Connor just gave me the sweetest birthday note ever. I know that I am going to treasure it and keep forever. In fact, I might just tape it up on my bathroom mirror so I can read it whenever C and I have one of those days. You know the ones…frustration levels are high, tempers flare, patience runs thin…that’s the kind of day we are having today.

He wanted to play on the computer, but this time, instead of going right to Nick Jr. or Webkinz, he typed me a note. And this is what is said:

we love mom!!
from Connor

My favorite thing about mom is that she is the best cook I know, and I like to go to the park with you, and Logan (like my school playground.) I love mom all the way to Pluto. I like to give mom hugs and kisses at night. I like how she let me buy that stop sign.

Melt my heart!  Love that boy.  He has such a sweet spirit under all that intensity and emotion.

And the stop sign?  He’s talking about a real stop sign that we found at a garage sale today for 50 cents.   It’s now hanging proudly on his bedroom door, and he thinks it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever.  I have to admit that it is pretty cool.

I had a great 30th birthday yesterday, and I’m working on a post about it.  But Connor’s sweet note deserved a post of it’s own.

We went to my friend Laura’s house on Monday. The kids were all playing outside and the moms were all busy talking inside. It was a pretty typical playgroup time. Suddenly Noah, Logan’s bff, came running inside with a very exciting message. “Logan is riding my bike without any training wheels!”

Sure enough, Logan was riding a bike without any training wheels just like he had been doing it his entire life! I was way impressed. Luckily I was able to take a video of it with my handy iPhone. Sidenote-i had no idea how much I would love being able to take video on my phone! I love that feature!

So here he is, riding a bike without training wheels for the first time ever.

Logan Rides a Bike from Megan Thurman on Vimeo.

Getting Connor an alarm clock changed our mornings around here.  Before he had an alarm clock, it was like waking a sleeping bear every.single.morning.  But now, he sets his alarm (for 6:30, which is actually a compromise.  He wants to wake up earlier so he can have more time to play, and I want him to get as much beauty rest as possible.  So 6:30 is our compromise.)  By 6:35, he’s out of bed and in my room, waking me up.  I love that I count on my 7 year old to get me out of bed in the mornings!  He gets himself dressed while I pry my eyes open and stumble out of bed.  We meet in the kitchen by 6:45 so I can make him breakfast which usually consists of getting a granola bar out of the pantry, but every once in awhile he wants oatmeal or eggs so he can “run faster in p.e.”  After breakfast, he finishes up his morning routine, and I make his lunch if it’s a sack lunch kind of day.  He only likes to buy when they are having chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken (Tuesday), cheeseburgers (Thursday), or corn dogs (every other Wednesday).  He has this personal goal of being ready by 7:00 every morning, and he’s usually pretty close.  Once he’s ready, he gets to play.  He almost always goes back to his room and works on whatever project he’s got going on…coloring, drawing, practicing his cursive, writing a story, or building legos.  He loves to work at his desk!  At precisely 7:28–everything about Connor is precise–we start heading to the bus stop.  He still gives me hugs and kisses every morning before he boards the bus, and waves at me from his window until I am out of sight.  I love it.

Most morning, when I get back to the house, Logan and Camryn are still sleeping, and Derek is just leaving for work.  I enjoy a few minutes of complete peace and quiet with  my cup of coffee.  And when I say a few minutes, I mean a few.  Camryn is usually squawking within 5 or 10 minutes.  When I go into her room, she grins at me real big, but then says “dada?  dada?  dada?” over and over and over again.  I get the feeling that she’s always a little bummed out that she just gets mama and dada is already gone to work.  She gets over it eventually and starts handing me the things from her crib one by one: a baby, another baby, a third baby, her blanket, her bear, her glow worm, and finally, she reaches her arms to me and I scoop her up.  Some mornings, she just wants to be held for a few minutes.  Sometimes she goes right into her chair for breakfast.  If Logan wakes up before her (which is rare), she wants to be with him.

And finally, Logan wakes up, usually sometime between 8:00 and 8:15.  This is one of my favorite moments of my entire day.  He sneaks out of his room, tiptoes to find me, and peeks at me from around a corner.  Once he catches my eye, his face breaks into the huge Logan grin that I love so much and he runs into my arms for a morning hug and cuddle.  It’s short lived, I’m sure less than a minute, but I love it so much.  He’s my morning tv watcher and after our bear hug, he spends the next 30 minutes or so vegged out on the couch.  It’s the stillest part of his day because once he gets going, he does not stop!

I really love our morning routine.  I’m sure it will change once the summer comes, and then it won’t ever be just like it is right now.  I treasure the simplicity of them and the fact that, for the most part, they are not a frantic part of our day.  Now dinnertime and bedtime?  That’s a whole different ballgame.  But our mornings are a peaceful and slow.  I love them.

I’ve been writing this post in my head for awhile and kept meaning to take pictures of our mornings, but I give up on that idea.  But this is the grin I get from Logan every morning when he sees me.  Love it!

