114/365

Today I am thankful for how happy Annie is to see me when I have been away. I have had to leave the girls with friends several times this week to go and do work stuff and when I get back to see the girls, Annie gets so happy that I am back and really dives for me. She has one of those really easy going personalities that can, at times, make it hard to be certain that she is properly attaching to us. For the most part, she just loves everyone, which is WONDERFUL, but we obviously want to make sure that she prefers us over anyone else. At first, she really showed no preference, but now you can tell that she is really becoming a momma's girl. I really don't stress over her attachment anymore. It is obviously something that is always evolving, but I don't feel the need to stress about her being so comfortable with almost everyone. That is simply who she is. She is a very social, happy little girl who honestly strives to make everyone smile all day long. But it sure does make my day when she throws herself into my arms and hugs me tightly.

I really don't have much to say today other than have a great weekend! It has been a great day around here, just not very newsworthy.

Is she serious?
Lucy looks like she is very upset with Annie in this picture. I don't think she was!

113/365

Today I am thankful for Target. I know this is a fluff thanks, but I really enjoy Target and get a lot of pleasure out of my time there. I think that they have really cute clothes and shoes for cheap - for me and the girls. I really love any excuse to go to Target and I always end up spending a lot of time (and money) every time I go there. I especially love it when Justin is home and I can leave the girls with him and just wander around. I took the girls with me today, but they are actually pretty good shoppers most of the time. I have gotten much, much better about not buying every cute thing I see in there.

Today was Lucy's playgroup and we did it at this restaurant at the mall that opens up to the most beautiful field of flowers and the softest, greenest grass. I can only imagine what the servers were saying about our group. There were 7 moms and 11 kids. We did go early, so there was almost no one there for most of the time we were there. By the time we were finishing up, it was starting to get crowded and we kind of rushed to finish and pay. Afterwards, we let the kids just run in the field.

I got asked yesterday about how we manage to do so much with nap schedules for the girls. Both girls take an afternoon nap. They generally go down around 1:30 if we are home but can wait until 2:30 if we are out and about. We absolutely NEVER miss this nap. They both require it every day. Annie does take a morning nap, but the poor girl ends up missing it a lot if we have stuff going on. I try not to make her miss it completely, but she has to get woken up from her morning nap a lot. I would never do this if she was grumpy when I woke her up, but no matter what, she wakes up in the greatest mood. You should see how happy she is to see me when I wake her up. It is so sweet. So, once Annie is up, we are generally always out the door. We all seem to function better when we get out of the house. We also almost always do something after they wake up from nap - a lot of times it is just playing outside, but something outside of the house. Today it was a trip to Target. The late afternoon portion of the day is always the longest part of the day. I feel like if we don't do something, the day just drags on, the tv ends up on, and we are all just bored with one another. I don't like this feeling at all, so I try and mix it up for the girls as much as possible. I have found that I am a much better mom if I feel like I am not forced to be tied down to our house for a strict schedule. I am lucky because both girls are really great about rolling with it and don't have to have a strict schedule to function at their best. I know not all kids are like this. Or maybe they are like this because their lives with us have always been like this. We have rarely let their schedules stop us from doing something fun, and they have always been totally fine with that.

I don't have too many pictures from today because I have made myself buckle down and edit session pictures. I don't want to get behind since next week is so busy. I got a lot done while the girls napped today.

112/365

Today I am thankful for how much Lucy's teachers love her! They went on and on about what a joy she is to have in their class, how well she behaves and listens, and how smart she is. I was one proud momma at her conference. They did say that she is really, really quiet while there, but that she is definitely opening up more and more each day. I laughed when they told me that the one time she makes sure to talk is when the kids are getting in her personal space!! And I laughed even harder when they said, "And the kids listen when she tells them to PLEASE STOP!" That's my girl alright. I really am so pleased with how well she has done and the progress she has made since starting at her little school.

We had a busy morning and then just took it easy this afternoon. We had to get going early so I could get myself and the girls ready for the teacher conference. After that, I took the girls straight to Mandy's so that I could do a session for some really sweet clients. Lucy especially had the best time with Mandy and Louis (Anna was at school). She got to paint and plant a bunch of flowers. She was very pleased with herself and both girls got a perfect report from Mandy when I got back to pick them up. Thanks Mandy! I truly appreciate your help. We came right home for lunch and nap time. I worked on pictures while the girls napped. When they got up, we headed into the backyard to play. They got so sandy that I ended up getting out the little baby pool and the girls "swam" a little - completely naked. They both loved it.

