addie.

addie.
an adorable (little) big sister.
her brother boden is up next...

phoebe & the owl.

phoebe.
shy. sweet.
maybe just a tiny bit concerned.
the same crystal blue eyes as her cousin kate.
loves her owl.
and her nani.

the twinkles in their eyes.

a tiny sneak peek for shanna & glen.
who's kids have the twinkliest eyes
(i think i may have ever seen)
to match their sweet dispositions.

a brisk fall saturday morning,
catching up with old friends.
marveling at how they have grown.
perfect.

push pop.

miss layla, practicing with andy's cake,
getting ready for her own big birthday next month.
me, learning the exact distance to keep between us
so that i'm not spending hours scraping frosting off my lens.
given zac's recent foolery,
i'd like to give a hint about what her present will be.
two words, zac.
push. pops. (sorry, erin)

balance.

i find it ironic that in my search for balance in life,
i actually discovered a new side of myself.
one that had never existed before.
one that could seemingly throw things even more off balance.
but doesn't.

instead, it puts things into perfect perspective for me.
it gives me time to think and breathe and be. me.

i've had a lot of inquiries about the lack of blog posts lately.
and only one simple answer to offer:
i've been swimming.

taking just a bit fewer pictures doesn't make me love photography any less.
but the more i swim, the more i want to swim.
it makes me feel strong. and free.

i've always believed that things happen for a reason
and that certain people come into our lives at just the right time
in order to make that happen. like anne.

if it weren't for a very long, twisted chain of events,
which definitely included my own procrastination,
i would have never met this person
who started as my coach, but became my friend.

i told her right from the start
all of the things i couldn't do.
lucky for me, she disagreed.

and then showed me how.

i try to thank her every chance i get.
for helping me find this other part of myself.
especially on the days i reach a new milestone.
like 20 laps, today. and not an ache or a pain to show for it.
so, again, thank you.

xo, t

to the one.

happy 36th birthday to the one that:

knows us best.

puts us first.

loves us most.


love you, honey. xo

for lindsay.

for lindsay, and our friend kate.
or katie, as she calls her. (which i love.)
who traveled all the way from michigan this weekend
for her three (three!) baby showers.
and still managed to have enough energy
for her belly pictures, bright and early.
she really wanted her belly shots
to be as sweet as kate's were.

i do not think she'll be disappointed.

preschool, take two.

the first day of her preschool year,
almost thwarted by a strange stomach bug.
one that was thankfully here and gone before
much harm was done.
i woke her cheerfully, yet cautiously.
"it's the first day of school!"
and waited to hear her response. with my fingers crossed.
"oh, good! can you help me get dressed?"
she said, as she bounced out of bed.

after unfolding the entire contents of her dresser,
discussing the weather,
and a few wardrobe changes,
she came down for breakfast.
where she announced to her brother and me,
"i'm scared to meet new friends." and started to cry.

(hayden and i immediately looked at each other in confusion.
i'm certain we were both thinking the same thing:
"really? YOU are afraid to meet new friends??
who are you and what have you done with court?")

he gave her the sweetest little speech about
new friends and new teachers and life in general.
you know, from a nine year old's perspective.
she felt better and ate her breakfast.
and even more importantly, she kept it down.

before we left for school, i heard her say to hayden,
"we'll be right in. it's time for MY first day of school pictures!"
she was so proud.
and happy that it was her turn.
and camera ready, with a huge, willing smile.
just waiting to be captured.

she's made comments all day about the many differences
between her class and teachers from this year to last.
but i'm sure she's going to love it just as much.

kaleb. ava. mayci. jazlyn.

one of the perks of moving north someday,
will be more time with them.
which will be wonderful.
xo, t

two nieces in two days.

a pair of baby nieces, born just two days apart.
one for miss + one for me = a lot of shopping.

i was able to spend some time with them as they traveled
here so miss hayleigh could finally meet her family.
in a word, she is PRETTY!
(and SWEET! I actually can't decide which one word best describes her.)

see for yourself...

an awesomer end to summer.

(be prepared for image overload.)

in one crazy weekend we:

1. celebrated hayden's 9th birthday.

2. traveled to west bed & lomira.

survived:
a terrible storm,
a minor fender bender,
a sleepless night with no ac
and a very annoying clicking sound,
and one too many of meatball's old fashions.

3. cheered on team awesomer as they
completed their first sprint triathlon
(sidenote: if i had time to make a video montage,
it would be set to the rocky theme song.)

4. ate too many ribs before we drove to wild rose.
thanks again, meatball. xo

5. spent the day with jeff & julie & richie and all of our cousins
and their kiddos. tubing, swimming, eating, catching up and
loving the time together before richie's deployment. love you, rich.

6. drove home and crashed into bed at 10:30.

7. woke up for breakfast with the eckberg's before heading
to Noah's ark for a super fun, super exhausting day
with the simpsons.

8. realized at 9:30 on sunday night that i had
completely forgotten to sign hayden up for 3rd grade. oops.

i'm still exhausted. but in an awesomer way.

ready. set. go.

back to school and off to third grade.
admittedly, with "the jitters".
luckily for the 2/3, he has the same super fabulous teacher
and most of his good buddies to keep him company.
they were commenting on the way to school,
"we don't know what we're nervous about,
it's not like second graders can do anything to us anyway..."
it took all of two seconds together
for their jitters to disappear.
the bell rang and they were off
to start a brand new year.

i did great this morning, until i passed
the families sending off their kindergardeners for the first time.
and i thought about this day next year,
when i will surely be a mess.
luckily, i still have 365 more days of
playing dress up...etc. with this one,
who's latest obsession is to turn her
mankie into a "beautiful dress that twirls."