8 Years Later

There is an indoor winter gardens in Aberdeen, Scotland that we visited while there in July. We used to live just up the street from it and I would frequently walk around in it with Connor during those cold winter months. It was warm and gave me a place to get out of the house to. While there, I made Connor take a picture in a spot that I knew I had taken many pictures of him over our time living there. Of course, when we got home I couldn't find any of the pictures. So much for being good at organizing photos! 

The other day I got an itch to finish the kids baby books, since I was ordering updated family photos for our frames in our living room...nesting affects every aspect of life! While going through pictures, I stumbled across a random file that only had a few pictures in it. Well, it had pictures of Connor standing in the exact spot I took his picture this summer. Sure, no one but me can tell the pictures were taken at the same spot, given the angle, but it still made me happy to have a little comparison. And I got a chuckle out of the fact that, completely unplanned, he was wearing a red shirt in both photos. 

So there you have it, Connor standing in the same spot eight years later. A place that holds so many memories for me of that early time of motherhood. A place where Connor and I learned and grew together so much. A place where fellow women, who I hardly knew at the time, came along side of me and helped me so much in those early days. A place that will forever hold a special spot in my heart.

Wow, that got sappy fast!

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A 19 Month Comparison

I know, I know, another comparison. But this is basically my last one, unless I want to do first day of school comparisons or something. Plus, I love any excuse to walk down memory lane. I literally loved going back and looking at toddler Connor and Isla while looking for their pictures. Remembering how life was. Remembering how they were. Anyway, here's all three of my babes at 19 months, freshly awoken in the morning, in the same crib. 

Callum

Connor

Isla

Connor

Isla

Callum

Whenever I think Callum is really starting to get a head of hair going, I look at picture of the other kids at the same age and am always shocked. At this point, Connor had numerous hair cuts and Isla just had a ton of long hair. But that's ok, I'll take his cheeky little smiley demeanor any day over him having a full head of hair. 

In case you care to check out the other comparisons of the kids - a cheeky comparison, three little monkeys, 8.5 month comparison, three kids, one outfit and same hat, different boy. 

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A Cheeky Age

There is something about 16 months that's a cheeky age. Or maybe a curious age? It's the age where you have to move all the toilet paper rolls or they WILL be unrolled. And actually, shutting the bathroom door is better because otherwise the toilet may or may not get played in. The tupperware cupboard gets unloaded five times a day, along with the toy box and bookshelf. So I had to laugh when I found Callum in the above situation, remembering my other two in very similar situations. 

All three kids are just a couple weeks apart in age in these pictures. Actually, Connor and Isla's pictures are only a day in age apart, but Callum's is a couple weeks before. Also, apparently the first two situations happened while I was in the shower. These days I shower before the kids get up, but Callum still finds plenty of time to roam and get into things because, life/three kids. Can we also take a minute to notice how much hair Connor and Isla had compared to Callum. I was actually thinking the other day how thick his hair is getting...until I saw those full heads of hair!

I really do love the curiosity of children, even if it means a lot more clean up for me.

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A Valentines Comparison

^^ This face is what has earned him the name "cheeky monkey" lately. Especially when we tell him no. He tends to give us this look and goes right back to what we said no about.

Callum got his lunch all over his shirt on valentines day. And, in an effort to not look like a slob, I decided to change his shirt before we picked Connor up from school. At the bottom of the shirt pile, I found this valentines shirt I had forgotten about. It had been Connor's, and I had never even put it on Callum. So, I threw it on...and since the gnome hat matched and it brings me such joy, it went on as well.

I decided to go back and look for some pictures of Connor wearing the same shirt. Alas, the only ones I could find were cell phone shots...and iphone cameras have come a long way since then! Still, you can see little Connor in it. Connor, who would only be 3 weeks older than Callum, yet had multiple haircuts by this point, and still a head full of thick hair. Connor, who had already been walking for 5.5 months at this point. Speaking of that, I can't believe how much more grown up babies look in pictures when they are walking vs sitting. Either way, cheeky Callum is blazing his own trail in this family. And lucky for him, my picture taking skills have gotten better, so the opposite is true for the cliche about the youngest having no pictures of themselves. We have the most of him!

