I must be in a mid-life crisis or something because I have been doing a lot of reflecting this past month. Right before the holidays I started going through all my digital files and began creating photo books for my boys. Looking at all of those images brought me back to what sparked my passion when they were small and what was important to me to capture. With the boys now being almost 12 and 13 and those chubby little feet have turned into long, slender man feet, it has really been drilled home. Life is crazy when the kids are little and it is understandably hard to drink in every moment with joy…because lets face it…it isn’t always joyful! Life is messy and chaotic.
Last week I spent the morning with a mama of four as they started out their day. The morning routine is a very unique time of day no matter how old your kids are. It might start out slow with snuggles in bed, or it might be chaotic as you try to get everyone out the door. Regardless, there are memories in those moments that you will look back on and hopefully have images to help you reflect.
The morning starts off quiet with big sis up first and mama sipping on her first coffee of the morning. Gracie is much like my Henry, a rule follower and enforcer. The family manager. She starts in on her homework right away, before even getting into her breakfast. As soon as the middle two boys were up, they went straight to their sister to check out what she was doing. It was so apparent how much these kids all loved each other.
The boys get busy with their own work. They each have their lunch bag that they need to decorate for the day. One thing I love documenting is the funny ways kids sit. They all have a different pose. Sometimes those little toes are sticking out, or in the case of my oldest, he would sit perched with his knees up kind of like a bird.
With their lunch bags made, the boys help set the table for breakfast while mom makes them oatmeal…each prepared a different way, of course. It can’t ever be easy.
You should have seen the flurry of activity when the baby of the family woke up! All three older siblings ran upstairs to get little Teddy out of the crib! This little guy is a miracle a few times over and I have a feeling he has the other five humans in his house wrapped around his finger. It doesn’t hurt that he is pretty damn cute on top of it all.
A little time with sis before sending her off with hugs to the bus stop. Then the chaos of getting a 4 yr old and 3 yr old ready for preschool and out the door while juggling a toddler. I had a hard time with just two kids, but this mama handled it all with grace and very little drama.
Then it was back home to spend quiet time with her youngest. I love being able to document these seemingly little moments. They may seem little, but in each of these photos there are memories of how her daughter helped with her younger brothers, how those brothers looked up to her and adored her, how much they all loved on the baby, and how they all depended on their mama for love, direction, boo boo kisses and more.