Parker Elaine - 9 Months

I am in complete denial that my youngest daughter is a mere 3 months away from turning one. My oldest daughter was asking me if we were going to have a big party for Parker and I said yes. She then asked me if it was going to be bigger than the twins party... ummmm yes!! I'm even pushing her "party" off a few weeks so that my sister, my mom, and my in-laws can be here for it! But rest assured we will still have a small celebration for her on her actual Birthday.

Nine months of Parker Elaine and she has changed so much! She's an extremely happy baby learning new things each and every day. She loves to play and gets excited over the smallest of things. She still has the whole body excitement thing going on; she straightens her legs and arms and her face lights up each time she sees one of her sisters or any of her family members. She has started to become very vocal regarding knowing exactly what she wants and when. Don't even think about squeezing those chubby cheeks of hers or giving her too many kisses, she will let you know just how much she dislikes it. Charlotte is our repeat offender in the area, she always wants to kiss on Parker (and rightfully so... she is just THAT cute) but is just a bit aggressive! I like to say Charlotte does what we all are thinking... you know.. we just want to eat her up she is soooo stinkin' cute.

Parker loves to clap her hands and if she hears someone say Yay! Or hears others clapping she must join in and of course she's wearing the biggest smile ever. She can turn herself in a full circle while on her belly or on her butt. She likes to pull her sisters hair and anything else she can get her hands on. For this reason alone we cannot leave ANYTHING within her reach because she WILL grab it.

Parker has 3-4 bottles a day depending on if she decides to wake up in the middle of the night (you know for fun). But typically we stick to one in the morning around 6 then one around 12 and one at bedtime around 6:30. This girl loves to eat (something you've never heard before, I know) she has eaten everything I put in front of her. While she still doesn't have any teeth she is a master at mashing up food. She has had pancakes, chicken, green beans, mandarin oranges, eggs, and ground turkey, I am sure there is so much more to come this next month. As I said she still doesn't have any teeth, I am thinking there is one about to pop through any day now but hey I've said that for like the last 4 months... I guess I was wrong.

It is so crazy sometimes how much joy this little one brings to our lives, I find myself near tears at times because I just can't imagine life without her. We love you so so much Parker Elaine.. here is to month TEN!

Twenty Years

Twenty years ago today a boy asked me to be his girlfriend. He asked me this question at my 18th Birthday "party" in my Birthday card. Needless to say I said yes.. and the rest as they say is history... twenty years history to be exact. It almost feels like a dream to know that we have been together for this long, (maybe because you now know how old I am .. or I am going to be). We've been through A LOT together as boyfriend and girlfriend, an engaged couple, married, and as parents. We laughed, we've cried, we fought, we've made up, and we've loved. We have changed so very much over the last twenty years... I could even say we are two very different people. We've made it through a long distance relationship TWICE both spanning 3 years time. We've made it through miscarriages and losses. We've welcomed five wonderful daughters into this world ... more than I am sure either of us thought. We made it through a time where we didn't know if we would. We've struggled and we've thrived. We've been there for each other even if we didn't quite know how. There are far too many ups and downs we've faced along the way to list them all but I am one hundred precent certain they have made us the couple we are today.
I had the opportunity to photograph a large family on Thanksgiving... ordinarily something I wouldn't agree too but the woman's story about why she wanted the photos spoke to me and I said yes. The family was mom and dad with their older kids and then their kids.. nothing special just a large family photo. I was asked to photograph Mom and Dad (where it all started) watching them through my lens I couldn't believe the love I was seeing unfold right in front of me. The way she looked at him and how he smiled back at her... I couldn't help but tell them just how adorable they were. They told me they had been married 41 years.. tears literally filled my eyes. I was blown away, I knew immediately I wanted this with my husband when we are married 41 years.
I love the way love works the way it overcomes the way it grows. Love sees all, knows all, but yet still finds away. I can't wait for my girls to find the kind of love their father and I have.
Here is to twenty amazing years as a "couple" I am more excited than ever to see what the next twenty have in store for us.

It has been forever!

I feel like it has been forever since I used my little corner of the internet to ramble about my family shenanigans. Truth be told I have been super busy the last month with photo sessions for the holidays and it seems every time I opened my computer was to edit a photo session! As much as I missed sharing on here it has been a lot of fun this Holiday season meeting so many new and amazing families and their kids! I can't wait to get back into the swing of posting a few times a week again, but for now here is some of what I have been working on in the photography world!

And who could forget my girls 💓💓💓