vacation.

well, because of the weather i had to cancel all of my sessions except for one. i hate canceling. but let's be honest, a weekend of no work is pretty awesome every once in awhile! papa was in town and the kids had fun! it was fun for me to pick up my camera and just shoot my kids too! i haven't been doing that lately and it was nice to be reminded why i started this in the first place. the little man is really taking off and big sister is happy to help. she also loved jumping in the puddles! notice the jacket gg. it finally fits over a year later! :)

i'll start "working" again tomorrow. i just had to look at the sweet photos of my kiddos tonight and to be reminded of what an awesome job motherhood is!

recap

guess updating on thursdays will be my new thing. what a fun and busy week we've had! we'll go back to last weekend. blake was dedicated at church! he was, well a toddler. he was a little chatty and loud and tried to start crying a couple of times but overall he was good. he didn't scream the whole time he was being held by the pastor so we'll call it a success! ;) yay i'm dedicated! of course aunt debbie and tom came! :) and of good friend amanda! she also took those priceless pictures during the dedication! the littles had their first dentist appointment! they both got their teeth cleaned. can you guess which child was more behaved and enjoyed it??? :) all clean! in little man news. guess who is finally walking??? yep, at the ripe old age of 13 months we have a walker. if i could just remember to put shoes on him now! avery has finally started napping at school. praise the Lord for bribery! daddy turned another year older! we celebrated by making him bring home dinner! ha! he got to pick from where. of course we had a few goodies for him! :) and there you have it! throw in some meals, carpool lines, sessions, and playdates and you've got our week!

absence makes the heart grow fonder.

this little big girl of mine. i don't know where her sweetness comes from. although i do have a few guesses where her sassiness comes from. this little girl who i dreamed of as a child. dreaming of the day when i would get married and have kids. dreaming of this fantasy world where i just got to play all day with kids. i spent so much time babysitting growing up. it's safe to say it's a little more work than i imagined but the reward is hundred times greater than i ever could have dreamed. my sweet girl is starting to give up her naps. which is really sad and means i will have even less time to myself. but after playing in her room for an hour today she came back downstairs. i have no idea how, but this video was playing in the background on the computer as i was working. it was a slideshow that i had made of her first 6 weeks of life. so she came and hopped on my lap and we watched it. she was more excited about all of the different outfits she was wearing in the pictures and became extra excited when daddy made an appearance. this little girl who three years ago i couldn't stand the thought of leaving her for 8 hours while i went to work. we didn't figure out a budget or even think about logistics. (one would think accountants would have thought this through a little better.) i would cry everyday thinking about leaving her. thankfully i have the most wonderful husband in the world who didn't even make me ask if i could stay home. i will never forget when we were talking while he was in boston for work. he said, why don't you just stay home, i think it will be better for her. my reaction was along the lines of, don't even tempt me or joke about that. that day my dream that i had thought about half my life came true. it's taken me a couple of years to get to the point where i know it's the best thing to drop her off and for her to go to school. we both love it! but, part of me still gets a little sad everyday when she leaves. of course i'm so thankful for some one on one time with the b man and i enjoy a little "vacation" for a few hours. looking at the pictures i want to just squeeze her and hold her tight. if i'm being honest those first couple of weeks were a blur. between feedings all night long and mark traveling and crying. oh yes, i remember she did some crying. we survived. i'd say we did more than survive. she's turning into quite a  wonderful little girl. these days she cheers on her brother as he stands up and walks. it's no surprise he only walks in her bedroom where he feels comfortable. avery holds her hands out and blake stands up and walks to her. talk about melting your heart. she always encourages him saying "good job buddy. good standing blakey!" (i'll get that on video).

here's the video. i should add the only reason the miley cyrus song (remember her?) is on here is because that's the song she made her debut to. and well, we all know my love for some pop music!

update

well, "busy season" has officially started and believe it or not i have already started taking photos for Christmas cards! avery's first week of school was awesome and she really loves it! she went through the carpool line with no problem. i spent so much time preparing her for someone else getting her out of the car, walking her in by herself, and i was so nervous. i forgot to prepare myself for someone other than me getting her out of the car and walking her in. there was no opportunity to hug and kiss her goodbye.

we had fun taking pictures while sitting in line.

then before you know it she was off. and she never looked back.

insert crying mom here. thankfully i had blake's first playgroup to go to! (excuse the only crappy picture i have of this exciting event)

with school and avery not napping. yes, you read that right. apparently she isn't napping. this makes for a cranky afternoon. thankfully bath time always makes these two happy. it also means early bedtime!

young life has also started and it's been such a blessing getting to know these sweet girls! i can't wait to really get to know them. i think mark's enjoying it too. :)

we've also played with some friends!

and there she is going to school today!

first day of school

i actually didn't think i'd have it all together so i took avery out at night in her "first day of school outfit". well, turns out i did have enough time for pictures. avery said "mom, that's enough pictures. i'm going to be late." if that tells you anything about her excitement for the new school year. she went into her classroom proudly and when i said bye avery she didn't even look back. totally sad about it but i'm happy she's independent. now that i've wasted half of b's nap time i better get to work!