a photo mom

Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Wow, this blog has been so neglected. It's not because we haven't been doing anything fun. Just life has been way too busy. But we have had a chance to do some fun things together as a family. Here are pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch.

In the past we have gone to a pumpkin patch closer to home. The place is fun with animals, rides, a train and a TON of people. But to enjoy all of that you have to pay for every little thing and you are basically picking up your pumpkins out of a pile. So this year we decided we wanted to take the quieter, more natural, go to the farm approach to pumpkin picking.

A friend of my from the twins club married into a family that has a pumpkin patch ~ Powell Pumpkin Patch. The weather around here has been unseasonably cold. But before the really cold stuff moved into the area we had a chance to head out on a little road trip to Louisburg, Kansas.

The great thing about going to a family farm that keeps things fun and simple is the kids really have a chance to go pick their own pumpkins and to just run free where they wanted to go. It was just so relaxing for us all.

During our "picking" each of the kids tried to pick up pumpkins that probably weighed as much as they do. Thankfully we had Dad here to help out!

I think in this one Claire is giving Garrett and ear full about the pumpkins. She must have picked up 10 pumpkins to put in our wheel barrow.

But then you have something special like this between them...

Our collection of pumpkins - we came home with 2 LARGE ones and 4 smaller and 6 tiny pumpkins.

One of the things the farm did have was hay-rides and we got lucky enough to ride with the Uncle that stops along the way to let the kids all have a turn at driving. Garrett was the second child to jump up and ask to drive. He probably would have done it all day if he had been allowed.
Then on our way back Avary had her chance to drive. She had fun.Claire and Matt stayed back and did not join us on the hay-ride. Matt because of his allergies and Claire because she just wasn't sure about the whole tractor thing.A few sights from the farm....

First day of Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Well we all made it through day 1 of Kindergarten. The day started out great with her jumping out of bed and getting ready very quickly and very excitedly. Then it was outside for the normal pictures of the first day of school. She was a good sport and seemed to enjoy it as well.

A few more...

After pictures we rushed off to daycare so she could enjoy breakfast with her friends and ride the KinderCare bus to school. We felt like this was the best way for us to know that she knew her way and to give us peace of mind on normal work days.

Garrett and Claire said their good-byes and gave her hugs before heading off to school. Matt and I went ahead of the bus so we could meet her in her class. She was happy to see us, but showed us the way. She knew her teacher's name, remembered where to sit and was very confident through the whole thing.

While on our way to daycare I asked Avary what she was most excited about for school and she said she was excited to make new friends. I have all of the faith in the world that that will happen for her and then some. Here's to a great year and many, many, many more to come.

We are okay

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:22:00 +0000

Before my family and friends start to wonder about us I thought I would add a quick post to say let you know we are all doing great. Things have been very busy for the family and especially me.

This spring I decided to try and take my photography to the next level and turn it into a business. With the help of many friends things have gotten under way. And July was a very busy month. I had 3 newborn sessions, including twins; a family of 13 session and at the start of the month I took 1 year pictures of twins and their family. You can see the results of what I have been doing over at my other blog for ClearLight Photography by Melissa Boumstein.

With all of this work the camera has been doing pictures of the kids have fallen to almost none. I think they are enjoying the break. But I definitely need to find the balance so I don't miss out on documenting them as well.

August has not gotten any quieter in the busy category. Our main family focus this month is getting Avary ready for Kindergarten. WOW, can you believe it's that time already. More of her first day of school and all of the excitement will be posted next week.

Since I can't post without a picture, here is something I took quickly during my family of 13 session. Take care everyone ~ stay tuned.

