the cutest pumpkin i've ever seen! more to come! :)

"from the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." john 1:16

as my sweet kiddos are soundly sleeping in their own beds, feeling safe and comforted, the sad truth is some are not. as i just hopped on the internet to get an update on a new little baby that was just born and isn't at home with his mom and dad. he's not even in his hometown. he's in a hospital awaiting surgery. and his  new big sibling is at home, not loving on his new little baby. i can't imagine the feeling, but yet this mother who should have all the anger in the world is going through this so gracefully and with so much faith. this week she has inspired me. so, if anyone actually reads this, maybe take a minute to say a quick prayer for all the babies out there who might be fighting a little harder. and pray for quick recoveries. and pray for peace for those families. 

thank you God for these healthy and loving children you have blessed us with!  

14 months.

well, in real updates. b is still walking/crawling! he'll be 14 months tomorrow! he's started to really walk more than crawl so i know it won't be long. i tried to document it as best i could one handed. i'm trying to embrace this stage. you know, where they grab onto your pants and try to pull them down. but, only when you are actually trying to do something like cook dinner. :) like i said. i'm TRYING to embrace it! he also chats. all.day.long. anytime you ask him a question he says "YEAH!". it's pretty funny! or he says uh huh. nice, i know. he used to actually say yes. his favorite time of the time day is still bath time. 

he loves to hold your hand and walk. 

but he still crawls. 

he loves utensils. 

he still adores his sister. i think they played for an hour together in the playroom while i cleaned the kitchen. i tried to get something done instead of hiding behind the wall and spy on them. 

miss avery usually wakes up before b. but occasionally he does. 

he even got to see daddy in the morning before he left for work! 

and the open mouth kisses. i LOVE them. i think daddy has other feelings about them. but i just can't get enough. his whole mouth opens and just slobbers all of your mouth. and somehow it is the.sweetest.thing.ever. 

and we can't forget the big girl! she has quite the personality these days. i have no idea where it comes from. and she loves to run! i really have no idea where this came from. we went out for a walk today and she was not listening so i threatened to make her walk. well, the gladly hoped out in her leotard and barefoot. once she was out there was no stopping her. she literally ran over a mile and when i asked about 20 times to stop she just kept saying go faster mommy. pump your arms. crazy kid! 

and some videos of her running. and just a conversation before she didn't we needed to run. i have NO idea where she comes up with this stuff!

perfection. i don't think it exists here on earth. but, sometimes i try to attain it. or atleast pretend like everything is perfect. it's humbling to be reminded that we don't have to be perfect. it's the reason i always make sure little miss' clothes are always matching when she goes to school. her hair is always done. her lunch more balanced than it is at home sometimes. (although i struggle packing a school lunch). this time of year is always an eye opener for me. it's my "busy season". when i do more sessions in two months than i do the rest of the year. when i lean most on mark to care for the kids on the weekends. when my house is a complete wreck on any given day of the week. except friday mornings of course. when we have breakfast with the high school girls at our house. :) sunday nights are the decompress days. mondays are gladly welcomed. it means time with my kiddos. walks, the park, just lounging around. i never make plans on mondays and i love that i can do that. during this time of year it's also in the late hours of the night when i'm editing and everyone else is sound asleep when i can think. when my music is playing and i'm culling through photos. i sometimes take a "break" and open up a few personal photos. i opened up a handful earlier in the week and picked maybe one or to "keep". i decided to open them up again and realized there were more keepers than i thought. i deemed them trash worthy because to me they weren't perfect. the focus a bit soft. the lighting just a little off. but after a long weekend of working those sweet moments captured might actually be perfect to me. and that man. that man. the most wonderful daddy in the world. who was my hero today. i love him. i love these kiddos. 

these pictures are from last week. when we were living in teething hell. he was miserable. i mean miserable. aunt allison's sister got married and we went down to austin! it was so incredibly beautiful. and i was honored to take pictures! hopefully i'll get a blog post on them this week too! anyways, i'm sure we're about to enter it again as only the top two made their appearance but the others are coming! 

oh the tired eyes. but to say i didn't enjoy all the cuddles and naps in my arms would be a lie. :)

and i don't even know how this happened but i didn't even go through blake's 6 month pictures!!! remember when that chubby guy was in the 60 or 70th for weight?

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!