Taking it all In

I think God created babies with the need to eat every few hours for a reason: it would give Mom an excuse to sit down for 20 or 30 minutes and take a break. If it wasn't for those times during the day, too much time would pass and at the end of the day I would realize that I hardly observed my kids at all. The imaginations of a 2 and 4 year old are so creative and watching them while I'm nursing, hearing their miniature conversations, listening to giggling or bickering is priceless. 

 It's taken three kids for me to really start to enjoy them and take it all in as time flies by without a thought to the priceless moments that are swept away with it. I'm slowly learning to stop and enjoy the little moments that would otherwise go unnoticed if I wasn't paying attention.

We enjoyed lots of fresh pineapple this week. I finally learned how to cut one properly (thanks to the diagram on the pineapple tag) and we got a lot more bang for our buck!

Nathan turned 8 weeks yesterday. He is out of newborn clothes and fitting perfectly into 0-3 month clothes now. My guess is he is a good 12 pounds, according to my scale--my other two were tiny for a long time, so this is something new for me!  He is sleeping longer stretches at night, still nursing a lot during the day which allows me lots of breaks that I won't complain about one bit.

He is a very, very smiley baby. I don't remember off the top of my head when my other two started being so responsive, but at 4 weeks this guy was smiling up at Mommy with his eyes wide open and hasn't stopped since!

I had my first post-baby photo-shoot this past week. It felt so good to get out again, doing something that I enjoy and love. They were new clients and had the cutest kids, but it felt even better to get back home to my babies again. 8 weeks at home with them, not going many places or doing much, has made me grow even more attached to them. My photography business is awesome but my real job as a Mommy is even better.

The weather is warm, in typical Texas fashion. The pool opened and Anna and I took the kids down the first chance we got. 

He was adorable in his tiny swim-suit, but that material doesn't breathe very well and he ended up with a little heat rash on his belly. So until he's ready to get in the water (which probably won't be for at least a few more months when the water gets super warm) he'll be sporting his cotton rompers. :)

The front of my stroller has a little foot rest that Brookie fits perfectly on, which solves the problems of three kids in a double stroller. For longer walks I use the moby wrap, but this works great for the short trips!

These two were rearing to go the second we told them the pool was open. Brooklynne loves the water and Joe is happy to run around outside the pool, giving me a heart attack every 8 seconds when think he's about to topple in.

My mother taught me well. You don't go swimming without snacks. You just don't. I am passing on this sentimental tradition to my children, because there is nothing like sitting dripping wet and dipping sun chips into hummus on a hot day.

Take a second to stop and observe your loved ones this week and you might just see something that you would have missed in the whirlwind of this crazy thing we call life. Make all the little moments count.

 Have a great weekend!