Where did the time go?!
Seriously.
This holiday season blew in and is blowing out rather quickly.
I booked the most photo sessions I've ever booked, which Yay for banking extra money this holiday season, but Whoa--I'm ready for things to slow down around here already!
Yesterday, I finished my last photo session for a week and a half. Who knew I'd be excited about a week and a half off?! I have about 15 sessions scheduled for the new year already, so I'm excited to see if the support of my little business continues in 2017.
But for now, I have no photos to edit. No sessions to prep for. All Christmas gifts purchased. The majority of them wrapped. Caught up on house chores. I'm due for a shower, but hey, I can't get caught up on everything!
As I sift through my photos over the past few months, I have very little of my boys, which makes me sad. All this doing photos for other people leaves me not wanting to pull my camera out for my own boys as often.
BUT, since I've been slacking on blogging, it appears on my blog as if I have been up on taking photos (since I have so many back logged from months ago). Perfect!
Without further ramble, here's what's been going on around her...
When life gets 'slow,' I find myself turning Noah into my own little model in the mornings.
This kid is such a goob & has odd coordination skills at times, but he has perfected the art of "summer-sols."
His obsession for letters has toned down quite a bit once he turned three, but it comes out from time to time.
Bribery. This child produces smiles for bribery mostly. He's too smart for his own good.
If I ask for a smile, he says he'll produce the goods for candy of some sort.
This child.
Then about a month ago, Connor came home with a note saying he had Martial Arts graduation at school. Apparently, the little Martial Arts Connor would mention doing at P.E. at school once a week was really more than I thought! When we went to watch him an evening at school, it was AMAZING to me on what they learned. Connor had ump-teen moves memorized, words memorized, and broke boards with his baby man hands. At the end of the graduation ceremony, the kids were asked to bring a parent out to help hold their board. I kid you not, I had NO clue I made this face or even showed anything but mom support on my face.
Matt's photos showed otherwise.
Hahahaha.
He filled the role perfectly. Such a cute little Ninja child.
Noah's been going to the 'Mom's Day Out' program once a week for the last few months. With Connor, it would rip my heart out when I dropped him off when he was little. With Noah, we get SO excited for Tuesdays to roll around. Haha!
This was the face of the cool kid on our way home from "school."
Noah's favorite parts of school are playing kitchen, doing playdoh, and dancing to worship songs. I would love to be a fly on the wall during his worship time. This kid is a closet dancer... he busts some awesome moves as long as he doesn't know you're watching.
Doesn't this photo just show how bland his personality is?!?!
Yes, definitely lacking personality...
Friends of ours had some travel schedule conflicts & we got to watch their sweet girl for a day. Noah can be very shy & introverted at times. Pey, on the other hand, shows Noah there's no reason to be shy ever. It was fun having a chatty girl in the house for a day!
Whitaker grandkid Christmas card 2016
(Cookie bribery success)
Right after Thanksgiving, the boys were pumped for our travels to see their teams play each other. We got to experience the tail gating process with Uncle Mitch & Aunt Michelle and had a great time!
Connor's happy place is anywhere he can just throw a football with someone. We played our own little game, complete with a mom wipe out on the ground, but it was pretty close to the perfect day.
It was a close game down to the last few seconds of the game, which made it exciting to be sandwiched between a 49er and a Dolphin fan.
Then, after seeing Noah could nap in Connor's big boy bed, we bit the bullet & moved our 'baby' into a big boy bed himself. The thrill of finally being able to pull out the cute shark bedding a purchased months ago made the fear of seeing what our nights were going to turn out like a little less frightening. To our surprise, Noah stays in bed! Praise God!!
I don't get attached to material items, but it was a teeny sad to see the crib both boys slept in get moved out.
And then, Christmas festivities began. First stop, the Hunt house.
Bethany & I kind of became instant friends. She lives in the neighborhood. Has her own Connor a year younger than mine. Runs her own business similar in 'artistic flair' as mine. We have quite a few similarities, yet our differences gives our relationship an interesting edge. I'm grateful we've met!
We tried out the "Heads Up" game for adults, which was hilarious!
The ladies of the neighborhood.
Remember when I mentioned Noah's obsession with letters has simmered down a bit?!
Well, it means we don't have to write the alphabet in chalk every day we go outside, and can do more ride on outside toys. The Ziggle is Noah's current fave gadget & its too funny to watch him fling all around on it!
One morning, Noah said, "Let's play Pie Face!" Surprisingly I had whipped cream stocked in the fridge, so we pulled this game out after packing it away in Connor's closet for quite some time & had some of the best laughs.
We ventured to Captiva last weekend to try out their Holiday festivities. Minus the drive that felt like a tiny eternity, it was pretty great. Santa time. Courtesy elf hats, smores, cotton candy, balloon animals, and big screen movie with popcorn.
Connor was the same size as Santa & knows that the 'Santa helpers' are not the 'real Santa' that comes on Christmas Eve night, but he was a good sport for the sake of his brother. Noah, on the other hand, likes the idea of Santa as long as he's a good 100 yards away. Sitting on his lap was out of the question.
At one point that night, the boys just ran around and played tag on the grass field. Watching them run & giggle at one another just brings me so many happy feels.
We have Christmas festivities with family & family vacation to see snow in the near future, so let's hope I can up my photo taking game.