I’ve been busy working on my photo website!

I’m really, really excited about this new venture.  As I drive around town, I’m constantly looking out the window for photo locations.  When the kids are outside playing, I notice the light and take pictures in my head.  I look at different photo blogs, photo message boards, and pretty much any spare moment I’ve had over the past month has been taken up with photography in one form or another.

I’d love for you to check out my photo site! I feel like I’m still very much a beginner with so much to learn, but I’m excited about what God has in store for me with this.  It’s the first “job” or “career” thing I’ve ever been excited about.

I’m offering all my blog reader and Facebook friends 50% off while I build my portfolio and gain experience.  Please let me know if you’re interested in scheduling a session!  I’d love to take photos of your family.

Because we are ready for some fun in the sun!

It’s Gymbucks time and I could not resist this little bikini!  I think she is channeling her inner swimsuit model in this next one.  If you look closely, you can still see the tears on her cheeks.  She was a little appalled at first that I wanted to dress her and pretend that she is my real life doll.  But a few smarties snapped her right out of it.  Bribery….it really works.

We also pretended to call daddy to tell him all about the cuteness.  That made her happiest of all.

“Daddy?  You would not believe this crazy lady.  It’s 54 degrees outside and raining and she is making me parade around in a bikini!  You have to come home and save me.  And can you bring me a new a baby and some fruit snacks and hold me from the minute you get home until I go to bed?  Thanks, daddy.  You’re the best.  You’re my favorite.  I know I have you all tangled up in my web of cuteness, but really…who can blame you?  I’m pretty hard to resist.  Love you.”

So I realize that my blog is super Cam heavy lately…she is just the one I have pictures of!  The boys literally run away if they see my camera.  I suppose I could just tell stories, but I always like to have pictures to go with them.  Here’s a quick little rundown on the boys:

-Connor went to the doctor last week for his well child check up and he is almost 4.5 feet tall!  I mean, he’s so tall, it feels weird to even refer to his height in inches anymore (he’s 53.5 inches, by the way).  The doctor figures he will be at least 6′4.  People always tell us we need to get him into basketball.  Um…I don’t think that will happen.  He has a lot of gifts, but athleticism doesn’t really seem to be one of them.  Except in the pool.  The kid rocks swim team.  But being tall is good for that sport, too.

-Logan had his first sleepover on Monday night with his two bff’s, Noah and Gabriel.  He had the best time and is already asking when the next sleepover will happen.  I love that he already has such close friendships.  We are trying to enjoy as much time as possible with his buddies because next year they will all be in kindergarten, and Logan will be at a different school.  It just won’t be the same, but lucky for them, Noah and Gabriel’s moms are two of my close friends so they are pretty much stuck being friends forever.

-One night a few weeks ago, I was laying down with Connor for a few minutes at bedtime.  He was asking question after question after question about the most random things.  That is so Connor.  His mind is always running a million miles a minute.  I told him he needed to tell his brain to be quiet so he could fall asleep.  “But mom,” he said, “my mind is loaded with questions.”  Understatement of the century.

-Logan is as crazy as ever and literally never stops moving.  Love that kid.  Even when he’s figured out that if he yells and cries really loudly, his brother and sister are more likely to get in trouble.  We’re working on it.  I didn’t really realize how bad it had gotten until he was gone for his sleepover…there were literally no tears or fights or screaming that night.  Hmmm….

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I know I’ve mentioned it, but Camryn loves to be outside with “her boys” as we call them. I looked out the window one day last week and saw them all being so sweet to Cam, giving her all this attention and she was just eating it up.

And I promise Logan is a really sweet boy even though he is wielding a gun in all these pictures…boys will be boys!

Camryn is 18 months old today!  A year and a half…it’s gone by so fast.  She is so much fun, but she is also at that scream, yell, and point phase.  I’ll be happy when she starts talking more instead of just yelling and pointing!  Because, just take my word for it, the girl is LOUD!  Just imagine the sound this picture would make:

(My mom is going to get such a kick out of that picture because there is a very similar one in a frame at my parent’s house.  Let’s just say that we all know who Camryn got the loud gene from…)

She had her 18 month check up yesterday and weighed in at a whopping 28.5 pounds and measured 33.75 inches.  She’s over the 90th percentile for both.   She’s my big girl.  Here are a few things about her that I want to remember (just for my own record, because let’s just be honest, the baby book is definitely lacking for the third baby!)

Her favorite word is dada, and he’s her favorite person in the world.  It is the sweetest thing seeing how much she loves her daddy.  In general, she still prefers men over women, although she loves my friend Laura and her two teachers at school.

She pretty clearly says shoes, bow, mama, bye bye, bus, baby, and a few other words.  She is trying so hard to say Connor and Logan, but it just comes out dada.  She mimics a lot of sounds that aren’t quite words yet, and I think in the next 6 months she’ll be a full fledged talker.