Independence Day

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a fun, safe and relaxing 4th of July. For the most part my family did - as much as you can with twins that are going through the terrible threes and a five year old. We did have fun and the weather couldn't have been better. A little rain in the morning with temps falling into I'm guessing the low 70's. We actually got a little chilly at times while watching the fireworks.
The day was spent with Matt's folks who came down from Omaha and my parents. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the kids with Grandparents as they had not napped (the kids) and were not very cooperative and only half tolerated me taking these few pictures. But the kids enjoyed see the Grandparents giving lots of hugs and kisses to all.
Can you believe how grown up these two have gotten? I am so proud of them ~ even on days when they try all of the few nerves I have left. We recently took Garrett to have his speech checked. He talks up a storm, has a little trouble with pronunciation and does a thing with his tongue that we were concerned about. Turns out his language skills are at the 4 1/2 year old level - WOW. But his does have a very slight tongue issue in how he holds it for certain words. Thankfully the speech therapist said get rid of the binkie (which we did a little over 2 weeks ago) and he should be okay. We'll have him rechecked, if necessary, in the fall. Claire is right up there in the speech and language department.

This year the city of Blue Springs did not have a fireworks show. Opting out due to too much construction going on at the two schools where the fireworks are shot off from and where people watch them from. But our neighbors did not disappoint. They blew off fireworks starting at around 6:30 until a little after midnight.

The kids were outside when the neighbor teenagers started shooting off firecrackers. Which of course sent my kids running for the hills. They are not fans of the loud noises. Garrett and Claire actually went to bed about 6:30 and thankfully slept through it all. Avary actually went out and watch a few go off before deciding that it would be more fun to watch from the comfort of home. I'll have to post some of those pictures at another time and leave with these last two.

Thanks to all of the men and women who serve and protect this country to allow us the freedoms we have today. I come from several generations that have served in the armed forces and am proud of all that they do. But I want to especially thank my brother for his current service to our country. Please be safe, keep your gun close, your boots handy and your head down ~ we miss you!!!

Dress Up

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:50:00 +0000

What happens when my kids have a Sunday afternoon when their Mom is sick and Daddy was working on the phone downstairs? They play dress-up. Interestingly they decided to use their snow boots, gloves, hats and mittens.

Too Tired

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Wow I have been very neglectful of this blog. Sorry about that. It's not like there hasn't been anything to share, we have just been that busy. This won't be a long post, just a quick one to share this picture of Avary.

This was from a few weeks ago. She had been sick all weekend, we think from the heat. This particular day she had started to feel better, but had gotten up at 2 a.m. We could not get her to go back to bed or rest the entire day. Then while Matt was putting dinner plates together, he turned around to find her like this. Oh my sweet girl.

Stay tuned for several more posts this week. Still want to share pictures of what happens when Mom is sick, Dad is working and 3 kids decide to dress-up. Also pictures from a Build-a-bear party and the 4th of July.

Graduation Day

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:40:00 +0000

I still can't get over the fact that Avary is 5 years old and on her way to Kindergarten. It really only seems like last year that she was a tiny baby. She is such a beautiful child, smart, pleasant (most of the time) and I am so very thankful to have her for a daughter. Hopefully the next 13 years won't go too fast!

Here are a few other pictures of her with her friends from her Pre-K class at daycare.

Avary and Miracle have been going to KinderCare together since they were 6 months and 4 months old. It has been a joy to watch them grow up together and continue to be friends.

Here are Miracle, Avary, Natalie and Kaylynn all together. Can't you just see this same picture of them as teenagers graduating from high school! For Natalie and Avary this is a very good possibility. We live near each other and as of right now they will be going to the same schools.

First Hair Cut

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:23:00 +0000

We came upon another milestone this weekend for Claire - her first hair cut. We had been talking about it for several weeks. She had gone with us once when Avary and Garrett had their hair done. So she had been talking about it and how much fun it was going to be.

Until Saturday morning. Then she informed me that she was not going to see Amber and was NOT going to get her hair cut. I told her that was fine, because really it didn't have to be done. But I wanted her to go and just be with the other two. She went, but when she walked in she informed Amber that "your not going to cut my hair!".

After Garrett and Avary were finished Claire decided that she could sit in Amber's chair. Then she said it would be okay for her to get her hair washed. During which time she told Amber that she could cut her hair. It was lots of fun and she wouldn't let me take her hair out until Sunday.

Birthdays

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:32:00 +0000

We recently celebrated the twins 3rd Birthday. Amazing that it has already been three years. It seems like a lifetime ago since they entered our world and yet it seems like only yesterday.

