this and that.

i looove this time of year and the warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings it brings out in people...
not just thanksgiving and christmas, but new years and birthdays and anniversaries. so many wonderful days.
makes me feel especially grateful for my life and everyone in it.

there's not an end-of-year video montage that doesn't make me tear up.
show me a "best of 2009" anything and i get all mushy inside.

i've had this idea running through my head for a while now...
posting one image a day during the holidays.
one image that needs very little explanation.
that shows what i am thankful for.
what i love about life, or what makes it about mine.
not necessarily perfectly composed, or in focus.
not the entire list of things, just a few weeks worth.
i wondered where i would start, and then i saw this:

nora. {in the belly}

a tiny sneak peek for lizzie & tom, as they wait for their little star, nora.
believe it or not, i was actually one of lizzie's babysitters when we were both much, much younger...
tom is one of andy's oldest friends, so i was so thrilled to take these for them. xo, you three.

so thankful.

for people and places and things and feelings
that are often difficult for me to put into words.
for the past and the present and the future
and the possibilities it holds.
for little things and big things
and all of the things in between.
and also,
for turkey and pumpkin pie and a family to share it with.

xo, t

silly.

i came across these photo booth pictures and decided today was the perfect day for them.
every so often, we sit in front of the mac (ok, some of us more than others...) and laugh hysterically
as we take shot after silly shot.

as i was marveling at some of the ways we've either changed (or not changed) in the past three years,
i found this one image of andy posing with his favorite beverage.
made me laugh out loud.

in cahoots.

ok, so we've already admitted that this particular playgroup is more for us than it is for the kids.
makes it more fun, though, if the kids learn to like each other...

brooke said it best yesterday. "wow. benny & court have been in cahoots all day!" and they were.
on the way home, court spent a lot of time describing how sad she felt leaving him.

i had intended to photograph brooke's belly yesterday... you'll just have to trust that it is there,
hiding behind her beautiful pile of girls. xoxo.

peyton, milo & taylor.

proof that there is still beauty left to be found in november, even as the last of the leaves have fallen.

outtakes.

the annual christmas-card-picture-taking-saga (which sometimes comes with a lot of tears, usually mine)
was over and done with in about 20 painless minutes. i have never understood how in the world it can be so easy
to take pictures other people's children, but impossible to take them of ours.
until now.
now, i know exactly how many pieces of halloween candy, crazy bones & my little ponies it takes.
now, i can leave them alone for a while.
and i will, because that was also part of the deal.

ps... i didn't tell hayden to kiss his sister. he's just seen enough pictures to know i would think that was sweet.
and that he could be done sooner.

layla.

welcome to the circle, miss layla...
we hope you don't mind that we're all just head over heels gaga about you.
xoxo, t

for sheye.

through her loss, i think sheye has made so many women better, more grateful moms.
simple, everyday moments that i share with hayden & court are moments she longs for with ava.
i thank my lucky stars everyday for my moments and my kids.
she's asked for us to blog this. happy to help send this important message in the effort to save even one more family her grief.
xo, sheye. and thank you for wearing your heart on your sleeve.

leafs & trees.

"poor trees. i'm going to miss the leafs."
me too, sweet girl.

halloween.

trick or treat.

oodles of pictures & videos to go through, but grandparents & aunts & uncles should only have to wait so long...
they were CUTE!