^^ Can you believe I had hair not that long ago that was long enough for me to pull back?! Sometimes I kind of miss that convenience. 

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Three Little Monkeys...

This monkey outfit is a bit of a Grimbleby right of passage. One of my former coworkers sent it to me in Scotland when I was pregnant with Connor. He wore it for his first halloween, Isla for her second (she was only two weeks old for her first!) and now Callum has worn it. Never mind the fact that both Connor and Isla were both proficiently walking when they wore the monkey. No worries Callum, mom isn't ready for the day, that I am sure will come too quickly, that she has to figure out how to keep you safe around the stairs.

Let's take a look back, shall we?

Look at that sweet little Connor! Only a couple weeks from his first birthday. Oh man, and I remember the year before kind of hoping that I would no longer be pregnant by halloween!

And then there's our dark haired beauty. The little gap toothed smiles of babies just slays me. Like seriously gets me every single time! I had to include this next picture because it just cracked me up.

Connor and Isla have always been Connor and Isla even from little babes...always frienemies, these two. But how about a couple more pictures of adorable smiley Callum?

I love that this costume has lived on. It is a piece I will definitely be keeping. Sure, they may never want to use it for my grandkids, but I can pull it out and smile and think of all the great memories this little sock monkey holds for our family.

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An 8.5 Month Sibling Comparison

With Connor and Isla, it was total happenstance that I took literally identical pictures of them mere days apart in age. This time, I saw it coming. I actually remembered the week before and checked so I could take the pictures of Callum at the right time. They were taken at the exact same age as Connor. 

At 8 months old, all three kids were within half a pound of each other. Callum was a little longer than the other two. I would say they all look relatively the same size in the photos, though Connor does look a little shorter, given his legs aren't sticking over the end of the wagon. Also, look how much hair Connor and Isla had compared to Callum! 

At this age for Connor, he could already stand up and walk holding on to things. Isla was a little bit behind. She could go from laying to sitting by herself, but wasn't quite standing up on her own. Then there's happy little Callum. He is content just sitting…and that's sitting where I set him down. He can't yet go from laying to sitting. And he really has no interest in standing. All in his own time. What he lacks in physical ability, he makes up for in his smiles…smiles for days, I tell you.

An interesting little back story about this little push toy. It was actually one of Ian's coworkers in Scotland. Both her boys played with it, then she handed it down to us. It's fun to me to watch toys get played with over and over again by different kids. 

Another little "fun" fact, all three kids lived in different houses at 8.5 months old. That's kind of crazy when you think about it. But, we were living in Aberdeen, Scotland with Connor, our old house in Modesto with Isla and now our new house with Callum. If there is ever a fourth child, I kind of hope it doesn't include another move! 

Just in case you want to look back, three kids, one outfit and same hat, different boy. 

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Three Kids, One Outfit

I always had so much fun doing comparisons of Connor and Isla when they were little, in the same outfit or doing the same thing at a certain age. I have so enjoyed going through their baby pictures since adding Callum to the family. It is almost like I am reliving their babyhoods and love going back and looking at the pictures to spur those memories. So, you can only imagine my excitement when I unpacked this adorable outfit. Some friends sent it to us when I was pregnant with Connor. And it is now on it's third Grimbleby. The only thing is, the weather and Callum's length wouldn't hold out until he is five months old to do this comparison. But, it's close enough.

Connor:

Isla:

Callum:

I guess I should have put him in the bumbo for the picture too, since the others were in it…Oops. But, you get the comparison, non-the-less. And, let's just say that the baby Grimbleby genes are strong in our family! They certainly all look related.

