Oh, brother!

With just the perfect picture frame in mind, I took the boys outside in the beautiful 70 degree sunshine for a fun brothers photoshoot this morning. They were adorable, sat still and smiled wide for the camera, patiently indulging my every pose and plea...ahem.

Oh wait...no, that was just my imagination. Scratch that dream mama! No doubt that photographing an almost 3 and 1 year old can be difficult, but is it much too much to ask for just ONE picture of these two handsome boys together? The hypothesis has been tearfully tested(ie Christmas pictures of 2012) and the conclusion is that yes, it is too tall an order for these two monkeys to deliver.

So, I've given wings to my great expectations. These not so perfect pictures will just have to do. They make me smile just the same. :-)

Sunday afternoon at the park

This warm winter isn't so bad, after all...

 

Handsome in Pink!

Yesterday we celebrated Bennett's 11 month birthday with a little FroYo and of course, a front yard photoshoot. Just as I imagined, my little Valentine is super adorable in pink! And might I add, quite the comedian.

Presenting the many faces of Bennett...

 

These last three pictures are my favorite and sum up this almost one year old's personality well. First, he is a smooth operator and boy can he pull one over me with those sweet eyes! Second, he is always on the go! Just last night I was telling Chris that we may have a daredevil on our hands. I love this last picture because it's simply spot on Bennett. 

You know how you can take some pictures of your kids that just do not look like your kids? Cameras are fantastic inventions and can do many great and terrible things(ie-double chins!). My goal as a mommy photographer is very simple. I want the lens of my camera to be my eyes and to capture my subjects as purely and plainly as they are in that moment.  So here we are, 11 months old, bright eyed with a pink polo on a beautiful day in our front yard. 

Happy 11 months B Bear!

Red, Yellow, Green-It's 2013!

Please forgive the title, I can hardly contain my transportation references from this boy world of mine. ;-)

Hello and welcome 2013! Over the past week or so, there has been a heaping amount of talk on New Years Resolutions. Call me jaded, but I've decided to respectfully decline in declaring any official resolutions. Confession- mine are usually made memories by March.

However, I can certainly appreciate a pause for self reflection and goal setting, and am happy that the start of a new year reminds us to do just that.

(Just one last Christmas picture-I had to squeeze it in!)

In the spirit of becoming more homeward oriented, I've made a few practical plans for home improvement and organization-all scribbled in the monthly margins of my new pink day planner. As a family, there is always room for improvement and I'm excited to grow as a wife and mother in this new year. Specifically, I'd like to figure out this whole meal planning thing and stick to our monthly grocery budget at least once in a blue moon-ha!

God willing, 2013 will be a full and fruitful year for our family. I pray that we would not be anxious for the worries of tomorrow but instead embrace and be thankful for the gifts of today.

I think I'll start with getting this whole potty training thing down...

 ...and then blog about it, because yes, I do plan on blogging more!