First Grade School Picture

Here is Zach's school picture for his First Grade fall portrait.

I'm a little tiny bit partial... but I think it turned out pretty darn good. :)

His favorite thing is still anything to do with Trains. He likes steam trains the best, and his favorite is the UP 844. He can tell you an abundant amount of facts about most trains, and he is convinced he is going to 'Engineer School' as soon as he graduates.

Recently, however, he has a new passion. He begged for a hand held game system like the neighbor kid had. His best friend in kindergarten loved anything to do with Mario Brothers, and so did he. (Even if he had never played it... ) I finally gave in, and on his birthday got him a Nintendo DS, with a Mario Bros. game.

He's only allowed 30 minutes a day, and he's not thrilled about that. Especially since he has to 'pay' for his minutes from his coin jar. Those coins have to be earned by doing chores.

The funny thing is that you can tell he goes to a school with a lot of Hispanic influence, because he doesn't say Ma-ree-O- he rolls his 'r' and it sounds more like Ma-dee-O.

He currently still lists his favorite meal as a cheeseburger happy meal from "Old McDonalds"... but recently said cheese pizza from Round Table is 'way awesome dude'.

He is quite compassionate, and wears his heart on his sleeve. When his friends have to leave, he usually cries his heart out. He still thinks it's okay to yell across the playground "I Love You, Mom!" in front of ALL his friends. He always stops Kyle from walking on the tracks at the Pumpkin Patch- you know- so he doesn't get run over by the train!

He says he misses me, even before he leaves the van in the morning. And his favorite thing to do is 'nuggle' with Mom... especially if we have 'popcorn and a movie' night!

He just turned six on the 16th of October... but this blue eyed handsome fella is one big boy... as long as you don't put anything scary on the T.V. (like Scooby Doo!)

LOVE this kid!!

Another trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

After the birthday party this year, I was bummed to notice that we didn't get any of our usual pumpkin patch pictures. There just wasn't enough time to do it all... so we decided to take another trip to our favorite pumpkin patch.

And I made my cute lil' pumpkin pose with the other cute lil' pumpkins... My little guy isn't so little anymore. I watched him jump and leap over pumpkins, and he kept running ahead of us to direct us toward the different areas. He is trying his best to grow as fast as he can, and I can't figure out a way to stop it...

This is Kyle, when he put his boots on, he decided to tuck his pants inside of them. I think he got tire of pulling his pants up to show everyone his 'John Deere Green' boots.

These were his big birthday gift... and he has hardly taken them off since last week. He shows everyone his new boots, then shows them how high he can jump in them. I only thought girls could find that kind of joy in a new pair of shoes... excuse me... boots!

As you might imagine... the train caught their attention...

After two trips on the train, I was able to deter them with chocolate chip cookies and apple cider. I had a hard time getting them to stop wiggling because they wanted to feed the coy fish their cookies.

I kept telling them no, but when I looked up, I seen Kyle throw his half right into the pond. I asked him when he came towards us, what had happened to his cookie. He pointed to the pond. I asked him why he threw his cookie- he said the 'fish was hungee and Ma, they like chocolate-y cookies'.

How can I argue with this?

It was a great day at the pumpkin patch, because the crowd was thin, and the weather was cool. The kids had so much fun running around, and I had fun chasing them with the camera.

We had to cut our visit short, because Kyle pulled his pants down to pee. This isn't usually a problem- except that he decided to pull a "LOOK MA, NO HANDS!" while peeing. Needless to say his shirt, pants and boots were wet- so we grabbed out pumpkins and headed for the gate.



While we were waiting in line to pay, the boys found a truck to 'drive'... and by the looks of it... it was one heck of a ride!

Life is always such an adventure with these two. I never know what to expect- from tossing cookies to the fish- to riding home with a naked little boy... and his new favorite pumpkin.

Either way... we got a couple of gallons of cider... and some yummy treats. After two very rainy days stuck inside, these boys needed to play... and play hard. We all needed fresh air... and some family time at the pumpkin patch.

Birthday Extravaganza, Part Duex

One of the best things about the pumpkin patch is the gigantic slide, otherwise known as Coyote Mountain. I wonder if we should work one of these into our backyard... ha! I could always tell when Zach was going down... because he would SCREAM the entire way down the slide!

This is Danielle and Jimmy going down the slide... it's so funny to see the kids with their mouths wide open- having a blast!

This is our friend Dusty and his daughter Riley... like I said... it's so fun watching the kids having fun!

We also had duck races.. they kids had to pump water to propel the rubber duck. Kyle came along and helped the duck with some extra 'man-power'.