She is so easy to put down to bed and for naps.  She just wants her blanket, a baby, and a sippy cup of water.  98% of the time, she just lays right down and goes to sleep.  She’s been like this since she was a tiny baby, and it’s great!

Her favorite foods are pears, peaches, oranges, cheese, turkey, chicken nuggets (especially from Chick Fil A…she’s got good taste), tomatoes, raisins, and fruit snacks.   I would say 95% of what she eats falls in those categories.  I haven’t been as good about introducing new foods to her…it’s just so much easier to feed her some turkey and cheese at 5:00 when she’s hungry than to listen to her whine until dinner is ready and have her throw half of whatever I fix on the floor.  I think the whole food thing is one area where I have relaxed a ton since Connor was this age.   Most nights, she eats her own dinner while I fix the real dinner, and then she sits in her chair and makes her brothers laugh while we eat.

Her hair is really starting to grow in, and as you can see, it’s as white as ever!  She gets so many comments on it.  It is pretty much as blond as hair can get!  I have even given her a few little trims.  (And her hair usually looks better than it does in these pictures…she has enough hair that she gets real bedhead now!)

She is a little social butterfly.  She wants to be in the middle of the action, and loves to wrestle around with Connor and Logan.

She doesn’t watch tv.  The only thing she will come even close to watching is Veggie Tales.  I suppose that’s not really a bad thing, but there sure are times when I wish it would occupy her for a bit!

Her favorite toys are her babies.  She also likes to put things in little purses and carry her treasures around.  She is so girly in that way!

She is spunky and sweet.  She’s  a little love-bug, full of kisses for everyone (but especially me).  She is very endearing and such a happy little person.  She definitely has a voice of her own and doesn’t hesitate to express herself.  We’ve already had some good all-out tantrums on the floor.  But this ain’t my first rodeo and I don’t think it will take her long to figure out that doesn’t work, nor does it phase me. 

Happy half birthday, sweet girl!  I am so thankful that you are mine.

Camryn has officially reached the playing with babies age. She carries them around almost constantly. She sleeps with them, pushes them around in her stroller and shopping cart, rocks them, kisses them, takes them outside with her, etc, etc, etc. It makes my heart so happy! I was all about playing babies and playing house. Forget Barbies…bring on the Cabbage Patch Kids. In fact, my mom still has all our old CPK’s at her house. When we were home for Thanksgiving, I brought my favorite one back with us for Camryn to play with. I named her Shelby Christine when I was a kid, but I’m sure Camryn will eventually name her something else. If she named her right now, it would probably be “da-da” since that is her favorite word and her favorite person in the world.

Yesterday, Camryn was so cute with one of her babies out in the backyard. I had to take some pictures, and since my blogging has been a bit lacking over the past few weeks I figured they would make good blog material.

First, she carefully gets baby all settled in the world’s oldest Powerwheel Jeep.

And then they are off!  But just for pretend because the oldest Powerwheel Jeep ever no longer runs.  And that’s a good thing….Cami, babies do not belong in the front seat!  And especially unrestrained!

Don’t worry, baby.  I’ll catch you before you fall all the way on the ground.

Camryn thinks she is such big stuff.  And all the while, baby is there by her side.

Don’t do it, Cami!  Yes, babies can be very frustrating, but just lock yourself in a room and take some deep breaths!

Just kidding!  (I LOVE this picture of her!)

But really, playing with babies is serious business.

I love seeing her play with her babies!  I know I am totally biased, but it’s just the cutest thing to see her act all girly and nurture things.  She is so different than the boys, that’s for sure!

I had another photoshoot for a friend the other day and I promised her that I would post a few on the blog tonight.  It’s taking me a bit longer to get through them and get them edited because there are a lot of cute ones, it was a big group, and we’ve been busy trying to cram in all the fun we can handle before school starts by going to the movies yesterday and going to Schlitterbahn today.  But, here are a few of the ones I’ve edited so far.  It was a bit chilly (well, for Houston…it was 50, I think), but it was really fun!  Thanks for letting me practice on you guys!

The main reason for the photoshoot was to get one of the whole crew.  I think we got one!

And another one of the whole group that I thought turned out well.

I love how his arms are draped over his mom and sister.  So sweet!

Isn’t she beautiful?!  She’s only 10, and already such a beauty.

How cute is this?  Two boys and a girl…I have a soft spot for that combination of kids.

Sweet, sweet family.

These are just a handful of the pictures I took, and I keep going back and looking at them and finding new ones to love.  Thanks again, Brook, for trusting me to take pictures of y’all!

Before Christmas, I got to take pictures of my friend Angela’s kiddos.  They were seriously the best little models ever!  They were so easy going, and as you will see, they are super, super cute.  Taking their pictures made me so excited to get going with the photography business!   Which, just as a little update, I really am going for it!  I’m working on a website with Shauna, and I’m hoping soon everything will be up and running.

Anyway, back to Bailey and Brock…