exploration

king and i love to explore. we frequently stop the car on our way to somewhere and get out and explore. or we walk and discover neat areas, that i'm sure most everyone else thinks are just silly old places or fields. but, we have found fossils, a geode, and a bunch of cool spots, most of which are very near our home. a bonus is this is a good time to strap on my camera (or iPhone) and shoot. we pretend we are looking for clues, chasing bad guys, or we just plain old explore. one sunday we went to the YMCA near our house to feed the ducks and discovered a whole new area to wade and throw rocks. 

my gorgeous boy. i love this image of you. 

seeking refuge from the geese

water baby can't stay away from the water

i love this time with king. i am a science girl at heart and i love teaching him what i know about rocks, digging in the dirt and just being one with nature. i hope to instill a love of science in kingston too. and now that the days are longer and the temps warmer, we are back to taking our "jammie walks" quite frequently.  sure, i've got plenty to do before bed, (read: dishes, laundry, etc) but when he's older, i won't have this time with him. i take full advantage every chance i get. i could listen to him talk for hours. he's smart and funny and just so sweet. and maybe someday, he'll take his kid(s) on jammie walks and adventures too. 

4 years

so, i've had a hard time composing this post. you turned four last month in February. FOUR!! and for some reason, as the years go on, the birthdays are becoming a little more bittersweet. i guess it's because it means another year closer to you being grown. i know each year comes with it's own challenges and sweet victories, milestones and growth, but you are my one and only child, so i just cherish every single thing that you do. but, i LOVE birthdays and as i mentioned in the last post, your Daddy had to be out of town and I wanted your day to be extra special. it started off with balloons (again-this year you requested them which made me smile. guess that means they were a hit last year) and birthday cinnamon rolls complete with sprinkles and a candle to blow out.  you opened some presents and we got ready for school. you were so excited to have your little celebration there with cupcakes. i love that you love your teachers and your school. it makes me feel very comfortable with the decisions our family has made for you.
we had fun at your school party, then came home to play with your new toys and when i asked you where you wanted to eat for dinner, the answer was...chik-fil-a. shocker! so, to chik-fil-a we went. we ended our date with frozen yogurt and went home for the nightly routine.
we shared mommy's bed the whole time that daddy was gone. i love that you are a snuggler. sometimes, in the middle of the night, you'll call out "mommy, snuggle me!" to which i am always happy to oblige.

testing out my remote for my camera and wanting to capture a photo of us together, on your birthday. baxter just has to be where you are, so there he is. 

daddy came home from his trip and we had a fun weekend planned. we drove to new braunfels and checked into a hotel for an early morning of fun at the natural bridge wildlife safari. i don't have many pictures from this , as i was too busy feeding the animals. ha! so fun!

the next weekend we had a little party planned at a "jumpy" place (your request).  i was a little iffy on this as i am not a huge fan, but i figured it's what you wanted so, why not? well, it was a complete hit with you and your friends! and i could not have been more proud of you.  you ran off to play with kane before your guests started arriving, but each time a friend showed up, i went to find you and you would then run to greet them and invite them to come play with you. such a little host. i have a few photos but mostly you were just a blur. running, laughing, jumping, and playing. as you should have been. we all enjoyed your scooby doo cake and then we packed it up to go home eat dinner and visit with our friends, the Tabbs.

taking a breather, right in the  middle of the walkway. 

Make a wish, sweet boy. 

you with one of your Godparents- David 

We ended the weekend on Sunday, at the Austin Kite Festival.  One of my favorite festivals here, it's always the first Sunday in March. And the weather is almost always beautiful.  This year did not disappoint.

Hundreds of kites decorated the sky (and the trees) in Zilker Park.  It's just a super fun family affair.  And we were glad to share it with the Tabbs.  All in all, it was a fantastic couple of weeks of birthday celebration. And still almost 2 months later, you joke and pretend it's your birthday. You may be ready for another, but I'm not sure that I am. I'm going to enjoy soaking up the 4 year old you for now.

just us

 so...for a whole week, it was just king and i. daddy had to go out of town to 2 different conferences so we held down the fort. and...it's still standing! ha! actually we are pretty used to this and i secretly cherish these times where it's just the two of us. do not get me wrong, i love it when we are all together-nothing beats that. but, when it's just kingston and i, it's special.  and because his 4th birthday fell into this week, my snuggles were a little tighter, we found a little more adventure, and somehow, when i didn't think it was possible, we bonded a little closer.  king is my most  favorite person to hang out with in the history of ever. i am so enjoying living life through his little eyes that are just full of wonder. what an awesome week it was! (let it be known that the feelings of triumph and happiness were balanced with exhaustion and dirty dishes. all worth it.)

