aphotography

come on over...

2009-03-03T23:32:00.003-06:00

it's here...change your readers, bookmarks, and come on over!!!

www.ambyrporterphotography.com/blog

working....

2009-02-19T10:43:00.003-06:00

I have been laying low over here working on my new blog!!! I'm so very excited for something new and fresh! i've decided to start doing sessions again...the move and law school kind a took a swing on things there for a bit! Even though I don't have my mother- in-law down the street or my hubby to help out with the kids really, it seems that it will all be o.k. :) So stay tuned for the new blog!!!

he's 2

2009-02-15T21:26:00.002-06:00

He will be 3 in June....and I'm wondering if this "stage" will end. The whining, crying, throwing fits, etc...
His vocabulary: no, mine, I want candy
My sweet little dylan, has definitely entered into this awful stage which I'm hoping won't spill over into the 3's!! He can still turn his sweetness on, but when it's not...you better steer clear of this little tank. It's almost amusing as you see him trying to back talk while lowering his voice 10 octaves and do what only I know to describe as the "twitch tail." I know our moms always say, " Cherish every day and each moment when they're little. "
Really?

kids say the darndest things

2009-02-10T22:52:00.002-06:00

This week has been full of laughs from my oldest...luke. He has caught me off guard by saying some of the darndest things that I didn't even know he knew. Here are a few

We went to the park the other day, and here's how a short convo went after I was ready to leave

me: hey you guys, how about we go back to the house and jump on the trampoline!
luke: (with a confused look on his face) or not.
I just started laughing.
me: what did you just say?!
luke: not?
It was like he was sure he didn't want to go back to the house, but did he get the right lingo down?!

another "word" that I have noticed him say..... LIKE

I never thought I would here my son say a sentence and use "like" 3 times. This to me means that
A~ I talk to loud on the phone to my girlfriends OR
B~ I need to learn how to describe things without using this word. pretty much impossible.

And today, after mark took the boys to the park while I cooked dinner (seriously, I have the best husband) luke comes home and says: mom, we threw rocks in the pond and it was AMAZING!

Now, I have to say that I realize kids are smart, I just didn't know they could pick up on things that I never knew they heard! Well, they hear it, I just wasn't realizing it!! Luke just caught me off guard this week because he usually doesn't say too much, unless he's bossing dylan around.

little miss yellow

2009-02-08T23:55:00.003-06:00

It was SO windy this afternoon! I've been trying to take alot of pics of my kiddos to put up in my office, so here was miss a. She about flew away! or atleast her piggies did. I think she may be FINALLY teething. When they start chewing on their own skin, I start to wonder....

first video diary

2009-02-08T21:47:00.003-06:00

o.k, this is hilarious! Mark found out that he had a camera on his laptop. He then proceeded to make some pretty funny video diaries. I thought this one was blog worthy since he added some "special effects!!!" Tell me what you think! Maybe he should drop law school and go into making movie effects!!!

yep, It's official

2009-02-06T15:15:00.002-06:00

I jumped on the facebook boat. Because chasing after 3 kids all day, having a photography buisness, a husband in law school, and a blog...isn't enough.

I don't want to live without reason

2009-02-02T21:47:00.003-06:00

It's monday night. all the kids are tucked away and I head to my computer to finish editing a wedding I did a couple weeks ago. I turn on my playlist that I've been wearing out this past week. The Fray, Aqualung, O.A.R., etc... I read an email from my brother on a mission and I catch up on my google reader to see who's blogged lately. I just start crying. Music tends to get the best of my emotions, and always has. I first get choked up thinking of my brother...thinking how unbelievably hard it must be to serve the Lord on a mission. The courage and dedication it takes. Missionaries amaze me. I then start to read sheye rosemeyers blog. Tears start to flow and my face is burried in my hands. She lists 50 things she loves about her daughter that died a couple years ago. I sit and think how it would be to lose one of my own. I cannot even imagine it. The day to day battles that I complain about lately are just empty nothings. My boys fighting or forgetting to flush the potty....working too much and not spending the quality time with my kids that I should. A song called "without reason," has helped me realize that sometimes I just need to stop what I'm doing and tell my kids how much I love them, call my parents and tell them how much they mean to me, tell my husband how amazing he is. Call my friends and remind them what they mean to me in my life. The little things.....they matter so much. I'm so thankful to have healthy kids who may not pick up their toys today and drive me crazy sometimes, but they are my crazy little miracles. It's the time to start doing and stop repeating. Here is a picture of avery I took yesterday....It was a beautiful warm day among all of the chilly ones we've had lately. The days have flown by so fast. I don't want to live "without reason." Give your loved ones a call, or a hug. tell them you love them:) happy february.

please mom,

2009-01-27T22:51:00.002-06:00

no more pictures....today. I know you got your new lens and everything, but I'm tired!

this is what avery would have said today if she could talk.

the weekend

2009-01-25T00:01:00.007-06:00

the weekend was a blast....a much needed cabin getaway without the kiddos. After the hardest semester of our lives, we were able to call both grandma's and arrange to get away for a nice drive, and listen to music, instead of a kids movie. This was our third year that we have been on a cabin getaway. It's a nice birthday present every year, but it's also nice to gather my thoughts and goals and really START OVER the new year. Mark and I have so much fun together. we both bring something we can't live without for two days. a camera, and a guitar.

mark acting goofy, while I am.....doing the same. It was THE PERFECT day for pictures. I didn't do any editing on any of these!

On the way to a restaurant...crossing the street. I almost got ran over. I didn't look behind me and before I knew it, a loud honk ran me off to the sidewalk!

our cute cabin. The place we rent from has like 5 different cabins. We try a new one out every year. They all have hot tubs on a covered porch in the back. the scenery is so beautiful. we slept in until 11.

Something I love to do while on these getaways is to try new things with my camera. This was taken while a train was going by. I tried to capture the lights of the train on the front...and the motion of it going by so fast.

On the way to see "the curious case of benjamin button," we saw this oil rig. It was so dark, and I tried to catch all of the ambient light I could. It really looked amazing.

what does a photographer do on a vacation with no kids to capture? she makes her husband do it.

we were greeted by this beautiful dog every morning outside our cabin. It's the owners dog. We named him Marley. I haven't even seen that movie yet by the way.

a portrait thanks to my tripod.

I got a new TOY... a lens. I've only taken a couple pictures with it and here's how it came out. straight out of the camera. (SOOC) I am STOCKED to say the least. I just used a little lamp, no flash, and it came out pretty darn sharp for having a low shutter speed.....of like 5! (photo lingo) I'm so excited. maybe I'll sell my other sweet lens....

the reMARKable foundation

2009-01-22T14:41:00.009-06:00

About a year and a half ago, a very dear family friend, Mark Evans was injured in a motorcycle accident. He is now a quadriplegic; paralyzed from the chest down. He is an amazing father of four, and a wonderful husband to his wife Maria. My mom and dad and a few of their friends decided to start a fun run to raise money for mark's expenses. this was the second annual "Run, Walk, and Roll." It was so great to see so much support that everyone has for mark and his family. Here are a few pics of the event!

dylan~ his love for ballons still stands true AND his love for candy that is hanging out of his pockets. avery and my dad snuggling

LOVE this picture of my brother and his son trey. Trey is very photogenic....for some reason my kids didn't get that, but anyway, he'll just smile and put his arm around you. So sweet.

The boys....guarding (and eating) the candy

Mark and his wife Maria

me, the boys, mark (the runner) and trey. I totally rolled out of bed and didn't even have makeup on or my hair done, but I thought this was a cute "typical" photo with kids....looking all directions or with their eyes closed!

I caught avery smiling at my brother...and I thought it was so adorable!

the mind behind all of this...my wonderful mother. She always puts so much hard work and effort into making the best events!!! and, marnie and her girls! Thanks for all those who supported and ran this year!

quote for life

2009-01-19T00:51:00.003-06:00

Take off the lens cap, stupid.

