Spotlight | Chelsea's Birthday

I just realized I never posted any photos of my children's summer birthdays. They enjoy being featured on my blog, too! We celebrate all three birthdays within six weeks... not well thought out on our part. Each have their own party, and will also have their own blog post. It's only fair, right? Our sweet, absolutely beautiful and now sassy girl turned nine years old already. I am still in denial.... where did the time go?

She planned another slumber party, similar to last year, but nine/ten year old girls have so much more drama! I wasn't expecting to overhear some of the things I did... more denial for me! Late night dancing was a big hit and it was really fun watching them, until ... more denial. The plan was to have the girls camp in the backyard, but the late afternoon rain dampened that idea. Instead we set up the tent in the family room and the girls talked [about boys more than I cared to hear], laughed and even cried [told you there was drama] into the wee morning hours.

Spotlight | My Boy

Alex is our middle child. He's sweet, athletic and can be very stubborn. His laugh is contagious, really. His smile warms my heart. He finally lost one of his top teeth and has pledged to give his tooth fairy money to Granny's cancer. I warned you he was sweet like that. He truly believes he's the best six year old soccer and basketball player in the world. It's not in my job description to tell him otherwise.

Back to School | 2009

Walk with Me, II

I have a photo I look last year on the first day of school. It's currently displayed in our home and when it came time to walk down to the bus stop this year, Chelsea thought it would be a good idea to walk in the same order of the original photo. I thought it was great when Alex pulled them forward and and turned his head just as he had the year before. The lack of sun didn't give that hazy feel, but I still love this. I'm certain looking back on these photos years later will bring back a surge of emotion. I am so lucky to me a mom and a photographer!

The school year is officially under way. The start of a new school year always makes me pause and reflect just how quickly our children are growing. It starts in the beginning of August, going through closets and dressers weeding out items they have outgrown. I tend to get emotional packing away favorite outfits while remembering how cute they looked in them. Please tell me I'm not the only mom to do this... ??

Chelsea is our big third grader this year! She absolutely loves school and learning. We had some differences in opinions when it came to new school clothes; she wanted fancy dresses [something you'd wear to a wedding] and tons of new shoes. I was simply trying to find something conservative and cute, which is harder than it should be for her age!

Alex is finally a first grader! I think he has high expectations after hearing all of Chelsea's stories, but she was also fortunate to have a fantastic first grade teacher [all of their teachers have been excellent!]. I am confident his teacher will be a good fit for him and I can't wait to watch him grow and soak in all there is to learn in first grade. He's not too excited about reading, but loves recess and making friends. He is our social butterfly and boy he's quite a comedian too.



Our baby, Elijah, is starting preschool. He is super excited about his new backpack and being a bog boy! His first day was a bit rough, but ended smoothly. Once he realized I actually left the building, he had a meltdown and cried 15-20 minutes. This transpired into half of the three year old class crying, amazing how that happens. At the end of his class, he was so happy to see me and his teacher said he was fine after calming down. He's still showing signs of separation anxiety, but we [yes, both of us!] are working on that.




One final quick shot all together. They are growing so fast! We are truly blessed they are our children.