Since then we've had bouts where both boys have been sick or just Ben has been sick or Jon and I have been sick and it seems like an endless cycle. We are so thankful to have my parents upstairs to lend us a hand in times like this.
This particular week, Ben woke up on Tuesday night puking and, of course, ended up having to stay home on his one daycare day which is a day that both he and I really look forward to :) It also happened to be the only sunny day of the week so, these pics are from the next day and were my attempt to pass the time and hopefully photograph away my frustrations by reminding myself what beautiful kids I've been blessed with....
Remarkably I was able to get both boys looking at the camera and smiling for the photos above and already I was feeling better :) The picture on the right below makes Ben look so grown up. I am constantly amazed at how this little boy who came out looking so much like his dad has morphed into a mini replica of my brother with McCarthy features still very much intact. As we enter into the 2 1/2 year old phase, I am also learning a small portion of what my parents must have gone through in parenting my brother as Ben, while quite well behaved most of the time, can also be challenging ;) He is starting to use phrases such as 'I want different snack' or 'I don't want to' or 'Mine' or 'I want....' Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer to have the patience to deal with him but, when I can capture him on film and look back at the photos, it helps me to remember all of the amazing things about his budding personality that I want to treasure and help cultivate, while weeding out the 2 1/2 year old-isms :)
Overall, Ben is so good with his little brother (except for random occurrences of soothers inadvertently thrown at his face during a temper tantrum....) Here are some more of my beautiful boys:
I love how Jacob already seems trained to look at the camera and the only obstacle is getting Ben to sit still for more than a second and take direction. I know, I have high expectations for a 2 1/2 year old :)
In order to give Ben a break, I snapped a few of Jacob. I LOVE his chubby little arms :)
It didn't take long for Ben to join us and, after Jacob rolled over a few times, Ben thought it would be a fun game to push him over every time I propped him back up on the pillow for a picture. In between rolling, I was able to get a few of the two boys together :)
I have a ton of beautiful hats that I bought off of ETSY awhile back for photography props that I thought I'd pull out for some of Jacob's pictures. Here's my handsome little man!
I absolutely love the second photo down on the right. Jacob is such a peaceful little guy and I think this photo captures that part of his personality. Praise God for my 'big' little man!
Before we headed outside, I tried to get a few of just Ben but he wasn't too big into smiling. I thought these ones showcased his healing black eye quite nicely ;) I will be glad when that's all healed up! When he first had the black eye, I definitely got some 'looks' from passersby which may have made me feel a bit like a bad parent but then I reminded myself that his first black eye at 2 1/2 is pretty good considering he has only had maybe one other major fall in his life. The joys of having a cautious kid!
All done inside, I left Jacob hanging out on the floor inside (that sounds neglectful but he was happily playing!) and took some pics of Ben outside playing hockey and just generally being a goof :)
Even though the weather wasn't fantastic, there was some nice afternoon light and it was just great to get out of the house even if it was only into our backyard.
These photos below do a great job of reminding me why I love my little Benjamin on those days when he's proving to be a bit of a challenge. He is goofy, laughs out loud ALL of the time and has an infectious smile. Beyond that, he is able to sit and focus on a task for quite some time and those two polar opposite sides of his personality constantly amaze and sometimes frustrate me :)
Such an amazing little guy!
Pretty sure I"ll never get tired of those beautiful eyes and incredible eyelashes. He got those from his dad :)
Once again I'm so thankful for photography and its' therapeutic role in my life. After a long day pent up in the house with an energetic 2 1/2 year old and an almost-3-month-old that nurses almost every 1 1/2 to 2 hours during the day, leaving very little time for myself, these photos are an incredible reminder of the fact that I wouldn't have my life any other way. These boys are a blessing to me and will continue to be for years ahead and, when I look at these photos, I see God's love in every goofy face, every baby roll & every lip curled up in a smile. I see God's timing and perfect plan and my grumpiness is cured. God loves just pours over me and I can't help but smile.
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