Two of a Kind

It's that time again...time for a session with my fav family of clients. :) Since they recently added another handsome guy to their group, we've been doing more frequent sessions to document his first year, much like we did with their first little guy. It's been fun getting to see them more often!

I always thought that the smiley-ness of the elder brother couldn't be topped. He smiles on demand and is always willing to pose. Little brother has decided, however, that he won't be shown up. He's out to make sure big brother doesn't steal all the glory when it comes to photogenic-ness. If being photogenic is in the genes, then somehow this family hit the jackpot with their adorable smiley sons. And they're not so bad themselves. ;)

Always love getting a chance to spend time with these guys. I really can't even consider it "work"...it's more like just hanging out with friends and their cute kiddos while I lug around my camera. I'm always grateful that they let me do it! :)

Bounce Baby

The other day I was plotting to find something fun and different to do with the hooligans. We had played in the pool till we were wrinkly, eaten too many cheez its, watched a movie, etc. I just happened to look at Groupon and found a deal for a local bouncy house place. (It's like a giant airplane hanger full of bouncy houses and screaming children.)

It was only about $16 for all 3 kids, and some form of dinner. I figured that I was more than willing to pay that kind of money for them to scream not in my ear and run not in my house and eat food I didn't have to fix. Fabulous.

It was a huge success. One day when I'm rich they want to go back. The only problem we had was with Jericho being extremely suspicious of the giant Batman bouncy house. He kept staring at it, and running back to grab my leg. I think it was just weird for him to see a person that much bigger than himself. ;)

The Terrorist

Recently Billy has started referring to Jericho as "the terrorist". Maybe sounds a bit harsh, but watch this clip and you'll get the point.

This one was all fun and games. Most of the time he sneaks up on his older siblings and steals items and runs away, hits them with something when they least expect it, turns off movies they are watching, etc. He thinks he's funny...and that's probably because me and his father can't keep from laughing at him. The older two have harassed him since his birth 18+ months ago, so I kinda feel like they've got a little terror coming to them.

Just Some J-Hawk

It's been a pretty uneventful week around here. Nothing too fancy going on. We've played in the pool, had a last visit with family (my sister, her husband, and new baby Judah) before they left for home, done some good running, haven't gotten much sleep...the usual. So no edge-of-your-seat blog post, just a few pictures of our silly baby J doing what he does best...keeping us entertained and busy.

Below is a picture of him snatching baby Judah's (freshly pumped) dinner. ;) He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that a bottle of milk might be for someone besides himself.

Here he is helping me foam roll after yesterday's run. And by help, I mean being completely in the way and ridiculously cute all at the same time. If he's awake when I get back from a run, he crawls all over me the entire time I'm stretching/rolling. It ends up being more of a wrestling match than getting any actual cooling down. ;)

And lastly, his father let him eat ketchup. Enough said. Every child we have, I diligently keep them from two things: syrup and ketchup. I mean, come on, you're asking for it when you give a kid something sticky or something bright red to smear all over themselves. I may let them ingest soda, gum, and sugar galore, but I'll be darned if they have syrup and ketchup. But every baby has managed to get ketchup from their daddy.

So another one bites the dust. Ah well, it was bound to happen eventually. I was just hoping it was after he moved out of my house. I'm still hiding the syrup, though. ;)

Mundaneday

Monday's are always kind of blah. We did get to sleep in a little bit, which was nice. But after a great weekend waking up to a big to-do list is always kind of a bummer. But so far today I've changed sheets, cleaned the house, scheduled check-ups for kiddos, etc. No run in there, so that also adds to the "blah". ;) But tomorrow morning it's calling my name.

We did get to do a lot of fun stuff this weekend, though. We went to a sister's All Star game...

Got to see a baby Judah Rose...

Took a lot of pictures of crepe myrtles... (I LOVE these things...I think I love how gutsy they seem, blooming in the middle of the summer heat like so few other plants in this area.)

Figured out how to curl our eyelashes...?

And took a few good naps...

Hope everyone else had a great weekend! We are looking forward to making as much of a good, fun mess of this week as possible. Messes are always doable around here, so I figure if I plan on it I won't be surprised. ;)

Just Stop It

I occasionally lose my mind and try to take a real picture of all three of the kids at once. Not just with my ever present iPhone. It's always a hair-pulling event. After I took this shot of the three, I decided to go back and look at some from this time last year. Big mistake.

