It’s hard to believe this little girl fits inside a Watermelon but she is still under 11 pounds, in the 5th percentile for weight and height and yes, fits inside a watermelon. She wasn’t thrilled about the watermelon. I suspect it was rather chilly inside that fruit.
This is what it looked like behind the scenes of this watermelon shoot (hat tip to Bob Pritchett for the suggestion of baby-in-watermelon photo shoot).
Lily is a pro at photo shoots already. Of course, she has a lot to live up to. Her brother totally rocked his gourd fall shoot two years ago.
Life has been moving very quickly lately. The change in the seasons has made it very apparent that the adage of ‘time moves faster when you have kids‘ is true. Where did summer go? It was a blur of breastfeeding, diaper changes, working, soaping and gardening. I am extremely blessed to have a supportive, loving family. My brother and Dad spent hours (literally, hours) helping to put up stakes and a growing system for our marionberries and raspberries next year. Big thanks to my Mom for pruning them. 
I’ve harvested about 30% of our potatoes and gotten at least 100 pounds thus far. I brought some to work this week, shared some with a friend and am basically planning on eating only potatoes for the next year. Sadly, our tomatoes got a type of mold and we had to rip them all out before the mold got into the ground and hurt all the other plants around it. I’ll be rotating that crop area and growing something else there this upcoming year. We got maybe 30 small cherry tomatoes before we had to make the difficult decision to rip all the plants out.
Jamisen got into his first bouncy tent last weekend (at the Greek Food Festival in Bellingham) and jumped, and laughed and jumped and laughed. He had the best time. It took some serious patience on the part of my husband and the help of an older child to coax him in but once he went in, he was totally hooked and didn’t want to leave. He has so much energy that bouncing and jumping for a long time did absolutely nothing to diminish it.
Lily has started talking, talking, talking. She loves to ooh, and cooh and squeal. Her smile is so big; it’s infectious and her Daddy (like everyone) is clearly taken by her sparkling intellect and wit.
We took a trip to the Bellingham Farmer’s Market and were pleased when Uncle Erik and Aunt Cheriss joined us. The irony of needing 6 adults to keep track of 1 rambunctious toddler is not lost on me. Seriously, little Jamisen is is so inquisitive and curious. You just never know where he’ll dash off to next or who you’ll find him trying to converse with. Uncle Erik is especially good with him and I cannot wait for nieces and nephews. It’s Erik and Cheriss’s turn to bless my parents with some more grandchildren =)
Jamisen is at home in Uncle Erik’s arms. Lily may hate me for that hat when she’s older but for now, it’s over the top baby-cute. Hands down (yes, pun intended), the best baby gift we got (which was a very close second behind the Baby Beaba) was the Baby Bjorn. I love being able to strap Lily onto my chest and walk around, hike, do chores etc… hands free. My back doesn’t love it as much but that’s a small price to pay for mobility with a baby.
Lest you think that everything is all hunky dory and easy in our household, this is how I generally look when not out in public. Tired and slightly overwhelmed with the scope of the blessings we have (and by “blessings“, I mean “children“). Two kids is way more challenging than one and the girlfriend (I’m looking at you Patrice Valentine) that told me that two wasn’t that much harder than one totally lied. Last night, I was putting Jamisen to bed at 8 p.m. when I realized he hadn’t had any dinner. That might explain why he was foraging in the cabinets and trying to get his own food while I was trying to calm Lily down and get her to sleep. If I didn’t have a supportive husband, amazing extended family and paid help with childcare during the day, I am pretty sure I’d be in the Funny Farm right about now and my children would miss a lot more meals.
Even with all the chaos, we love our family of four. Time goes by so quickly with two children. Can you believe Lily is on her way to being 4 months old?! She’s our precious little girl and though the adults in the house are tired, we are consistently happy, entertained, challenged and never stop counting our many blessings.
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Beautiful babies 🙂
I have 3. All in college. They grow up so fast. Sneak every kiss on the forehead that you can and treasure these days Before you know it you’ll be planning Lilly’s wedding and wondering where the days went. Forget about appearances and chores and all of life’s tasks. They’ll always be more. Being a mother is the most important job Hugs and Anne Marie… You’re doing a wonderful job :*
Beautiful!!!!
