Weekend Trip

Last weekend James got me a gig photographing a wedding for one of his co-workers. It was the perfect opportunity to visit Palmyra, New York. It turned out to be a free trip. And as you can see from Jake's expression in all of these pictures, he couldn't have been happier to be there.

Let us not forget...

Naomi. She turned 3. Three. III.

Ne Ne. (pronounced neigh, neigh...like the horse) I am actually pretty ticked about her new name. Just recently she has started telling me, "My name is Ne Ne." O.K. So remember how I called her Scout? Well, that was my nickname for her. It never stuck. She didn't like it. James' choice was Ne Ne. I thought it was hideous. Well, of course, like everything she wears, she has also chosen her own nickname. Her dad's choice. James is now 3 for 3. He has chosen every single child's nickname. Bug, Mooch and now Ne Ne. James =3, Jessie = 0. Whatever!

We celebrated Ne Ne's birthday a week early. While family was still in town for William's baptism. She was lucky evough to have two other girl cousins with birthdays within a month. We got them all. Naomi, Eliza and Maddie.
It was princess...of course.
A week later James and I sat in bed wondering if we should tell her that her "real" birthday was the next day. We cut our losses. She would never know. The "real" day came and went. But her birthday was not forgotten. We love her just the same. Possibly a little too much. She makes us laugh. She drives me crazy. She walked into church today and did this really loud deep breath and sighed, "I hate this place."
She takes after her mom. She just says it like she feels. Oh, great. I can't wait for the future.
We love you Ne Ne.

The Bug

Yes, we are infested by bugs in our house this time of year. But The Bug that I wish to talk about is the one who fills my life with absolute joy. The Bug who just turned 8. I know, I know. I know what you are thinking. How could I possibly be that old? Well, I am. Deal with it. I have an 8 year old.

What a perfect birthday. William had Grandma Cheryl and Aunt Stacy, Grandma Nettie and Grandpa Geoff, Uncle David and Aunt Kristine, Uncle Joey and Aunt Ashley, and his cousins Josh, Maddie, Ty and Eliza all come in town...just for him. It was a magical weekend.

If you are at all wondering what exactly you do when you have an eight year old, I will tell you.

You just look at him. And you look really hard. At a person that once rested willingly in your arms. And you think. Really,really hard. Basically, everything you do that day will be really, really hard.

And you wonder.

So far in his life...

Could I have done better? definitely

Could I have done worse? yeah, pretty sure

I probably should have disciplined him more

I probably should have taught him how to answer the phone and make phone calls

Does he know how to make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I think so. hmmm.

I should have taken him skiing more. Or camping. Or lots of things.

But I didn't.

Could I have loved him any more?

The one question I can answer with absolute surety.

I can sleep well tonight.

I have loved him with every fiber of my being. For the past eight years.

Undoubtably longer.

I love you, Bug. But you probably already know that. And that's good.

Hey, I've done one thing right.

Here's to being 8.

What kind of birthday cake is this? Are you wondering? You should be ashamed of yourself for not knowing. It's a CIRCUIT BOARD, silly. What else could it be? Uncle David and James created it lovingly...in no time at all. Not that you could tell. It has electricity wires, circuits, batteries. You know, everything you may expect to find on your regular old circuit board.

William got a real circuit board for his birthday. I found it an Amazon. Funny enough, Grandpa Geoff bought him one at Radio Shack. Who would have known besides Grandpa Geoff? I told William the other day that I had to buy it on the computer because it was so rare. He looked at me in astonishment. "You mean, you had to buy me my present on the computer? Wow, mom. I didn't know you loved me that much."

Apparently, if you buy your kid a present online, it means you love him super, duper much. Score!