target makes me happy too.

target...how we love thee. let us list the ways (items we'll be needing). best shopping partner ever right here.

and a few un-instagrammed iPhone shots from our week. 

reading to your class, adventure at a new park, bubble bath, and your last night as a 3 year old.

we will finish up kingston's 4th birthday celebrations this weekend! happy week to all! 

my happy places

sometimes photos create the illusion that lives are perfect and i think it's important to recognize that they are not.  take for instance, my instagram feed. (@angdoran79 if you IG too)  it's mostly full of my joys, prides, and loves. is it an accurate reflection of my life? yes and no. it is absolutely an outlet for me to find and share the happiness and joy in my life. that's the thing about me-i'm a glass half full kind of girl. always looking for the bright side, an optimist. my happy little feed does not tell you that my heart hurts so badly right now because of a situation that is out of my control. but it's there. or that i've been aching for a baby for the last 3 years...nah, it doesn't. my photography and my family are my happy places-where i go to escape life's sometimes ugly realities.  someone once told me "it's not what happens to you, but how you handle it." and while i am not always handling the things the right way, i try to always keep that in mind. and i have my share of crummy days but even on those days, i'm still looking for the beauty. life is just too short.

Feeding the ducks.  The geese were a little pushy and K wasn't really down with that. Also, Daddy got goosed. Ha!! 

gloomy morning turned fun

Lining up the shot with Daddy

a little after nap playtime 

when?

when did you get so big, kingston thomas? you are now almost 4 years old, and though it's been coming, it is so apparent lately that you are becoming a big boy. you moved up to pre-k a couple of weeks ago and shock me in the most delightful ways on a daily basis. sometimes i am so torn between being so, so very proud of you and a little sad that i cannot just freeze time for a while.  life with you is so much more than i ever imagined it would be. you and i, we go together like peanut butter and jelly-which is coincidentally one of your favorites.  

we stopped to take a few photos to document this little milestone. 

backyard picnic

you still love the bath. these days you love to make potions out of anything and everything. my little scientist.

soooo almost 4

it's been a while

ok so even though i have not been blogging, we are still very much here and living life.  check out kingston's 3rd year album here. i am currently working on the 4th year and will have it complete soon as well. these are a favorite of mine to make and i hope that someday he will cherish them as much as i do. 

Merry Christmas!

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i heart faces: raise your hands

boys will be boys.  and this boy was making mudpies for his mommy.  :) they were delicious! ha.  head on over to i heart faces and check out the other entries.

insta.fun

feeling a little uninspired with my camera lately, but i seem to always have my phone.  i love my iPhone.  i will never go back to any other kind of phone after having this one for 2 years now.  part of the fun is all of the cool apps.  if you were to look on my phone, the camera apps would far outnumber the others.  that being said, one of my favorites is instagram.  it's just a fun app where you can take photos, add a filter to them if you like, and then share them to your personal feed, facebook, twitter, etc.  i'm always looking for new fun photo apps.  what are some of your favorites? along with instagram i've got best camera, camera+, shake it photo, hipstamatic, cross process, shutterfly, and photoshop.  here are some of my instagram snapshots. :)

i heart faces: soft & sweet

this week's theme is soft and sweet.  i decided that sweet little Aiden playing quietly with his trains at our last family reunion would be my entry.  his beautiful eyes are so soft and innocent and he looks (and is) so sweet.  be sure to head over to i heart faces to check out the other entries. :)

big boy

from this: (taken on 3/16)

to this:

how did this haircut age my son to look like such a big boy??  learned my lesson about the haircut, yes i did.  never walk away from the supposed "trained stylist" that is cutting off all but the military length of your son's hair.  because apparently that's what saying "just clean it up a little around the edges and leave it longer on the top" will get you.  i've gotten used to it and still think my kingston is the cutest little guy around, but i just wasn't ready to see him looking like a 4 year old.  he's 2!
speaking of big boys--our big boy learned how to climb out of his crib.  so, we were forced to begin the toddler bed stage.  and needless to say, it isn't going so well.  those of you that know us know that kingston has never been a stellar sleeper.  we've had some mirage-like glimpses of a full night's sleep here and there but we travelled a whole lot last year with it being our first year back in texas (there was a lot of friends and family to see!), and so perhaps kingston never got truly "used to" his own room.  with the travelling we started some bad habits and now here we are, with our big boy 2 year old that would rather sleep with us than in his own room.  don't get me wrong, i love to snuggle, but for us, i think it's important that kingston sleeps in his own bed.  so, we are in the process of sleep training all over again.  and it's been rough.  tips, hints, pointers and empathy all gladly accepted. :)

