The one for this weekend

Happy

Happy

Halloween!!

The one about Dawson's blessing day

So many of our family's significant events go unblogged. Yet there are a few worth going back and mentioning.

DAWSON'S BLESSING DAY

Dr. F was blessed the last Sunday in May. It was a wonderful day. Before church Kev, Halle, Drewbie and I dressed our little guy in his blessing suit. We all ooed and awwwed over his sweetness. He wore a very specail outfit given him by "Grandma Vyki" who had passed away only a few days before.

It was bittersweet to think that had she been alive, she would've been too sick to come. Yet with her on the other side, she was probably able to be there with us.

He was sooo sweet and handsome that day.

Blessed by his Daddy :)

After the blessing we met with family and friends for a potluck lunch at the church's pavillion. I intentionally made sure not to plan anything at our house and kept everything simple so it was a stress-free and memorable day for us. Should have done the same thing with the other kids' blessings. It was awesome.

Today (five months later) I finally found some time to take pictures in his suit. He doesn't look the same as he did but that's ok. Better late than never. Besides he is definatley just as sweet and handsome as ever.

Here are some of my faves:

Love his turtle smile sooo much!

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The one about Dawson's many mini photo shoots

I wrote most of this post back in May but never finished uploading the pictures until tonight. Life is crazy having three kids, I tell ya. I am ignoring all the other things I could (and probably should) be doing. Blogging and going through old photos sounds much more fun. Besides, I deserve a break, right?

Btw, I love these pictures so much now. He was so tiny... I can still remember how he smelled when I see these. Mmmmmm. I love my babies.

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I have been taking pictures of newborns for several years now, and they are my FAVORITE to photograph. Ever since I got pregnant, I've been soooooo excited to take MY baby's pictures. I thought I'd really be able to go to town.

So, I set up the photography equipment in my living room when Dawson was less than a week old. However, crazy-hectic day after day went by and I literally didn't have ONE spare moment to do a photo shoot :( (We were feeding/pumping/taking back to the doctors...around the clock. Plus all the usual mom stuff) It was soo so so frustrating, to have my own beautiful baby but no time to capture his sweetness on camera- the way I have for so many other babies.

Three weeks went by & I still hadn't found a minute. I was so depressed about it. I felt desperate about the precious newborn-time that was flying on by, unrecorded. I decided to keep my camera nearby and start taking a photo here, a photo there, whenever/wherever we were . . .

I never did fit in a full photo shoot so the pics are not what I had in mind, but they are still beautiful and I'm grateful for what I got. And (yay!) I finally got my photography equipment out of our living room. . . after a month of tripping over chords, backdrops and trying to keep the other two other little monkeys from destroying it all.

In a way, it's kinda cool because each picture has a memory that will remind me of what was going on in those crazy weeks after Dr. F came.

For example:

The next two pictures were taken at 2 am. I will remember that Kev had just got back from work and I REEALLY wanted a pic with his hands in them. I waited and waited for him to come home that night, holding Dawson who was undressed ready for pictures, keeping him warm in his fuzzy blankie. Kev sat at the kitchen table, half asleep as I shot as quick as I could so we could get to bed. We were so beyond exhausted- I was near tears. Call me crazy, but these pictures are/were a big deal to me. They were worth it.

This was taken one morning when Kev was running late to work but I asked him to stand by for a minute while I put Dawson on a shelf. Kevin's nearby-protective hands are edited out of the photo. In the rush, I didn't have time to dust the shelf and it just felt wrong putting him on that dirty thing. As soon as Kev was out the door Drew and I gave him a bath.

The few with me in it were shot by my sister in law Tiffany when she came by to visit one day. I had a total breakdown while she was there, lots of Post Partom hormones that only new moms can understand. (How embarrassing!) Thanks so much, Tiffy! For taking the pics, and for being there when I lost it. It meant so much to me.