We also 'panned' for marbles in the creek along the side of Coyote Mountain. We rode the train again, and enjoyed some bakery treats. We finally got to the van about 3:30 and we were pooped! Kyle crashed before we got out of the parking lot... and Danielle and Zach chatted the entire way home about their gifts and how much fun they had.

My girlfriends from high school, otherwise known as my BFF's, came up to continue the birthday fun. I had prepared Chicken Noodle soup in the crock pot... and we had a Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert. Keeping with the theme, ya know...

This is Brenda, her husband Dan and their cute twins. You might remember them from our trip to San Diego last summer...

This is Allison, and her little girls... the youngest LOVES Dorothy from Wizard of Oz... can you tell?

This is Jennifer, and her hubby Fred... and their kiddos Maddie and Quentin. They came from NV and stayed a couple of nights with us- and Zach loves spending time with his favorite tomboy.


It was a perfect weekend... filled with lots of good times... and surrounded by people who love us. We always have so much fun celebrating the boy's birthday... and are already looking forward to next year!

Birthday Extravaganza, Part 1

Another year has come around, and it's time to celebrate the time of year we like to call Baer Birthday Extravaganza! This year, instead of throwing a party at our house, we decided to venture out to one of our favorite places- The Pumpkin Patch!
As you would imagine, our first stop was the train. (I know amazing, huh?)

We loaded up the wagon with the boys' birthday gifts from Mommy and Daddy. We put them to work hauling their presents to their own party! Ha.. how's that for irony? This cake was made by the boys' babysitter... and it had lots of things that the pumpkin patch had... like tractors, hay bales, and animals... and a TRAIN. (I know, surprising, huh?)

Zach's big gift this year was his Nintento DS... but one of his favorite gifts was a picture our friend made for him of the Union Pacific 844.

And, there was another one of Kyle's favorite- the Sante Fe diesel! They were in bewilderment, and so was their friend! lol...


Grandma and Grandpap Mark were lucky enough to go to the Train Depot sale that morning, and Kyle was sporting a new hat from their treasure hunt.

Kyle got some new dump trucks, but his favorite thing was a new pair of boots. He had asked me for a pair a couple of months back, but when I checked the price of them, I almost fainted. However, once I thought about the fact that he has hand-me-down pants, shirts, coats, shoes and even underwear- and if he finally asked for something new- I would deliver!

He put them on, and hasn't hardly taken them off this week. I got him a pair of boots, and the tops have John Deere green on them. He shows them to anyone that will look... and it couldn't be more tickled that he's so proud of something he loves.

Zach got a couple of new games for his Nintendo DS, and he couldn't have been happier.

Along with being at the pumpkin patch, we got to do many things that go along with a day on the farm. Petting and feeding the goats were one of them... and Grandpap Eric was the only 'kid' tall enough to reach this 'kidd'.

We had so much fun, and there was so much for the kids to do, I'm not sure they knew where to go first. They were such troopers, and Zach and Mom only had one little meltdown. He was tired of being pulled around, and I was tired... period. We used our new technique from the parenting class... and pushed our 'rewind' button.

It's so nice to be able to use reasoning skills with a person... and not have to sit through a temper tantrum. I am thankful Zach is so smart... and I don't have to throw a tantrum. ;P

Kyle is always happy to be awake in the morning... and nothing could go wrong in his new boots!

We had so many people make the journey to share our day with us. It always warms my heart to know that people take time out of their busy lives to help us celebrate.

This is my second cousin, Kelsey. She's getting to be such a big girl... and I was tickled that she almost cracked a smile!

This is our friend Logan... he and his Mommy helped us with daycare this summer. This little cutie is always smiling!

And this is Maddie... and quite possibly my future daughter in law. Her family came all the way from Nevada to share our day with us... and we were lucky enough to spend the whole weekend with them. Every time we visit with her... the kids are thick as thieves.

After we played a bit, we headed over to the pig races. The kids got such a crack up watching the show... and it didn't hurt that the crowd sang Happy Birthday to them.

Once we left the races, it was time to enjoy lunch and birthday cake. The pumpkin patch party staff dropped the ball when it came to supplies. They literally ran out of everything... and lucky for us everyone was such good sports. (Not to mention Jena and the box of spoons in her car!)

The cake was delicious... most people mentioned it tasted like a 'ho-ho'... and that's a good thing around here! I can tell you there wasn't much left... and that 'dirt' was mmm mmm good!

(And I will get the rest of the pictures posted as soon as I can... )

Poor little Kyle...

I am working on the boys birthday pictures... but I thought I would catch you all up on Kyle's poor unfortunate series of events the days right before the birthday party.