- Anonymous

I was going through some of my favorite anonymous quotes, and I came across this one that I absolutely LOVE......only because it's the story of my life.

something I can't live without

2009-01-16T10:50:00.002-06:00

my girls....
We get together atleast once a month and chat all night long while eating delicious brownies and milk. We talk about anything from politics to our kids and everything in between. Kids seems to always be the topic of choice, since, let's face it...they are our lives! We talk about how much we love them and the cute things they say, but also how much we would love to leave them and go on a vacation just to get our head back on straight again. We love to chat....we love to laugh. we all have to sit on the same couch if that couch allows, and a blanket is a must. I don't know what I would do without my girls. They are all so amazing. amazing mothers, amazing wives, amazing friends. This picture was from a couple weeks ago when we got together for a breakfast with our kids. This was the first get together with our kids, and it wasn't too bad since there was lots of yummy food, toys and a mini bouce house to keep them entertained. We then got together last night for a birthday dinner (no kids) and chatted the night away. It was great. I love my girls!

here are our kiddos... minus 2 who were in school and avery who was asleep.

twenty something...

2009-01-13T09:16:00.002-06:00

yep, today I'm a year older....
I'm totally eating black tie mousse cake from olive garden SOMETIME today! I don't care if it's for breakfast.

what a blessing

2009-01-10T22:07:00.005-06:00

These pictures are a surprise for my mom. I've been waiting and waiting until avery could fit into this...my blessing dress when I was blessed at 6 months old. My mom hand made this dress for me when I was a baby and to have avery wear this was something very special to me. It makes me think of what a wonderful family I have. The most amazing parents, and amazing brothers. Being a parent now myself, I can't help but think of what patient and humble people my parents were when they were raising us crazy kids. Such great examples. They taught me everything I know. They taught me to always choose the right and to think for myself. They taught me to love and serve. How thankful I am to have such a wonderful mom, now that I see what it's like to have a daughter of my own. It's an incredible feeling. I am always wondering how in the world she raised 5 kids. This is for you mom and dad. avery wearing my blessing dress that you made me years ago just makes me think of how lucky I am to have parents like you. thank you for all that you've have done to make me a better person, mother, wife, daughter and friend. love you.

p.s., yes, I did make a print for you mom. I'll see you in a couple days:)

a daily reminder

2009-01-08T16:05:00.002-06:00

I need to try and tell myself to do this everyday...atleast once! another goal to add to the new year. baby girl is almost 8 months! with no sign of any teeth! I don't mind really, they look so different when they get teeth! but then you get used to it and they're still so stinkin cute!!!

christmas: spitzer family

2009-01-08T13:15:00.002-06:00

After the live nativity with marks family, we then go to my parents house to continue the tradition of the ginger bread house making competition. The last two years my dad has gone creative (and sneaky) on us and pulled other "props" to win. My oldest brother Quentin usually comes in second with his creativity as well. As for me, this year I accidently glued the sides of the house in the wrong order. So I made it look like a modern style house with half a roof and then made a little banana tree. maybe next year.... after the competition, we go open our pajamas and the boys LOVED theirs!!! the fact that they had frogs all over them brightened their entire year. Right before we go to bed, my mom tells a story (with some help from my brother derek!) about santa and his many colored bags of toys. The kids loved it. And off to bed they went. Christmas morning came and the kids lit up with excitment. tractors, creative craft table, games, slinky's, frogs and more. Thanks mom and dad( i mean, santa) for another amazing year!

christmas eve:porter family

2009-01-07T08:01:00.003-06:00

Christmas eve....is so much fun because mark and I have both are families here in the area. So, christmas eve we had dinner at mark's parents with a fun white elephant gift exchange. We always love the see the bright green "nighty" return every year! We then host a nativity for all to see on university street in denton, texas. All of the grandkids dress up (thanks to the wonderful costumes made by ann!) and we head out to pose for the nativity scene.....with REAL ANIMALS!!! Everyone comed out to see and we chat, have hot chocoate and cookies,stand by the warm fire, and pet the animals. Lamas, goats, shetlon ponies, sheep. Did I get it all? It's so much fun. Dylan and luke were the sheperds this year. They wouldn't have done a good job if they really WERE shepards since they were running all over the place and not keeping their animals protected! all in all, it's always fun to do this every chritmas eve.

goals for 2009

2009-01-06T09:29:00.005-06:00

As I look at other people's blogs and see their resolutions for this year, I think that maybe I should do the same. and since they're posted on my blog for many to see, I can really try hard to KEEP these goals!
1. always #1 on my list....... get into shape!!! which to me means...I'm thankful that I have a house with stairs. Because that's the most exercise I get all day.
2. stop buying Dove chocolates in BAGS! And just get a stick of them instead. ( I can already see it now....that won't happen.)
3. Never forget to show my husband how amazing he is and tell him how thankful I am that he is such a HANDY man!
4. Try to get down on the floor more often and wrestle with my boys. (seriously, that's all they want to do.)
5. Have more energy to get through life! but that can't happen unless I get #1 and #2 in line!
6. take more pictures? No, PRINT and ORGANIZE my thousands of pictures.

7.get to church ON TIME. I can do this. Church starts at 8:30 for us this year. WHOA! That will be hard, but surely I can do it. It makes it a little easier since church is only 2 hours for the next 2 months because of the building being remodeled.
8. turn on my office light ON when I'm working. This will lead to carpel tunnel syndrome if I don't. (I seriously forget all the time! thanks to terin and brock for reminding me every time to do so.)
9. don't be afraid to go outside and get the mail when it's FREEZING insead of the usual.....wait until I get in the car to go to the store and THEN I'll drive up and grab it. I know I don't live in antartica, but I'm a TEXAN!

10. get dylan to eat more FOOD and less CANDY. teach him that candy is not something that we survive on. although, now that I think of it, he gets it from me.

I think I'll stick to those for now. Here's to 2009!

family gathering

2009-01-05T23:48:00.002-06:00

Every year all of the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, grandkids, moms, dads, etc... (or whoever can make it!) all meet together in waco. Well, this year EVERYONE was there except for three people who had legit excuses! Maybe I'll photoshop them in later! It was SO much fun! We meet at the church which is such a fabulous idea.....I mean really....the kids just run around and play in the gym! We eat tons of fabulous food and catch up on eachothers hectic lives. This year may be the last time for a LONG time that we were all there together. all of us are married with children and it's just gotten harder to have everyone! So, here's to the good ol days in waco!

all about the hats

2009-01-04T16:52:00.003-06:00

This weekend I went to the mall and found these hats on clearance and I had to get them...only because there's not one little boy that doesn't look good in a hat!!! Luke wasn't having much fun, but dylan was showing me all of his "many faces" he can do!! we also noticed that dylan has quite the bite! He's going to need some serious dental work done in the years to come! These boys are so crazy together! atleast it was 80 degrees here in texas, so I threw them outside and mark and I preceded to work on staining our kitchen cabinets. It's a job that nobody should ever have to go through! But I know it will be worth the hard work!

cadbury addiction

2008-12-30T21:34:00.003-06:00

it's just a simple addiction. Last night I went to CVS to grab some milk, since that's all I needed. As I was walking to the check out counter, low and behold I spot my FAVORITE candy from the corner of my eye. I don't even look at the price, I just quickly grab about 6 mini bags and drop them on the counter.
The sales clerk asks me: how are you doing tonight? did you find everything you need?
to which my reply was: yes! I was pretty good, but I'm now officially giddy. thanks to these mini cadbury eggs. YUM!
I know have finished all 6 mini bags and wishing I would have gotten more. and they're seasonal, so I have to get my fix over a 3 month period. like I said before, it's just a simple addiction.

christmas 2008

2008-12-29T23:25:00.004-06:00

santa came.
we had a wonderful day
the kids were all so happy to see santa had eaten the milk and cookies.
dylan kept opening everyone else's presents. after he opened all of his.
while luke sat on the sidelines trying to figure out how to actually GET to the toys since they're all wired down and require either scissors or a chain saw.
avery sat happily and ate everyone's left over wrapping paper.
here is one picture, of the million I took.

oh what fun!

