Happy Father's Day

Father's Day has never been so special for me- I know- sounds strange right? But honestly- there's no better feeling in the world than to know the man you love, is a truly great Daddy. I appreciate Phillip for so very many things. I remember a time, long ago when I wondered how he'd handle fatherhood. I mean, lets be honest. We're all selfish, but when you're newlyweds I think it's 10x worse. The thought of taking care of another human being and putting their needs first is a very foreign thought. I think for mom's this comes more quickly. We carry a baby for 9 months straight, then the thing's attached to some part of our bodies till the age of 12 months. We don't have much of a choice when it comes to learning that lesson.

I'm happy to say- I think Philip is becoming more and more selfless as each day passes. I enjoy watching him with the boys more and more everyday. It's not something I ever want to take for granted. I love that he comes home, kisses me, then kisses each of the boys. I love even more when Mikey hears the garage door open and screams, "Daddy's home Samuel!" and off he runs.

I get a kick out of watching Samuel's eyes light up when Phillip sits and plays with just him. Mikey has a bit of a hard time sharing his Daddy, but he's learning ;) It always makes me laugh when Mikey doesn't let Phillip teach him something and Phillip just shakes his head. Not out of frustration or anger, but with a quiet attitude that knows he'll eventually come around and ask for Daddy's help.

I can't wait to see the relationship develop between Joshua and Phillip. And honestly, I can actually say that I'm really excited to have 3 boys. I never really knew how much boys love their mommies and I never really knew how much boys want to be like their daddys. Thankfully- my boys have an amazing daddy to look up to. Phillips a hard worker, a man of integrity, a great friend and a man who strives to be better. Could I really ask for anything more?

Happy Father's Day honey- you're the best.

So it begins...

It's been kind of a frustrating week for me, physically I'm pretty tired.  I didn't realize how exhausting this whole thing really is. Samuel has been EXTRA clingy and fussy, today he'd just crawl over and snuggle with me. It's like he knows somethings about to change :) Poor baby.

Sleep- is non-existent, I wish I had a huge forklift that could just flip me over in bed. It's like a ten minute event trying to roll over in bed! And I especially love it when I'm JUST about to doze off and Joshua decides it's time to have a party or better yet- I have to pee for the 10th time.

So today was a pretty normal day of hanging out. My sister-in-laws came over, I started having contractions at about Noon- they were 15 minutes apart until I laid down at 2:30pm to try and rest. Then they just stopped. I swear it's like my womb can't make-up her mind...

My mom and sister came over for dinner- an early father's day celebration (which just reminded me that I haven't gotten anything for my father-in-law- guess the hubby will have to go). Anyway- it was a relaxing evening and after they left, I started a mental list of everything I wanted to get done tomorrow.

I went to bed at about 10pm, then woke up at 11pm with contractions. OK- no biggie- tried to fall back asleep and realized they were starting to get a little harder and closer together.  So I came downstairs at a little after midnight and sat on the medicine ball and bounced. Meanwhile the hubby is looking at me like- "are we going, are we staying???".  Much to my content, he's watching T.V. and leaving me alone :) He's the best hubby EVER.

1am- I tell Phil to try and get some sleep (at least one of us will function tomorrow if I don't go to the hospital).  I try to lay down again and my contractions go to every 5 minutes on the dot. 

1:45am- might as well get up and get some laundry done right?  Then all of the sudden it hits me:  I'm having a baby.  Random- I know- but suddenly the thought of an infant completely overwhelms me. Samuel can't even walk yet for crying out loud!  I mentally scold myself and think- what the H-E double toothpicks was I thinking???  I've never been more sure in my life that Phil's getting a vasectomy. No questions asked- I don't want to be pregnant again- I don't want to have another contractions. I'm done. Finished. Thank-you Lord for making it clear.

3:30am- 2 loads of laundry done, I'm going to try and quietly put them away. I've decided I'll call my mom at 4:30am, it should take her 30 minutes to get here. Then I'll wake up the hubby and we'll go.

UNLESS...my contractions totally stop- which I'm pretty sure ain't happening.  So it begins...

Samuel's trampoline fun

The other day I was cleaning up from dinner when Phillip and the boys decided to go hang out outside.  I looked up when I heard Samuel laughing hysterically- here's the image from my kitchen window:

Of course I grabbed my camera to get these pictures.  Samuel is suffering VERY badly from "I want to do what Mikey's doing" syndrome.  A syndrome I didn't even knew existed until I had a second child. Right now he wants to be wherever Mikey is, especially outside. I actually have to lock the sliding glass door because in 2 seconds flat he'll let himself out and go off on his merry little way. 