Looking at how much they've grown in a year always leaves me weepy. Jericho was big then, and he's only gotten bigger. He looks bigger than Tirzah in this year's picture. He's really not quite there yet, but I don't think it will be long before he's looking down that cute nose of his at his sister. 

I love these babies so much, and go back and forth between wanting to send them off to college (in my many moments of exhaustion) and tell them to just stop it with the growing up. But when it comes down to it, I'm just so thankful to be the one who gets to daily witness these little people getting bigger and better.

Libby Hill Love Story

We really love the church that we go to. So many great people, who are great at being a community that cares about each other and the city we live in. The last few years getting to know these people has been a great experience for us, and we are looking forward to more. That said, church is where we met this great couple who I had the honor of doing an engagement session for. 

 Both of these guys are on the worship team, and it's been neat to see their relationship grow. They are an awesome couple, and it was so much fun to get to know them a little bit better at their engagement session. I learned that Matt wanted to have a petting zoo at their wedding and dress up like Harry Potter for the e-sesh, but Chyrelle put her foot down. ;) Kidding...I think? I also learned that Chyrelle is a master at keeping a straight face, and despite Matt's best efforts managed to not fall victim to his plots to make her laugh...much.

These guys were a lot of fun to shoot, and managed to avoid the "awkwards" that happen at many an engagement sesh. (We only had a few episodes of "I'm not sure what to do with my hands"...and that was mostly just for laughs.) We shot mostly at a local park (Libby Hill) with a gorgeous view of the city, and lots of great afternoon light. It was pretty sweltering hot, and they handled the heat beautifully. I am always grateful that I'm not in front of the camera trying to look good when I shoot during the summer, but these guys pulled it off.

I'm so excited for them, and thankful that they let me and my sister Anna (who also helped with this session) be a part of photo-journaling their story. We wish them the best, and look forward to watching their relationship grow stronger through the years!

Black-Eyed Baby

Sad baby got his first "black eye" this last weekend. He doesn't lose a lot of fights, but this time he lost a fight with the marble coffee table. He's a tough cookie though...he was more annoyed with me restraining him to put ice on it than he was with face-planting into a table. ;) A black eye doesn't look good on everyone, but I think he pulls it off pretty well.

Didn't see that coming...

Kinda tired. Feeling like I should blog. Don't have anything to say, even though there's always something ridiculous happening. Like this: 

Or yesterday when Tirzah got a splinter in her heel, and when told by Merrick not to walk on it, said: "Yeah. I'll just twinkle toes."

Or that I had to force-feed Jericho two meals yesterday because some days he just decides not to eat. How does a baby stay that huge and refuse to eat as often as he does? (But then other days, he will eat two pieces of pizza and a breadstick for dinner.)

Or that the hubby's new job is S-T-R-E-S-S-I-N-G me out...big time. I feel like I need a serious vacation. Alone. With no way for anyone to get in touch with me at all. Even by sending carrier pigeons. Silence...ahhhhh.

Or that every time I step outside I get eaten by mosquitoes. Ok, that's really not that big of a deal, but my legs are itching and I keep having to stop typing so I figured I would just throw that out there.

Or how I might have just gotten caught eating cookie dough out of the tub, and told the kids that it's bad for their teeth so they won't make me share. (They are terrified of getting "green teeth"...I'm not gonna lie and say I don't use this fear for my own benefit occasionally.)

This blog was supposed to just be a few pretty pictures of crepe myrtles, my apologies. Carry on. ;)

Tizzy Turns 4

I did one of these "birthday interviews" with Merrick last year, and thought it would be fun to see how it would go with Tirzah. Today is her 4th birthday (what the HECK?), and today is all about Tay-Shae...but come to think of it, in our world that's everyday. ;) Tizzy the warrior princess takes no grief off of anyone. She wears a tiara while body slamming little and big brothers alike. She is the sister in the middle of a brother sandwich, and adds sugar (and a whole lotta spice) to our lives.

1. How old are you? Four!

2. Who is your best friend? Merrick. (Merrick pipes in and says..."I have no socks on." Um. Ok.)

3. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with my new teacups.

