Chalk It Up To...

I lit a fire under myself from yesterday's long overdue post.  This morning as I was prepping my gear for today's wedding and bouncing back and forth from inside to out, I grabbed a camera and documented the fun.

Today is THE most gorgeous day I've seen since winter hit.  And now that it's officially spring, I wish days like these would continue through the whole summer (and only rain on Wednesdays from 10am-3pm.  I think that'd be sufficient, don't you?)


A birds nest Wilder has been keeping tabs on since he discovered it a few days ago.  This is the tree he climbs about 20 times a day.  I keep trying to tell him the story of how his Grandma Jane got her head pecked by a mama Robin when she unwittingly got too close to a nest one summer in her yard in Anchorage, AK, but all warning is falling on deaf ears.  He continues to climb up and peer inside.


He wants to look at the pictures, not have them taken of him, apparently.  What's rather cute now is that Wilder will come to me and say, "Mama, you go to work?  You take the pictures?"  He loves to look at the photos, but isn't super keen on being part of the process.

And you've obviously noticed the turquoise nail polish (it's on his toes, too) and ultra small Halloween get up.  Brian was weeding through the kids clothing and Wilder's Halloween outfit from 2 years ago was in Waverley's bin.  It struck a cord and now Wilder refuses to wear anything else.  He looks like he ought to be in a bizarre ballet performance.  I'd call it "Havoc Reeked By Terrifying Toddlers."  Or maybe that'd just be the headlines once he reaches world domination.  Next year.


You're going to see multiples of this moment because, let's face it, she's cute.  Waverley trying to hit a low branch with an amazingly oversized twig Wilder broke off yesterday.


The ridiculousness of Wilder's outfit amazes me.  And makes me really, really happy.




We have no doubts about his masculinity.  He may ride a pastel Big Wheel, but he'll conquer China by Christmas.  And that's just so he can have all the Thomas the Tank Engine toys he wants.






It's Aht, Dahling.








Thus defines the relationship between them.  What's his is his, what's hers is his.  Gimme that.


Bikecycles.


Our beautiful pear trees.  That don't produce pears.  Why are they even called pear trees if they are never supposed to make fruit?  I don't get it.

Springing Forward

Oh, I certainly don't need to say it's been awhile.  But I did, because it has.  And these photos are, unfortunately, old -but new to the blog, so there you go.
What's been going on?  Work, ridiculously crazy children (per usual,) more family time than in previous months (and the past two years.)
Okay, at this very moment Wilder is outside peeing in a cup and now just dumped the contents into the water play table we just got the kids.  I'll be back in a sec.



So, yeah.  Back now; the water play table is freshly filled, dinner is cooking in the background and "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" holds Wilder in rapt attention.
These photos were from earlier this year on a funday morning I had with the kidlets.




A little too precious.  Wilder and Waverley are equal parts nemesis and comrades.  They are also in tight cahoots with the master plan of driving Brian and I totally bonkers.  Let's hope that's just a phase -but I bet not.


Tonight's entertainment, brought to us by the almighty Netflix (praise be to its creators,) has now changed to a very specific episode of Blues Clues.  It takes skill to decipher Wilder's requests -this one he presented as "Blues Clues Opposites."  The title is something like "The Wrong Shirt," and thankfully Brian has become so engrossed in kid culture and Wilder-ese he was able to steer me to the correct episode.  Wilder's top favorite things these days are climbing trees, riding his bike, cartoons: Transformers, He-Man, Blues Clues, and Curious George, stacking blocks and terrorizing Waverley and the dog.  Loves all of the above.




This little lady loves to brush my hair.  Several times a day she commands me upstairs and commences the funniest, sweetest little ritual.  I sit on a stool, she sits on my bathroom counter, pulls out various small bottles of toiletries, brushes and combs and spends about 5 minutes patting my head with all of them.  "Bwush hair, bwush hair!"

She also loves pretending to mix things -fake pouring ingredients into cups and bowls and mixing them about.  I am amazed and rather over the moon watching her pretend all on her own.  And we often have "tea parties" and "talk on the phone."

























Brian's training for the Louisville, KY IronMan at the end of August and he's been making leaps and bounds as he conquers his training goals.  His stamina and dedication are a wonder to behold.  He excels at being a stay at home dad and the balance we've been creating between work and family seems to finally be on track.  I never imagined we'd have this lifestyle, but *wow* it's certainly working out.

Wedding Season has officially begun in Texas and I'll be shooting weddings, engagement portraits, bridal portraits and boudoir sessions like crazy.  I'm finally at the point where I have to turn down various types of non-wedding related photography so I can spend the time and attention required on my couples -and I'm also finally taking significant time off to be with the family.  I've loved having a little bit of a life again and getting to enjoy my children without feeling guilty for not constantly working.

It's always a balancing act, isn't it?