I know I'm a mom when...

~ I get excited about having some time by myself after Emmy goes to sleep

~ I have to leave somewhere early because Emmy is beyond the point of needing a nap

~ I lick my finger and rub it on Emmy's face to get food stains off her mouth

~ I find snacks, pacifiers, and random shoes in my purse

~ I know what "na na" means

~ I barely get to eat a meal when Emmy is awake because she either wants what I have or I'm busy cutting hers up into little pieces.

~ My left arm has become a lot stronger than before due to chronic child on hip syndrome

~ I know what Emmalyn is about to do based on her facial expressions (ie., poop, crawl on the dogs, touch something she shouldn't, get fussy because she's tired, want milk etc.)

~ I cried the first time I left her in the nursery at chuch

~ I don't know what to do with myself when she's not around

~ I'm about to leave the house and have to go through my checklist of possibly needed items for our outing.

~ I always know if she needs to poop or not

~ I always stop by the sale racks at Target whenever I go to see if any clothes for Emmy are on it for upcoming seasons.

~ I find myself thinking "I can't believe she's mine"
However, technically she's on loan from God because He made her and He is her Father first and foremost, but he chose Caleb and me to raise her and I'm very thankful for this very important job everyday.

He is Risen!!!

Our Easter was wonderful!  Church was full of random announcings of "He is risen!"   "He is risen indeed!"  Anna kept saying it over and over all day and it brought a smile to my face every time!

After church we went back to the in law's house to eat an amazing lunch and get some Easter photos.
Alecia asked me to take some photos of the kids with the baby chicks.  I felt very honored because her mother and step sister are great photographers and I'm a little behind both of them so I was happy to try out my skills with my nieces and nephew.

Anna is such a happy girl!

So adorable!

The family!

Mama and Abby

Love how candid this shot is!  

My very-in-love in laws!

Our little family.  I had a pretty dress on, but changed to take photos of the kids.  I can't really crawl all over the ground to get photos with a dress on.

And while we were attempting to get a family Easter photo, Ama and Micah were playing around.  I LOVE that I got this photo of the two of them.  It is precious!

Lynda also wanted a photo of her sons.  This is a lot more complicated than you would think.  They misbehave just like little kids!  I got ONE good one!

We also decided to get just a few photos of Joel by himself.  He graduates from USC in two weeks and his last photo of himself was his football photo from high school.  

Monday was spent relaxing from the weekend.  It was such a great weekend!  Now, to get working on my tan.

HE IS RISEN!!!!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!!

A Picture Perfect Saturday

As I write this, I'm catching up on missed shows with the hubby's computer and editing/blogging on mine.  Life is good.  Relaxing after a jam packed but amazing weekend is also good.

This weekend was amazing!  Caleb brother, sister-in-law, nephew and two nieces came to spend some time with him before d-day.  We had a blast together!

On Saturday, we started the day off with an egg hunt.  It was actually cloudy and chilly out, but that didn't put a damper on things at all.  Caleb's parents hid sixty four eggs!

Caleb took the first shift and taught Emmy how to put the eggs in her bucket.

I got a snaphot of Dan and Alecia (my brother and sister in laws).  They don't have many of these since becoming parents.

Emmy took a break from hunting Easter eggs to dig into her basket.

Anna got cold, but it didn't stop her from going fishing with her rod and reel that she got in her basket.

After a trip to Target with Alecia, our favorite place, the weather turned gorgeous, so we got some sun and a little pond...ha!  Dan and Micah started doing jumping stunts together after attempting to get their new puppy, Wyatt, in the water.  I love that Wyatt is trailing behind them in the second photo.

Emmy loved spending time with Daddy.

I had a photo shoot scheduled which I'll be posting to the website soon.  After my shoot, we grilled out and had a pre birthday party for Emmy so that Daddy could be apart of it...  and Emmy did not disappoint!

We had to rush her to the shower afterwards!  She was so happy and I'm so happy that we have these photos!  While Joel (my other brother in law) and I took photos, Dan video taped the party.  I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm sure it will trigger some laughs.

And this is how we ended the day.  Picture perfect!

Strawberry Picking

Yesterday Emmalyn and I took our first trip to pick strawberries.  My husband thinks it is so crazy that I've never done this because he went all the time with his family as a young boy and has fond memories of it.  There is a place just a few miles from our new home that has fresh strawberries for picking.  We had such a fun time as a family doing this, and man were those strawberries juicy!

First, Caleb fed Emmy one while I picked.

Then he handed her off to me so he could pick out "the really good ones."

To say she LOVED them is an understatement!  If we were holding her and picked a strawberry she would open her mouth so wide (refer to previous post) and expect that it was for her to eat.  She was a mess by the time we left, but this mama anticipated that and put her in overalls!

Then, we let her loose!

It was such a sweet day!  When we got home Emmy napped while I made homemade strawberry bread (and munched on some strawberries while making it).  I think we need to  make this an annual family outing!  

Fun with Daddy!

Tonight, we decided to have some ice cream for dessert.  Of course Emmalyn let us know that she needed some too!  It was so funny to watch her eat it because she would open her mouth so wide as the spoon got closer.  Here is a play by play of Emmalyn eating ice cream.

The goods are in sight...

 Open so big (to make sure the spoon goes to the right place)...

Devour!!!!

Daddy also got to see her playing in her pool.  She face planted a few times and needed some cuddles.

Where's Emmy?

There she is!!!!

And this is just a pic I snapped while we were outside bathing the baby chicks.

Daddy's Home!

Yesterday Emmalyn and I got up early to get ready and pick Caleb up.  I was so excited!  We got to see him fly a little and then we went to lunch and to see his parents.  I got a few pictures while we were visiting the in laws.  It is so beautiful and peaceful there!

We have loved having Caleb home and are excited to do so much together this week.

Test Shoot

Yesterday a had a photo shoot for a two year old.  To see some of the photos from the shoot go to my website here.  There is something different about this shoot though.  This shoot had live animals.  Baby chicks to be exact.

Before my client arrived to the shoot location I took some test shots of Emmalyn to see how the chicks would react and to test the lighting.  This is the result of my test shoot.

And, my BFF, Katie Beth came along to help!