4. What is your favorite color? Purple.

5. What is your favorite food? Cupcake.

6. What do you like to do with your family? Play. Play, um, hmmm...I love to hug them.

7. What is your favorite toy? Tinkerbell. 

8. What do you want to be when you grow up? A parent. (Wow...I have no idea where that came from.)

9. What makes you happy? When you give me kisses. (I die.)

10. What makes you sad? When I get hurt, like when I trip on sidewalks. (This happens frequently.)

11. What is your favorite show to watch? American Ninja Warrior. (What was I saying about the tiara and body slamming...?)

12. What is your favorite book? Ariel.

13. What do you love to learn about? Jesus at church.

14. What was the best part of your birthday? Not looking at my balloons. (We hung surprise balloons up for her this morning, so I think she meant she liked being surprised? ;)

15. Where do you like to go? To the park, where I play on the swings and the slide.

16. Who is your teacher? Charlene. She is at the gym. And Miss Katie. But She went out of town forever and ever. 

17. What is your favorite treat? Cake.

18. What do you think about before you fall asleep? I think about...Jesus. I think about Him because He's in heaven...and He's so handsome.

19. If you could meet someone who would it be? I would meet Jesus. (This girl.)

20. What was your favorite birthday present? My cupcakes for breakfast. 

We are so undeserving of the gift of this crazy beautiful spunky girl, and although I joke and say she's going to make me grey-haired, I really can't wait to see the amazing woman she turns into. She is strong-spirited, quick-witted, wild-haired, and deep-hearted...and I couldn't be more proud of her. I'm so aware, as always, that even though it's a day all about her and that first time we saw her precious chubby cheeks and adorably dimpled chin, that we've been given a gift beyond compare. We love you, Tirzah Shae!

Judah Rose

I always love getting to do birth photography. This particular time was even more special since it was my little sister's first baby, and my first niece (on my side of the family)!

She did a fantastic job. She was induced, but little girl came surprisingly fast anyway. We almost missed it! We (my mom and I) got there before my "babysitters" arrived, and were thinking one of us would have to sit it out.

My sister (and her nurses) told them to come on in. I was surprised they let them in, and surprised at how well they did. They honestly didn't really know what was going on. (Amanda was really calm.) and watched a movie on the iPhone most of the time. When my other sisters arrived and mom took them out to them, I looked up and realized they were gone, and asked where they were. The nurse joked: "Oh they are probably off assisting another delivery."

Baby Judah Rose is a gorgeous little miracle, with an awesome name, and we are glad we were able to be a part of her birth! She was a little lady, weighing in at 6lbs 8oz, and 19in, but girl can let out a screech like a pterodactyl. It's super cute now, but probably won't be in a few weeks at 3 am. ;)

We are all so thrilled that she is a part of our family, and are grateful that God blessed us with yet another little life to fill up our hearts. Congrats Amanda and Jonathan!

(Kiddie) Poolside

The kiddos love to swim. Well, none of them actually "swim". As alluded to in my last post, Jericho thinks he can swim. (He cannot.) The other two do like to jump in, as long as they know the bottom isn't too far away. ;) We are members at the Y, and they have an indoor pool. But during the summer it's just not the same. The only outdoor pool at our local YMCA's is about 30 minutes away. We do make the trek as often as we can, but I decided I would save a little gas money and get a blow up pool for the backyard.

Yes, we did used to have a porch pool. The kids popped it. I'm hoping this one doesn't suffer the same fate. Since Merrick has already attempted jumping off the porch rail into the pool, (when I had it in the yard below the deck) I'm not holding my breath on that one. He was informed that is NOT allowed, and after I moved it up onto the deck I caught him jumping off the rail into the pool. Is anyone surprised? No. At the rate he is displacing water I'm going to be the highest paying costumer for water in the county.

This one is a good bit bigger, big enough for Jericho to face-plant in, his favorite swimming stroke, and hopefully a big more sturdy. It's even big enough for me to get in and take an "ice-bath" after a hot run. (It really isn't all that cold, but it felt good on the legs anyway.) I took a few minutes to sit in it while the kids were napping the other day, cool off my post-run legs, get some sun, and read my kindle.

When Tirzah got up from her nap she tried relaxing in the pool with one of her books, that quickly became a soggy mess. (They spy on me from their window if I'm ever out in the yard while they are napping...I have no privacy.) She just didn't understand how it worked for me and not her. But I assured her that one day when she's old enough to have 3 children, she will be a master at never doing just one thing at a time. ;)