Brothers

Ashton and Gabe have a really neat relationship. Ashton loves to get on the floor and play with Gabe, make him laugh, and then laugh hysterically at Gabe's laugh. It is really funny watching the two of them together. Ashton likes to hide and then have Gabe find him. When Gabe does something silly, like eat paper, Ashton says "I just love how his brain works."

I think part of the reason Ashton feels so close to Gabe is that Gabe is an answer to Ashton's prayers. Before Gabe was even conceived, Ashton prayed for a baby brother. We told him "probably not" because we were just starting the process to adopt Ava. Well, wouldn't you know it, a couple months later we were surprised to find out that we were expecting. And...it was a boy of course, the brother Ashton had been praying for all along! When Brooke plays with Gabe sometimes she says, "Ashton, I'm so glad you prayed for him."

I took these pictures of my two boys out on the deck in their matching shirts. Instead of having them sit and smile and stare at the camera (which doesn't work with Ashton because then you get his cheesy fake smile), I followed Rebecca's photo rules. (Rebecca also has 5 kids, one adopted from China; she's come to our Moms' nights before.) Basically, the photo rules are to not tell your subject to sit still, smile and look at the camera. I'm happy with how these pictures turned out; you can really see the bond these two have. I'm going to try her method more often.