2008-12-23T11:14:00.003-06:00

Here is a little preview of how much fun I had at this photo shoot yesterday...

stay tuned for more of the thiot family!

project:house

2008-12-21T11:32:00.002-06:00

Here is a little preview of our house "in the works."

exibit a: living room with blue tape still on the wall from painting
exibit b: the only christmas decoration that I have in my house
exibit c: the guest bath-yay!
exibit d: a picture of what I do at night
exibit e: a view from the living room into kitchen and hallway, with all sorts of tools on the kitchen counter
exibit f: an office-what! yes, we finally have an office. I can't say "my" office, because that would mean that mark would have to knock on the door before entering...lol
exibit g: upstairs bathroom.

we just put wood floor down in the dinning room. I say "we" but really mark did all the work and I cleaned up the mess. It looks so good! The house came with no flooring in there so it was fun to finally not walk around on concrete.

Around this time of giving and receiving....I am so thankful for everything that our family has been blessed with this year! It was a rough last few months but in the end, it all works out. I'm blessed to have a healthy family and such wonderful kids, and of course an amazing husband!

And last but not least, I'm thankful to all my friends and family to which I would not have a blog if it weren't for you. happy holidays!

Good to be back!

2008-12-16T23:03:00.005-06:00

It's good to be back in the world of blogging again!! I'm officially blogging in my new house! It's been great! I take care of my kids during the day while trying to get things done, and then I paint until around midnight every night or until my arms are so done! Mark has finished his first semester as a law school student! YAY! 1 down, 5 to go! It was such a hard semester I'm not quite sure how he did it, but through all of the stress of finding a house and me nagging him about it as well, he pulled through! He even took the boys to chuck e cheese for dinner the day he finished his finals. What a rock star dad! So everything is coming together! And my christmas cards.....unbelievable really. I just sat down today and got them done. WHAT! I know, it's crazy! We didn't have time to get together for a family picture since we moved and never had any time! But I got some shots of the kids a few weeks ago and here is a little preview of some of the ones I got. Dylan was in such a "mood" that day and wouldn't show off his cute smile, but I wasn't really in the mood to care either, so here they are! Avery is getting so big and blabbing all the time! Isn't that the cuttest knitted hat you've ever seen!! My friend makes those and has a shop on etsy check it out!
Happy Holidays!!

WHOA! It's been FOREVER!

2008-12-03T22:33:00.003-06:00

yes, I've been M.I.A. ...MOVING! It's been CRAZY!!!! I don't have my head on straight just yet, but I'll get there eventually. We closed on our house 2 days before thanksgiving(YAY!) and since then, I've felt like the energizer bunny...until a few days ago, I feel asleep late that night and I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train. My body finally gave in and said, HEY! I need to sleep!!! and since then, it's taken me a while to get back on track! I actually have been without my computer since the day we closed on our house....I KNOW!!! people ask me how on earth have I been able to know what's going on in the world! Well, I haven't. Other then reading my emails off my iphone, I have yet to TAKE or EDIT any pictures!!! I feel so empty without my camera or computer at my fingertips! But, on the flip side, it's been nice. I've been able to focus on unpacking, painting, finding my way around a new city, find a WAL-MART and a TARGET, find some DONUTS, find out how to potty train my boys, find out how in the world am I going to get christmas cards out this year???!!!! find my head, find my CLOTHES, find my SILVERWARE! figure out how to adjust to being a single mom of 3 with a husband in law school, find out that I have an AWESOME house that I TOTALLY LOVE! The list goes on. So, to sum this all up, I HAVE not really noticed that I've been missing out on the world of blogging. AND we will get internet connection on the 16th of this month. ( yes, I'm at terin's right now writing this) So, therefore, I won't be caught up until then. I'd say I have a lot to do before then anyway. I hope everyone is doing fabulous and enjoying the holidays.

A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

2008-11-17T22:18:00.005-06:00

I couldn't believe how cute this kid was!! I love KIDS! I love that they don't even know me and yet they smile like CRAZY! It was an absolute beautiful day and we took pictures until this little guy let us. What a cute family!! Thanks you guys! It was so much fun and a much needed day away from my "mom job!"

OUR NEW HOUSE!

2008-11-12T14:09:00.002-06:00

FINALLY!!!! After a LOOOOOONG search of trying to find a house that's perfect for our growing family....WE DID! Isn't it adorable!! It's so great in every way and it's in a wonderful community! I'm so exctited I can't even stand it! We are supposed to close on it in a couple weeks, so I will have to take some pictures of the inside when we move in. We are going to paint and put carpet in before hand, but I cannot express how happy I am to move into a new house and have mark closer to law school. patience has been the key factor for me not pulling my hair out these last couple of months. Thanks to terin and her family for letting us crash at their house and for putting up with all of the "extra noise" from my wonderful children. Living out of a suitcase or my car has been challenging, but we have managed to pull it off. I've also realized that it is kind of nice having tons of clothes for everybody already in the car. And diapers....and wipes...and formula. It's actually something I may look into doing more often. so what do you think!!??

big brother

2008-11-12T13:01:00.003-06:00

It's been alot of fun seeing Luke play his protective role as the big brother to avery. She absolutely LOVES when he talks to her or entertaines her in some way. He's always there to give her a binkie or a blanket and also gives tons of kisses and hugs. I hope this relationship stays this way and doesn't end up being a war zone when they're teenagers. Who am I kidding.....I know it will, it's always that way for a bit around the hormonal times.

caden

2008-11-04T17:11:00.006-06:00

This post is 3 months late.....but I finally got a hold of my nephew! He is now 15 months old!! This session was a spur of the moment and lasted about 5 minutes. He is still such a little lover and how could anyone not fall in love with those big brown eyes...which come from my brother! even though he doesn't talk much yet, I feel like when he does he tries to negotiate with you. I can already tell he's gonna be a smart little guy:) soooo cute!

also- I feel the need to apologize for all my fellow blog stalkers.....I have been so HORRIBLE at commenting on anyone's blog lately...I'm going to blame it on my hectic life right now and hopefully I will catch up with comments soon. Just know that I look at my reader and am loving all of the pics and stories out there!!!

halloween

2008-11-04T14:49:00.002-06:00

I forgot my camera on halloween....
I can't believe I did. We were at my parents house, so I wasn't about to drive back 40 minutes north just for my camera. So, instead I took pictures the day AFTER halloween! It's better than nothing and the kids won't know the difference anyway! We had a lot of fun though!! Dylan would walk up to the door, say trick or treat, and after he was given a piece of candy, he continued to just stand there like he wasn't given ENOUGH candy. So after telling him it was time to go to another house, he would go ahead and open whatever piece of candy looked the best and have it eaten by the time we reached the next house. Needless to say, by they time we got back to my parents house, half of his candy bag was all wrappers. It was fun to see luke so excited and really KNOW what was going on with halloween. After we left my parents, we then drove to marks parents house. I have to tell you that this house is INSANE on halloween. My mother-in-law goes ALL OUT and has every little thing decorated. Anywhere from skeletons hanging from the ceiling to talking pumpkins and candy bowls to scare the kids as they walk by. I know my sister-in-law took pictures of the decorations, so we will have to post those next! all in all it was a fun day!!

saunders

2008-10-29T21:52:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite 3 people in the world....John and I were the best of friends growing up...and then he met the beautiful missy who I have come to know and LOVE everything about. From her amazing graphic design talents to her cute style and producing this cute kid who happens to have the most ADORABLE SMILE EVER!!!! He wouldn't stop smiling!! It was kind of a trade off.... he wouldn't really sit still, but he kept the smiles coming all session long! It was so fun and I thought the colors that they wore with the beautiful sunset fit perfectly. thanks yall!! you're the best!!

