Shame on me!

I hardly picked up my camera during the month of September. I have started to make up for it in October by following Mikey and William around like their own personal paparazzi, but I still hate that September looks like a pretty blah month around here. Still some cute shots (not hard when you have an adorable subject), but not enough variety for me.

The good news is, we took this opportunity to get the camera professionally cleaned. Boy was it filthy! After three or four years of heavy use and not a single cleaning, it was way overdue. I have been seeing dust on pictures forever, and I can already tell a big difference. Hooray for crossing something off the to-do list. I knew I wanted the camera in tip-top shape for all the upcoming excitement - Halloween, William's second birthday, and of course baby brother's big debut!

Here's what I did manage to capture of yet another month in the lives of 3.5 Browns...


I feel like I am taking more and more pictures of William without a shirt or sometimes shorts. I swear he doesn't leave the house like that. The no-shirt thing came about because he makes a giant mess when he eats. He used to wear bibs, but then he just got everything but the bib area filthy. So now he eats topless at home. He does wear shorts at mealtimes, but he somehow almost always manages to sit on and squish a berry of some sort at dinner. In order to keep our furniture from turning shades of blue and red, he often gets stripped down since bedtime's coming up.


The true joy of his first experience with bubble wrap makes me smile every time.


Learning to share! Boomerang the sea lion was kind enough to leave some pretend hot dog for William.


You can tell this was September since I don't think we've seen a rain cloud in the month of October. Don't mind the fingerprints on the window. He loves to stand there and watch Mikey grill and mow.


William would spend 24 hours a day outdoors if we would let him.


Someone is very serious about throwing that ball.


His first real craft project from school! They are teaching the kids to say very simple prayers before eating, and they are also being taught to put their hands together to make "praying hands."


Demonstrating what he's learned!


Mikey and I started doing some fun icebreaker cards at dinner. William was extremely patient while we asked things like "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" and "What is the most memorable meal you've ever eaten?" Little did we know he was plotting his chance to get his hands on the cards. He was enthralled by the process of taking them out/putting them back/dropping them/picking them up.

And there you have it! September in a nutshell. In case you are concerned, we did in fact leave the house many times for school, playdates, MOPS meetings, date nights, birthday parties, etc. We are taking advantage of the relative freedom associated with just having a toddler at home. No newborn naps or feedings to worry about!