I did a “kindergarten session” with Avery in hopes that it would deter me from going too kindergarten paparazzi on her first day… but it didn’t really.

and some from her first day…

It is so overwhelming to me look at how time flies… these were Weston’s three year old photos that I took of him on our trip to Colorado in November.  My baby boy isn’t a baby anymore, he wants my help so little these days… not even to get dressed and put on his shoes. tear.  I try to look on the bright side of this new independence and embrace his growing sense of humor, how he is eager to make me laugh and show off  his developing sport skills… but it is hard to let go of that baby!  So I’ll admit that my heart feels happy on the rare occasion that he asks me to carry him, or when he comes to ask me for help… I know I have to let go of him someday so that he can be a strong independent man- thankfully just not yet…

I can’t tell you how many photos I got of this face…And speaking of growing up… this is my niece Allyson, turning 15 this year!! Wow, to think I first met her when she was 4- my own daughter’s age.  In a few more years she’ll be off to college somewhere… can I go cry now?  maybe I’m just all emotional since I turn thirty this month… and feeling very grown up myself  ;)

I wish you a very happy holiday season and an amazing 2010!

I hope everyone has a very happy Valentine’s day!  and I’ll leave with this little piece of wisdom from the mouth of a 3 year old…

as Avery and I were in the car driving home one night, she spotted a house with Christmas lights up… yes… this happened this month.  She of course is “Look mommy!!!! They still have their Christmas lights up!!!”  then she thinks for a minute and says “they must not have gotten their presents yet.”   So Santa… PLEASE bring those poor people their presents already so they can take down their lights

www.idcphotography.com

They were kind enough to invite me to tag along for a work week in the life of Maura and Bruce… I’m so excited to learn from such amazing artists.  I will admit I’m a tad bit anxious about leaving my kids for a week… it’s not that I’m nervous about their well-being because Patrick is an amazing Dad.  Is there such thing as separation anxiety for moms ?!?

So I’m not sure what my access to internet will be- so this may be it until next week… when I’ll have a tonof images to catch you up on! 

So this has been my absolute favorite fall session thus far… sorry… it’s my own kids-  they trump all other images in my eyes because they are my own

So we started out on the playground… I loved the light behind Weston on the slide

my sweet smiling daughter Avery

this may be my most favorite picture of Weston ever

and then we went on a hike where Avery made a huge collection of yellow leaves

See ya when I get back!

We were carving our Halloween pumpkins.  The kids although very excited at the start of this venture became very hesitant once their pumpkins had holes in them and their gooey, stringy, smelling funny guts were exposed.  It took several minutes of encouragement to get them to even touch the slimy seeds much less actually put their hands inside!  

So finally after watching mommy and getting used to the strange insides of the pumpkin- Avery was having fun and going to town with her little scraper, stirring around inside her pumpkin… then this happened…

 The slimy pumpkin seeds were okay while they were in her pumpkin… or a little on her hands… but jumping out and hitting her in the head!!! and then sticking!!!  From the look on her face I thought she was about to have a melt down…

But I guess when she saw that mommy and daddy found this very funny she decided against a melt down… and her brother was more than willing to grab the seed off her head

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

Here he is “enjoying” a birthday hug from his sister and showing off his fireman hat!  Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate his special day!

At 2:55pm that day she came into the world, and they put this tiny bundle into my arms for a minute… but as her face slowly turned more and more purple they promptly took her back and removed her from the room.  She was just a bit too early and needed some help with her suck, swallow, breath reflex.  So instead of having my baby in my room with me she was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  We truly were the lucky ones there… our baby had made it so much farther in the womb than so many of the other babies… our baby was surely going to be okay, some of the others in there were not.  

My husband promptly went down to the gift shop and bought our tiny daughter her first horse… we named him Trigger.  When we had to walk away and leave our daughter connected to all those tubes and wires, Trigger stayed there with her… we liked to think of him as her guardian. 

Since then Trigger has been a member of our family… sleeping with Avery every night, going with her every where, including to her new school to be her “guardian” during naptime.  So when one night of searching for Trigger for bedtime turned into two days of searching for Trigger… I started to get worried.

I retraced some steps and called a restaurant we had been to the night Trigger disappeared.  The hostess answered, and yes!  She had seen what looked like a stuffed animal in the parking lot, but someone had picked it up and didn’t turn it in to them.  So I frantically called all the other places in that strip to see if someone had turned it in at another place… nope.  Then the reality set in that he was gone, and as I relived those moments in my head that Trigger had been a part of… I cried.  I take that back… I bawled… for hours.  I was a wreck- so much worse than my daughter who kept saying we’d find him, but I knew the truth that this little hopeful girl didn’t… Trigger was gone.  

I thought about putting up flier, offering a huge reward, and yes we even put him as “lost” on Craig’s List.

A few days later the phone rang, my husband answered and soon was standing in front of me on the phone smiling and giving me a thumbs up… someone had turned him in!!!  Trigger was found!!! I think I cried again

Is anyone as crazy as me?  would you offer a reward for your kids lost stuffed animal?

Weston was always the better sleeper of our two… he’d go to bed early, easy and sleep through the night.  But recently he was crying as we laid him down, crying in the middle of night, and then it happened… he climbed out of his crib and came downstairs to our bed.  Now although he was a good sleeper, he’s not a good sleep companion- he kicks, hits, squirms, and steamrolls.  So we decided that with these sleep habits he must feel very cramped in his crib and so it was time… time for a big boy bed.  

We opted for the mattress on the floor as we had done with his sister.  This was his first reaction… think he was ready?

Then he did this… check out that air!!!

Then he snuggled into his pillows… 

He’s very proud of his big boy bed and does really well!  But it does make his mommy sad to not have a crib baby anymore- and he’s not even two!  Why do they grow up so fast?!?