The Princess and the Pea

A little over a year ago I found a lump in my daughter's neck. At the time it was about the size of a pea. I called her pediatrician and we went in for a visit. After discussing the possibilities, we ran a series of tests--none of which she enjoyed. It was stressful for her, and stressful for me.
The good news was that it appeared to only be a cyst; the bad news was that because of the location of the cyst, if it continued to grow it would be quite obvious to anyone looking at her, and if it became infected (which could happen over night) it could be quite the trial in removing it; furthermore, if it burst it could cause a whole new round of issues, including cancer.
The pediatrician referred us to a conservative ENT to discuss our options and he felt that either then or in the future we should have it removed--more as a preventive measure than anything else.
Knowing that she was so young (not even two), I just didn't feel comfortable going forward with the surgery and we decided to wait and see how we felt about it a little later. Maybe it was more fear of the unknown than anything.
Over the past year her cyst has continued to grow and now it's the size of a marble. It causes her discomfort in her neck already. We've lovingly named it 'the Bump' and she will tell me that her bump hurts. Because of this we finally felt it was time to have it removed.
Of course I'm nervous! They'll be putting her under anesthesia, slicing into her neck, and possibly discovering more than they are anticipating. I'm a worry wort by nature and pregnancy hormones don't help, so I try to be logical and realize that all of the risks are relatively small. But then I worry about how she will handle it when they take her away from me--for that matter, how will I? How will recovery go?
Her surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow. If anyone can spare some positive thoughts or prayers, I know they will be felt.
Wish us luck! And here is the princess herself.

Guess who turned three?

If you guessed Buzz Lightyear, then you are right! This family has been one of my best clients and I just adore getting together with them for whatever the reason! This time we were celebrating Buzz's 3rd. Don't call him by his given name, he won't answer. But his name just adds to the cuteness he already exudes. Look at how adorable this little guy is!

I love...

I love this man.
I love his soul.
I love his eyes and his smile and his hands.

He consistently demonstrates what it means to work harder, to be better. He does this in so many private ways and never asks to be recognized. It's just who he is.

He does the right thing because it's the right thing. He doesn't complain about it, or feel bad about it. He doesn't brag about it. He just does it.

He knows what works for him and what doesn't, and he goes after what works for him.

He takes advice to heart and works to improve himself physically, mentally, and spiritually.

He is smart. Really smart. And he doesn't realize how brilliant he is. But I see it, and so do others that surround him.

He loves so deeply and so fully. I know this because of the little things he does: After a long day of work, he still manages to rub my back or my head or my feet every night, because he knows how much I like it. And, he puts the kids to bed every night--they have a special routine and he enjoys it as much as they do. He takes time to talk to them and to listen to them. He serves others without hesitation. He'll call his grandma just to see how she is. He'll call my parents just to say hi. He'll do anything I ask of him without asking why.

I love this man because he inspires me to be better.
Every day.

I love...

Girl Scout cookies. Now, girls, where are you? I've been waiting by the door for you every night!

2 Years Old!

Two year olds can be tough to shoot--they are always on the move, but M was a lot of fun even if he was active. We did this session in my mock studio set up at home, all natural light.

I love...

Dirty dishes. I know, call me crazy. It's actually a love-hate relationship. I don't actually love dirty dishes, nor the act of washing them, but I love what comes before and what comes after. I love the process of creating a meal. I love eating the meal. I love feeling fully satisfied from something I did.

I actually don't like doing the dishes. At all. But I can't stand a sink full of dirty dishes even more, and it forces me to just get them done! I admit it--they add up as I attempt to see if anyone else will just volunteer to do them. I even tried to bargain with my hubby one time. I told him that whoever made the meal, the other would do the clean up. I thought it a fair trade. He didn't like it since it would nearly always put him in charge of the dishes (okay, I can't say I blame him--if you don't like doing the dishes either I can see how that wouldn't fare well). So it was a no-go and he still helps out too, but more often than not, the dishes are left to me. It's probably better; I'm anal when it comes to things like loading the dishwasher. It has to be done just right (unloading too).

Even more, once the dishes have been washed, or put in the dishwasher and started, I get to see the bottom of my sink-clean. I love that feeling. It inspires me to continue cleaning the rest of the kitchen, scrubbing down the counters, sweeping the floor (which already happens twice a day with the little kids), which then leads to vacuuming the rug, and while it's out I will vaccuum the family room, which leads to the living room, and after starting work on just a sink full of dirty dishes I end up with a clean house. Is anything better than a clean house? Not much.

I love...

Window light. As a photographer, something related to photography has to make me fall in love, right? Ah, yes. And window light it is. I imagine you've heard me say this more than once, but it is true. I love the versatility I can achieve with it. For example, the following picture was taken just using window light, as was this one here. Depending on the length of the rays coming through the window I can achieve a totally different feeling from one picture to the next.

So today I caught S running around in her swimsuit, her hair pulled back, and a milk mustache on her lip. My mommy heart fell in love with her and I jumped for joy when she said I could take her picture. We immediately ran over to the bay window in the kitchen and I put her on the chair. I didn't think I was going to post about her today (in fact, I had a different post planned, but you'll get that later this month), but after loading the pictures onto the computer, I just had to post about the window light. Do you see how it hits her eyes? So pretty!

I love....

I love my time. I don't get much of that as a mother. It seems every time the phone rings or I hop on to check my email, or I'm trying to clean up, read a book, workout, whatever...that's when the kids scream for Mom. I know I'm not the only one out there, because I've heard many of you say the same thing! It's uncanny, really. They could care less if I'm trying to spend quality time with them (or so it seems), but as soon as my attention is turned elsewhere they NEED me. Urgently. And they are very vocal about it. If you have ever been on the phone with me and you hear the chaos in the background, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I am glad that they need me though ;)

But I have learned a few tricks over the last couple of years that work wonders when I really need my time. One is that my little girl LOVES to draw, paint, color, cut paper, etc. She is an artist in all respects (and my walls show the truth of that statement!). Putting her in front of anything that will allow her to explore her artistic side seems to buy me a good bit of time-sometimes up to an hour! I figure it's great for her too!

It's nice to find those little things that make life (and my sanity) just a little better.

I love...

Is it possible to be in love with food? I say yes! Especially if it's homemade bread. So what if it's from a bread machine (I need the convenience!), it still tastes great and is such a comfort. I love it warm with butter melted over the top, or with almond butter and honey. And what makes a better bed time snack than toasted bread with jam alongside a large glass of cold milk?

Things I love...

There are many forms of love, and since this is the month of love, I thought I'd document and share with you some of the best things I love.
I love Davis, my little scientist, because he's methodical, quirky and smart. He learned to write his name a year ago. He decided he was tired of writing his name and took a year off--he literally refused to do it! But, I thought he could try again, so we sat down with a paper and pencil. I wrote his name on top, drew the lines out and asked him to copy his name down on the lines. He did a great job and I was SO pleased. But he wasn't. So he erased it.
And thought about what he needed to do to make it better.

And tried again,

then shouted "YES!" when he'd finished.

I love that he's learning to try again when something is hard, or when you make mistakes. It's a big lesson that everyone has to learn at some point in life, and I love that he takes his life lessons to heart already.