In trying to get just one picture of the two kids together I decided that it is almost impossible to get a great picture of all of my kids together. On this day they were in very silly moods and it was hopeless. But you can certainly see their personalities.

Sneak Peak | Will & Xander

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Just a quick sneak peak from the family session I did tonight. Thanks for a fun evening, but now I must go check one more time for ticks before bed!

Big Kid Beds

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:33:00 +0000

This was a big weekend for us. We celebrated Garrett and Claire's third birthday on Saturday with family. Part of their birthday surprise was new bedroom furniture - in the form of big kid beds. A big THANKS to Grandpa Green for buying the bed spreads. As well as Auntie Barb & Aunt Renee for getting the kids the curtains, hippo and alligator. When Garrett opened up his alligator he went around and had him "chomp" on everyone in the room. Everything has been a hit.

Here are my precious angels sleeping for the first time in their beds. I am thankful that the first few nights have been easy. Hopefully the next 6,570 nights are the same!

Now if only I could get the binkies away from them. Originally the plan was to take those away this weekend as well. Then we decided one big change was enough. So the back up plan is to get rid of them in a couple of weeks - unless I can convince our dog Lily to get a hold of them before that. ;o)

T & E - Children's Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:16:00 +0000

Meet my newest friends. These two belong to a fellow twin Mom that I am glad to call a friend. She graciously allowed me to take pictures of these two so that I could get more practice and start to build my portfolio of children's pictures. We headed out to Deanna Rose to let the kids run and try to be as natural as they could be.This is Mr. T. He made me laugh quite frequently. He knew what he wanted to see, when and if was going to sometimes stop long enough for me to capture a picture of him. At one point near the end of the day he was done with pictures and reminded me that I told him we were done when I tried to get just one more.
Meet Miss E. She was 100% ready to get her picture taken. She is so quite, but ready to flash a smile in an instant. She has the cutest dimples.
I was lucky to capture this. We had been trying to talk "T" into getting in the picture with his sister. While I wasn't looking he jumped in to tell her a secret. I started clicking without knowing if any of the camera settings were correct and hoped the focus was okay. A special moment between siblings.

Thanks Brenda for letting me spend time with you, your Mom and the kids. I promise to have the rest of the pictures done by the time we see each other next week. Enjoy!!

Three little Monkeys

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:01:00 +0000

I may regret this later in my children's lives, but yesterday I gave them permission to jump on my bed. Yes, I am that crazy. It sure was fun watching them and taking pictures. Afterwards they let me take individual pictures. So they had fun and I got a little practice time.

Easter Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:10:00 +0000

After a wonderfully beautiful Saturday - sunny and on the warm side - a cold front came through The temps dropped about 20 degrees, it was cloudy and by lunch time it was raining. But it didn't stop us from having a great day.

Before the rain we were able to get in a few pictures outside.

The kids had a blast hunting for eggs inside Grandma's house. Thankfully the eggs are plastic so if we didn't find them all nothing will stink and smell rotten.

Easter Egg Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Wow, I knew I had neglected the blog lately but hadn't realized how long it had been. Sorry about that. Before I get caught up on several posts I thought I'd post some pictures from today. The kids and I had so much fun coloring eggs this afternoon.

Decided to snap a few pictures before we started getting all messy.

The twins have not gotten the hang of dipping eggs into multiple colors. So our results are very simple, but I love the earthy colors. Here are the kids in action.You can see here that Garrett is really into this. Last year his hands were blue, this year they matched his shirt. See the dye running down his arm. Thankfully playtime in the tub and they were all clean.

Hope you all have a great Easter and enjoy time with your families!

Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:13:00 +0000

The weather men and women kept saying it was going to snow this week, but when the temperature is almost 70 degrees you begin to wonder. Even at 1:30 this morning, when I had to get up for business, there was no sign of any snow. But low and behold when we got up at 7:30 am there it was. From their bedroom I heard Claire telling Garrett "there's snow" and "it's snowing".

So after getting back from the little man's haircut and spending the 20 or so minutes to get them all dressed, we were off to play. Avary decided that she wanted to stay in. Said she wasn't interested in having to put all the layers on.

