Cutiepie

Can you tell Joaquin picked this out? He always did say "all" when you asked him what his favorite color was...

High

This is our second time to the High. I wanted to take Joaquin because they had a car exhibit (which was way cooler than I thought it would be) plus I just love art museums. Joaquin liked it, I think. Who knows? He was getting mad because I was taking too many pictures. As if I could ever stop taking pics of his little temporary-tattooed self. :)

I was going to get in there!

Joaquin loves to hang out in the dryer. Not quite sure why, but I allow it because it's mad cute.

Easter Adventures

Did we dye eggs last year? I don't remember. I think I forgot to request off, and I had to work. And we were so slow, but Jo wouldn't let me leave. Yep, sounds about right. Well I kind of made up for it this year because we ended up having two Easters. One afternoon we were playing at the park when we met some homeschool mommies and kids who were so sweet and invited us to join their Easter celebration. A few days later we dyed eggs and went to Piedmont park to hide and collect them. Except those eggs were all broken and cracked because I have THE NAUGHTIEST KITTY IN THE WORLD. Well, I suppose we're all used to Izzie being Izzie by now. Next year I won't put the eggs on the counter and leave the room. What made me think I could do that??

The Longest Word

Joaquin loves to spell. He writes his name and age on every scrap of paper he can find. He writes messages for my friends at work. He asks me to write and send texts for him. Sometimes he steals my phone and writes his own. One he sent to my boss at 7AM: Joaquin Tim Love. Good times.

Fly Biscuit Fly

Drive to Roswell Road. The Flying Biscuit for breakfast, Whole Foods for coconut milk yogurt and coffee. Up the street to Trader Joe's. Oranges, oatmeal and granola bars in Joaquin's little red cart. On a good day, we'll make it to the farmer's market. On super good day, we'll make it home in time for an afternoon nap. Hell yeah.

2.19.10

For Joaquin's birthday I sprinkled confetti from his bed to the kitchen table where I had presents and a cake ready for him. He loved following the trail out to the table and blowing out the big number 4 candle, but even better was having cake for breakfast. :)

Snow Day!

We had snow. THREE times even! Joaquin loved it, especially making snowballs (check the last picture, he's about to chuck one at Izzie, luckily he has bad aim) and building snowcastles with grandpa.

Christmas Morning

Gosh, it's almost that time of year AGAIN. Just the thought of trying to leave Perimeter Mall during the Christmas rush...pretty much makes me want to stay in bed forever. I can't believe it's going to be our third Christmas in Georgia. I haven't lived in the same place for three straight years in forever. Weird...

My Little Edward Cullen

So Joaquin loves Twilight. Chloe and I used to watch it over and over (ok, let's be honest, it was mostly me). He noticed the music first, and really liked that. Then he moved on the story, and would actually watch the whole movie (minus the fight scene at the end). I'm not sure if he's Team Edward or Team Jacob, but if he saw New Moon or Eclipse he'd probably be all about the wolves.

xoxo Michael Jackson

Me: Do you think Michael Jackson is a boy or a girl?
Joaquin: I'm not really sure yet. What do you think?
Me: I think he's a boy.
Joaquin: (long pause) No. I'm pretty sure he's a girl.

www.sarawisephotography.com

So we met the wonderful Sara Wise at a Breastfeeding Conference in Helen, GA where she was offering free mini sessions. Thank goodness I signed up for one because not only are pics AMAZING, she's also become sort of a mentor to me as I navigate photography myself. Yay for Sara Wise! :))

Hy-Vee Cakes are the BOMB

I don't know what's worse: having no idea how old your parents are, or not being able to do the math to figure it out. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you! xoxo

The Fam

Obviously the best part of being in Minnesota was being able to hang out with all of the people who mean so much to me. Having lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Kroeger, hiking with Aud, chillin' on the deck with Clo and Ma, spending a week with Grandma Jean...good times. And the best part of all: seeing how Joaquin is so loved. We both are. The older I get, the more I'm grateful that I grew up surrounded by such amazing people. Y'all rock.

Officer Joaquin

So I came downstairs to find Joaquin covered in stickers, and mom handing him more saying, "here's your badge, here's your cell, here's your hat..." and Joaquin putting everything in it's appropriate place. His hat is on his head, his cell is in his shirt pocket, and his "boomers" are in his hands. This was also the first time I realized he knew what guns were. He asked for a "boomer", and mom and I both looked at each other and said, "what...?" He said he needed a "boomer" so he could "boom people". Oh sweet jesus. I guess it's good that it's a year later and he 1) still thinks guns are called "boomers" and 2) rarely, if ever, feels the need to "boom" anyone. Can you tell I'm so not prepared to deal with this aspect of boyhood?!

Summer's Almost Over...

Then and now, too. Last year it seemed fast because Minnesota takes so long to get hot, and gets cold again way too fast. This year it seemed fast because I went back up to working five days a week in an attempt to save money. Notice I said "attempt" because it's not working, ha! At least not the way I imagined it. If only I didn't have to pay bills and buy food...I'd be a baller, yo. :)

Lake City

We made a day trip to Lake City, planning to play on the beach (of course) and pick some apples at the orchard. Well they were all out of apples and it was 60 degrees so we decided to go to Hope's Harvest and warm up with coffee and cookies. I love special days with my special little guy.

Last Summer

Did we really play on the beach all summer long? Long live Minnesota Summers. :)

Joaquin x 2

It's a Lovely Day for a Picnic...