When Did My Baby Grow Up???

I can't believe how big my little girl is getting. Today is her first day of school and I am a bit saddened as she starts this new journey in her life. She misses the kindergarten cut-off by a month, but did qualify for a program called Kindersteps, which is basically half-day kindergarten for those kids that barely miss the cut-off. So she is at a "real" school now and is gone every afternoon. Briggy sleeps every afternoon so I will get a few hours to myself everyday. YEAH!!!

Before school today I, of course, had to take a few pictures to document this milestone. She was excited to get her picture taken because she felt SO big. Man, doesn't she just look so old in these pictures? Here is my little beauty...





She was so excited to go to school, but once we got there the nerves kicked in. She looks SO nervous walking down the hallway at school. All of sudden she looked like my baby that I remember, not big enough to be walking down the huge hallways, but once she met her teacher and found her seat in class she went right to work. I wanted to shed a tear, but I was strong :).

SALE

For all of you photographers out there, check out my design blog for a HUGE sale!

ETA: Sale has ended. Thanks to everyone that took advantage of it!

Reliving the Summer Fun!

So today was one of those days, all of you mothers out there know what I am talking about. The day when the kids are whining all afternoon, the laundry needs to be folded but an unnamed two-year-old unfolds it faster than it can be folded, the day when you feel like all you do is pull your hair out and get way more frustrated than you should. Yeah. After putting the kids to bed tonight (over an hour early, btw), I felt like a horrible mother and that I should just go to bed and pray for a better tomorrow, but instead I came to the computer and started looking through some pictures from the past 2 months and I realized something. We all have bad days, but I LOVE being a mother. It is ok that today I wasn't the best mother out there because tomorrow is a new day and I can promise you that tomorrow will be better. I am posting this so that the next time I have a bad day I can look through these pictures once again and see the smiles on my kids faces and know that we are a family and we love each NO MATTER WHAT--on good days and bad days. I wouldn't trade being a mother for anything in the world. I mean look at these kiddos, they make me SO happy. I have to warn you this is picture overload. I haven't edited pics of my own kids in so long that it felt so nice to be able to do it. Hope the pics bring a smile to your face as well!


The kids had swimming lessons in June. Brooklyn LOVED it, but poor Brigham didn't feel the same way. He loves to swim, but only on his terms. He screamed anytime it was his turn. He would always end up doing it, but he wanted to make sure that we knew that he was not happy about it.




He looks so scared getting ready to jump in the water, but man is he cute.



Brooklyn amazed me by how much better she got at swimming in such a short time. I mean at the beginning she could not swim at all and by the end she was swimming across the pool. She is amazing!







Do you ever have those moments when your kids literally grow up right before your eyes? Well, this was one of those moments. Hayden and Brooklyn were outside playing while I was cleaning the house. I looked out the window and saw the two of them just laying in the pool talking. As I stood there watching them it was like they were teenagers hanging out talking rather than being the silly kids that they usually are when they are together. Seriously, when did my 4 year old grow up?



And finally, 4th of July!
We spent the weekend in Sedona at my dad's cabin. We had a wonderful time playing in the dirt, swinging, having a ping pong tournament--which was won by none other than myself and my nephew (Way to go Ryland!!!), swimming in the creek, playing games and RELAXING! It was wonderful to say the least.


I LOVE these swing pictures of Brooklyn. This is what she did most of the weekend. She even learned to push herself! This was a happy day for me. Oh and do you see her cute hair that he Aunt Laura did? I love it and so did she.





I HAD to include this blurry picture because this is Brigham telling me to quit taking pictures and push him on the swing. I love this kid!



I know this is a forever long post, but just one more. I love this picture of daddy and son walking side by side. Troy was rolling off when Brigham ran his little heart out to be next to his daddy. Made me smile for sure because Brigham is such a daddy's boy!


Well, I am off to bed now and I am feeling MUCH better than I did a few hours ago. I need to remember all the fun I have with my kids and their cute smiles and it makes everything else worth it. Brooklyn just woke up and is sitting on my lap while I finish typing this. It makes my heart happy to sit and hold her and not worry about anything else in life.

'08 Christmas

I am excited to announce my first set of Christmas cards that I will be offering this year! They are bright and fun and really showcase your images. Your friends will surely be impressed when they find one of these cards in their mailbox!

It is not too early to start thinking about the holidays and updating your family pictures! Slots are starting to fill up for the most coveted time of the year for pictures. I will be booking limited sessions this holiday season so book early to get your desired slot!

And for all of you photographers out there, you can purchase these templates for your clients! Visit my design blog at www.jodidavisdesigns.blogspot.com for more details.