Great to be Eight

When I look at her face I see my sister. That only makes sense because my sister is her mother, and only 18 months younger than I am. We were together throughout our entire childhoods. We shared a room, wore matching clothes, had the same hair cuts, got the same perms, got matching toys, matching dolls, even matching stuffed animals. Now as adults we only live about a mile apart. Our kids are great friends, and I love it!

This girl has a lot of the same qualities that my sister has. She's very determined, kind, loyal, and fiercely competitive. If she's running a race she's going to be faster than anyone. If she's doing her homework, it's going to be the neatest handwriting, and there will be no mistakes. When she's playing soccer, she's going to get that ball if nobody else is, and she will get it in the goal no matter who gets in her way. If she sees a friend being mistreated she will put a stop to that immediately. She protects anyone she loves. It is so much fun to see her do just about anything. I literally cannot wait to see what she does with her life.

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For the Love of the Children

I remember when I was pregnant with my first child. I was over the moon excited to be having a baby. I wanted to be a mom for a very long time, and it was finally happening! I thought it would all be so easy. My baby would love me at first sight, and never do anything wrong. She would be the most well behaved, intelligent, creative, and talented child that ever lived. Parenting would be full of pretend tea parties, reading books snuggled up on the couch, swinging on the swings, laughter, and fun. Looking back, I was so naive.  Yes, some of those things happened, but not in the way I imagined.

Surprise surprise, my children are normal children with strengths and weaknesses. I know they aren't the "best" kids ever, but they are the best for me. I love them unconditionally, and I have a pretty good feeling they love me in that same way. We did have the pretend tea parties, took many trips to the park to swing on the swings, and read countless books together. We also had long nights of crying, sickness, colic, teething, temper tantrums, cranky children, and cranky parents.

Parenting is not all sunshine and lollipops. There are difficult, and very painful times. There are times you just want to run away from all of the responsibility. No matter what, you always want to come back to those faces that you love more than anything. I've been a parent for 16 years, and I still light up inside when I see my children's big smiles. Nothing else is more important than their long term happiness - nothing. The joy you feel from seeing them grow and progress trumps all of the work and heartache.

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First Birthday Cake Smash

Could she be any cuter? First birthdays are always exciting. It was so fun to help her family celebrate hers.

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One Year Old Times Two | Thousand Oaks Children's Photographer

There are lots of twins in my family. My uncles are twins, and two of my cousins have twins, one of them even has 2 sets. Each time I was expecting I wondered what it would be like to have twins. One is hard enough, but two at the same time? That sounds daunting. 

This dad is a single parent to the most adorable one year olds. He is so sweet with them, and as you can see they are incredibly happy. So, not only does he have twins, but he's doing it all by himself (with a little help from Grandma when they are in town). We had a great morning together. What a joy they are.

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Tiny Dancer

She's so tiny, and so delicate, but full of personality and spunk.

Parents and Children - A Divine Relationship

The relationship between children and their parents is truly magical. It's a relationship completely built on service, trust, time, and dependence. Being a parent or caregiver is the most selfless thing you can do in my opinion. You devote your life to another human in a way you can never duplicate. It is a divine calling, and one I'm so happy to document. It brings me great joy to see their joy.