D-Man

Well, I have taken so long to do a post on D-Man that, I think his feelings are hurt!

So, here are a few shots of my first born.

He is a little crazy, like his momma. I like that about him.

Although, anybody that knows me, knows that I would never jump off a diving board like this....or with photographic documentation!

He is a really, really good big brother.

This is him doing school work while holding his baby sister.  I did not give her to him.  He went and got her, on his own.  I tried taking her away so he could "concentrate", but he refused. 

I wish I could have done school while holding a cute little baby!  Well, not my own baby or anything - but, hey, a sister or someone, you betcha!

Here is one of all my "little angels"....doesn't he look really, really, excited to be there?

I asked him really nicely if he would do this for me.  He looked at me like I was crazy.  Went and plopped himself in one of the waiting chairs.  Thought about it.  And, agreed to pose for this shot last Christmas.  He agreed to wear wings, but no halo, and I didn't even have to promise him a cell phone or new video game!  What a guy!

He just started playing baseball last spring.  He played the last game at the state tournament with a broken thumb, unbeknowst....(is that how that is spelled???)....to us.  They came in 2nd.

But, he didn't let that stop him from playing again this fall.  Now he is even trying a new position.  One that makes it hard for his momma to recognize him.

No broken bones!!! Praise the Lord!

My first born is smart, a little shy (at first), hustles at baseball games AND practices, helps out around the house (only when asked) and, generally, makes me smile. 

I will leave you with a shot of him doing an impersonation of ME.

To help put this in a little better perspective, this is me right just after giving birth to V-girl.

And this.....drum roll please....is my boy.....as me!

V-Girl cracks me up in this one.  She is old enough there to be thinking "What in the world?"

Gotta love him!

One Year Photo Shoot

My sister's baby and mine are about 2 weeks apart.  My sister was my official photographer until we moved south.  So, since we are in a budget crunch, I have now become my children's official photographer.  My sister's one year photo shoot of her baby turned out like this. 

Here is how mine turned out. 

Okay, I guess this isn't too bad....a little fuzzy though.

Here is what I think is the best one...

It is the closest I got to her real smile all day.

I got a lot of this kind of shot....

And this kind....

It is now almost a month since she actually turned 1.  I took these last week - mid September.  It was about 5:00 p.m. and about 90 degrees.  My knees were killing me I just can't squat - worth squat anymore.  So I was cranky, kind of like this...

We were both done at this point.  I was mad....disappointed and just thinking, shoot, I am going to have to try this again.  The bad thing is....well, my fuzzy photography for one...but when she turned 1, she only had 2 teeth.  She now has 6. 

The most frustrating thing is that she is the happiest, goofiest kid around and refused to show it in any of these shots.  She just kept walking around the yard and would barely even have eye contact with me.  Normally, she will look you deep in the eye as though trying to convey some deep message....but not on picture day. 

Nope.  Nada.  Nothing.  The dead grass was much more interesting.

No smiles.  Not even any adorable shots of her looking at me with her big blue eyes.

Oh, Kandi, I miss you so!!!  When V-Girl is old and asks why there are no pictures of her like there are of the other kids, I will just tell her it is all your fault.  You wouldn't move to Georgia with me!!!

Rainman

I call my husband Rainman....have since we started dating.  It actually works for him in two ways.  The first, most obvious way, is because he is a meteorologist or in real people terms, a weatherman.  But, really that is NOT why I started calling him Rainman.

He is probably the smartest person that I know in real life.  I found out early on that he can do weird math calculations in his head....really quickly.  A little bit like the Dustin Hoffman character in the movie Rainman.  Remember from the movie, when the box of toothpicks spilled on the ground and he says something like "1,382 toothpicks....definitely, 1,382 toothpicks" and he was right?  That is the kind of stuff my Rainman can do!  Annoying sometimes?  Yes.  Helpful sometimes?  Definitely.  Grocery store comparing prices per ounce.  Sale items when you need to figure out percentage discounts.  The tip on your restaurant bill.  You get the idea.