cole

2008-10-23T23:19:00.003-05:00

LOVE IT! I got to photograph a CUTE KID a few days ago and it was so much FUN! I love walking around new and different places and just enjoying little kiddos. Cole brought his "molly" along with him and there wasn't hardly any pictures without it! He was definitely all boy pointing out big trucks or cars that would pass by, and enjoying all of the leaves on a bench we found!!

miss a

2008-10-20T22:00:00.002-05:00

5 months, and gaining! I feel like the past couple of weeks she has just gotten heavier and heavier! which is great for many reasons....especially my muscles on my left arm. Do you ever feel like the time goes by so fast and you can't even remember how tiny they were a month ago? Well, I feel the opposite with avery....like, really? she's ONLY 5 months old! Seems like she should be walking by now! I know that's weird to think, but that just tells me that maybe my life has slowed a bit and I've had time to enjoy her. only 5 months old.....and I hope it will feel this way for a while:)

dylan

2008-10-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

oh dylan... he's coming out of his baby stage and it's making me so sad! I loved this picture because this is typical dylan. Doesn't like looking at the camera unless I bribe him with candy.... and in 95% of every picture, he has stains all over his shirt. I'm hoping he gets out of this lovely terrible 2, whining, tantrum, picky eating stage soon....but until then, I'm enjoying my little chunky monkey as much as I can while he is still a "baby" to me!

luke

2008-10-15T08:37:00.002-05:00

well, we are finally settled in with our fabulus roomates! It's been really fun!! It's like a party every night (after the kids are in bed of course!) We are so grateful to have a roof over our heads right now....especially since it's been raining lately! I took these pictures in front of terin's door-and yes, I'm excited to have new places to take pictures around the house!! I'm sure I'll be posting a lot in the next couple weeks!

update:less than 12 hours

2008-10-08T22:21:00.007-05:00

yes, I have been way out of the blogging world.... we are MOVING out of our house TOMORROW! All we have been doing is looking for a new house and packing up our old house. As I am sitting here typing, I look around and there is nothing. My house is almost completely empty...and I'm so sad about it!! But I know this is just how life goes. so I have to live a little, enjoy, relax, stop freaking out and just CHILL!!! I know we will find a place to live...in the meantime, my amazing, wonderful, thoughtful, beautiful, awesome friend has offered to take on my family of 5!! What a trooper!! I am really going to miss this house, but it can only get better... (atleast that's what I keep telling myself) So I will be MIA for a little bit until I get situated. Please feel free to send me advice on life, housing, and most importantly... being patient, and not taking everything out on my kids because we don't have a place to live.
Here are a few pictures of my house, that I will be leaving soon. I've already cried a million times this week and I'm ready to say good bye and get on with it, so I can start wearing mascara again. Here's to a new chapter in our lives...

such a little monkey...

2008-09-30T10:48:00.002-05:00

She's almost 5 months old....and I have noticed a couple things about her since she was born that I will finally share with my fellow bloggers. You probably can't tell too much in this picture, but avery's right ear sticks out a little bit more than her left! And every time I feed her a bottle, I hold her head on my left side. EVERY SINGLE TIME...her ear folds over and I have to reposition to put her ear back against her head! Every time she lays down, she rolls to that side...therfore her ear is folded again, and I have no control over that when she sleeps. And my next "quality" that I have noticed about avery... no I do not put any sort of gel or spray in her hair to make it stick up like that! Are you kidding me!! She was born with a full head of hair and it has grown like crazy the past couple months. After her bath the other night, mark was getting her dressed and ready for bed. He purposely left her hair wet from the bath just to see how her spiked hair unraveled itself. As he was feeding her, her hair instantly dried and shot straight up in the back!! what is the deal! It's kind of cute, and since it's kinda the style lately for short hair, I'm o.k. So there you have it. My little monkey with an ear that sticks out more than the other and hair that won't stay down. so cute:)

sydney

2008-09-27T08:04:00.007-05:00

this little girl is only 2 weeks older than avery, and look at those yummy cheeks!!! The most squishy little arms and legs I've ever seen!! She smiled and smiled and when mom sang her favorite song, she would stop moving, look at mom, and enjoy the music! and the second the song was over, she was back to being a squirmy cute little 5 month old.

get the scissors out

2008-09-23T22:48:00.002-05:00

I was so ready to cut his hair myself!! I had been meaning to get it cut for a long time now....it's was time... you couldn't see his ears! or his eyes for that matter! My boys don't have the beautiful wavy hair that could just go long and look good. Dylan's hair is as straight as a board. This particular morning, I just made up my mind and said let's go! so this was right before we left. I should have put it in some pony tails, but I was in a hurry! Since avery is my "luke look a like" I figured this is what a "dylan look a like" would be...

back to the park!

2008-09-17T21:49:00.003-05:00

Finally, some "not so blazing hot days!".....It's been BEAUTIFUL here!!! I love love love the fall weather that will hopefully come here for good in a few weeks! Well, we headed to the park, um, every day this week so far! Yesterday it was just me and the boys and it was so much fun! BONUS: I totally had left my camera in my car earlier that day since it was grandparents day at preschool....so yes I happened to have my camera as we arrived at the park! We were the only ones there....I was actually wondering were all of my fellow neighbors were on such a beautiful evening...we then headed to sonic for some ice-cream for dinner!! it was such a fun day, and I was glad to be with my boys, as much as I missed avery....I needed some "luke and dylan bondage time!!"

by the way-that mop on dylan's head got chopped off today!!! I did take a picture of his long hair right before we left...I'll have to post that next!

little "a"

2008-09-13T12:27:00.004-05:00

another cute little bug!! Her mom would make her laugh all the time!!! she would have to dance around and sing some songs, but little "a" was lovin' it!!! what a beautiful little girl!!

bows?

2008-09-09T15:43:00.002-05:00

this week is the first week I started to put bows in avery's hair!!! Is that CRAZY that I've waited this long! I don't know why I didn't before....well, 2 reasons actually....everytime I tried a bow, her head would look even smaller! and number 2...I don't have a bow to match every single outfit! and this is a big deal!! You try to put in a solid colored bow and it's not the EXACT color of her outfit, so it doesn't work!! I need some more bows apparently!!

smothered

2008-09-09T08:46:00.002-05:00

we were on the way out the door yesterday and I saw my boys laying right next to avery....and the look on her face was priceless. She is going to be one protected little girl:)

off to school....

2008-09-04T10:22:00.002-05:00

the day has come where my boys go off to preschool to give me a few hours a week to clean house without interuptions, search more homes, spend quality time with my little girl, do some laundry.....and many many more things!! Luke couldn't stop asking when we were going to school. I kept saying, " 2 more days, 2 more days!" and then 30 minutes later he would ask again. That night we were saying family prayers, and Luke offered. In the middle of the prayer, he said" I pray we can go to school in 2 minutes...." I couldn't help but laugh because he was so excited. I did the mom thing and went out and took pictures in our front yard....it's not like they're in 1st grade yet or anything, but I thought it would be fun. Also realizing while I'm taking the picture that dylan has no shoes and luke's pants came undone!

little "a"

2008-09-04T10:20:00.001-05:00

Isn't she adorable!! I took this one at stacey and pierce's open house and I just happened to shoot it on a white wall!! I thought it captured a moment!

the walk on the beach...

2008-09-03T16:09:00.002-05:00

I forgot to post one of my most favorites from florida! We took family pictures on the beach(which you will be getting for a christmas card I'm sure!) and afterwards the kids were just running around while I was snapping pictures of them. I told my boys to go walk down the beach and hold hands since that's so cliche but I didn't care. So I get ready and look through my camera and Trey has run over there with them and latched on!! So I just took it with all three of them! I thought that was a pretty cute moment:)

she's laughing...

