The Swarrell Life

Preaching to myself. As I stare at the date of my last blog post, I shudder to think about how many times the camera has clicked. I'm not saying that I'm scared or anything, but sometimes it seems like a tall mountain to climb. I think I have 300 photos waiting for me that haven't been blogged. It's an interesting way of approaching things, but it seems to work. I don't dump new photos into the general bucket until I have been through them and included them (or not, as the case usually is) in a blog post. Sometimes the event drives the post, and sometimes a post is created out of an idea that is based on a few of the photos. Although, and I think you'll agree, I rarely post an update with only a  few pictures. Ha! So, the title of this post is me talking to me. Don't take it (too) personally. Meanwhile, Easter has come and gone and I think that Spring has finally sprung. We'll see, but it looks promising around these parts. In response to my own urging...

Okay, I am a fan of breastfeeding. That sounded weird. I don't like it for me, but for my kids. Autumn worked very hard at it, with wonderful results for Teagan and Trinity both. She was so successful that we are just now, 9 months after weaning Teagan, running out of frozen stores of breast milk for his bottles. Now, we haven't been giving it to him exclusively. He has been on cow's milk ever since he was a year old. It's been mostly for night time bottles. Unfortunately now that's over too. Here's our memorial service for breast milk: Proud mommy...and she should be! Yep, he loves him some breast milk! And now, since that chapter is over and a new one is started, we'll talk about the grieving process. Poor little Teagan will likely be going through an extensive emotional adjustment. Let's see one scenario of how it might  go: The first reaction will be typical crying. He doesn't get what he wants, so he cries. Hey, don't we all? At th...

We start our story on a typical Spring weekend in late March... Trinity has just returned from Kate's house after baking some delicious cookies, which she intends to share with her entire family. But alas, she only gives cookies to her brother... ...and herself! (Just kidding, she gave some to her parents too. Go with it, it makes a better story!) Meanwhile, her dad just looks goofy. How do these pictures keep getting posted? Then it was off to the park, where there were lots and lots of families that were taking advantage of a sunny Sunday afternoon... Teagan wanted to go on the big twirly slide... ...with a little help from dad of course! Trinity was on the slide, on the swings, even on the teeter-totter! Someone has an unfair advantage here! The next morning was a typical day of goofing around. But this was no ordinary day because Oma and Opa were coming to visit! One size fits most? Trinity was riding her push bike while Teagan ran alongside. He makes...

In a quest to post good updates, I have been trying to write a little more. I don't know if that has helped, but it takes a little more time and thought. Sometimes I substitute substance with a ton of pictures instead because I tend to write these posts late in the evening. This evening, Autumn mentioned that maybe I could blog a little earlier so that I wouldn't be as tired. Whoops, it's 10pm. It really was a great suggestion. So, I think that I will dump a ton of pictures in and see if I can get this done quickly.... What Teagan wanted to use... What he should be using...ha! Okay, maybe something not quite so sharp. By the way, the "u" key wasn't working for a minute there, I think some dust from the Cheerios I am snacking on must have blocked it. I didn't realize how often I use that key. Flossing already? They sure love to do what we do... Yeah, they both do... Here's the thinking man, always making sure to read the directions. He's...