Both of the kids had fun playing with the shovels. It's just too bad that they didn't actually clean any of the driveway off.
This is him after hitting me a dozen times with snow. Claire was on my side getting me as well. Then Garrett and Claire turned on each other.

They laughed and had so much fun and did not want to come in for lunch. I'm sure we'll be out again tomorrow.

Emergency Room

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:15:00 +0000

click for a closer look

During her shower last night Avary slipped and smacked her eye on the edge of the tub. Within seconds there was bleeding and swelling. After a quick rinse off we surveyed the damage and decided that she needed to be taken to the emergency room.

Kansas City is lucky enough to be the home of three fabulous children's hospitals, so we decided to skip the local hospital and head the 25 minutes west to one of the children's hospitals. Who knew that on a Monday evening a hospital could be so busy. Lots of sick kids needing to be seen. We ended up waiting to be seen for over 3 hours.

After finally seeing a very nice doctor around midnight, it was decided to use bondo glue to hold her cut back together. The hope is this would allow for less of a scar and a little less trauma for my baby. Avary did so well and was so brave during the nurse washing the cut. Not a tear. She sat very still while they were gluing her cut, but after it started sinking in got very upset with the pain and stinging from the glue. All of this was to be expected, but I felt so bad for her.

Poor girl, she was so tired. We headed home at around 12:30 a.m. She insisted that she wasn't tired, but in less than five minutes she was asleep. We stayed home today to let her rest and keep an eye one her. She is such a trooper and is doing great.

Happy Hearts Day

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:29:00 +0000

Hope you are all enjoying your day today. I "LOVE" this time of year. Not sure if it's because of all of the hearts that are around. Or, maybe because 10 years ago this weekend hubby and I were engaged! WOW 10 years - and 3 kids - it has gone fast. This is for him...

The kids and I have a question...

YSW

Yummy Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Spent the evening getting treats and everything ready for the kids Valentine's party tomorrow at daycare.

Fruity Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Thought I'd share a few fun fruity pictures that I took. There were some great sales on fruit at the store and I couldn't resist. Before everything was eaten I also took time to "play" with the food to see if I could freeze the motion of water splashing.

The results:

Beautiful February Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Saturday was one of the best days a February could have delivered. It was about 68 degrees outside. So we packed up the kids, a few items for lunch and headed to the park. Here are a few pictures of the kids from the day. Have a great week!

Budding Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Just a quick post to share a little art that Avary created. She says it is a drawing of Claire. It is so fun watching her go from scribbles on a piece of paper to this! She is growing so fast.

Good Start to a new week

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:30:00 +0000

The weekends are really the only chance we have to cook a full breakfast for the kids. Today they decided they wanted biscuits. Thankfully Pillsbury makes some yummy ones that come in a can! We all enjoyed a nice breakfast of eggs, biscuits and bananas and then had some time together watching a few cartoons. It was a really fun day.

For those that may not have heard me jumping for joy ~ or I have not called ~ I found out this past Thursday that I got a job!! It is a 6 month contract with the possibility of extending. I start on Wednesday. Wish me luck! While I have only been unemployed for a month, I've been working from home since early September. It has been really nice not having to rush anywhere and take my mornings a nice pace. This will change come Wednesday. I think we will all be in shock. But I am thankfully to be working, as I know so many companies are laying people off or shutting their doors completely.

Have a great week.

Three things I'm grateful for today

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Our kids are what I'm most grateful for. To have been blessed with them is truly a gift. A gift that I sometimes overlook. But not today. Their smiles light up my world and fill me with happiness.

I'm excited today for the changes they will see in their lifetime. So much has already changed in the last 5 years. So much to look forward to.

Lazy Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa B) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Wow it has been over a week since I've posted any pictures. Sorry about that. We've been pretty busy. I had something going on 6 nights in the last 10 days!! Add a job interview and the kids staying home from daycare 3 days a week, it's been tough to get too much computer time.

But today we had a nice lazy, jammy Sunday. Started out making banana chocolate chip bread and ended with making home made pizzas. Lots of playtime and booking reading in between. Hope your day was as wonderful as ours.