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the past few weeks have consisted of lots of naps, lots of baths and a few trips outside to color and swim. we are trying to get rid of this nasty stomach bug! 

have a fun weekend!

 

a wedding

i had the pleasure of photographing a friend's wedding a couple weekends ago. i am good friends with the bride's sister and they had asked me to do their engagement photos back in may. i was more than happy to do it and so when they asked me again to capture their wedding i was extremely honored, but i remember asking them more than ten times "are you sure?"

i couldn't have asked for a better couple to capture my first wedding with. they are the most easy going, relaxed and sweetest couple and they made everything just easy and perfect.

so happy for adam and megan. we wish them many more years of complete hapiness!

you can check out more photos from the wedding here.

 

ahh summer time

summer. you have been so good to us this year. you gave us plenty of sunshine and warm weather to make playing in the sprinklers, trips to the pool and lots of water fun oh so wonderful. you gave us the clouds and rain to let us make quick trips with friends to fun parks, to paint and color every inch of our cement grounds only to wash it away and make a clean canvas for more color fun. but most importantly summer, you helped us create ever lasting memories and laughter and for that i thank you. till next year... we will be ready.

i just love this picture of Fisher. it's probably one of the only times he actually asked me to take his picture. on the nights that i have to leave and go out I do my best to explain to him and his siblings why i am leaving and when i usually will get back. this night i was getting ready to leave to go photograph a wedding and i told him that i was going to go take pictures and will be back when he wakes up in the morning. he kept telling me "mama don't go take pictures, take my picture!" and so i did. and i absolutely love this picture of him. 

for some reason, i am so sad that summer is over. as much as the kids(and i) look forward to when the school year starts again, i am sad that the long days of fun and adventure are over with. i mean we still have plenty more days of warm weather and the weekends and no school days, but its not the same as actual summer days. maybe it has something to do with the fact that i am not hugely pregnant or that this year the weather didn't seem terribly unbearable, but i feel like there is still so much more i want to do and go visit. oh well.

but i can also tell you that i am beyond excited for fall. i love fall. and also, some little dude is turning one next month and well.... that is pretty awesome too! 

hope you had a fun summer too!

 

first day of school

i can hardly believe that this house now has a kindergartner. i have been anticipating this day(see blog post here) for the whole summer. it was surreal for me this morning as i got all of the kids ready. we talked about how this was the first day back and that even though we took Fisher to visit his new school and teacher many times this summer, this morning Fisher did not want to go. he did not want to get on the bus and he did not want to leave the house. but surprisingly he didn't fight or cry or hesitate when his bus came this morning and picked him up. i drove and met him at his school and walked with him and his new aid, Hope to his classroom and he was all smiles the whole way there. he hung up his backpack right under the hook with his name on it without any assistance and he went and sat right in his chair all excitingly. i was so proud and so happy for my little boy and so emotional over how much he truly has grown. he is definitely this independent and happy little boy growing up and accomplishing so much.

i kissed him hard on the cheek(and fighting back every urge to not get teary-eyed) and told him to be good in which he replied "see you later mama".

he came home today wearing his new school's t-shirt so proudly. and when i asked if he had fun at school he said "yes!" we are off to a good start and i am so excited to see what this new school year brings for Fisher. i know he will be amazing no matter what! 

  Chase had a great first day back too! he has the same teacher and most of the same kids from last year, only this year he goes in the afternoon instead of mornings. he loves going to school and was so excited when this day finally arrived. when i asked how his first day went he said "it was awesome" and that he got to play outside and eat lots of snacks. we are so proud of our chase too! 

and poor miss Sabrina, she has been begging and begging to go to school too and since she doesn't turn three till October she didn't make the cut for the school district program. but i have a feeling us girls(and her baby brother) are going to have a fun school year too! :)

 

oliver :: eleven months

eleven months. we are one month away from having a one year old. a toddler. another mobile, talking human being and a little boy who is no longer a baby anymore. i mean, don't get me wrong, he will always always be my little baby but he wont physically be a baby anymore and that kind of makes me sad. 

but boy do i love this stage he is at right now. his personality just melts me and makes me laugh and smile. i cannot get over how much he has grown up in these last quick months. he is this fun, rowdy, all boy little kid and i just love love LOVE him!

Mr. Oliver has mastered the art of cruising. He is close to standing all on his own but for now he will find anything he can pull himself up on and just cruise. And I love it, because every time he does this he gets a big grin on his face and just walks around so proudly. it seriously is one of the cutest things ever. unfortunately for us, he has also started figuring out the stairs. Our house just happens to be a california split(meaning we have four sets of staircases in our home) and well that is cause for a lot of uneasiness and stress and a whole lot of barricading children down in the two lower levels for a couple more months. but hey, we survived with Sabrina we can do this again. 

Oliver is also very chatty. He can say 'dada', 'mama', 'nigh nigh', 'hi' and 'chase'. He says 'chase' every time he is talking to one of his siblings. he tries to get their attention by saying it over and over again. so sweet. 

Oliver is also at that stage where it is impossible to change his diaper or get him dressed because he constantly wants to go. i swear most days he just runs around in a diaper because i am just too tired to wrestle with him to get him clothed. but that is okay because he loves to be naked and he is so cute when he is! 

he is also super ticklish and loves to be tickled! his neck just happens to be the most ticklish part and i just love hearing that laugh of his.

  This month Oliver also happened to decided that he is too cool for baby food. he refuses to eat it unless he is super hungry and we are out and about. Otherwise, if we are all sitting down at the table he wants to eat what we are all eating and he just loves it. pizza happens to be one of his favorites, along with broccoli and oranges. It does make dinner a lot less stressful! :) 

Other Oliver Stats: 

Weight: 23 pounds 

Height: 

Diapers: size 3-4 

Clothing size: 12-18 months 

i seriously cannot get enough of this sweet little boy. i am so glad we were blessed with him in our family. he definitely completes it and i can't image life without him. i love him so so much! 

 

the missouri state fair

If you have been reading this blog for awhile you will know my love for all things state fairs. I love going to them. There is something about the smell of fried food and mustard that just makes this girl's heart swoon and the fact that my kids enjoy going just as much as i do makes it all worth it too.

The kids just enjoy seeing all of the animals. They love the cows and donkeys and chickens and ducks. There is just something about watching your kids light up and get excited when they hear a turkey gobble or a horse neigh right in fun of you. Those expressions are just priceless.

  Sabrina thought the chickens were so funny. She was on a mission though to find and point out every egg she saw in every single cage. 

this little girl. I cannot get enough of her! she keeps me on my toes with her sassiness but oh she is the funniest and sweetest little thing!

  checking out the turtles and lizards and snakes!

  Oliver loved the fair too! He loved watching all of the animals and the big kids on all of the huge rides. He would just talk and talk and talk with so much excitement. Next year will be even more of a blast for him. 

We are so lucky to live on the border of two states with two state fairs just a quick drive away! We had such a wonderful day at the fair creating so many fun and wonderful memories along the way. I love that we are able to do this each summer, definitely a good way to say goodbye to summer as school will be starting in just a couple days!