2008-09-03T09:33:00.002-05:00

since I have been on the computer a LOT this week, avery just sits in her bouncer right next to me. she loves to talk which is no surprise since that's what us girls do best! she smiles so much and now she is starting to laugh out loud! it's crazy to think she's only 3 1/2 months old...seems like she should be older, but I'm glad she's still a little princess that can't run away from me just yet!

a glimpse of lately...

2008-09-02T13:01:00.002-05:00

What a week! I honestly have not checked my reader (everyone's blog) or posted on my blog in over a week!!! to sum it up, it's been CRAZY around here!!! We put our house on the market last saturday and had an open house that day (yes, up all night cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning) and this wonderful family came by to look at our house. They absolutley loved it and were so grateful that they had found a house that they loved and where they could raise a family. They came back later that day again and said they wanted to put in an offer. YEA!!! So, a couple days later we get an offer in our mailbox and it was a little lower than our asking price. Mark called them the next day and had to sadly decline their offer. They hung up with eachother and 5 minutes later the phone rings. It's the same guy and he says..we'll do it...we will give you your asking price. He then went on to say again how much they loved our house and the work we put into it. The conversation ended like this...

mark: sounds great!
guy: can you do me a favor?
mark: sure, what's that?
guy: can you go take your for sale sign down?
mark: (gladly) I'll go do that right now.
(later we found out that the wife got in her car and drove by just to make sure!-they were that excited!)

We are so blessed to have been able to sell our house that quick. I got home later that night and mark told me this whole story. I started to cry because I couldn't believe it. I was so sad to leave this house that we started our little family in, I was sad since mark grew up in this house. I was sad to leave a house where we put so much work into to make it our home. avery's room was just painted a few months ago..I was sad to leave such a cute room. I was sad to know that in a few months we will be in a whole different area with people I don't know yet. I was sooooo sad about not living right down the street to the most amazing in-laws ever. They have always been there and helped us out whenever we needed. I am so blessed.
But all of this sadness soon turned into happiness when I realized that another family will start making memories in this beautiful house that we called our home.

So, this is what I have been doing all week.......searching, searching, searching. driving around looking at areas and schools, and how far away it is from law school. talking to realtors, checking my email evey hour to see more listings. Going to every single property search website you've ever imagined.

I'm so very tired. We are in lingo right now and it makes me a little uncomfortable!! So there you have it. this is why I haven't posted or commented on anyone's blog! Hopefully we will find a house in a few weeks and once we get all settled in, I can breathe a little better...and can blog about my new house:)

my boys...

2008-08-26T14:35:00.004-05:00

I took these a while ago...but I've been wanting to post it in a collage! I am starting to think that all boys do is wrestle once they turn 2 or 3!! I guess that's a way they get out some energy?! then I was thinking of what I do to get out my energy...but I don't have that much energy, so I like to do the opposite~sleep. I hope everyone had a fantastic summer:) with labor day around the corner we all know that school is in full swing! and I am very excited to have these energetic boys going to preschool. It's only 2 days a week, but I can do A LOT of things within that time period. yes, they grow up fast and soon they will never be home, but atleast I have a ton of pictures to show that I was worn out and needed a break!

yes, I changed my blog a little, but I have it right where I want it...finally.

pierce & stacy

2008-08-25T00:36:00.004-05:00

one of my favorite families!! What a pleasure it was to take pictures at their open house! All smiles all the time! I've known stacy since we were itty bitty and she has grown up into a beautiful young woman:) I can't say the same for pierce since I just met him, but I know he must be a wonderful guy!! congrats on the beginning of your lives together! you guys are adorable:)

florida~post #3

2008-08-20T23:17:00.011-05:00

WHOA! I have a ton of pictures, I figured this was the easiest way to post!! We had a blast at the beach, and at the pool. We went every day all day long until it was time to nap or eat! The weather was gorgeous the whole time...it even rained in the afternoon a few times to cool us down a bit:) We flew kites on the beach-my boys were mesmerized, like they hadn't ever seen a kite before! we played beach baseball, which we all did on vacation when we were younger. we played spades a lot, and my brother derek and I whooped trash until my other brothers quentin and brent beat us out on the last night. Pappy took the kids to the zoo one day~they LOVED it. They couldn't stop talking about the "white" alligator. We all got a nice tan and we all had some good memories. until next year...

florida~post #2

2008-08-18T22:33:00.013-05:00

Well, we all arrived to florida with dreams of this vacation to be as wonderful as ever. And it actually was....for most of us. This picture will give you a hint of what went on the very first night we were there.

yes, this is an x-ray of dylan's cute little body...and his broken collarbone. He fell off the bed in the middle of the night and started screaming! Mark tried to calm him down but every 10 minutes or so he would start crying. So I went in there and slept right next to him and would love on him and play with his hair until he calmed down. This lasted ALL night LONG! He would fall asleep off and on and I was just laying there wishing and hoping there was some way I could get some sleep! Dylan would throw his legs up on my stomach and would twitch throughout the night. I maybe got an hour of sleep. Poor thing...he was miserable the next day. We had no idea what was hurting him until we kept asking a million times, "where's your owie?" and he then consistantly would point to his shoulder. We then noticed that he wouldn't use his left arm at all. and every time he would fall or you would pick him up he would cry. throughout the week he adapted to just using his right arm...what a trooper! So, that concluded our first day in florida! Now for some of my favorites of all the kids!!!

florida...post#1

2008-08-17T18:45:00.002-05:00

We are all recovering from quite an extraordinary trip with my family to florida for a week!! It was absolutley gorgeous! We all had such a wonderful time. Thanks to happy and pappy for making our family vacations so awesome!! So here is the start of a lot of pictures to come!! maybe I'll just do a slideshow??!!

florida

2008-08-15T14:19:00.000-05:00

we have been here all week and are having a blast!! I have already taken about 450 pictures! It's so beautiful here!! I will have a lot to post when I get back so stay tuned! happy friday!

working & playing

2008-08-07T23:01:00.002-05:00

Lately we have been trying to get our house ready to sell....I know!!! I'm a little sad about it, but since mark starts law school in a couple weeks we figure it would be best to move closer to school. So, we were working (well, mark was the only one working, but you get the idea!) out in the the yard today and you know when there's a ladder in your front yard your kids must run and master the stairs until they reach the very top!! A little dangerous for sure, especially with my second born who falls down after every 5 steps he takes. they had a lot of fun and did everything daddy did. Then they would go collect & compare rocks in our neighbors yard, and lastly we played in between the trees! It was so stinkin hot again today, therefore, my kids refuse to wear any clothing. ahhh....to be a kid again:)

almost 3 months!

2008-08-05T12:45:00.002-05:00

I actually took these last monday....right before I lost my trigger hand to stitches. I haven't been able to hold my camera since it puts a lot of strain on my arm, but I will get there soon!!! I'm dying without it! We leave for Florida soon so hopefully I will be better by then! Hope yall are enjoying your summer!!

slip n slide

2008-08-04T21:46:00.004-05:00

a new meaning to the slip n slide

2008-08-01T22:10:00.005-05:00

I know I posted a few pictures of the slip n slide on the 4th of july....but things have changed! my parents had heard from one of their friends that you can buy billboard signs from a website. Well, they ended up buying not one, but 2 HUGE signs so that we can slide down!!! I can't tell you how fun this is!!! the kids absolutely love it!! I go to my parents' house once a week and spend all day there, and all of the grandkids are there on this day as well. So we pull the slip n slide out every time and have dinner out on the porch. Here is one of the many days we have done this....we even have rafts to go down on it as well! and it all ends with a little pool of water at the end. On this particular day my brother and mark decided to pour dish soap all over the slide...only to make things faster! this is why you see bubbles at the end of the slide:) i've taken lots of videos of it and I need to post those!! It's so funny to watch! last week we had about 20 people there and 5 or 6 would go down at the same time. I was on the sidelines watching since I couldn't get my lovely king fu arm wet.

the evidence

2008-07-30T13:28:00.002-05:00

i'm going to try my best and explain what happened, but just know that it sounds much better in person or over the phone!

