Pictures: A mom's favorite gift

Life has just been really busy since mid March...I regret I haven't been able to blog more!!

I think my most favorite gift as a mom has become pictures of friends and family (although a spectacular weather photo ranks up there as well). I especially love seeing shots of my kids that reveal their budding personalities. A picture IS worth a thousand words, and more importantly a thousand smiles to me throughout the week. And you guys know, when you're having a tough week with the kids, you NEED those brief reminders of the times when your children aren't acting squirrely...can you tell I have a two-year-old?

Whoever developed the Woodlands area sure knew how to create beautiful parks! After about a month or so of trying to get together because of nap schedules and uncooperative Houston weather, my friend Amy Chappelle and I were finally able to meet up so she could snap some shots of the kids for me. I think she would consider herself beginner, but boy did she get some great shots of Jack and Anna with her snazzy new camera! Some of the best photos I've ever had taken were snapped by friends just starting to expand their photography skills. My friend Will King back up in Virginia took some beautiful photos of me in my wedding dress. Ok, that came out wrong...I say that as a testament to Will's photography skills, NOT my beauty quotient. He was creative with the shots he took and a master at Photoshop. With those two things working together, anybody can look good! :)

Anyway, thanks again Amy for a lovely day and some wonderful shots of the kids! And thank you Erin for watching her kids so she could snap uninterrupted!!

Seeing the light.

I think I'm finally beginning to emerge from the baby haze of sleepless nights now that Anna is five months old! That light at the end of the infant-stage tunnel is growing brighter!

Some good friends of ours are pregnant with their first child and I'm so very excited for them, and also so very glad it's them and NOT me! I can't believe how much things have changed over the last two years and all that we've learned with Jack and now Anna. I remember some of those early days seeming like they would never end with a crying child that wouldn't take a nap (so that I could!), but looking back now it has also seemed to pass pretty quickly at the same time.
The drool meter has gone up with Anna, so I think she's about to starting cutting some teeth. Since I'm still nursing, I would be more than happy though if she would just remain toothless until she's 12 months :) She's grabbing for everything now and even managed to get a fistful of the spaghetti off my plate the other day at lunch. The only downside to it is when she gets a fistful of my hair and hangs on for dear life...I struggle to pry those little fingers out of my curls. Did I mention I'm rethinking the idea of growing out my hair?

Jack is full of boundless energy and it really is a joy to watch him grow up. The discipline is hard at times, but for the most part we've been blessed with a sweet boy that only requires a disapproving glance from mom or dad to change his actions. I have my suspicions though that Anna will not be quite so reserved, we'll see!