Rainman and I met through a dating service.  It was a matchmaking service, not a video one, or the more modern on-line options there are now.  The one we used was supposedly for marriage minded individuals and not ones that were just looking to "hook up" -if that is what the kids are calling it these days.  ;) I was his first (and last) date.  He was my 11th (and not my last) date.

Here he is shortly before I met him. He is holding his nephew.

Cute, huh? 

Only thing is....I didn't think he was very cute when we first met....he had those muscles well hidden.  The swim cap is also hiding his almost white-blond anchor man hair cut. 

Yeah, I know....kind of shallow.  What he was, however, was really, really nice to me.  We talked and talked on our first date and had to be encouraged by the wait staff at Baker's Square to leave, as they were trying to close.

I continued to be set up with guys through the dating service after our first date.  He did not.  After I started comparing all the new guys to Rainman, and they always fell short, I decided that I should probably give him a chance, anchorman hair and all.

He was on a softball team and, at the end of the season - probably about 1 or 2 months into us dating - he hosted a pool party.  I did not then....nor do I now...swim in front of strangers (although looking back at my "then" body, I should have been swimming and doing all sorts of things in front of strangers!)  Anyway, since I was not going to be swimming with these strangers, I took up residence in the lawn chairs with some of the other wives to watch the fun.  I had my sunglasses on when Rainman took his shirt off and jumped into the pool.....Oh. My. Goodness.  Where did that come from?  See, he has a very slim build, but, apparently, he was all muscle underneath his nerdy work clothes.  And, I do mean nerdy.  Really.

I thought I was only having this epiphany inside of my head, but apparently, I wasn't as calm, cool and collected as I thought, because one of the wives next to me looked at me and said, "Haven't you seen those abs before?"

No, I hadn't.  I also hadn't seen the biceps, the triceps, the pecs, the gluts.... 

His nerdy exterior was hiding the body of a stud!!!  Who knew?

Well, fast forward and we married about a year and a half later.

It has not always been easy, but it has been filled with adventures.  He is a "City Boy" raised near Chicago and I am a "Country Girl" (although admittedly, the older I get the more I like my City-fied stuff....hotels vs. tents, for example)

In looking for pictures for this post, I had a hard time finding ones of him alone - we have lots of kids, you know....so, I will just show you a few of him being what he is.....a great dad.....

This one is him with our oldest when we visited a dairy farm.  I was proud of my City Boy that day because even though he was nervous around all things country - he tried stuff and encouraged our son too.

He does not like being the center of attention nor is he a dancer.  That is why this next picture makes me smile.  They were the only two on the dance floor and people we didn't know were taking pictures because they were doing "fancy dancin" as my daughter called it with many spins and swirls involved.

His job has enabled us to travel a lot to places like....

Japan

Hawaii

Paris

I won't post pictures of everywhere....but we have been some cool places, like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany,  Switzerland, Italy, California, Maine, New Hampshire, Texas....to name just some of them, and now we are in Georgia.

In addition to loving our actual children, he is a great "fake dad" to the kids that we watch.  He loves them and they love him.

And all of this has been  with someone that I never would have picked on my own.    That is why I always tell people you don't always "know" right away.  I did NOT think my husband has cute at all when I first met him.   He didn't have the things on "my list", if you know what I mean.

And, you know what?  I would have missed out....big time!  Is our marriage perfect?  Nope.  Do I sometimes think I am crazy for marrying him? Yup.  Does he have irritating habits?  Yup. 

BUT,

What I do have is a Godly husband, who is a great father (even to kids that don't belong to us), a great provider (especially now that I am not bringing in much money), and a great adventurer who is always planning our next trip!  I would not miss this ride with him for the world....irritating habits and all.

Hey, quick, Rainman.....what is 23% of $234?  Just kidding....but, really, by the time you read this sentence, he will have it figured out even if I don't actually need that information!