It was about 6:45pm monday night and the boys were out in the backyard while I was cleaning up dinner. avery started to cry, so I went and picked her up from the other room and on my way back, i just looked out the backdoor window to check on them. they are standing right at the bottom of the stairs from the backdoor, maybe 3 feet away. I am holding avery in my left arm...... I see luke hit dylan and I immediately bang on the window to get their attention. My hang goes right through the window on the first bang and glass flies everywhere. I say "Oh my gosh!" don't move boys! not even realizing what has just happened to my hand. I look down because I see blood coming from somewhere and I remember thinking....that's something I've never seen before. my skin had peeled back right below my wrist and I was looking at what I thought was my muscle or bone or something! I suddenly feel ill and also feel the need to pass out. I think to myself...no, I can't! i'm holding avery! I pull it together, take a couple deep breaths and realize I need help. I call mark who is on his way home from work in dallas. I'm screaming at him telling him I cut myself, I cut myself!! he keeps saying, "what? I can't understand you!" he finally gets that something has gone wrong and he tells me to call 911. I didn't think I needed an ambulance or anything, but I needed to get to the hospital quick....and maybe an ambulance would be the fastest way?! mark gets off the phone with me, calls his mom who is right down the street and tells her there's an emergency. she arrives within 5 minutes. Now comes the humor.....within these 5 minutes this is what happens...
I call 911, they get my info and I tell them I cut myslef on a glass window and it looks pretty bad. by the way...I am still holding avery. the paramedics on the phone are asking me questions... it went something like this...

911: is the blood squirting out of your arm or is it pouring out?
me: oh it's just pouring out, not squirting, but it's a lot!
me: (yelling) luke and dylan stay away from the glass!!
meanwhile dylan starts screaming and I have no idea why
911: ambyr, I need you to go get a dry cloth
me: o.k.
me: (still yelling) luke! go get a diaper on!
911: ambyr, I need you to go get a dry towel and press firmly on your arm.
me: yes, ok.....

I am still holding avery in my left arm, while holding the phone in my right hand while blood has now covered my arm and is dripping on the carpet.
I have now remembered that dylan is still screaming and realize I need to go calm him down. I go over there, ask him what's wrong and he shows me his finger. there is a dead worm, split in half hanging on dylan's finger and his flipping out because he can't get it off.

me: here dylan, I've got it, it's just a worm. It's dead, it's not gonna get you
dylan: it's not gonna get me?
me: no, are you o.k.?
dylan: yes

911: ambyr! I need you to stop being a mom for a second, go get a dry towel and sit down!

my mother-in-law has now arrived and at the back gate where she can see what's going on.
the old lady (emma lou) that lives behind us apparently heard all the noise and came over to see if everything was o.k.

I see my mother-in-law and I walk over to her and she takes avery from my arms. I finally go get a dry towel as I was instructed 5 minutes ago.

me: o.k., I've got the dry towel and I am pressing firmly on my arm.

the ambulance arrives about 3 minutes later and they check out my arm and wrap me up. they tell me I need to go to the hospital and would I like a ride....well that sounds like fun!
but mark shows up and he ends up taking me to the hospital. we are at the hospital for 3 hours from start to finish...and 14 stitches later.

I guess we can never "stop being a mom" even when there's an emergency!

kung fu accident

2008-07-28T23:20:00.004-05:00

just got back from the hospital where i received 14 stiches on my wrist. i can hardly type, but i had to share! after everthing calmed down and i had to tell my story to everyone who asked at the hospital....the story became somewhat humerous, thanks to my husband. he seems to tell everyone that i kung-fu'd the window. when i have more energy and can type a little better, i'll share what happened....

buds

2008-07-27T22:15:00.004-05:00

yes, they fight and don't share, and cry sometimes....but all in all they're buds. how could they not be-they are together ALL the time!
.the love to wrestle as of lately....thanks to daddy!
.I always catch luke reading to dylan in their room...so sweet!
.they eat evey meal together
.they sleep in the same room together, and sleep the same amount of time. although dylan sometimes needs a little more so he goes back to bed.
.whenever mark is going somewhere and taking the boys, he NEVER takes one...he always takes them both.
.they swim together
.when luke goes to the potty....dylan watches.
.they're in the same nursery class at church because dylan was afraid of being without luke
.they take baths together
.their car seats are right beside eacother in the back seat of the car.
.they go to the doctor at the same time. It's too bad avery wasn't born a little later, I would have all 3 of them there getting their checkups!

the latest...

2008-07-26T09:55:00.004-05:00

here's some pictures of some summer days lately!

the other day when I took my kids to the doctor, it happened to be right when they were supposed to be taking their naps( my kids musy have their naps or they do not love anything around them, and therefore it makes for a cranky household!) So, after the appointment I drove as fast as I could to get home to put them down. When I turn around to get them out of the car, I notice that dylan had put mark's hat on his face and had fallen asleep. I ran in and got my camera only because I thought he looked just like an old man who had fallen asleep watching a cowboy game on thanksgiving!!

These are pictures of a day at happy and pappy's house....it happened to rain once we got in the water to swim, so what better to do than take pictures until the sun came back out!!

I love this one of my dad and avery....so sweet

luke a little upset that we had to get out of the pool:(

trey and avery

yes, this will be a memorable picture.....my little tan boys with white buns!

the boys with their animal goggles on after the rain had stopped:)

I stopped on the side of the road after a photo session last week while the sun was going down and saw this beautiful field of flowers. It was so peaceful...mainly since I had no kids with me! just another hot texas night.

cash.6 months

2008-07-23T12:04:00.002-05:00

he's all grown up now!!! not really.....but I always forget how fast the time goes by!! cash is so adorable and has such a sweet personality already!! He was all smiles mostly the whole time!!! Especially when he was with his daddy....

Junie Kay

2008-07-19T22:43:00.005-05:00

This was such a fun shoot!! I photographed this little girl when she was a couple weeks old. Now a year later she is as cute as ever ! Isn't this little mexican dress so precious! Thanks america, I had so much fun!!

2 months!

2008-07-18T07:48:00.003-05:00

We went to her two month appointment yesterday and what a joy it was. I had my boys with me and my lovely 2 year old was just that....a 2 year old. trying to get into all the cabinets, climbing on the doctor stool and rolling around, climbing on the chair while trying to knock down the beautiful picture on the wall,taking his shoes off, and fighting with his brother. As I am trying to discipline my children and tell them I will give them anything as long as they can sit down and chill, I am holding avery as she is constipated at this time and trying to do her business. I felt like I was in a zoo trying to control my little monkeys. And why do the doctors always take so long to get in there! so avery got her shots and screamed so hard that she was not at all constipated anymore! I was already so tired and sweating and it was only 9am. Here are the results:

weight: 11.2 lbs
height: 23 inches

sleeping beauty...

