Warp Speed Ahead : Quick update

My photography business is picking up. I love that I can finally get paid for what I love to do. This past weekend I had a session with twin toddlers one day and a maternity session the next. Then the next two weekends I have family sessions booked. It has been so much fun working with new people and being able to offer my small town what it has been lacking for so long... a photographer. Now, if only I can find a time for someone to take my family pictures, I'd be set.

Ben is working up in Vail now which is just about 3 hours away. I sure miss having him around but feel so blessed that he at least has a job to go to when so many people don't. I get a lot done in the evenings though since we aren't vegging out in front of the tv now.

A couple days before Halloween we got hit by a decent snow storm. It snowed for a few days! I don't really pay attention to the weather, I wasn't expecting that. Yet this past weekend we were up to the 70's and I got to wear tank tops.



Since starting Anthony on Clonidine a few months ago, his behavior and sleeping habits have taken a complete 180! This medication has really helped us control his PDD a lot better. He sleeps through the night and his aggresiveness and head banging is practically gone. I know when he doesn't sleep well because it will start back up but for the most part, the stuff works. I'm so grateful to have found a Dr. that works with me and knows my fears of putting my child on medications. It's been a long bumpy road with this child and I feel like I can finally breathe again.

I'm going to wrap this sporadic post up since I have a lot of work to get to. But I will leave you with a picture of my baby boy. He sure looooves his jumper! And a few times I have caught him like this within minutes of putting him in it. He must be very comfortable in that thing. :)

Halloween: A week late

Life. Busy. You know the story. I realized yesterday that I have yet to post pictures of the kids in their costumes. The Friday before Halloween we went trick or treating with the rest of the town down Main St. This is how our small town rolls. :) It was pretty cold but so much fun. On Halloween night we went to the Harvest Festival at our church where the kids played games and of course kicked butt at the cake walk... lucky me... cupcakes, cookies and more sitting in my house, singing my name, yet because of the Biggest Loser Challenge I'm in, I had to ignore the beautiful voices and wipe away the drool until I finally threw them out because I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm so glad Halloween is over! The candy is gone (my trashcan ate most of it!) and the sweets are gone. But man, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Life

My blog has been neglected. I post pictures here and there but haven't really posted about life in general. There is so much to catch up on so this may be a long post. Let's see, Anthony is a good start.

His speech is coming along amazingly! He gets about an hour of therapy a week at school then sees his regular therapist once a month for an hour, for a group session with his buddy, Trevor. While I was on the phone with my mom yesterday, she heard him clearly say "I want to mail this picture to Grammy's house". Of course I know what he was saying but I don't assume that other people can understand but sure enough, she did. His teacher is very impressed with his artwork. Tony can draw like no other child I know. He loves to draw cities, people, apple trees, space ships and space. Here is a picture he drew of our family recently. Some things are more in detail and some things are simple. Drawing makes him happy!

I buy the kids spiral ring notebooks to write in. They like to "do their homework" according to them, although neither one of them come home home with such work from school. Tony is also very into writing letters, copying words on everything he sees and drawing numbers with dollar signs. A lot of the time he has no idea what he's writing but his penmanship is so good that I can at least help him learn what it is. Also, Anthony was in the newspaper last month! He won an award for cooperation in his class by his teacher. We were so proud of him!


Amanda is excelling in preschool. She has a good head on her shoulders and is definitely a leader. Her vocabulary amazes me and, like her brother, she loves to draw and write! She can almost write her name (the last two letters are backwards most of the time) and writes it on everything. She loves to go to school and her favorite thing to do is play on the playground... of course. All kids should love playing outside! I haven't been able to get many pictures of her lately but hopefully I can get some soon. She is on the move, all the time!


Ashton is getting so big of course! At his last Dr. appt a couple weeks ago he weighed 16lbs 4 oz and was 25" long! He's at the top of the charts in size. Grabbing at toys has started and he holds his head up pretty good now with the occasional wobble. He adores his family... I mean, who wouldn't adore us. :) Oh, and boy is he ticklish! I love hearing him giggle!

Ben has been busy with the bathroom remodel. Yes, this has taken so long but with his busy schedule it can only be little by little. He doesn't want me taking any pictures of it until he puts up the rest of the drywall (he's one sheet short) but I'll definitely be posting soon as I think he may be heading to the beloved Home Depot today and finishing up within the next few weeks. We have some big plans for this house but only one thing at a time otherwise my house would be in shambles! This is the wonderful thing about owning... you can do whatever you want to it, whenever you want. I'm so glad we bought when we did!

