Recently we picked up some butterflies at Butterfly World for Kate’s room.  I feel in love with them the minute I saw them and knew they would be an adorable addition to her decor! 

The one on her monogram is my favorite!

And, yes, we still have the origami cranes from her baby shower up too!

The reason I thought this was occassion was blog worthy was because when I took this picture I got a wave of deja vu.

THIS picture is all I could think of.  It was taken by Amy Hill when Kate was 9 days old.  She was so tiny!

So I couldn’t resist -

Almost two years later she barely fits on her changing pad!  Baby no more!

I debated posting old stuff that never made it to the blog, although blog worthy, and have decided that it will at least give you all something to look at.  That, and help you appreciate how nice our winter was now that it’s turning scalding hot warm.

These are photos from a play date with Ayla at the park on a gorgeous February morning. 

This was Kate’s very first set of pigtails; she looked just like Boo from Monsters Inc!

How can this welcome not bring a smile to your face?  Ayla was running in from the parking lot, they were both so excited!

Can I ride?!?!

Weeeeeeee……

Noah loves a good swing!  I love this series of photos!  I couldn’t decide which ones to post, so you get three.

Ok, four.  I can’t help myself.  This is Noah in the same swing at 9 months.  What a difference 3 years makes!!  It doesn’t even look like the same kid!

Sweet, sweet Kate.  The daughter that wasn’t going to be girly.  The one who wasn’t going to own anything pink… 

The one who has a pink, PINK nursery, a boat load of dresses, and just as many shoes.  Yeah, that Kate. 

Despite my original efforts to hold back she has become a GIRL.  A girl with a love for accessories, specifically eyewear.  I have never known a little person to love eyewear so much.  And I do say eyewear, because it’s not just for glasses anymore!

The Original Kate – cute, fun, happy

And sometimes serious… when food is involved.

The flower child/Elton John Kate – funny, cute, and cool

Aquatics Kate – her first love of eyewear, Noah’s swimming goggles (she wears these around the house a lot!)

Diva Kate – there is nothing cooler than sunglasses with flowers!

and last but not least, Terminator Kate

She’ll be back…

There are so many things I will miss when the kids are older.  So many little things.  Sure, I’ll miss being able to pick out their music and clothes, because let’s face it - teenagers are no good at that stuff, but I’ll also miss who they are right now. 

Noah has a flair for mispronunciation and made up words.  I already miss his emphatic “BA”, which could have been anything but was most often his pacifier when he was a toddler.  I still love that yellow is lello, and Ayla is Awaa but I’m sure those will change too.  His newest bump in the learning curve is telling time.  Every morning he comes into our room and announces it’s time to get up.  And every morning Walter groggily asks him what time it is.  It’s usually 5 or 6 something (but in the pattern of number number number), which means it’s not time to get up, but sometimes we get this treat – it’s mystery one five (or whatever is after the mystery).  It took us a bit to figure it out but that’s 7:15.  Apparently this – 7 – and this – ? – are pretty similar in his mind.  To me it’s  a mystery how he only manages to sleep past 7:00am once a week!  But, isn’t that the cutest thing ever?  Noah is also a huge fan of renaming people right now.  I don’t know how he chooses names, or sometimes where they come from, but it always makes us laugh.  His teach at school, Miss Molly, is Molls.  His best friend there is Charlie, Noah calls him Charles.  The other night I was Brisket but I’m most often Dads – that’s not a typo.  He loves to be silly!

Kate is still into pointing and grunting.  Her school tells us she can talk a little – Mickey, No, and Mine – but we haven’t heard it.  She mimics us sometimes and can almost get some similar sounds with the right amount of syllables out but she definitely understands.  You can tell her just about anything, or make any request, and she’s on it.  Whether or not she wants to do it remains a completely different story.  We joke that she has an attitude problem but I’m hoping it’s just that she’s opinionated.  Right now she wants to do everything Noah does, especially the dangerous stuff, and absolutely everything by herself.

All of these traits and habits will one day be a distant memory but I wanted to put them here so we never forget just how darn cute they could be!  Another thing I’m sure we’ll miss… how they enjoy Valentine’s Day…

The Queen of the Self Feed -

Apparently not even 3.75 years of practice makes you a clean donut eater -

What do you miss about your child’s childhood, or what do you think you will miss the most?

In case you forgot, this is the Yap Family blog, yes really.  It was starting to get foggy for me too, I was afraid I’d forget how to log in!  I know I have so much catching up to do, and I plan to, but I don’t have all the photos together yet (let’s be honest, that’s why you’re here).  So I’ll share an ounce of right now and promise, once more, to update you more often.  I certainly won’t let months get in between us again!

