on monday, i am enjoying…
the bucket of tangerines anonymous neighbor left in our garage. (dave?)
the sheer miraculousness of feeling a baby you created do flips inside you…and finally being able to make out a little butt from a knee.
a shared family that works.
i don’t know how it does, but i feel blessed nonetheless. maria is the boys’ mom, she is family, and that’s exactly how it works. we all get along. it’s brilliant, really. we go out to dinner, cheer on football games side-by-side, welcome each other into our homes and forget not the fact that there are two kids who benefit from this beautiful situation. and tonight, i was honored to capture a beautiful mama who shares the love of her boys with a daddy i happen to love very, very much.
and she loves my girl. and my girl loves her…always wants to go bye-bye with ‘mawia.’ we could not stop laughing at lainey tonight who tried to weasel herself into every picture.
…and i am forever grateful to give my firstborn two older brothers who crazy love her.
i didn’t exactly think i would marry into an already established family when i was dreaming of my future at sixteen, but as robert frost so beautifully put it…
…two roads diverged in a wood, and i–
i took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.
and the enjoying continues…
getting smiles out of friend’s little. and pigtails that soar.
blustery days that sweep blonde wisps off little heads.
hoppy bo-bos.
that’s ‘happy birthdays’ for non-lainey speakers. and we firmly believe in homemade cakes for birthdays. and candles. especially because our girl loves to be on whoever’s lap is blowing those candles out.
so, hoppy bo-bo, gary.
park fearlessness.
and finally watching her confidence bloom as she follows the bigs (as opposed to littles, you know) up climby things…all by herself. higher and higher until she summits and proudly grins. and when i ask her if she needs help, she says…no, mama.
nighttime.
as my highly-esteemed mornings have certainly had their share of praise on this blog. so it is its counterpart shall receive its overdue applause and rightly so at this time as this mix of refusal to adjust to daylight savings and tired pregnant feet do nothing but welcome the earlier darkness now and what that means. the end of a good day, a bath with my girl, the liberation of imprisoning a really uncomfortable bra to a dark drawer where i wish it to remain for life but am convinced otherwise every morning as the looming fear of what consequences a pregnant braless day would bring five years from now greatly haunts me. sliding into sheets and contorting stomach protrusion awkwardly between pillows until i’ve found the perfect sleep position. and then reminding myself once more that family bed should probably end in the next two months before shoving reminder out, reaching over and holding her hand, kissing her cheek, closing my eyes and letting the music of her sleepy breath lull me into that perfect place of peaceful sleep once again.
i feel so much love tonight. and i am enjoying just that.
Awe and your love shows. That last photo of Love is just beautiful. I so admire your relationship with the road-less-traveled-by family you are a part of. It’s an admirable model.
Perhaps your family bed will just grow. Yes. Do you have a king bed? If not, it’s time.
Sweet dreams, Florida friend.
and since I am never first to comment I thought I’d also take this opportunity to be second. See what a greedy brat I can be? I am seizing the moment sister!
your words are so beautiful that i can’t stand it. i love your…brain. LOL. i do though, for being able to write down so perfectly how you feel and making it so easy for someone like me to understand and feel your words. it’s an art. thank you.
also, thank you from the bottom of my heart for cheering this old girl up with a near midnight phone call telling me my baby was on your blog and i should take a look-see.
beautiful. perfect. made me laugh out loud and want to wake her up and give her a kiss.
thanks kells!!!!
xxoo
The first Dig. Nice. Bitch. Just kidding…I was still up and thought I heard the little ding that tells me I have mail and it was more than mail, it was a window into a special place I like to visit. Loved the pics of the boys and Maria…and I remember once getting a call from a nervous you when you were to meet her for the first time…and you wondered if you should reach out to shake her hand…instead, you reached out and shook her heart and I am pleased you have embraced a relationship that is your own…for your children can only be blessed by it! Can’t wait to see you this weekend–thanks for takin’ care of the Bopp on his day! That last photo will be my screen saver at work tomorrow!
Lainey’s eyes… What beauty! So glad you enjoyed your Monday.
just lovely. everything.
i’m sure your future self thanks you for wearing a bra. lol. hilarious.
maybe you could rock some googling on how to integrate a newborn in your existing family bed. then you won’t have to kick her out in favor or the newer younger model.
poor lainey probably didnt get why she couldnt get in the pic with her bru-bruh’s.
that last pic should be in a magazine!
what is this about your future self and bra wearing? i think i’m missing out on something funny here!
i’m with tisha, that last picture is just stunning (and so fall-ish!!)
i could use an updated baby belly shot (just sayin’)!
smile, kelle, there is so much to be thankful for…
okay, just re-read your post. obviously, i must have missed that nighttime section. now all the comments about a family bed are making sense, too!!
slow down, april. i have to remind myself of that every now and then 🙂
oh my goodness that last picture looks sooo much like Carin. Or Buhbby (sp?). Or Carin. Maybe both. She usually looks sooo much like you, it’s incredible to see her aunt and uncle in her!
ah, family.
Browsing through your blog tonight and came to this post. You all (Brett, Maria and you) are doing such an awesome job! My divorced parents could not even live in the same state, much less get along for the sake of my sister and I. A very sad situation. I am so happy, as a child, as a mother, as a woman, to see adults put the good of the family before any animosity.
har! I love clicking through to the ‘you might also enjoy…’ posts and re-reading and then seeing my comments when I was one of eleven! Wasn’t that long ago and yet so long ago. Thanks for adding that feature to your blog. I like it. x
Thank you so much for the posting this! I married my best friend when I was 24 years old and he was 29 (I am now almost 26). He has a daughter from a previous relationship and in the beginning it was really tough on me and I’m sure on Layla’s mom. (Layla is my husband’s daughter) For all sorts of reasons, it was really tough and I made the decision that I loved my husband (boyfriend at the time) and everything that came with him! Now, we all seem to get along pretty well and I can see the difference it has made in Layla’s life, that there is no awkwardness and she feels the love. I had a lot of different emotions to deal with, such as not being the one to have his first child, etc, but I got over that and now I am grateful to have Layla in my life and that things are balanced! :)I appreciate your blog more than I think you’ll ever know, all the way from South Africa 🙂 xxx