Oh my gosh, those photos of Lily are so cute! How adorable 🙂 The photo of you digging up the potatoes is also really nice, I am happy you have found time to garden along with the 50 million other things you seem to find time to do! We grew veggies this year as well, it was so nice to be able to harvest fresh fruit and produce from our back yard!
I’m cursing myself right about now for the garden situation because I still have at least 100 pounds of potatoes in the garden but never can find the time to get out there when both kids are asleep. Lily, not surprisingly, not such a fan of napping lately =)
I am totally doing a garden again next year. It was amazing to just go out and cut all the greens for our dinner and green smoothies every day. I totally agree with you – super nice and comforting too.
Okay. Seriously. Adorable photos. I just love your family! That’s all. 🙂
Aawww, thank you! I think they’re pretty swell too and count my blessings every. single. day. =)
What a lovely family portrait! Beautiful with homegrown veggies too! Daddy doesn’t look to happy about the watermelon photo either Lily! She is growing like a little weed!
Thank you! I am obsessed with the garden and funny, Daddy wasn’t thrilled with the watermelon photo! He thought I was a bit over the top (and I soooo am but it was cute!) =)
What a lovely family portrait! Beautiful with homegrown veggies too! Daddy doesn’t look to happy about the watermelon photo either Lily! She is growing like a little weed!
Good eye, Pam! He totally was not happy with me. He thinks me and my Dad are nuts (in a good way) with our photo shoots. =) There’s a fine line between a great photo and wanting to call CPS in his mind.
She is growing so much! She’s in her 3 month old clothes now and it hardly seems possible.
Is it because you are vegan that Lily is comparatively smaller than most babies? I don’t know about breast-fed babies, but I know that kids eating organic vegan diets tend to grow slower COMPARATIVELY, only because they aren’t subjected to all the hormones and other crap that conventionally fed kids are subjected to. A hundred years ago, we all grew slower than we do now. I am sure Lily will catch up to the other kids, but right now she just grows slower than the other kids that are ingesting hormones. Makes sense when you think about it 🙂
My diet could definitely be it. We’re 100% organic vegetarians so I eat some dairy (no milk though; but we’ll eat cheese and kefir and eggs). Jamisen isn’t real big for his age either but is plenty healthy.
Plus, me and my husband are sort of small. He’s 5’9′ and I’m 5’4″ – I think that we’re smaller than the average. I’m not worried; she’s within all her comparables (like, her head isn’t huge compared to her body weight, for example). And bonus, she can totally fit in a watermelon!
Thanks for sharing such great family pictures! I especially love the 4 pictures where Lily & your husband are so intent with each other.
He was talking with her soooo much. They were having this sweet, amazing conversation. He would say something and she would ‘answer’. Granted, she sounded sort of like a dolphin but it was clearly a give ‘n’ take.
He is tooooooottttttalllllly enamored by his little girl; wrapped around her finger already! =)
I have a 4 year old daughter and a 5 months old baby girl and I understand where you are! Having two kids is VERY different than one! They have different schedules and needs…
It is hard to get to balance your own time and life as well as being a mother! But it gets better every day as I feel that you get used to it and your baby gets older.
I only have my husband helping me late in the evening and I am so tired then. But I wouldn’t change my life for anything. I love my family!
You have a wonderful family too! It gets better day after day!
I feel the same way; I love our family unit sooooo much and when we’re all together, it’s bliss and joy rolled all into one. But man, sometimes, it is sooooo tiring (mostly at 6 a.m. when both kids are up and rarin’ to go!). Lily is still learning a nap schedule and isn’t terribly consistent so we’re working on that. Congrats on your happy family too! =)
Adorable! I must say, my youngest daughter was the same way, we didn’t think she would ever grow! And she never did get in the normal range for her weight. She’s now 5’5″ and still a skinny minny, but has the metabolism of an athlete and eats like a horse. Don’t stress over her weight momma, follow your instincts. You have a beautiful family!!
I was just working out with a beautiful woman who is 5’7″ but has the smallest hips, thighs, waist and butt and she eats, eats, eats! We grabbed a burger (!!!) after doing pilates and she told me it’s a struggle to keep weight on. I would have strangled her if I didn’t like her so dang much. =) I would be happy if my daughter had that problem (says the woman with the pear shaped hips and thighs). =)
AM, You have an amazing family. The support and love & cooperation shows. And yes the tired and confusion shows too, but it all comes together to be wonderfully blessed.