We’ve been very busy cultivating our photography business.  We have become crazy popular but we’re loving every minute of it!  The only downside is that it really cuts into our family time on the weekends.  Last weekend we had a request for a photo session from a friend.  His wife had a bone marrow transplant a few weeks back and because of the immune system stuff and because she’s out of town for treatment, they don’t see her very often.  Of course we were excited to help with the Valentine’s photos as a surprise for her but we were feeling guilty about leaving the kids behind for another shoot.  I think we had three that weekend and this one was a favor.  So we took them!  We let them run around the park for a half an hour before the shoot and when my friend and his sons arrived the older kids raced around like crazy people!  They had such a blast and although it certainly made shooting so much more difficult I’m glad they could join us this time.

We managed to talk them into a few photos too!

We set up a ladder/scaffolding for a few photos and the kids were under the impression we brought a jungle gym!

Kate’s hair is getting so big and long.  She’s still not a fan of having anything to keep it out of her eyes!

                                                                                                      H  O  N  K  !  !  !  !

The photos of my friend and his kids came out well; the boys were super sweet!  If you want to see those you’ll have to check out the photo blog – www.yaporiginals.com

It’s great to “see” you again!

I feel like it’s been so long coming… Kate to be a walker.  Well, it’s here.  She is officially a walker!  As of tonight she wants nothing to do with crawling and she’s good too!  It’s amazing how quickly she went from cruising and holding on, to taking a step here or there, to walking!  People who haven’t seen her in a few days are shocked.  It’s really quite incredible!  I’m so surprised it took her until she was 14 months to figure it all out, especially since Noah was running by 10 months, but in her own time she’s slowly making her mark on things.  She is also an expert climber!  More so than Noah ever was and without any fear (can you see my grays?).  Last week she climbed onto the toilet, then on top of the tank and maneuvered over to the bathroom counter where she happily played in the sink (after figuring out how to turn on the water).  Oy!  It looks like we’ll have our hands full with this one too, but happily so.  Kate is also the loudest child on the planet!  I’m convinced she just likes to hear herself talk.

And because I might find my house egged for posting without a photo…

This photo actually brought up a conversation in our house… one I would like your opinion on, since ours differ – at what age is it no longer ok to take naked photos of your kid?  I’m not talking awkward fully naked photos, but something like this, where she doesn’t have on a shirt, because really, what shirt would match a giant tutu?  Walter says she’s too old, I say she’s still a baby.  Either way I know we’re close but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We appear to have a walker!  A drunken walker, but a walker none the less.  A few days ago she was taking a step or two and then falling but we didn’t care, were so excited!  So excited for her, in fact, that when she would stand on her own or take a few steps we’d give her a standing ovation and now she does for herself as well.  It’s so cute!

When she first started toddling I was determined to get it on film, to share with you and with her, maybe when she’s taking those nervous steps down the aisle at her wedding.  Ok, reaching.  I’m emotional, leave me alone.  So we went to the park and I got all kinds of comfy across the patch of grass with the camera and, well, it didn’t quite turn out how I’d hoped…

She loved the little bench I brought!

She got comfy and played on it.  She wrestled kicked off her shoes… she was having a great time…

Or so I thought.

And then it hit me… 

She doesn’t love the bench!  She hates the grass!

Thank God I was prepared…

Food!?  I’ll calm down for food! 

I’ll even stand for you – in the grass.

But I am not walking!

And if there is one type of person you can’t force or trick into doing what you want, it’s a toddler.  So instead of trying to get the perfect photo of the perfect step captured at just the right moment we sat in the park and enjoyed the brisk cool front (81 degrees) all by ourselves.  It was an overcast but gorgeous day.  We watched birds and ate pretzels.  I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon!

We tried to get a photo of us together, ok I tried. 

Have you ever taken a photo of yourself at arm’s length with a digital SLR?  You should be impressed.  I am.

And then Kate offered to share her pretzels.  We left those for the ducks.

And just to spite me she waited a few days and then she walked, she really walked.  She walked all day today (11/10/09, if you’re the bad mom without a baby book).  At the very end of the evening with soaked, matted hair, crazy pajamas and a cluttered play area she strolled from one end of the room to the other.  All by herself.  She held on to my post it notes and shuffled across the floor like she’s always been a walker.  Despite my disgust with the photos being real, and really candid, I love them and share them with you, my blog friends.  Don’t judge me for the toys!

And while we are so super excited, and shocked to have captured this moment, I know it is bittersweet.  Finally, she can walk!  Finally, I don’t have to wrestle with her in a public place when she’s bored to keep her from crawling all over the dirty floor.  Finally, she can stand up.  But…. my baby is growing up.  Soon she’ll look more like a little girl and her first steps will be a distant memory.  Soon I’ll be sorry I encouraged her to walk because without a moments notice she’ll be darting into dangerous situations, maybe even the street while I holler after her.  You don’t plan stuff like that, but it always seems to happen.  Congratulations baby girl!  My back is so happy you’re walking – you’re very heavy – but my heart is just a little sad.

For our blog Halloween feels never ending.  So here we go again, here’s one more step down Halloween Road, I promise there’s only a few more.  The older the kids get the more activities we seem to get roped into!  So here are our ”fall” photos.  I say “fall” because, well let’s face it… our palm trees aren’t changing color anytime soon and our big cold front, when it dipped down to 81 degrees, only lasted a day.