That same day Tiff tried to help me take pics of Dawson on this scale. However, he immediatly pooped all over her and then we got the giggles, so none of those pictures worked. This one was taken a couple weeks later... the last (and one of the only pics) shot with the black backdrop that was left out for nearly a month.

After the pic was shot, I pushed down on the scale until it read 7 lb 11 oz (his birth weight), and then edited that into the picture. Daws struggled gaining weight for the first 6 weeks or so, and this original picture read just over 6 lbs.



This next one of all 3 kids is actually 3 separate pics, edited into one. Don't look too closely! ;) I assure you there never was a moment that was as peaceful and easy-going as this pic makes them look :) Gotta love editing. It was a really late night and everyone was ornery...especially Drew. You'd never know it, look at those innocent eyes :P

This was on our kitchen floor and he is in a wooden kitchen bowl that used to be my mom's. The whole house was a DISASTER. Halle had a couple of friends over who were all ooing and awwing over him, who were so amazed that he was small enough to fit in that bowl. The rest were taken on my bed. My black blanket as a background. Standing on the bed, right over him, I held my camera in one hand and my table lamp in the other (for a filler light). I'm sure I was quite the picture myself. lol.

Anywho, this post I am sure is boring to everyone else, so I'm just writing this for me. I think I'll wanna remember what was going on behind the scenes. I didn't have time to write in my journal or anything... and this kinda makes up for it to me. Sorta sums up the craziness. Or starts to anyway.

The one for Ronald M

Kevs goes to work, school and studies 7-ish AM to 1 AM (often more) every weekday and 8-5 every Saturday. I miss having him around all week terribly. So every Saturday at 5 we go on a date.

"See ya Saturday at 5,"

we always say.

We decided a few weeks ago to try to get a picture of each date we go on. (Wish we would have started this eight years ago.) There are a bazillion pics of the kids, but only a handful of the two of us. Sadness!

On our date last Saturday while we were waiting to be seated at Texas Roadhouse, we decided to try to find a pair of shoes for Kev. Do ya think it was time?

The bottom of his shoe was attached for one step and unattached the next. Awesome! :)

We went over to the shoe section at Ross where we found the most

GINORMOUSEST

pair of shoes I have ever seen in my life. I can not even imagine a human foot being that massive. Of course it struck me as suuuper funny. In my worn-out-ness everything is super funny by Saturday at 5...lol. (Poor Kevin)

It's hard to really tell how big they are from this pic. To put it in perspective, the shoes next to them (the ones that look like like they could be Drew's) are Men's Size 12!

We should have bought them. It would have made such a great white elephant gift, don'tcha think?

I didn't need to untie the laces to put these on - even while wearing boots! And these were two sizes smaller than the red ones. Check out the size chart I'm standing on. I'm sure you had to be there to be as enthralled as I was, (or maybe not even then haha) but it was awesome. :)

Awesome because we don't need some fancy plans to have a great time together. Something as simple as picking out a new pair of shoes can be a total blast. So glad I married my best friend.

Love our Saturdays at 5.

The one with a VIP

We got to put together a presentation about Drew for his VIP day at preschool.

I put together a slideshow of pics to show his class. Most of the pics are already on this blog at some point, but there were a few from my PRE BLOGGER days that I just have to share. They are just too great not to.

Like these ones that show his amazing intensity. Sooo fun!

Drew's first look at a girraffe - 2007

Drew sees Santa coming on a firetruck ... double pleasure, double the fun - 2005

Drew loves his new chair - 2004

Or these with him helping Kev mow the lawn. He's always loved helping his Dad.

2007

So many fun memories. . .

Such a boy - 2007

Got into a box of food coloring (while sitting in a basket of clean laundry p.s.)- 2007

Love his handsome face - 2006

Thank goodness for photography. I just love these pictures so much.

The rest are from a date Drew and I went on. We went to a park and I brought my telephoto lens, he brought his gun. We both did a lot of "shooting." (Like that pun? haha)

Short little legs

In his own little world

Sneaking up on unsuspecting victims

We didn't know those people at the park btw

Love that boy

2008