Pears and Pairs

Apparently (or a'pear'antly) we are fruit tree growers. Who knew? We've had 3 pear trees since we moved into this house and they didn't bear fruit the first couple of years and last year the pears were not what you'd consider 'edible'. Every year Iain pays some attention to them, fertilizing them at the very least. This year, he did nothing. This year, we have pears, This year, we have abundant pears. This year we have YUMMY pears. And, thanks to our negligence, we also have organic pears. A'pear'antly we have a little bit of green in our thumbs....or just plain ol' dumb luck. Regardless, we've got pears....and we're happy.

Oh -- and we don't pick the pears. Iain shakes the trees and they fall to the ground, or on his head. It's actually pretty funny to watch. Gianna and I got the giggles one day secretly watching/filming him from the sunroom. (I'll have to post the video soon.)

I know this isn't a very interesting post, but for some reason I had a strong desire to document the Great Pear Crop of '09. I don't know what made me so enamored with them, but I took loads of pictures. Go figure.

Here are a few of shots of our pretty pears.

Oh, and I thought I'd throw in a few shots of some of my other favorite pears (pairs.)

I neglected to mention that we celebrated our 5 year anniversary of marriage while I took a little blogger break. Happy Anniversary to us!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

Boy, Oh Boy! It's kind of interesting how 90% of Gianna's little friends are all boys. How strange? It seems like every now and then, everyone we meet or pregnancy we hear of is all the same sex for a period of time. Maybe it's just coincidence.

I'm sure there are plenty of little girls ready to play - that we just have yet to meet. No complaints here, though. These little boys are adorable and she just as rough and tumble as they are.

There's Nate, our adorable little godchild: And, Little-Man-Luke (Along with his cousin, Benjamin)


And sweet William who loves her so much that he can tell you how many days it's been since he's seen her - at any given time.
Sugar-pie, Jackson Alexander the Great! (OMG - he is SO cute.)
Check out his spiky hair. :) These two play SO well together.

Cuddly little Hudson (along with his big brother, Aden - not pictured)

And then, there's Hunter.

Edited to include:
Gianna, Cooper, Jackson

And our neighbor, Ashton.

Littlee Girl, when you grow up, you're gonna be so fortunate and excited to have all these sweet boys surrounding you.

* However, we may have to rent a few little girls to have an occasional tea party.

Happy Birthday Hunter!

Hunter was my practice child. I kept him during his first 3 years of life while his parents worked. He has been such a treasure and a true pistol from the start. He's one of the busiest, smartest and funniest kids I know. His imagination is UNBELIEVABLE. His mother partially blames that on me - but you just can't teach that stuff....just nurture it.

Hunter prayed for 2 years that Aunt Re Re & Uncle Iain would have a baby. Ever time he came to my house, he made a bee-line to the nursery to see if our baby had arrived. Well, last year, when Gianna made her grand entrance, we didn't tell Hunter for a few days until we knew it would be a sure thing. When it was, his mom brought him over and we took this video of his discovery of Gianna. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO . There's one of Hunter holding Gianna for the first time HERE.

Hunter and Gianna just love each other. Hunter refers to her as his sister....and I'm sure when she can talk she might refer to him as her brother. Hunter is SO excited that she can finally begin to play with him....as seen HERE.

Anyway, today Hunter is FIVE. We celebrate you, sweet boy, and love you BIG BIG! Happy Birthday Hunter.

Black & White

Did you ever notice that when color is removed from photographs, that other things become more visible? It seems by taking out the color, other elements have the opportunity to emerge: a mood; an expression; a milestone; a discovery; a moment. As much as I love color - especially in pictures of my munchkin - I've been playing around a little with black & white, brightness and contrast. Thought I'd share a few of our recent moments.

This last one absolutely steals my heart.