And this particular Day fellow here is my baby brother, Brandon.  And the gorgeous gal he married is my amazing friend, Keri.  And the two perfect little baby girls that they have created are my nieces, Karli and Adleigh.

Folks, there just aren’t enough adjectives in the world for me to describe my love for these people.  I adore my family.

Can I love this picture any more?  Unlikely.

It’s my blog.  It’s my niece.  I can show off her ridiculously cute belly if I want to.

♥♥♥

November 29, 2011  (FOUR weeks early!)

6 lbs. 10 oz..

18 1/2 inches.

Little sister to Karli.

Niece to me.

Perfect in each and every way.

Welcome to the family, awesome Adleigh.  We’ve been saving you a spot.

]]> http://janicabolesphotography.com/blog/adleigh/feed/ 4 http://janicabolesphotography.com/blog/tor/ http://janicabolesphotography.com/blog/tor/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 19:10:09 +0000 jbo http://janicabolesphotography.com/blog/?p=4733 You know how sometimes, thoughts of a person just weasel their way into your heart and just sort of camp out there for awhile?
Well lately, I’ve been thinking about my cousin, Tor.

My family is tight-knit, quirky, at times embarrassing, and even awkward. But more than anything, we love the heck out of each other. We all live relatively close together, so it has made for countless birthday lunches, holiday feasts, and general hang outs over the years. I have to remember how fortunate we have been…most people don’t get to spend so much time with their extended family.
I don’t much consider Tor my extended family, though. He is my only cousin on my dad’s side of the family, and over the years we’ve definitely been more like siblings. I love him fiercely and unconditionally.

I have tons of silly childhood memories of Tor.  In those days, he was mainly my baby brother’s playmate, and they annoyed me to no end.  I carried him on my shoulders through most of the Magical Kingdom, snickered as he and Brandon threw plastic frog toys in my Mimi’s Aquanet-ed helmet of hair, and I attempted to act irritated by their little boyishness.

As we got older, however, our relationship began to change.
When I worked as a youth minister while Tor was in high school, I remember him bravely attending a youth group meeting for the first time…waltzing in in that red polo shirt, only to immediately be pounced on by every female in the group. He was fresh meat, and they were all over him. It didn’t take much convincing for him to come back to church after that.
I remember long talks in my Thunderbird.
I remember “Hardcore Tor”, “Rough-landin’ Brandon”, and “Get off the can, Jan!”.
I remember how surprisingly easy it was to convince him to place insects on his tongue in exchange for relatively small amounts of money.
I remember receiving 4 a.m. frantic phone calls about Ouija boards and a mysterious spirit named Rose.
I remember random basset hounds named Elvis.
I remember drunken Monopoly.
I remember new trucks that “aren’t base, bitch!”
I remember cichlids.
I remember him calling my dog “Archibald” because, “what else would Arnie be short for??”.
I remember lots and lots of laughter. Lots and lots of sharing.
I just remember lots and lots, period.

I know that relationships, like most things in life, tend to ebb and flow.  We might be ebbing lately, but I will celebrate the day when, once again, we flow.

Who knew that I could fall so head over heels over a baby I didn’t even make?? I love this sweet girl like crazy and could not be any more proud to be her aunt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMa1ImzUx_U&sns=em

What a busy week!  Hallow-prep has been in full swing.  We kicked things off with a pumpkin carving party with friends…

Next, we were able to join Mimi and Aunt Cherry at a fun fall festival at Mimi’s place.  Good eats, good company, good fun!

Parker’s T-ball season just wrapped up  and at his last time up to bat on the last game, he hit an outstanding home run.  What a way to end the season! The Astros had a little celebration at Burrough’s Park this afternoon.  Parker got a trophy, and Bailey got a cupcake.  Both were equally thrilled.

And then finally, finally…the main event!

Behold, Beautiful Big Girl Princess Bailey Boles!

And Ninja Parker.  (the good guy kind, but still a really good fighter)

That’s my kids.

And hey, look!  There were four of us this Halloween!  It’s never happened before, and it just might not ever happen again…but man, it was great.  So happy to have you home, Daddy Matt

But sometimes, when the pool is full, the beer in your hand is icy-cold, and the children frolicking in front of you are (for the most part) squealing with joy and convulsing in giggles – the day just doesn’t seem long enough.

Long-live summer.

Long-live inflatable plastic pools.

Long-live moments like these.

Kindergarten.  Less than a month.  Wow.

“I am NOT a baby.  I wear princess panties.”

Clever defense.

It’s all fun and games until…well, until Bailey says so.

Pool time-out so Parker can flex some mad airbending skills.

Impressive, I know.

But a kid can only resist the splash-fest for so long…

I have a wonderful, close family, and my children are blessed to have not one, but two great-grandmothers that live close enough to visit often. They also have a THIRD (another Mimi!) who lives a few hours away. Very rarely, however, do we get to visit two at the same time! Today was a special day. We picked up Mimi on one side of town and trekked over to Granny’s place for a little visit.

These lovely ladies had some catching up to do.

My Mimi is my Dad’s mother. She’s more than a little bit spunky, vivacious, and quite the social butterfly. Mimi single-handedly took my brothers and me to Disney World not once, but twice growing up. I’ve taken many-a-trip to the mall with this lady…she knows how to shop! (much to the delight of her only granddaughter)

My Granny is my mom’s mom. She is the quintessential kind-hearted (yet no-nonsense!) granny that every kid should be lucky enough to have. She’s a MARVEL in the kitchen, but don’t ever think she can tell you a recipe…everything comes in pinches and dashes and simply can’t be recreated. Granny also has a mischievous streak. Don’t turn your back when there are locust shells around!

Though these awesome women are very, very different, they certainly have at least one thing in common. They love their great-grandkids!

But I’ll admit…they ARE quite lovable.

Since my parents have been divorced for almost 20 years, Mimi and Granny don’t see each other very often. But regardless of how much time passes, they share a special bond. And it shows. ♥

Don’t you remember having special toys and treasures to play with just at your grandparent’s house? Parker and Bailey were thrilled when Granny brought out these dominoes. I’m sure they will ask for them straight away on our next visit.

Bonus find for Bailey. HA!

Family life can be complicated, confusing, and at times, downright exasperating! But at the end of the day, I am so thankful for the special people that make up my family.

I didn’t pick ‘em, but I sure do love ‘em!

Happy Birthday, Matt Boles.