2008-07-17T07:38:00.005-05:00

this week has been rough!! I have started letting avery cry it out.... I did it with my boys and it works miracles once they get it. They learn how to put themselves to sleep. So, the first night was o.k., she finally wore herself out and crashed for a consistant 7 hours and another 3 hours after that. But then the daytime came and that was a whole different story! I don't think she slept all day but maybe 1 hour. Needless to say she slept for 9 hours that night. It's been better at night, but the days are still hard!! this picture isn't from this week, but from when she would fall asleep on my bed in the morning after I fed her. And now we're off to the doctor for her 2 month checkup....and shots:(

cash

2008-07-16T09:07:00.002-05:00

I took these pictures at a family gathering we had and thought I would share....I'm actually taking his 6 month pictures here soon:) This is absolutley the perfect age for pictures! They can't run away from you just yet!

bath time

2008-07-13T21:51:00.002-05:00

This was the first time I got the camera out and took pictures of baby girl in the tub! She seems to be very interested in everything around her. Whenever she's crying, I can turn on the water and she totally stops crying! She loves the water...she's a girl....we all love to be relaxed & pampered!

this last one was a typical "trying to get your child to smile by making funny movements and noises and once they smile you quickly look through the camera to catch the moment and it's blurry" picture :)

avery's blessing day

2008-07-09T22:28:00.005-05:00

What a beautiful day....friends and family all joined us at church for the blessing of little avery. As mark was blessing her, I couldn't hold back the tears. Especially when he mentioned her being a mom someday. I don't remember being this emotional with my boys. There's something about a little girl that melts your heart. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing family:) Her dress was beautiful...it was an off white color with a faded pink sash around her waist.My friend rachel custom made her headband to match her dress exactly. She looked so beautiful.

the 4th..continued

2008-07-09T10:17:00.004-05:00

So, here are the pictures courtesy of "happy's" camera.... I wasn't kidding about this slip n slide....it was enormous!! we had our own little Hurrican Harbor right in the backyard:)

dylan-the dare devil...

mark with no tube...

my brother brent

my dad- aka "pappy"who always made it the furthest...off the slide and into the grass

my mom..aka "happy"

happy and my boys

caden with some sweet shades on

happy and nicole my sister in law relaxing in the pool

dylan and happy

my boys!

my brother quentin teaching luke how to swim

quentin making caden laugh

as for the slip and slide...it will only get bigger and better every year!

the weekend...in a nutshell

2008-07-07T13:34:00.002-05:00

didn't even take my camera.... why you ask? lately I think I'm a little warn out of bringing my 4th child a long with me. But now I'm back up and running after a long busy weekend.

Thursday night was a blast at terin's parents house, tons of food and friends and fireworks. luke got scared of such loud noises-as always and dylan was all about it...as always.

Friday, we all went to my mom's to swim and again eat tons of food and slide down the amazing slip n slide (pictures to come from my mom's camera). You wouldn't believe that all of the adults were going down this thing more than the kids. not even kidding.

later that evening we drove back to denton and out to our families land to shoot off fireworks. At one point I was stoked since I love fireworks and all, but trying to watch 2 toddlers and one baby in the dark, while your husband is shooting off foreworks....not my idea of fun. all in all we had a good weekend.

Sunday we blessed my little avery at church and it was great! Her dress was adorable and I do actually have pictures of that to come....

there you have it...in a nutshell

the sweetest thing

2008-07-03T15:31:00.002-05:00

I am still taking pictures of my kids all the time! I can't believe I am, but I can't seem to get enough of them! It's so fun to see them with avery....they constantly want to feed her and hold her. I think it's the sweetest thing. Whenever grandma comes over, luke is very protective and tells her, "this is my avery...you can't take her home." grandma and I just laugh:)

bridals!

2008-07-02T12:49:00.002-05:00

I LOVE doing bridals.....the brides are always smiling and always fun to work with! Megan was no exception....it was about 100 degrees that day and her and her entourage were GREAT! It was so funny that between every location change her "helpers" would have a portable fan and a wet towel to wipe her down! Those are some amazing friends!! It was fun megan....hope you took a long cold shower when you got home like I did!!

the.most.pictures.ever.in.one.post.

2008-06-30T15:25:00.012-05:00

andrus family fun day!! What a day it was....after a delicious meal we all headed out to play a game of tennis. And let me just state that maybe 2 or 3 out of 8 couples have played..a little. So off we went to play! It's quite the fun sport for laughs, but who could get serious with the andrus clan! All in all, it was a great day. Here are a few action shots...thanks vaughn and ann for a fun day!

btw, lately I have been getting tired of the old vertical or horizontal pictures....therefore the "slant" has taken over lately!

bella

2008-06-29T22:20:00.004-05:00

I've known this lilte girl since the day she was born...now she's almost 2 years old and I can't believe how much she's grown! She was such a free spirit, just running around and trying to explore the world all by herself... and mommy or daddy were close by to catch her in those moments of "exploring!" thanks you guys! it was fun:)

congrats mark!!

2008-06-27T09:36:00.004-05:00

well, he did it, the first step of a long and hard 3 years....mark got accepted to texas wesleyn law school!! This is where my older brother graduated just 2 years ago! Mark is such a hard worker,loves school and loves a challenge. I guess this is where it all begins! So, with now having 3 babies and my husband starting law school in august, it's going to be quite the adventure!

checkups

2008-06-27T09:27:00.004-05:00

this week luke and dylan went to the doctor for their 3 and 2 year old chekups....I'm sure a normal person wouldn't blog about this type of thing, but mark and I love to see how much they both weigh....because either now or sometime in the future we just know that dylan will weigh more than luke. Their last check up, about 6 months ago....dylan was 1 pound behind luke. So you can see the excitement in this little challenge we have! Going into this chekup, I just knew that dylan was right there...all these times that luke picks on dylan and takes his toys away....finally dylan would have something to defend himself with...his weight. So, as they both approached the scale, the results were shocking.

weight:33.5 lbs
height:38 inches

weight:29.8
height:33 inches

Luke has further surpassed his little brother! I was so sure that this would be it! Oh well....someday. In the meantime, dylan just uses his high pitched squeal when he doesn't like something that luke did. and I am going deaf as this goes on day after day.

6 weeks old

2008-06-25T15:26:00.002-05:00

6 weeks old and growing...this will probably be the last picture I put in her "baby album" since I can't really call her an infant anymore! As for the boys, we went to the doctor today for their checkups...I'll post that next!

lollipop

2008-06-23T14:21:00.003-05:00

I love when some things can keep your kids occupied for a while....and seeing how big this lollipop was, it was a long time before I was asked to do anything like get a drink for them or change a diaper! My sister in law gave my boys a lollipop for their birthday and she knew how much fun I would have taking pictures of it! And I did...

all 3 feet...check!

2008-06-19T18:13:00.002-05:00

you may think this was an easy task...but in fact 2 out of my 3 children were crying the whole time! I have been meaning to get a picture of all 3 of them or 3 of something atleast! So I took a million pictures and this is the one liked the best:) If I try and get all three of them again, it will be too soon! atleast for a while...

rainy day

2008-06-18T17:02:00.002-05:00

The other day it started to get dark outside at 10 in the morning....which means it's gonna rain!! So I grabbed my boys and told them to come outside while we got blown over by the texas winds waiting for the rain to come. It was great! They loved the wind, and all of the leaves dropping down from the trees. Then it started to rain and I gave them their umbrella's thinking they would like it...but they still stayed under a covered area. I know someday they will be like we all once were during texas rainfalls....in the streets with our shoes off, soaked, playing in the gutters. Can anyone relate to this!

the joys of motherhood...

2008-06-14T14:27:00.004-05:00

Can you guess what happened here? I think the jar to the left gives it away. It looked so cute in black and white, but you couldn't see the damage that was done.

Here's the REAL deal...

You know those times when your kids are quiet all of the sudden? This was only after 2 minutes of not checking on them to see what they were up to. Sure enough...this is what they got into. Could you imagine what it would look like after 5 minutes?! I'd love to hear everyone's stories or pictures if they have any of these moments to share!
I just found one as I was browsing my reader...HILARIOUS!! click here

lovely...