Also I love your garden. Mine took a mudslide last year when the property above ours was developed. I am still digging red clay out of my raised beds. I did get some things planted and in fact this weekend I am pickling beets and making 3 bean salad to can. And my husband’s grandmother’s recipe for Chili sauce. I never grew up with chili sauce so the vague recipe has intrieged me, getting feed back from his family to figure out what this stuff is supposed to look like and taste like. This will be the 4th year and I hope I have it figured out now. I believe things like this should be preserved (pun intended) and it is my gift to my husband’s family, as the Grandmother has passed on, and most did not follow her footsteps and grow and can their own food. So off to the kitchen I go.
ML
I am so jealous that you have beets. Mine didn’t take this year. I keep hoping that they’ll amaze and surprise me but so far, no luck.
Man, I really need to get the last of the potatoes out. It is raining up a storm right now. I might do that tomorrow after Jamisen is off to school because I don’t want them to rot in the ground.
I’m so bummed about your mudslide. How heartbreaking – but it seems like you have a great attitude about it.
I love your philosophy on food and preserving traditions; it’s beautiful.
What a lovely post! You never cease to amaze me with everything you do; family, business, taking care of your family and yourself and still having time to post on people’s blogs. You’re a true inspiration.
What a lovely post! You never cease to amaze me with everything you do; family, business, taking care of your family and yourself and still having time to post on people’s blogs. You’re a true inspiration.
I am soooo blessed with a huge support team. I could never do this alone. My husband is absolutely key to everything our family is able to accomplish and I’m so lucky to have a great team at Bramble Berry backing me up. Really; I’m the point of a very forceful spear that everyone else is pushing. I’m just lucky to be on their ride! =)
My first born was 11 Lbs. 1 oz! I can’t believe that your Lily weighs less than that at almost 4 mos! She is healthy and happy and that’s what counts!
Oh. My. Goodness. You are a saint! 11 pounds!?? Lily was only 6 pounds when she was born. I can’t imagine having a baby her size now to give birth to. That is amazing. Congratulations on that feat, Mama!
Both of your children are too adorable. Very happy babies. I love it :)!!!
Oh my goodness, Lily is SOOOOO ridiculously happy. Seriously, Jamisen was a joy but he was pretty crying-prone for his first six months. Lily? Basically (knock on wood), never cries (!) unless she is tired or hungry. We are soooo lucky.
Thank you for sharing such precious times with your family. BTW, 3 children aren’t much more challenging than 2. 😉
Oh you are sooooo lying. I am never believing anyone about workloads with children again. Two kids completely walloped me – way more than 1 kid doubled. =) That said, when the conversation of ‘Where will you be in 5 years’ came up at dinner, I did say that I hoped we had a third child by then …. soooooo…. that advice may come home to roost!
You need to try an Ergo baby carrier they are but kinder to your back and better for baby’s hips!
Oh really!? I’ve heard of hip displacement from the Bjorns but haven’t really researched it. Thanks for the tip!
Lily is so cute in the watermelon! You’ve got an amazing and adorable family!
She did SO well. I mean, she was not as thrilled as if it had been a warm fuzzy blanket but considering, she was a trooper! She even gave us a few half smiles, sort of like she was laughing at US “Mom, Dad …. you are SUCH dorks!”
All I can say is you have the most photogenic family ever! Even tired, you look amazing!
Thank you! You are too kind. I feel like the bags under my eyes are basically two small elephants I’m carrying around. Ha ha … I know this is such a short time period. The infant stage just goes by in a flash!
thanks for sharing! Your family is adorable! And you do a great job “doing it all” its nice to see a happy family!
Ah,if ‘doing it all’ means that none of the toys are put away right now and I’m pretty sure that I forgot to brush Jamisen’s teeth on Friday and Saturday, then yes! Prime example. =) Ha ha …. You are kind. I love my family life so very much and I’m glad that shines through.
Super adorable kids!
Thank you! I’m totally biased but I basically think that Jamisen is the sweetest looking boy that ever lived and that Lily is clearly the smartest =)