So here are the kids in “fall” clothes in 90 degree weather.  Apparently that’s the best time to go to a pumpkin parking lot, um, pallet, um… patch since there is no one else there!

I love how she looks at him!  Noah will probably never find someone who is as crazy about him as his sister!

The pumpkin recliner.  She sat there until we made her move.  Apparently pumpkins are comfy!  Who knew!?

Noah got to pick out our pumpkin this year.  He’ll need to work on his muscles if he wants a bigger one next year!

And for laughs I have to contrast Kate’s photo with baby pumpkins from this year…

And last…

I guess thinks are looking up… please don’t call Child Services!

This year’s pumpkin actually got carved!  Far before Halloween though because pumpkins rot in 90 degree weather – and fast!  So we carved him one Saturday morning and it was quite an experience!

Noah wanted to design the face himself.  We let him draw out what he wanted and I promise you – this was the best of the worst in the idea department!

I opened him up and it thoroughly grossed out Noah.  I didn’t realize little boys who like bugs and lizards might not like pumpkin guts.

But he loved watching me carve it…

And he was in love with the end result!  Or maybe the fire, but how can you not love this smile!?

Don’t they look so excited?  We’re really into the photographic torture!

Later in the day…

And that night…

Poor Mr. Pumpkin only lasted a few days before completely rotting out.  RIP “Doc” – as Noah deemed him!

Happy (belated) Halloween!  Wow, what a month it’s been, and it’s already over!  I can’t believe it!  We’ve been running around like wild, crazy people trying to cram fall activities into summer weather.  The good news is we’ve been spending time as a family and if the blog (and the housework) get a little neglected because of it, I’m ok with that.

This year Noah picked out his own costume.  He knew exactly what he wanted to be – a monkey.  And when we gave him all the monkey options, he immediately picked one out.  We even let time pass, offered up other ideas, wondered if it was a phase, but he wouldn’t waver.  “Mom, I said I want to be a monkey!”.  A monkey he was, a darn cute one!

Kate had no choice in the matter.  We have been storing 4 costumes for her from before she was born.  They were all sized 6-12 months so each had it’s own obstacles as Kate is definitely not a 6-12 month size kid.  But like with everything, she was a trooper and make them all work!  Before the end of the holiday we definitely got our money’s worth out of all of them, we had so many parties, activities, photos, and trick or treating.

Since Halloween comes and goes so quickly we decided to photograph Noah in his costume before the big day.  The photos came out great and everyone had a lot of fun!  It spurred a movement.  We’re now the go to people for your Halloween costume photos!  We photographed a lot of adorable kids this season and these short costume sessions almost always leave us in hysterics!  Here are a few from the past few weeks…

We have more costume photos, it was super popular!, but we also have photos of our kids from the pumpkin patch, Halloween parties, school parties… etc. and I promise to get to them, just not tonight.  Tonight I will go and relax and enjoy the peace and quiet that the time change brings.  Sweet dreams!

A few weeks ago we had a party to celebrate Kate’s birthday.  Getting set up didn’t go exactly how I had imagined.  Being a wedding planner I had it all mapped out.  Supplies, timing, food… but then I wanted to do a montage video at the very last minute.  Well those two things don’t fit in the same sentence.  I didn’t start doing the video until a few days before the party and it took FOREVER.  On the day of the party I was running around like a wild woman, snapping at everyone and neglecting everything, except the video.  So if you haven’t seen it, scroll down a few posts to her birthday letter and watch it.  If you have seen it, watch it again.  Its the videos fault (ok, my fault) that the party was so hectic in the beginning but fun was had by all no matter the circumstances.  Thank you to everyone who was able to celebrate with us and especially to those that helped pull everything together to make it happen!

Here is Kate arriving at her party.  The guests were already there.  At least there was someone to witness the grand entrance!

Kate’s cakes.  Yes, they are over the top.  Yes, they were awesome.  Yes, we are taking donations toward the girl’s wedding. 

The birthday cakes are from Susie’s Scrumptious Sweets.  The bottom layer was Southern Butter Pecan (RUM), and the top was banana (for the kids).

Fondant is funny on smash cakes.  It really helps contain the mess.

We had Nova’s music teacher to entertain the little ones, which was the best choice we could have made.  Kate was having the time of her life!  She loved the music but was fascinated by the parachute.  She cried when they put it away!

Kate under the parachute…

Even Noah enjoyed it!

Ayla out by the pool for some fresh air.                        Falan taking her turn with the birthday hat.

Even with the fondant, Kate managed to make a pretty good mess of herself.  After a bath in the restroom sink she had a wardrobe change.  All the outfits she had that day were made by her amazing Aunt Lindy.  She really outdid herself with this beautiful cupcake dress.

And because everything at the party was so rushed we didn’t really get any good shots of Kate’s attire.  We made an attempt to reenact the outfit but Kate couldn’t remain patient enough to wear her initial shirt too.  Either way, I love this photo!