Trampoline Fun

I love the long days of Spring and Summer, popsicles in the cool evenings and watching Mikey and his cousins on the trampoline.  I decided to bring out my camera and practice once again shooting on full manual. My goal by the end of the year is to be able to do it- without thinking- or without thinking a lot about it.  Anyway- here's some of the fun pictures I got:

Mikey doing what Mikey does-

This is the best series of shots I got- I think I snapped about 200 hundred trying to get the action frozen while the sun was going down.  I've been told this is the trickiest time to shoot and now I understand why.  I've never realized how much the light changes within the last hour of the sun being up. 

Anyway- here's Mikey showing off on the trampoline-

Our 1st summer swim

Our 1st summer swim actually happened about a month ago and technically it wasn't really "swimming", but sitting in the kiddie pool. But who really cares right? 

Samuel had a blast sitting with Mikey and splashing around. He DIDN'T have a blast keeping his hat on. I was hesitant to let him take it off since I'm not sure what his skin is gonna do yet- fry like a little white boy or brown up like Mommy and Daddy.  I'm pretty sure he's gonna brown right up since he was a little darker after being out there for an hour.  

Anyway- it was very relaxing for me to just sit next to them in the beach chair and listen to them splash. I mean honestly- it's the best $16.99 I think I've spent in a LONG time!

Bittersweet thoughts from a VERY pregnant me

Well, I'm about a month behind on just about everything in my life.  But that's what self-induced bedrest/take-it easy time is for right?  Joshua should be here in about 2 weeks so I'm trying to catch up on just about everything from, blogging, housework (much to my husbands happiness), returning phone calls, updating the photography blog, sorting thru mountains of clothing, getting the nursery/our room ready etc.

I made a list of things to get done over the next few weeks and much to my surprise, I'm plugging right along. I think the nesting stage has finally hit me.  I'm done shooting weddings, done shooting pretty much everything (oh wait-except for pictures at the marriage retreat next weekend:) so now it's time to nest I guess.

I was  driving home from my 900th NST today and it all sort of hit me.  This is it. No more babies. Ever. (Excuse me while I go grab a tissue).

No more being tired, no more pregnancy glow, no more maternity clothes (when you've been pregnant 2 years straight they AREN'T as cute as they used to be). No more uncomfortable nights, no more swelling, being hot just about everywhere, no more strangers touching my belly, no more exhaustion.

No more feeling life grow inside of me. No more laughing at the "alien invasion" as Phillip calls it, no more baby hiccups in my belly. No more feeling him kick me back when I try to push him out of my ribs. No more laying in bed at night, just feeling him move. I NEVER thought I'd hear myself say this out loud- but I'm actually going to miss it.  It makes me a little weepy when I think about it. It's like a chapter in my life is closing. Forever.  I wonder if I'll forget what it all feels like- I hope not.  

Now don't get me wrong- I'm not canceling Phillip's vasectomy (I'm not gonna miss it that much!).  I guess I'm just a little, bittersweet about it. So while I'm running around trying to finish the million and one things I have written on my list, I'll thank God every chance I get. Pregnancy is an extraordinary miracle, it's a beautiful gift and I feel honored and privileged to have gone thru it 3 times.  So goodbye pregnancy chapter. Hello chapter of 2 babies under 1 year- YES- you read that right. Two babies under the age of 1, it makes me tired just thinking about it.

Samuel's Bath Time

Today I started Samuel's baby book (bad mommy I know, the poor kid's already 10 months old), anyway, I realized I needed to get some pictures of just Samuel.  Phillip took Mikey out to his parents for awhile so I decided to seize the opportunity. 

I threw Samuel in the bath and started shooting away. I'm actually very proud of myself, for my fellow photog. friends, I shot these in full manual. I mean FULL- full manual including flash, I dabble in between AV and Manual but have gotten more and more comfortable with Manual. I'm no master by any means and equivalent exposures still get tricky, but it's a work in progress.

Anyway- I think these pictures capture so much of Samuel's personality. We joke a lot that his mouth is always open- which it is. He's usually always smiling which means he's pretty much the happiest baby ever.

I can't say enough about him- I know-I'm a little biased, but really do they get any cuter than this???