This week's theme is "yellow"... though I really wanted to post a military image, I just couldn't find the right one that I haven't entered into a contest already. But this kiddo is a military kiddo, and he is definitely sporting some serious yellow, and those baby blues just make me swoon. Sure to break some hearts in a few short years...

I lived in the desert, in Tucson, from June 2001 through June 2003. I hated it. Sure, I found that I loved riding my road bike through the foothills very early in the morning. I found a handful of restaurants that were incredibly reliable. The monsoons had me mesmerized with lighting that permeated my dreams. But overall, I had the opinion that it was a hot, dry, brown, boring landscape. If only I had looked closer. I wouldn't have wasted 7 years believing that I hated the place. I'm so glad I returned. I feel so fortunate to have this second chance and the wisdom to slow down, look closer, and thank God for the beauty that can be found in everything.

I never really enjoyed the physical side effects of being pregnant, so those months went by agonizingly slow. Now, I just wish that time would stand still. He is asleep on my lap, all 14 pounds 3 ounces of him! (He's 24" long too!) He still has that wonderful newborn smell. He's starting to get that bald ring around his head from laying on his back. He's doing push-ups at tummy time. He laughs, he smiles, a lot. He looks most like his older brother, except he still has these captivating blue eyes like noone in the family. He acts with a sweet, quiet, easy going personality that is all his own. The pediatrician says that I am nursing him too frequently. Nevermind that he just slept through the night last night, and nevermind that I have, count them, THREE boys. Sorry Doc, I think by now I know what I'm doing, excuse me while I go feed my incredibly happy baby...

{These images were all captured at home, spur of the moment, around 6pm on the porch, in the span of about 5 minutes before my other two boys had a huge meltdown from hunger... Canon 40D, 24-70mm lens, right around ISO200, F5.6) I simply couldn't pick a favorite!}

In 2004 I traveled to China for the first time. Our companions were another married couple and a Chinese tour guide. This remains one of my most favorite images from that trip; we were driving through a checkpoint of some sort, guarded by the Chinese military. I barely had time to turn on the camera and certainly didn't dare roll the window down, but what a capture! A soldier with a flower, I can think of a couple other iconic images of our lifetime that have the same theme...



For more great flower images, with faces of course, check out this week's contest at I Heart Faces:

He is two months old today! It's no longer gas, and it's ALL the time, this little guy is ALL smiles and I cannot get enough of them! On Mother's Day I got the BIGGEST smile of recognition as I scooped him out of the crib in the wee hours of morning to change him and feed him, making those two things so worth the effort ;)

Today was the greatest Mother's Day, and one of the greatest days period. My husband dipped into my stash of frozen milk for The Bundle to give me uninterrupted sleep this morning, resulting in a fantastic dream where I was an amazing kick boxer. When I finally awoke on my own time, (wow! when was the last time THAT happened?!) I was greeted with a delicious home cooked breakfast, my favorite, french toast and strawberries with fresh coffee, YUMMO! After opening the most adorable bud vase and plaster of paris hand print from my older boys, I was gifted with a delightful outing; a short road trip revealed a historic ranch setting to explore and take portraits, and I had my most favorite (semi cooperative) models along with me for a fun filled picnic and a game of tag. Per my request we picked up a pizza for dinner and after posting these pics I'll be chillaxin' with a new episode of "Army Wives". You can't top all that. Tomorrow our playgroup is off to the zoo, and it will probably be a ZOO of a day, or a circus, depends on how you look at it.

(Gotta give huge kudos to my talented husband for snapping a couple of me with my boys on this special day!)

This week on the I Heart Faces Photography Blog we are honoring Mother's Day! I just put my folks on a plane back home to New York this past week after spending three wonderful weeks together oohing and ahhing over my precious newborn, my cheeky two year old, and my amazingly gifted four year old. Having my parents visit is always a special reminder of how rich my own childhood was; full of trips, treasures, adventures, for they bring it all with them again when they come to visit their grandchildren. If I wasn't standing in a doorway watching my Dad read to the boys, I was sneaking around with my camera trying to get a glimpse of my Mom cuddling the baby. And if I wasn't doing either of those things I was blessed with a nap or an evening out with my husband alone. Having my parents around always makes me wish that I lived a little closer to home. Here is my favorite image of my mother snuggling her third grandson. It's a very special moment when you get to gaze upon your own Mom holding the baby you made. I think she sat in this same chair with him asleep on her shoulder for nearly the entire day before they flew home, sweet!

MY ENTRY:


Go honor a special Mom in your life by clicking the button below!

I Heart Faces is doing something hilarious this week; a "Me Then, Me Now" theme. The idea is that you take a photograph of yourself as a kid and recreate it with as many details as you can manage. Since I have my parents visiting right now we decided to recreate an image of my father and I. The original picture was taken in upstate New York, when I was just one year old. The "Now" picture was taken in Arizona, 29 years later. I have a handful of other snapshots I want to recreate before Mom and Dad head home on Thursday, but for now we have this one, and we find it pretty funny:





Seriously, you deserve a belly laugh! Go check out the entries in this week's contest by clicking on the button below!