i absolutely cannot help myself. we've had our family pictures back for a few weeks now and i can't help but love...most of them. i mean...there were certainly a few outtakes. they usually involved me force-feeding the girls m & m's and then threatening, "smile."

outtake #1

outtake #2

not an outtake! just so much wonderful personality!


am i crazy to think that she really needs a portfolio? i just think she is the cutest thing! probably because she looks EXACTLY like our farmer.

anyway...

the force-feeding - that's not how it went down. they figured out the m & m's trick fast. there was no force-feeding. there was no threatening...although i did beg sawyer to let me hold her a few times. it didn't happen...resulting in exactly zero mommy / sawyer shots. but that's okay. there's always the coming years.

i can't wait to tell sawyer when she's older and asks, "mom - why aren't there any pictures of you and me when i was a baby?"

"well sawyer - you hated me."

it's those sweet sweet memories i'll cherish. sure. anyway...

kaye had quite the little modeling session and really worked the camera. she jumped, she twirled, she did the obligatory look at your feet shots...at four years old - i couldn't have been a prouder stage mom.

she even let me in on some of the action.



at least kaye loves me. like...really really loves me. 
do i cut my losses now and try to save face...regarding sawyer?

do i play hard to get?

what kind of strategy am i working with here? i need to come up with something...because being just a regular mom who cheers her accomplishments and tries to kiss away her tears isn't working. 

seriously - she's that kid that if she gets hurt and starts crying and you try to give her a hug she'll yell, "NO!" at you...she's a private crier. 

but kaye - she's my little lover.
back to sawyer - i'll just let the pictures do the talking. 

remember how i talked about sawyer's alter ego? well, if you don't - she goes by the name of woofie and she is the sweetest little puppy dog you've ever seen. she'll eat both real and fake woofie treats right out of your hand ever so gingerly. when she barks it comes out in a high-pitched, "woof! woof!"

we all agree that we looooove woofie. sweetest puppy ever.

here i am feeding woofie...i really thought woofie was going to let me pick her up.
i was like, "hi little woofie! here's a treat woofie! can mommy pick you up, woofie?"

so close - yet so far. woofie didn't let me pick her up. but she did take, yet, another m & m. woofie - you greedy little...

you guys - this is the closest i got to her!

can we take a moment to analyze the look on her face?!

she's like, "hey dad. what's she doing here? get rid of her."

a real angel on my hands. if only she knew what i do for her every single day!

sawyer - if you're 20 and reading this one day - girlfriend...i love you so much.

regardless - sawyer had her moment to shine as well. and shine she did! she's just the most beautiful gal with the most gorgeous blue eyes. 
funny story...or not so funny - a few days before family pictures sawyer fell out of a bounce house and split her upper lip. poor gal.

can you all see it? can you see the sass in her eyes? she just looks like she's up to no good!

however...i do recall at this exact same age kaye and i had pictures taken together when i was nine months pregnant with sawyer. during that session kaye threw a stick and / or tried to beat our photographer with a stick. she was equally as sassy and quite possibly had a little bit more of a mean streak, so...maybe sawyer still has a shot?

(shot in hell...i say under my breath.)

oh wait - look how sweet she is!
and look at how sweet kaye is - she threw a pile of leaves at sawyer's face.

and i'll be back tomorrow - probably sharing more about how sawyer can't stand me...but definitely how i'm so so so happy sawyer adores her big sister.