

2/18 edit- I just had to add one more picture to this post. I took it this morning. I debated over and over in my head whether or not I wanted to do a little 2 and 3/4 mini photo shoot for Luke. I had decided not to, and that I would just try to take some nice pics of him doing things that he loves to do, because whenever I try to take a nice portrait of him I get really frustrated and he gets upset. I usually need someone to go along with me so I don't get upset at the poor little kid who absolutely hates to get his picture taken. (I never get upset with other people's kids, just Luke. I'm just a bad mom I guess. ) This morning I changed my mind though. It was a bit of work and I did get a little frustrated, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The hardest part actually was trying to keep Grady from eating all the rocks while I took the pictures! The end result was definitely well worth the effort! I love this kid!

I've realized that I really need to captilize on picture taking at this time with Grady now while he sits up really well and can't get away from me too fast! Here's a couple of his almost 8 month old pictures. I can't believe how old he is looking, espically with his hair combed! My little sister Emily is coming to visit for about 24 hours this weekend, and I am so excited. She's agreed to be my guinea pig and let me take some senior portraits for her, so be looking for them soon!

(Sorry about the tie on this one honey!)

I seriously laughed out loud when I saw this picture upload to my computer. Could you ask for a funnier face?

A couple of weeks ago I called up my friend Amy and asked her if she'd let me practice her photography on her beautiful little girls, ages 4 and almost 2. She agreed and we had fun. It is so much easier to take pictures of a little girl that wants to have her pictures taken, than of Luke! This first one is my very favorite!