Mr. and Mrs. Smith, etc.

mother of 1.5 {photoshoot}

As I mentioned in a recent post, last week Jon took Van and I to a beautiful field full of yellow flowers to take photos of me, Van, and baby #2. I'm SO HAPPY Jon did this, because I take sooo many pictures of Van every day, but I feel like I don't have many of me with him just playing, and that's exactly what Jon caught in this shoot. I just wish Jon could have been in some too!

It was close to Van's bedtime so he wasn't super cooperative and he kept wanting to either be held by me or lift up my shirt to see the "bee-bee", but Jon stole some awesome pics all the same. You'd never know that we were swatting gnats and mosquitoes the ENTIRE time, or that both Jon and I were thrown into some weird, intense eye-itching frenzy at the end (because of bugs, pollen, who knows) that sent us both home with awesome bloodshot eyes, or that the photos you see here were taken between intervals of Van screaming.

THAT'S how good Jon is. I love his creative, artistic, determined self.

And I love being a mom. Especially to this over-the-top ball of energy little boy. He keeps us on our toes, teaches us patience (and understanding of other parents in our shoes), exhausts us daily, and absolutely lights up our life with fun, entertainment, and happiness. I wouldn't want him any other way, and I'm loving being able to watch him grow into a little person with his own little personality. I can't wait to meet our little lady on the way and start the process all over with another newborn!

These photos were taken at 28.5 weeks (I'm 30 weeks now). I didn't even realize I was in my third trimester until I went to my dr. appt. last week—good thing I have appointments to remind me I'm having a baby in July! We've been so busy with a toddler and a new business (and we're so much less worried about having a second baby than a first, i.e., I'm not always wondering how on earth I'll be responsible for a life without knowing the first thing about doing so, or if I will even survive giving birth anyway) that the last thing I'm worried about is what week I'm at in this pregnancy. I'm just happy to know she's very healthy, "fiesty" as our ultrasound technician said (which she said she likes to see, because that means the baby is strong and a fighter), moving in my round belly nonstop, and that this summer we will have the amazing, miraculous blessing of bringing another member into our family. We're so excited!!

Just in time for mother's day, here are some of my favorites from our shoot.

as soon as he discovered you can blow dandelion seeds off the stem, he's been plucking every single one in sight and handing them to us to blow since he hasn't quite mastered that skill yet.

but he still tries to blow them by himself anyway!

love his lean hug

when we tell Van to "give the baby a kiss," this is what he'll do. It's SO sweet.

And then as soon as we're on the topic of babies and bellies, we'll usually get a reaction like this from him, showing us that he has a belly too.

I love this series of the next 3 photos...

me and the bun in the oven

van-s reaction to not getting the attention he's dying for

followed by this darling face

and this one

and so we played instead :)

and cuddled.

I think this may be my favorite one of the day...

expressions

He's full of them. And I love it. {a couple of these are repeats from recent posts because they show the little faces he makes so well}

the focused-on-the-playground look

the excited anticipation look while hanging above a slide, and the pure determination face while climbing up the stairs (LOVE that one)

the tongue

the squish face

the pure happiness face

{this one's for context of the next photo} checking out a cat

and immediately after checking out the cat, the "I touched an animal!!" face

the "what are you doing, mom?" face

the serious thinking face

the triumphant face

the "wow that's a truck" face, followed by the "wow that's a bug" face

the face he makes while mimicking siren sounds

and the best expression of all, we call this his crazy face

proof

that I'm not the only lady in Van's life anymore.

I laughed so hard when I saw this moment of Van's joy Jon captured on camera. Our little man doesn't seem to mind being surrounded by the girls! (until a neighbor boy comes outside with his trucks, shovels, rocks and sticks, and then his attention is quickly diverted.)

I suppose I can allow the kid a little fun, as long as I still get cuddle moments like this:

blue plaid

Moving forward with the continuous catch-up of Van (and clearly running out of title ideas for posts that I'm sure must seem painfully similar to anyone but us), this is a series of photos from one of those perfect weather days last month. One of those days where you can't even feel the air outside because it's not hot or cold, or even warm or cool, it's just...nothing. Perfect. We've been loving taking low key walks around the neighborhood this spring because Van can walk everywhere too, and he's ecstatic when we let him roam free. This kid is a totally different person outside than inside (read: MUCH happier and better behaved), so we are happy to take him outdoors whenever weather permits.

Check out our little stud.