It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Summer!!!

We've had a relatively mild Spring this year in Thatcher. It's really been quite nice. A few days this past week, we've really got a taste of the Summer heat though! I'm going to try and post more this next month. My mom and sister Emily are in Europe for a month, so I won't be able to talk to them for a whole month! They will have internet access though, and I know my mom would probably go crazy with out updates on my boys for a whole month! I'm excited that now maybe my mom will start looking at my blog finally! I love you mom!

"Bugging my little brother? -Who me? -No! Never! Just look at my sweet little angel face!"

I made a deal with Ty that I would let him do whatever he wants with Luke's hair once I finished his 3-year pictures. So off came the hair! I hope Ty won't get upset that I'm sharing this, but after he buzzed Luke's hair Ty said to me "I kind of feel bad about cutting his hair - Almost like I've robbed him of his beauty." This totally shocked me that he said that! Oh well! The hair is nice for Summer, and it will grow fast.

The first cut!

After

Luke checking out his new hair. It sure feels good!

Those of you that know me well, know that my favorite part about Summer is the popsicles and snow cones. I'm probably a bad mom for giving Grady popsicles so young, but they just make him so happy!

Notice the tupperware duct taped onto the ambulence? Luke was getting so frusterated that his trains would not stay on top of the ambulence, because he wanted to take his trains for a ride on the ambulence. I came up with this ingenious solution! I was pretty proud of my mothering on this one!

In September or October I bought this splash mat. I spent $3 on it, and justified my spending that I would give it to Grady for his 1st birthday. (Am I the only one out there that has to justify a $3 purchase?!) It's been so warm that I gave in and opened it early, mostly because I didn't want to go through the hassle of blowing up our inflatable pool. Luke absolutely loves it, but Grady- not so much. Luke says to me all day " I want to go play splash map".

In other news, the Safford pool opened on Friday. I was so excited, because I've planned to spend my whole Summer there. We were there just minutes after it opened. We weren't there but a few minutes before Grady started having a bad allergic reaction. Not life threatening or anything, but he immediately broke out in a rash on his face, his eyes got really red and puffy and watery, and his little nose was red and running. I called my dad, a doctor. He said it was probably an allergic reaction to the chlorine or pollen that had fallen on the water, and told me to wash him off, give him some Benadryl if I wanted, and that he'd be better in a few hours. Grady was pretty miserable for the next couple of hours until he fell asleep and his symptoms slowly disappeared. I'm pretty worried that this might happen every time I take him to a pool. He's gone swimming before twice, and has worn this sunscreen before once without any reactions. Hopefully, it won't happen again!

Meet Luke

Luke is 3.

He likes to play cars and trains.

It's a sure bet, that if he's awake his mouth is moving!

He loves making up words.

He loves to call everyone he meets "Chicken Boy" then laughs hysterically.

To date, he has never refused a popsicle.

His favorite people in the world are mom & dad.

He is cautious and sensitive.

I love this kid!

These are his 3 year photos that I took. I feel like I've learned a lot lately about how to photograph my own kids, but I know I still have a lot a lot of room for improvement. I've been trying to embrace my surroundings, and all these photos were taken within walking distance of our house. I have way too many favorite, and these only represent 1/2 of them! This kid is so much fun for me to photograph. I've been taking pictures of him since the day he was born, and I don't think he has ever given me the same facial expression twice in three years! He just looks like such a different kid from picture to picture, but they are all faces I know and recognize. As always, feel free to critique! Isn't this kid just adorable?!!

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In these next two he really reminds me of my brother Jeffrey.

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I have no idea where this facial expression came from! I laughed out loud when I saw it upload on my computer!

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Ha Ha! Okay, this one is just for fun!

Boys

These are my friend Britni's oldest two kids that I did a quick photo session for. These boys were so fun and I just loved their freckled faces! Seeing these two together gave me a little glimpse into possibly my future with my little boys.

I tried some funky processing on this last image. The first one is how it would usually look, and the second one is my funky edit. I kind of like it. What do you think?

Then & Now ... and some chicken

Then
(Me, Anne, and Savannah)

Now

Savannah and I were BFs in high school and roommates in college. Back then our priorities were boys, having fun, and school. Now we each have 2 kids and live across the country from each other! When she came up to visit her parents, nothing could keep me from coming up to see her. While it is definitely harder trying to carry on a conversation when there are 4 kids running/crawling around and calling us mom, we had a great time just hanging out again! We probably have a lot in common now than we did in high school. This is kind of crazy, but I am 1 month older than Savannah, Luke is 1 month older than her oldest, and Grady is 1 month older than her baby! I actually think our baby's look quite a bit alike too.

Savannah's little girl Rhylan. This picture just puts a smile on my face!

Our little boys, and no we did not coordinate their outfits beforehand!

Sav and I. We were going for cheesy on this first one, and I think we totally nailed it!

In other news, I canned chicken for the first time this week with my friend Amy! I know, a lot of you are most likely quite shocked that I had never done it before, but I am pretty proud of myself. Just call me Betty, Betty Crocker that is! :) Thanks Amy!

Motherhood

My mom & me on my blessing day

My grandmother always hated Mother's Day. She hated going to church and hearing all the talks about how perfect and wonderful other mothers were. Mother's Day made her feel inadequate. But there are no perfect mothers out there. Every mother is different and every child is different. All have faults. Sometimes we as mothers can be too hard on ourselves. We carry around too much "mother's guilt". There is always something we could have done better. All we can ever do is try our best, and know that we will make mistakes. I just want all you mothers out there to know that I think that you are great mothers and great examples to me. So, for one day, please forgive yourselves for not scrubbing the toilet or for loosing your patience with your child, and just enjoy the day. I know you all deserve it!

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to my mom. She sacrificed so much for me, and still does so much for me. She's smart. She never told me what to do, because she knew that would never work. She taught me everything by example. She taught me how to eat healthy, the importance of prayer and scripture study, and not to judge others all through her example. Through her subtle ways, she also instilled a great deal of confidence in all her children. Did you know that I could have been a doctor, or a lawyer, or even President of the United States? My mom did. She has always believed in me and supported me. Even now, as I am a mother myself, my mother is always tells me that I am doing a wonderful job at being a wife and mother. She tells me that I am doing a much better job than she ever did, but I know that isn't true. That's just the "mother's guilt" talking. I just hope that one day I'll be half as good of a mother as she has always been. Of course my mom wasn't perfect, but she was the perfect mother for me. I love you mom!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Happy Birthday Luke!

I love this picture with the tear rolling down his cheek! Luke turned 3 this week. I seriously can't believe he is three. He has grown up so much lately. He had a great fun day filled with lots of new toys, family, and sweets. When asked how old he is he'll hold up three fingers and say "10 months". Ty asked him how this next year is going to be. Luke replied, "I think it's going to be a quiet year." One can only hope!