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A Brotherly Comparison

 

Connor on top, Callum on bottom. These pictures are actually taken two months apart. Connor was four months old in that picture and Callum is two months old. Connor was such a peanut. I do think they look similar, but definitely not like the same baby. It's hard to tell from this picture, but Connor had much more hair than Callum does. And Callum doesn't open his eyes as much as Connor did. I wish I had a picture of Isla in the same outfit to throw in the mix too. But I don't know if she actually ever wore this outfit. I do already have an outfit in Callum's drawers that both the older kids wore and can't wait to do a comparison of all three. But, given those pictures were done at 5 months old, I should probably wait a bit. Then again, Callum is in some sort of growth contest and probably won't fit in the outfit at all at that age. Hey, he's trying to not live in the shadows of his older siblings ;)

I have enjoyed using Connor's hand me downs on Callum more than I care to admit. It takes me back to a time that seems like a lifetime ago, but was really only six years ago. A time when I was a first time mom. A time when I lived in a different country. A time when having a baby seemed so foreign and new to me. It's fun to remember all those things.

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Same Hat, Different Boy

^^ Connor at a week old 

^^ Callum at a week and a half old

It's been fun pulling out Connor's old clothes and putting them on Callum. Connor asked to see a picture of him in a particular outfit a few days ago. When I went to find it, I was struck by just how much Callum looks like baby Connor. They have the same shape eyes and sandy blonde hair.  Ian said the problem with sharing clothes is then we will have a hard time telling the kids apart in old pictures. I beg to differ because most of the pictures I took of Connor I used a flash with, so I think we will be able to tell! Plus, after a month or two, babies really stop looking like babies and start looking like themselves and I am guessing then we definitely will be able to tell them apart. But, I do have a feeling I will be looking back at a lot of pictures of Connor over the next several months as I dress Callum in his clothes. And since I am a sap, I totally love the walk down memory lane.

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The Same, but Different

It's not often that I end up with pictures of my kids that are virtually the same. When I was looking at these, I couldn't believe how much their personalities come out in these pictures. Both kids love the bath, but in different ways. It is a party time for Connor. He plays big in it. Water goes everywhere and he really enjoys himself. Isla is calm in the bath. She takes the bath toys and makes a mommy, daddy and baby and makes them talk to each other. 

I enjoy looking at the kids personalities and preferences now and wondering how that will translate in the future. Just yesterday, I realized we really do have an "Ian" and a "Jessica" on our hands. Ian was a firstborn and so is Connor. I am a second born (and the oldest in my family is a boy) just like Isla. I'm not sure what Ian was like as a kid, but I often hear from my parents and my aunts that Isla is just like I was as a toddler. Hopefully she picks up on my good qualities though, and not the bad ones. 

Though I like to wonder what my kids will be like as they grow and develop, and even become mom's and dad's themselves, I sure am enjoying the ride. I have really been focusing on being present even more. Trying not to see bath time as a break where I get to play on my phone, but as a break where I can watch my kids be themselves and have some peace because, well, I don't bathe the kids together so they aren't fighting! Hopefully, just as my older brother and I stopped fighting, my kids will as well...I just hope that happens sooner than it did for my brother and I...because we certainly gave my mom a run for her money with all the fighting we did. 

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Same Glasses, Different Kid

Do you ever just have the biggest case of deja vu? That is pretty much how I felt after looking at Isla chilling in her stroller in Connor's sunglasses the other day.

Not only was she wearing his sunglasses, but the picture that popped into my head of Connor in them, he was in a stroller too. Then, when I went back to find the picture I was thinking of, I couldn't believe how similar their facial expressions were. Especially given that Isla usually smiles all big for the camera.

It's funny (and weird) how some things seem like they just happened yesterday (this picture of Connor), yet feel so long ago at the same time. I notice with kids this seems to happen a lot more often. As cliche as it sounds, they really do grow up too stinking fast.

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