Motherhood. Month Twenty-Three.

I don't know everything about motherhood yet. I know the basics. I know how to turn tears into smiles, how to rock a little one back to sleep in the wee hours of the night, how to give the necessary undivided attention to an activity, and then pull away when mr. independent is kicking in....Yet I would be lying if I could tell you that I knew it all. I'm not quite sure how to keep the house crazy clean when trying to soak up time with my little one and I sure don't know how to perfectly handle time out situations.

But twenty-three months into my trek down motherhood lane, I know one thing. You have to love, really love, all the little things of every single day. Because darnit, they just grow up so fast. And guess who is getting ready to celebrate year 2?




And in this house, birthdays are a big deal. And for this big year two celebration, we are going all out. Invites are making their way to all the little friend's houses and while we can't yet spoil all the little details, we've themed this celebration quite appropriately: Dream Big.





So what else have I learned during my 690 days as a mom?

* Any shirt that mentions how cool daddy is must be purchased.



* Couch diving can become an allowed activity during endless days of winter.







* Stamps... particularly Gymbo stamps after Gymboree play outings... are a perfectly acceptable form of self-expression, until it becomes necessary to try and preserve the stamps during bath time.



* Pets truly are a boy's best friend.



And then? Well, just when you are thinking how amazing this whole motherhood thing really is, you take a mini-thirty-six-hour-break to remember how amazing your husband really is.

Hello, road trip to Chicago. And a special moment of the two of us in an elevator.



And then I tried capturing one of both our faces.



And another attempt. And then I said, the heck with it. Apparently, I'm lucky I don't get paid the big bucks for self-portraits.



After a quiet dinner with a room full of crazed Chicago football fans and a successful visit to Land of Nod where I could have purchased absolutely everything in store but instead exhibited phenomonal strength and only decided on this perfect addition to Jacob's room, we were sleeping in our hotel room by 8:45.... for we had a big morning planned. A meeting of our newest niece, Lucy Katherine.



And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't initially hard meeting this little one. This little one that should be meeting a new cousin in four months. But motherhood has also taught me that not everything can not always go as perfectly as you plan.... and that is sometimes what makes the story all the more beautiful.



And when I kicked myself back into work mode, I was so very happy to be able to capture little Lucy, twelve days old.







Can't you tell what she's thinking in this one? You... you're the crazy aunt that won't stop moving me around to get my picture!


And thirty-six hours later, I learned another thing about motherhood. Even when you think you can really use a break away from it all, thirty-six hours is completely long enough.

Long enough away from this little one, that is.



Yes, we have a busy few weeks planned during this winter madness.



The celebration of birthday number two, yes, but it's really so much more. A celebration of life. Of twenty-four months of living, breathing, smiling, exploring, crying, laughing, and loving.

Oh, life {motherhood} is so crazy beautiful.

Goodbye, 2010.

It will forever be remembered as a momentous year. A year brought together by innumerable happinesses, a bit of sorrow, and a whole mess of love. And in these 365 days, these 525,600 minutes, I've continued to define who I am... who I am as a mother, a wife, a friend, and a photographer. It would be an understatement to say that I'm a grateful for what I have in life...For these moments, these little bits of time, I feel incredible blessed to be on this little path of our life.

"Life is not about how many breaths you take
but about how many moments in life that take your breath away."

Oh, the moments of 2010 that took our breath away...

...baby turns one.




...baby's first airplane ride and a trip to the rodeo.

...our first trip to the zoo.


....an easter celebration.


...momma turns twenty-eight.


...dreaming big and makings things like this happen and celebrating all good things in life.


.... capturing the happiest of moments with my very first little one.

...a very special second momma's day.




.... for getting ready to soak up the summertime.


....and for saying goodbye to one phase of my life.


...and then celebrating life with a trip to the carnival.


....for celebrating philip's parents 50th anniversary on a cruise.


...for lazy summer days of doing absolutely nothing and everything at the same time.




....celebrating the greatest dads in the world.


....for parades and bubbles and all things that make little ones smile.


....grand fourth of july celebrations where we know everyone should scold us for putting a sparkler in our seventeen month old's hand.


...preparing for the wedding of my little sister.




....a trip to memphis with just the two of us to celebrate another year of marriage.


....another family trip to chicago.


....picking flowers for his momma.


...for family time, for sibling time, for spend-as-much-time-as-you-possibly-can-with-the-people-that-mean-the-most-in-your-life time.


....spending time on the soccer field, a place that I'm confident we will frequent for many more years in our life.


...for falling down hard. for crying. and for having the strength to pick yourself back up.


...for letting time heal things, for welcoming in fall and leaves changing and pumkin costumes.


....for remembering how much we do have to be thankful for.


...crazy exciting moments like baby's first (successful) trip to the potty.

....and ending the year with a whole batch of holiday celebrations.


Yes, just as this little blog has evolved into something more, so have I. I have lived in the little moments of our everyday lives, forever soaking up all that there is to love; I have searched to find answers to why certain events happen and then finally had the strength to let go and move forward; and I have loved a whole heck of a lot.... my family, my son, my husband, my friends.

2010. A year that has forever changed me. And change is good. Because without it, we wouldn't be at this exact place in our lives right now.... and we are loving exactly where that is.



Welcome, 2011. I can only imagine what amazing things you will bring us this year.