April- Hidden

This months theme was " hidden" .

Mackenzie hides all of her favorite things in her desk drawer, hoping her brother won't find them.

A mama's gotta have her own secrets, doesn't she?

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March- Joy

Joy.  Every mom feels it. It's something that flickers in our hearts as we watch our children grow, a continuous fountain that is fueled by excited smiles at new discoveries or tight hugs after a long day, just before tucking those snugly beings into their beds. Some say it's caffeine and chocolate but I say it's those bits of joy that we mom's live on. This month's prompt, joy, was not an easy one. After lots of thought, I decided this months' blog would showcase the simple things that bring joy to my children.

Mackenzie's 6th birthday remnants

Mason is a creature of habit. The first thing he does every day when he goes outside to play is push this little frog. The look on his face as he watches it twist and twirl is an expression of pure joy.

This puppet can turn any bad mood around. My kids joyful laughter as Leah's antics is the only reason I keep up the puppet charade.

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February Kids Were Here- Love

When Mackenzie was 6 months old, her godmother, Erin, passed along a spare blanket- you know the kid, satiny soft on one side, plush on the other with a cute pattern . This blanket was nearly the same as the one  Erin's daughter, Olivia,carried with her but Olivia already had two and didn't need another one. I accepted this gift but had no way of knowing how much this blanket would mean to Mackenzie, to me.  To this day, 5 years later and never a day missed in between, Mackenzie sleeps with this very same blanket. It's quite dingy, but still soft in a tattered, well {loved} sort of way. It smells like nothing and everything all at once. And , just as I did for her every night as I settled her in for bed, she cuddles the blanket over her left shoulder and drifts off to sleep.  Because I was afraid it'd become a germ magnet, this blanket is only allowed out of the house on special occasions. If it were ever lost, I know how heart broken Mackenzie would be with out it, and I would be, too. For with each nights sleep and each midday rest, this bundle of mine, no longer little, has wrapped herself in this swatch of fabric, told it her dreams, cozied up to it for comfort. It's been a sled and a fort and it's been twisted into a cape for both girl and dog. Tiny hands clung to it like a parachute. It's more than just soft fabric. It's a memory.  It is {love}.

The other day, as I watched Mason use his own blanket as a garage for his cars, I began thinking of how special his blanket is to him, too. Admittedly, I got teary eyed as I remembered when these blankets could envelop my little babes in a full swaddle  and now they are an accessory that sometimes winds up bunched up in the couch cushions or stuffed in a box as padding for a trip to them moon in rocket ship. But every time bed time nears, a drowsy, droopy eyed child goes looking for this special piece peace because sleep- life-  just wouldn't be the same with out that blanket.

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Also feel free to follow the adventures of the Mx4 Crew  here.  Thanks for following our blog circle!

Perfectly imperfect

This just might be my very favorite picture of Mason to date.

I have taken tens of thousands of pictures. I have poured over many of them, editing out harsh hues, clarifying, sharpening and brightening images until  I am happy with the result.   Fundamentally, it's all wrong and I could have spent more time perfecting it, molding it into something more .

This picture is a snap shot.

Looking in the background, you can see that my windows have hand prints and smudges on them, conceding that my life isn't picture perfect, that I juggle and , sometimes, things fall . I could have used my computer mouse and tidied up this moment.

But no.

A thought creeps in and I can't do it. This one photo embodies the very essence of Mason at this stage in his life. Set on the idea of independence, determined to grow up, he has learned to use a spoon but also, and maybe more importantly, when to abandon it and slurp right from the bowl, like  big boys do. His beloved fruits snacks at his elbow and the always present Hot Wheels car with in reach paint a perfect picture of life with this 21 month old being. The way the morning sun spills in, casting a creamy yellow hue, reminds me of our early mornings together . Yes- the windows are dirty, the color is off. But there is my little boy, just as I want to remember him.

 This is exactly why I love photography. In 5, 10, 15 years my mind will be bogged down with new things- report cards, drivers education classes and graduations. Though I never want to forget these things, these tiny details that weave our days into months and months into years, I know I might.  But there is something I can do, I can create a memory trail for our future selves- to dig through piles files of pictures and have memories jogged, to see squishy, sleepy faces and smell his sweet " all boy" smell and to go back, even for just a second, and be in this moment again. That is what photography is for me- collecting memories, bundling them together in the best way possible, so that one day, the past seems slightly tangible again. In days to come, it won't matter if my focus fell in a picture or my photos aren't professional quality. Today, tomorrow, I am their historian. And they are mine.

Kids Were Here - January post

        “These still life images serve as a daily reminder that my days are awash in chaos, whimsy, laughter and laundry (sometimes all at once). They capture toys and spills and puddles and piles. Sentimental, solitary moments of childhood ephemera. A gentle prodding to live in the now and stop looking toward the “then.” And though sometimes I pray for clean and quiet and still, I know all too well it will come. And I will yearn for tiny shrieks of laughter in my bedroom. For toys and loveys strewn about. For signs of a daily life well lived. For traces of my babies who once were. For reminders that Kids Were Here–and they were life and light and love.”    
                                                                                   – Stephanie Beaty

Please take a moment to tour our Kids Were Here blog cirlce . Check out my fellow blogger, Heather, on her blog My kids were here.
Once you make your way back around, feel free to follow me on my personal blog, Mx4.