2008-06-13T17:03:00.003-05:00

4 weeks old

2008-06-12T08:03:00.003-05:00

Time has flown by, and she's already 4 weeks old...it's been an adjusment having 3 under 3. For instance....I haven't wanted to go anywhere only because it takes so much longer to load 3 kids in the car! If luke could buckle himself on his own, it could be better! Luke still loves to hold and love on her....he still calls her a "he" rather than "she" sometimes....we're working on that. dylan loves to hold her as well, but then is "all done" with her after a few seconds! she loves to fall asleep on mark every night for like 4 hours! Mark had been a lot of help with everything. I only wish that I could pass her off to eat at night sometimes....ah-the consistant night sleep will soon come. She's a wonderful baby and I couldn't have asked for a better family:)

this is how we do pb&j

2008-06-11T15:08:00.002-05:00

today dylan turns 2! Crazy!! I feel like he's still my little baby. happy birthday llittle guy!
So, we headed outside for another day in the pool. I asked dylan what he wanted for lunch...pb&j. And this is how they eat it...
what's with dylan's leg up in the air!

Always always...dylan keeps looking for food that luke hasn't eaten yet.

me and avery

2008-06-09T22:23:00.004-05:00

I love this picture of my little princess and I. I love that I have pictures of us when she's so little...because we all know how fast they grow up and you forget these moments. Right now I'm in the middle of it all...and enjoying it. she is still so tiny and I can't imagine her any other way. Whenever we came home from the hospital and I hadn't seen my boys for a few days, the minute I saw Dylan I thought he was HUGE! And just a few weeks ago he was my little chunky monkey. This is why we keep having more kids right? We want them to stay little....

birthday party

2008-06-08T21:58:00.004-05:00

luke turned 3 on friday and dylan turns 2 on wednesday....I decided when I had them so close together that we would have a combined birthday party...atleast until they start to care! So on friday I asked luke what he wanted for his birthday breakfast. like mother like son...donuts!! so I loaded up my kids and we headed down to get the most amazing donuts in denton county. As you can see here, he devoured the spinkled donuts. staurday we had a few friends and family get together for a swimming party. It was a hit. you can never go wrong with swimming! So here are some pictures of the day...

I have to give a shout out to my wonderful mother who made these amazing "frog" cupcakes for the party. I think martha stewart gave her a call later:) They were delicious!

I happened to snap this one of little "mia" ...can you stand the cuteness!!

luke and dylan's cousin trey...such a cute kid

and for the disappointment! It was SOOO WINDY!!!! therefore we could not even LIGHT the candles. And here are the faces of my boys after the news.

seriously dad?

We had a great time...and since I couldn't stand the fact that they didn't get a chance to blow out their candles...I made cookies later and we stuck the candles in them and sang one more round of happy birthdays...

red bucket

2008-06-04T21:37:00.003-05:00

anything can make kids happy....I wish that were true for adults!! I know it is to some degreee, but kids are happy just looking at bubbles and playing in water all day! I got this bucket at target the other day to hold all of the outside toys in. Sure enough, the boys get a hold of it and I go grab my camera! Dylan was covered in dirt and ketchup left over from dinner. Luke on the other hand seems to keep his face pretty clean! I love their smiles...and their laughter is contagious. ah-to be a kid again. What on earth am I going to do with all of these pictures by the way! Thank goodness for digital! but then comes the printing!

yucky feet

2008-06-03T17:59:00.003-05:00

I realize that all my posts are about my kids...since I was pregnant it seems. I haven't gotten back out there and done photography for clients yet, and i'm not sure how long it will take me to get there!! I feel as if 3 kids have taken over my life and how could I possibly fit in my love for photography! I really miss it, so this is why you see so many pictures and posts of my 3 little neanderthals. It's a little boring, but this is my life! It's been hard lately adjusting to all this chaos that I've put upon myself, but then I think of the show, jon and kate +8 ( I watch religiously ) and I feel better~for the time being. Well, here was just another day of muddy feet and cute faces. It's not even the middle of summer yet, and I've already pulled out the carpet shampoo!!! There's only 1 area of carpet in my house and it happens to be right where the back door is to go outside! my luck, i know...and even after I wash them off-outside- for some reason there is a new stain on it every day. Gotta love kids:)

splish splash

2008-06-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

As the boys and I continue to go stir crazy being in the house...atleast we have a $20 blow up pool in our backyard!! The boys would stay in there all day if I let them. Potty training is still going....and I think I may drive myself crazy trying to endure it. I need all the advice I can get!! Help!
I love their faces in these pictures...going from no splash to all over splash with huge smiles.

daddy's little girl...

2008-06-01T21:03:00.002-05:00

You don't know how long mark has wanted his little girl. lately, I will find him snuggling her at night before she goes to bed. It's such a cute thing to see, especially since I have pictures just like this of him and the boys as well. None of them posed..all natural snuggly nap times with dad! Today, it was a sunday afternoon nap that took place and I was awake since I felt well rested at the time...and everyone else was taking a nap. So peaceful and quiet! So, once again mark wanted to snuggle her and soon found them like this... these are the moments that I love capturing...

it's a cliche...i know

2008-05-31T17:43:00.004-05:00

but I couldn't resist taking pictures of her feet with my wedding rings!! And look at those cute little wrinkles!!

bubbles

2008-05-30T10:02:00.003-05:00

since I've been home all week potty training and getting used to having 3 kids, i've pulled out a lot of toys I bought at wal mart one day just for these moments.
bubbles. that's all my boys need.....luke knew how to handle the bubble gun pretty well....and then dylan, well he just pointed it at himself the whole time!! He put on quite a show! Until they dump out the whole bucket of bubbles on the ground. then those fun 20 minutes or so are over and it's time for me to think of something else creative:)

FINALLY!!!

2008-05-28T10:16:00.003-05:00

luke is potty trained!! Well, I may be speaking to soon, but we started on monday- my decision- and he hasn't had one accident!! Last summer he was interested and I think I scared him out of it since I was so excited!! So, he hasn't been that interested until I thought to myself.....I'm changing 3 diapers and I think I'm about done!! So, I went to the store with luke, bought lots of candy and toys and he's been doing sooo good!!! I know there will be accidents here and there, but It's way better than changing 3 diapers!!! And dylan has now wanted to go on the potty since he has seen luke doing it-or maybe it's just all the candy afterwards that he wants! So does anyone have any advice for me as far as leaving the house and going somewhere "new" just being potty trained? I'm afraid Luke will be scared and not go!!! Do I do pull ups when we go out the first few times or keep him in underwear?!

bucket of love

2008-05-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

I really have to control my constant need to take pictures lately!! Although, it's good because I love it! and I'm making avery's baby album so I need lots of pictures!! Here are just some that I took tonight-it was 8pm and I was still able to capture some light without using my flash! I love the outdoors....and the last one of her and the boys~already so protective:)

hugs and kisses

2008-05-23T12:59:00.004-05:00

I finally got a moment to capture the boys and avery....but just a moment! the boys were all over her wanting to hold and hug and kiss her. sometimes I think dylan thinks she's a play doll....but he has his gentle moments with her. here's to the start of having 3 kids under the age of 3!! I can do this right?!

avery:take three!

2008-05-21T21:44:00.002-05:00

I know....I can't get enough of her! Danielle made a comment wondering when you'll get to see pictures of the boys again, and I hope that it's soon!! They've been at my mom's and now my mother-in-law has kidnapped them during the day this week, so I haven't had much time wih them!! So, avery and I have been snuggling and taking pictures!! I just love her so much and even more than ever since she's such a good baby. I have to say that I have been missing my boys and before they went to bed tonight, we all snuggled on the couch and watched sponge bob. I love my boys...and they seem so HUGE now that I am always holding a little tiny baby. I am so thankful for my growing family:)

avery's photo debut

2008-05-20T00:31:00.002-05:00

My friend Toni asked me if I wanted her to take pictures of my little girl when she arrived....of course!!! Toni is an outstanding photographer and I couldn't be more pleased with how she handled little avery. she put a couple up on her blog so check it out and let me know what you think! I can't wait to see the rest Toni!! You're amazing!! click here