things to remember.

I saw this quote this evening "No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you...After all, you know what my heart sounds like from the inside". When I read this I immediately thought of my girls and instantly teared up.

 

I take photos to remember as many small moments as I can. I look at a photo and I can instantly feel that moment. These are the day to day moments I never want to forget....

 

 

Ella I never want to forget how wrapped up in joy you are when you play

Claire I never want to forget how your big blue eyes can melt my heart in an instant.

Ella I never want to forget an inch of your sweet face

Or the baby phase where absolutely everything goes straight to the mouth

I hope the love the two of you share never fades

Or the fact that Ella has interest in me teaching her to use MY big camera. She took these pics of me and her doll. Pretty darn good! And yes those are wrinkles. Children are aging me! She actually got some more spot on face shots of me but they weren't too flattering!

Claire I never ever want to forget how fair and soft like velvet your squishy arms are

Or that you find kids playing in the funniest places wearing firemen hats and shoes on the wrong feet

And the awesome shoe/pants combo that kids come up with

Or that at this age when they get a massive bump on the head they aren't too cool to still get hugs and kisses from mom and dad. And those hugs and kisses make it all better

Or that a Princess Ariel rubbery dress is the.best.damn.thing.in.the.world.to.chew.

Or Claire, for some reason I could die over your hair growing in over your ear. Only a mother could find this so cute. Or worth blogging over

I never want to forget rubbing Eucalyptus oil on your feet on the eve of coming down with a cold

Or the way the curls fall on your shoulders

These are the things that make me a mother. These are the things that make life worth living.

dates and day end.

So I had hit this to post last night and for some reason it didn't. So all this happened yesterday, not today. Not going back through and changing all the words.

 

 

This was my breakfast date this am.

And yes I dry laundry on my kitchen railing

 

She tries to eat the napkins.

And all twenty of her toys end up on the floor in less than five minutes

 

And she's messy when she tries to feed herself

Ella has been begging for quite awhile for us to take her to Chuck E Cheese so the four of us went there today for a lunch date.

The gut in the pic is not Tom

One of her prizes from Chuck E Cheese. Bling

These two were my dinner dates since Tom is at school

And the day end...

 

 

I love that since Ella got her Stompeez, no matter where she takes them off, couch, bed, etc, she has to put them together and right up to it. She started that all on her own

 

And now the girls are in bed and I can sit and relax!

Not just anybody.

Somebody said their first word today! And that first word (drum roll) MAMA! I have been drilling the word mama over and over into Claire's head for about two days. Today she started saying it and said it all multiple times! Ella was excited as me. Everytime she heard Claire say it, even if she was in another room, she screamed "she's talking, she said mama"

Somebody takes blowing raspberries very seriously and gets pretty crazy while doing it.

Sometimes it's just with the lips...

Or sometimes it's with the tongue...But it's always pretty hilarious

Somebody got a pair of Stompeez! Grandma Jo Jo brought them today

And somebody loves abcmouse.com. She can create her own classroom, curriculum, do lessons, earn tickets, buy things, etc.

Prospects

So far 2013 is going great. I am looking forward to all that is ahead of me, us. It is truly going to be a year of improvement, all the way around. 

I am settling in to being a stay at home mother of two. Ella is so helpful with both household chores and her role as big sister. The other evening I was cooking dinner as Claire was fussy I say, "Claire are you not going to let me cook dinner?" Ella yells from the other room "Hey mom, do you need help with Claire?". She then proceeded to come up and entertain Claire. This is from my three year old. Ya she can be pretty awesome. 

Next week I begin improving my body and my health. A girl a couple years younger than me from Wapak has a degree in Fitness and Nutrition and is a Beachbody Coach. She runs marathons and coaches individuals. I consulted with her and she recommended the ChaLean Extreme Program. Its a 90 day workout program. The theory is muscle burns fat. You can check out more about it at www.beachbody.com/ChaLEAN. 

I have also been working on a few home improvement projects. Patching a few hours, touch up painting, painting, decorating areas that weren't decorated, redecorating areas, organizing, cleaning out cupboards, etc. There are a few more projects on the horizon for spring and summer.  

This is the year I am really working on improving my photography. Learning more about my camera, technique, lighting, editing, etc. I am hoping to get a new external flash/speedlight in the next couple weeks. I've recently purchased a few photo props. I am also attending a two day photography workshop with the talented DeAnna McCasland. I am in the works (with help from tom) of something possibly big and awesome in relation to photography that I am hoping to launch by late summer/early fall.

I am looking forward to Spring and Summer with getting the girls outdoors, our memberships to The Nature Center and The Museum Center, our community pool opening, trips to the farm, setting up the trampoline, planting flowers, a trip to Myrtle Beach etc. 

Ya 2013 is going to be pretty awesome. 

And since I take photos on a daily basis, I thought I would include a few in this post.