fenced in

do you have a favorite,
go to spot 
where you always seem to shoot fun photos?

the fence lining the west side of our back yard
is my spot...
the spot where so many of my favorite images of my babies
have been shot.
i love the colors,
the texture,
the light peaking through it.
the boys love playing near it,
so naturally
it is easier to shoot there.

the trees behind it are starting to warp it.
ryan says it may have to come down.
that would break my heart. he knows it.
so... i imagine it will be up as long as possible.

yay!

miles was playing out back yesterday.
i couldn't resist.
grabbed my camera 
and shot 78 frames in 2 1/2 minutes.

18 favorites:

xoxo,

nik

ps.

i am dying over the ringlets he is growing. love.

pss.

i have been scouring etsy for fun mother's day gift ideas.

i love this. really love it:

and these too:

if you are smitten as well,

find them {here}.

patience. sort of.

oliver's bedtime was unusually drawn out {and comical}
this evening.

7:30:
the four of us climbed into oliver's bed for story time and
read our newest library finds.

8:00:
i took miles to his room. he reached for his crib.
i kissed him twenty or so times and laid him down.
he turned on his glow worm all by himself
and gave me one last sweet miles smile for the day.
and he was out like a light.

8:10:
ryan tried to say goodnight and leave oliver to fall asleep.
{not a chance. not tonight}.
"daddy, i want you to sleep with me. please? pretty-please?
pretty please?
pretty please?
pretty please?"

"buddy, mommy and i are going to watch a show and then we will
come back and check on you."

"ok. come back. come back and lay with me. ok?"

8:15:
ryan and i sat down to watch a documentary we have been trying to finish
for a month.

8:16:
{every 10 seconds}: "i'm scared."

"you're ok buddy. mom and dad are just right out here."

8:20:
"i need to go potty."

he potties. reluctantly goes to bed and reminds daddy
"come back and lay with me, ok?"

8:25:
{every 5 seconds}: "i'm scared."

"oliver, we are right here. you're ok sweetie."

8:27:
the crying began and consistently
got louder and louder with each second that we tried to ignore him.

ryan went back in.

"daddy, check out da window for monsters."

daddy checks and gives the a-ok.

"now under da bed.
and now the closet...
behind my chalkboard."

"ok buddy. your room is super safe. nothing to be scared of."

"but daddy. i wan't you to lay by me some more."

"alright buddy. as soon as we finish our show, mommy will come in and lay with you.
try to be patient."

8:35:
"i need to go potty again. i need to go weally bad."

potty again. back to bed again.

a bit more whining.

soon it's quiet.

9:00:
we finished our show. all was quiet.

i did a twenty minute pilates work-out.

9:25:
i turned off the tv.

immediately following the sound of the off switch,
from the back of the house came:

"mommy, daddy said you would lay with me."

seriously? wow.

i went back to oliver's room.
with a gigantic grin on his face
he said
"you're welcome for me being so patient. i be'd a good listener. 
now close your eyes and lay with me."

how can i resist? (after all we still have at least another 15 years to
teach him to fall asleep on his own).

9:30:
"i need to go pee-pee again."

potty again.

then we laid back down and i tried to give my son some
more bedtime kisses.

he gave me a stern look and whispered:

"i am so tired. so way too tired for kisses."

kids are wild.
i love them.


meet the granados family.
not too sure just how wild these kiddos are.
but i do know they are super cute:

xo,

nikki

"of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." - L. Yutang.

thirteen{!!!}

miles is growing so fast.

he surprises me daily with all

the new things he comes up with

to melt my heart.

the latest -

he likes to walk across a room,

grab my earlobes with his chubby little hands

and pull me in for a kiss (sweetest kiss ever).

i recall my niece taylor

toddling across the room in pigtails

{with her own tricks to melt my heart}

as if it were just yesterday.

happy THIRTEENth birthday 

sweet baby girl.

you still melt my heart.

so much fun shooting your (and margo's) birthday photos:

xoxo,

nikki

ps -

blue baby tootsies.

well worth the {giant} mess.