My three

I'm glad I have these three in my life. As crazy as they make it... they hold me together in SO many ways. I'm grateful for this opportunity I'm having to be a mom. (Though I am constantly messing it up!)

Photo Overload

Way back in November Daph turned one. Then finally in January I asked Kim to take Daphne's 1 year photos. Now that it's April I am FINALLY posting them. 

Makiah came along and we got some cute valentine/sister photos. I thought about bringing Evan... but I didn't. He had school... blah blah blah. I should have just brought him along, but I didn't. Oh well, it's fun to have sister photos :)

I love these turned out! The ruffle, all the white, pretty light, adorable chair... cutest baby ever. Love them. Love her.

Candid.

The other night I took my kids to a field to get their photos taken. End result... a handful of good shots, massive mosquito bites on all of us (especially Makiah and Dallas), unhappy kids and everyone begging to go home. It was quick, not so fun and... well...  fine I guess.

Then tonight we were outside and the kids were having fun playing around. Surprisingly they weren't fighting and just enjoying themselves. The weather has been perfect lately, September is the best month :) I am so glad I thought to get my camera out. Lately I make excuses not to get my camera out and I haven't been taking the time to take snapshots of my kids. I have to say, even though this was unplanned it was soooo much more enjoyable than the other shoot with them the other night. And I love the photos so much.

Evan ran inside and got the toy doctor kit and band aids when Makiah scrapped her toe...

Look how tall Evan looks in this picture, he is growing up on me...

I can't get enough of this photo. Makiah's cute little pose just makes it so perfect. This one might just win a spot on my wall. I know I will especially love it in a few years when they are all grown up and things are different. They are so little. Oh I love this one...

Daphne isn't walking yet, but she can stand and push things around. She took 3 steps the other day, but hasn't since. She is so close! I really can't wait till she figures it out. Tonight she wanted to be right there beside the kids, but she couldn't keep up and it must hurt to crawl on the cement! She is a busy little baby, I really love it. 

Evan is getting used to his new schedule at school. He loves going and he is getting better at coming home happy. Some days are better than others. Makiah misses him so much while he is gone, but she is enjoying her time alone as well. It seem like she is getting along so well with Daphne, it really is cute. She talks to her with a sweet little voice (you know the voice girls use when they talk to babies? That voice) and she takes such good care of her.

Right now our battle is bed time. The kids all share a room and it's been hard. They are getting into a routine though, and they are learning to do what they need to... so they don't wake up the baby. Dallas and I find that they do so much better if we go in their room with them at bed time and just lay down with each of them for one minute. Then we can usually leave without them throwing a fit (and waking up the baby). It's a work in progress. One day we'll have a house... with more than two bedrooms :)

Life is good. I especially want this fall to just go slow... I love this time of year and I am not ready for a long cold winter. I am loving every minute I can get outside right now.

Motherhood is...

Hard.

I feel like I am living two different lives in one. My first life wakes up early. Feeds the baby, changes the baby, plays with the baby, sleeps a little if possible, reads, talks to Dallas and sends him off to work. Then I put the baby down for a nap... my second life begins as my two kids wake up around 8:30. I feed them, dress them and get them ready for wherever it is we need to go that day. Then, when the baby wakes, I combine the two lives into one. The day is crazy though. Because now my two lives are all blended into one: being a mom of a demanding baby and being the mom of two young children. Trying to get things done all at once (with a baby on my hip).... cooking, cleaning, driving, shopping, planning, working out, diaper changing, feeding, showering (if I am lucky), disciplining, organizing, doing laundry, playing with kids, and trying to keep up with all the things I should be doing on top of all the day to day stuff (phone calls, scheduling appointments, reading scriptures, visiting friends, teaching my kids, taking photos of my kids, recording memories, etc.. etc... etc.). My only relief is nap time and bed time. But even then I am not done. I am never done. Because when one life slows down, the other speeds up. It's a vicious cycle.

I hit a point where I can't take it anymore. But I put on a face and pretend that I can. The only person who knows I am falling apart at the seams is Dallas. Poor Dallas... because all the weight that was on my shoulders gets shifted to his.

Being a mom is hard. It's the plain, honest truth. At the end of the day I don't know how else to describe it. But when I wake up in the morning, I do it again. Because it's what I want. Truly it is, I just have to keep reminding myself that it is all worth it. My three crazy, adorable, fun, loving, wonderful children are worth it and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This photo is for my 12 for 2012 project. The theme for May is: Motherhood is... The technique is: self portrait. This really isn't a portrait of myself, but I am in the photo :) It's more of my perspective, my view on things as a mom of young children. I really like how it turned out. I only wish Makiah would have been it the photo... but that's ok, I still love it.

More of Daphne

Sooo... I should have had this photo taken weeks ago and I should have posted it 10 days ago, after Dallas took it for me. But I didn't. I finally got around to editing and organizing my personal photos, so hopefully I'll be posting some more of what has been going on around here. 

I think the main reason I didn't post these right away was because I didn't like them :( We put up two bookshelves along my white wall in my room where I usually take these photos. I could either move the shelves... or find a new spot in my house. Let's just say, I wasn't too happy with the options I had. The light is just different from my room and I want the photos to all look similar. (Also, I needed a hair cut and my hair just doesn't look so good in this shot.) Okay, I am done complaining... I think. I do like these photos though, Daphne is just too cute.

6 months

3 months

Newborn