The girls have been so great the past several days. We have really had a lot of fun. When I was putting Lucy to bed, we both laughed so hard we cried. Love that. I wouldn't trade my time with my family for anything. Of course, it is easy to say that when they are being so great. :)


I love these shots - this is what she looks like when she really laughs. She thought she was so funny when she pretended to touch the camera.

111/365

Today I am thankful for the faith that people are putting in me to take their family portraits. I really appreciate people trusting me to do my thing and document this time in their lives. It is so exciting since this is all pretty new for me to be doing this for others. I booked several more sessions today. I really am so excited. I have finally found something that I love doing that can help support our family. Thanks to all of my new clients!

We had a very busy day today. This morning we met some friends at the zoo, where we got lots of playtime and had a picnic lunch. We went straight home for naps after a busy morning. Both girls took great naps. Annie got up before Lucy so we played for a while outside. I took a lot of pictures of her and me together for our I Heart Faces entry. Not an easy task and the end result was not what I had envisioned, but it was the best I could do in my limited time to work on it. Then I made the girls an early dinner and we were out again to watch Louis' final soccer game of this season. They won!! By the time we got home, it was time for bath and bed. It really has been a very busy day and we are all ready to rest!

I have Lucy's conference in the morning. Can't wait to talk to her teachers!

Is this not so cute and funny? Both girls were wearing sunglasses, but I couldn't ever get a pic of them together. Lucy was too busy.

Despite the serious face, Lucy LOVES nothing more than a pony ride. She was so pleased that the pony was there today.


Annie worked so hard to get under the table to the dogs. I was under the table taking these pictures!

I ♥ Faces - Self Portrait

This is BY FAR the most difficult category that has been presented so far. The rules said that I had to be holding the camera for my kids shot - no tripod, remote, etc and I had to be in the shot with the child. That was NOT easy for me. Holding Annie in one arm and my heavy camera in the other made for quite the challenge. This is the best I could do. I almost didn't play, but I had to try since I enjoy this so much. I wish Lucy was in the shot too, but she was busy napping. I really am so content with my babies in my arms. Be sure and check out the other awesome entries for this week's competition at I ♥ Faces.

110/365

Today I am thankful for our tax refund! Woo hoo! Unfortunately, it all had to go to pay off debt, but I feel good about making a dent. We usually have to pay taxes, but thanks to the adoption credit, we got money back this year. It sure did feel good to receive money instead of having to send in a check.

We had an awesome day today. After I dropped off Lucy for school, Annie and I headed to therapy. She did great today. Really showed some progress in areas we have been focusing on. It was really relieving to me to see her making such big strides. The OT and I were both very pleased. I brought Annie home to nap before picking up Lucy. Lucy had a fabulous day at school. I have her parent/teacher conference on Wednesday and I am excited to hear what her sweet teachers have to say about her. After both girls napped this afternoon, we ran a few errands and then ate Vietnamese food with Mandy, Anna, and Louis. Lucy actually ate her Pho noodles. And then we finished the day at the park. I had told Lucy we could go to the park earlier in the day and she did not forget even though it was getting late. She seriously forgets nothing. We played for a while and then headed home for baths and bed.

I am really excited because I have been getting a lot of interest in my photography business lately. I have three more sessions in the next week and two more waiting to be scheduled. If you didn't see last night, you can see how yesterday's session went at the La La Blog. The pics turned out really sweet. Also, if you are in the Northwest Arkansas area and are interested in booking a session, I will be in Fayetteville from May 6-10. I would love to schedule some shoots while we are there. Email me at info@lala-photography.com.

And finally, I wanted to say that Annie had her best day of eating ever today. She calmly sat and ate her food at both lunch and dinner - both times in a high chair, which often causes anxiety for her. It was awesome. It wasn't even messy. Basically all of the food went in her mouth and was swallowed. This is HUGE for us. Big, big day around here!



It really is a shame she is such a sad, sad child. We almost never see her smile. ;)


Don't you love her eyelashes?


I love this series. She was looking right at me telling me a BIG story - full of goo, goo, ga ga's. Mom, I think what she was trying to say was, "I once caught a fish, this big." Her expressions are the best.


Annie has a question again.


Hello, it is exhausting holding my leg up. Could you please call on me.

Maybe if I raise it a little higher you will see it. Or maybe I will practice my heel stretches.
You know what, just forget it. I don't even remember what my question was anymore. (I do, of course, realize how huge of a dork I am, but I just couldn't resist the commentary.)


Could this dress be any more adorable? Or the girl wearing it? She looks like a little present.