far behind

soooo it's been a few weeks since i've posted.  oops.  we have been busy settling in to our new home in austin, tx!  trying to get everything "just so" and yard work, ooooh the yard work.  the yard has definitely kept me busy.  i think we've got a handle on it now so that is good news.  let's just say that the yard was not a priority of the last tenants.  the yard, IS, however a priority for us. :)

kingston has been such a good helper. he loves to dig in the dirt and water the flowers.  as for me, i have never done so much yard work IN MY LIFE.  exhausting but hopefully very rewarding as we watch the grass grow in and make our yards a place to enjoy.  

i heart faces: shadows

this week's theme is shadows and this is my son kingston creating a watercolor masterpiece.  :)  be sure to head over to i heart faces to check out the other entries.

i heart faces: a slice of life :)

this is my favorite type of photo!! i mean, everyone likes a good portrait, but i absolutely LOVE a photo that just looks like a beautiful snippet from someone's daily life.  unposed, candid, life.

i took this photo last weekend at the arboretum. sweet baby carson was hungry and we just couldn't get his bottle fast enough!  i love that he looked right at me with the little tears in his eyes. click on over to i heart faces and check out the other entries!

spring forward

the days are longer, and there is a feeling of rebirth, regrowth and renewal.  yes, spring is here.  i absolutely love this time of year, although in texas it seems to be somewhat fleeting.
we got to spend some time at one of our favorite places in dallas (Dallas Arboretum) with some of our favorite people this last weekend.  We had such a great time for our last weekend in living here dallas.  hearing the boys laugh and play together warmed my heart to no end.  i love that kingston has a cousin his same age and I just know that they will be close friends.

kingston and aiden

love those eyes

simple

carson

lincoln jet

6 days old

my new nephew, lincoln jet reyes entered the world on 3.7.11.  i just had to drive to houston to see him last weekend while he was still so new.   and oh, he is just beautiful.  head full of hair and pouty lips and almond eyes.  ahhh, and his smell!  i love that baby smell.  i seriously could just sit and smell his head for hours.  yes, i am totally smitten with my little lincoln jet.  his parents let me snap a few to remember these precious days.

so alert

perfection

  and one more...

lucky

blake and i went to austin this past weekend to scope some things out and left kingston at home with his marme. we got up "before the chickens" at 5 am on saturday to start our trip.  we looked at homes all morning long, lunched at torchy's tacos, and went back to look at more homes.  then we went to dinner at imperia in the warehouse district and met an old friend at annie's west.  i absolutely loved this time with blake.  of course a lot of the topics of conversation were about kingston and how awesome he is, but we also just got to talk. about nothing and about everything.  you see, we get into the daily grind and we get up, get ready, get king ready and fed, go to work...etc.   we come home and it's all about dinner and we get busy being busy and i'll be honest, i get lazy and maybe do not take the time to appreciate my husband as i should and vice versa.  and we don't get many date nights because we don't have family here close by and i don't have a babysitter, so we do everything as a family and we are fine with it.  we love our son more than words can say.  but, blake and i need to take more time for each other to reconnect sometimes.  and that's just what we did this weekend.  on the car ride home and after a very emotional realization that i had about something else, i just sat there with the biggest smile on my face thinking, how did i get so lucky?  i married an incredible man that happens to be my very best friend.  and he's amazing.  and handsome.  and a great father.  i am so lucky and very blessed. :)

different views

the challenge at i heart faces this week is "anything but a face."  and while i was too busy and forgot to enter,  i did try over the weekend to capture a photo for the challenge.  :) it wasn't as easy as i thought it might be.

the big 2

my sweet kingston thomas turned 2 on february 20.  we celebrated with friends and family at children's museum at the dallas museum of nature and science and had a BLAST! we had a great turnout of kingston's classmates, friends, cousins and family.  it's hard to believe that my little lovebug is 2...i can still remember so vividly the days leading up to his birth.  the excitement, the consuming of an ENTIRE bag of reese's peanut butter cups the night before, the gentle contractions that woke me up that turned into waves of pain in a few short hours, our parents coming into town from Texas to be there with us, and the fear when Kingston was not given to me to hold after he was born.  Afterward that was a scary week for us, but it all worked out and we have a beautiful, loving, smart and funny 2 year old today. :)
thanks to one of my best friends alecia for taking some pictures for me!

the BIG 2 year old

jackson

tate

anna & kane

king & his auntie lesha

riding through the "farm"

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getting after the cake