The boys and our neighbor were out playing and Kyle was stung by a 'bee'. We mostly have wasps, yellow jackets and hornets around here, so I doubt it was a bee. We did our usual first aid tricks, and Kyle ran back outside 'awl-bedda!'.

That night during his bath I noticed his knuckles were all red and swollen. I gave him some benedryl and he went to bed. When he woke up the next morning it was swollen twice the size, and there was red streaks on his wrist. I gave him more benedryl and sent him to his babysitter... and as luck would have it- her daughter was headed to the doctor that morning.

The doctor suggested we have him looked at immediately, so John took him to Urgent Care.

There was another streak near his elbow area... and the doctor had contemplated admitting him to the hospital. She made John promise to watch the streaks, and bring him to the emergency room if there was any change. She prescribed a couple of strong drugs, and sent them home.

Kyle's hand had swollen so much that it had cut off circulation to his hand, therefore causing blood poisoning... which is a scary thing for a person that only weighs 37 pounds.

Thankfully... there are incredible antibiotics and powerful antihistamines that fixed my little boy in a hurry. Within a few days he was back to himself... and thank goodness... because we had one fabulous birthday party planned!

We had a blast... and I'll be sure to get pictures up as soon as possible.

Check it out...

If you haven't already... go ahead and click on the Wedding Tab at the top of the page.

I added some of my very favorite shots from the wedding I took pictures of.

I doubt another wedding will have such a gorgeous backdrop... I was just extremely lucky to have my first wedding photo shoot be at one of the most scenic places in the world!

Help...

Help... I have pushed the button and now I'm stuck under 2400+ pictures!

I am editing photos from a wedding, and two senior photo shoots. It takes a while to pick out the ones you want to keep, and when you find them... it's nice to tweek colors, highlight some areas, little bit of this... little bit of that...
Like I said...
Help. I took the boys with me this weekend to one of the photo shoots. I thought I might need John for my assistant... but we ended up with perfect picture weather.

And what I ended up with was two soaking wet boys that rode home in the van completely naked!

Nah, I didn't get pictures of that... but you could imagine what they must have thought in the taco bell drive thru! lol

I better get back to work... just thought I'd help hold you over till I can come up for air again. :)

Cucumbers and their teeth....

Cool as a cucumber... this was Kyle at the dentist last week- or was it the week before?
I don't remember... now that we are back into the full swing of our busy schedules, it's all starting to blur together. Our last few weeks have been busy with school, work, dentist appointments, parenting classes, doctor appointments... and we even squeezed in a 'date-night'!
Kyle was such a superstar... he laid there and let them clean his teeth. I never heard a peep out of him until the dentist got there. I had been dealing with Zach's behavior for the unfortunate dental hygentist. He wouldn't open his mouth, nor would he allow her to touch a single tooth for any reason.

I was so frustrated- I was taking his privlages away... threatening him with time outs.. and I probably squeezed his little fingers too hard to make my point. Zach was carrying on like a diva with bunched up panties...

I looked over when the dentist walked up to Kyle, and his bottom lip was quivering... and a tear came down his cheek. I left Zach to work on his Academy Award, and went to Kyle to reassure him.

He calmed right down once we started talking about his favorite things... and I never heard a single complaint out of him. The dentist thanked me for my help... and Kyle got up from the chair. I was so mad at Zach for over reacting, and taking all of my attention from his little brother. I suppose it's true that the squeeky wheel gets the oil... but I had had enough of his squeeking... so I scooped up Kyle and marched over to Zach and let him have it. I know, I know... they're different children. If you recall, his doctor informed me that he was an official 'faker' at his last visit. I try to do my best to comfort his tender spirit, but when it begins to take the entire spotlight off of his little brother, I have to become impartial to Zach's dramatic ploys.

This meltdown of Zach's was because she was trying to brush his teeth, and floss them. We do this each and every night, religiously. She finally brushed his teeth with the toothbrush- but it had to be the blue one, because he doesn't like the "Cars" one she had for him.

Thankfully we didn't have any cavities... so it will be another six months before we have to go through the torture again. >:(

However, the other parts of our days haven't been as difficult. Zach is doing well at school- very well actually! He has adjusted to his longer day, and even does his nightly homework without a fight.

Kyle is almost bored to tears during the day with his 'brudder' in school. When I caught him watching the washing machine spin, I finally turned the t.v. on for him. I just don't intend on plugging him into the television for the entire school year- so I've got some projects to plan for that little man.

I'm pretty sure this upcoming week will be a little slower. I have two photo sessions on Sunday, and after that our sights are set on the boys upcoming birthday party. I am having the party at the pumpkin patch this year... and shhh... they're giving me an 'assistant'. Could it be possible that I might even ENJOY the party (and a piece of cake) this year?? :)