As for me, I am proud to day that I have officially lost all my baby weight! All 45 pounds of it. I love that I can wear my jeans again... it's actually been a few weeks since I could fit into them but now they aren't tight at all and they actually fall down if I don't wear a belt. I'd like to lose a little more weight so I'm not going to buy any more clothes until then. The biggest change I made in my life to lose the weight so quickly was to cut out my nightly snacking. Actually, Ben and I both did this and he's lost a lot of weight as well. Other than that I've been busy with the kids and plugging away at my new business.

And that's the lowdown on our family for now. I do have Halloween pics to post as well but I need to get off this computer so I can start cleaning up around here. Anthony's friend stayed the night last night and Ben is making pancakes right now for them but I need to start getting things ready for a birthday party we are having here this afternoon for my mom and grandma.

Hope everyone has a beautiful Sunday! Oh my, it's November!! Happy November!

Painted Belly

This morning I got the chance to photograph my beautiful sister in laws tummy all painted up for the season (painting courtesy of my talented mom). You can check it out here on my photo blog!

Posers

Yesterday afternoon I bribed the kids into taking some pictures for me. They love it when I take out the background paper, which rarely happens, because they get to color on the part I cut off, when we're done. I got some of my favorite pictures out of them!







Later in the day Ben and I brought them to the pumpkin patch and got pizza for dinner. We enjoyed watching them run around and trying to find their ways through the corn maze. One of the best part? Every pumpkin was $4 regardless of size! One of the benefits of living in a small town.

Five on Friday

1. Anthony is going on his first field trip today with the kindergartners at his school. They are heading out to the Apple Orchard nearby. I'm so excited for him because not only is he so jazzed about the whole Johnny Appleseed story and actually going to an orchard himself but he is even more jazzed about riding on a school bus. Let me tell you, that is one of his most favorite things to do! He actually asked me at the beginning of the school year if we can move further away from his school just so he can ride a bus home. hahaha, gotta love that boy!

2. Amanda is doing very well in school. She seems to get along with all of her classmates. We even found that of the little girls lives across the street from us which made Amanda happy of course. I'm just hoping she doesn't get sick since yesterday 6 out of 13 kids in her class were out with flu symptoms. :(

3. Next week is Fall Break so I've been thinking of things to do with the kids to keep them busy. We may go to the pottery store in town so they can do something crafty to display in our house, one day. And of course I scheduled in a few Dr. visits while we're at it so that no one has to miss school... that sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?

4. Speaking of Anthony, his school is doing a fundraiser! Yep, that time of the year. But before you go rolling your eyes, this is actually a good one! They are doing a Walk A Thon! He has 40 minutes to complete as many laps as possible around the course set up at their school. And the best part is that parents are encouraged to walk with their kids. So you know I will be out there, stroller in tow, to push him along. This, to me, is such a positive way to raise money for the school. And we all know that it's important for our schools to have funding so they can provide the best stuff for our kids! So, if you'd like to contribute to this, let me know. Right now we are collecting pledges of money per lap and the actual event will take place on the 23rd of this month.

5. And I can't end this week without an adorable expression (yes, I'm gushing... again) of the little one. Man, if only my older kids would let me take pictures of them too without begging!


Happy Friday everyone!!

10 Weeks

Yes, he definitely has a lot of red in his hair! The sweetest little boy for sure!

Today we packed a lunch and took a beautiful scenic drive as a family. There was not a cloud in sight and the temperature was just perfect. We were only gone for a few hours but it was definitely some much needed family time. Along the way we took some pictures then of course set up the tripod so we can get one of all of us since we have to do that. I am so thankful to our Lord for providing us with such a beautiful place to live!

Go Angels!

Phil and Alli got Ashton this cute outfit so of course he had to model it. Wouldn't he make an adorable mascot?! The Angels are doing so good this season! Goooo Angels!!

Time Flies!

Ashton is already almost 9 weeks old. Admittedly, this has been the fastest 8 1/2 weeks of my life as a mother. I adore every.single.minute I spend with this boy. He makes my heart leap every time he smiles or coos at me. He loves to look at the pictures on our walls (the brighter they are, the bigger his smile gets!) and when on the couch, he can roll himself over from his stomach to his back (when he really wants to of course). He absolutely adores Anthony and Amanda, and they adore him as well. They will sing and dance for him and he just sits there with his mouth spread in the biggest smile and chuckles here and there.

He hasn't been in for a check up for a few weeks but I've weighed him in at 15 pounds. Who said he could get so big, so quickly?

Yes, I'm gushing over this little man. But he deserves every single ounce of love that comes his way!