Confession Number 92: I Need A New Purse

Last weekend Dustin and I ventured out on a shopping trip with both kiddos in tow for the first time.  Now I've hit Wal-Mart and the grocery store with both Kennedy and Cole in hand, but this wasn't a short trip into town.  We packed up Momma's new Kitty Caddy (our recent vehicle purchase was an Escalade) and headed to Tulsa with a 'not as happy a baby as his sister was' one month old and an 'I have found my voice and love to use it loudly' three year old.  It took guts, but over two months of being confined to Grove, America had us desperate for things of grander.  You know, like clothing stores that don't also sell fishing bait and fancy chain restaurants with drink menus. 

The day was going well and we decided to make a stop by Utica Square so I could shop at Gap.  On the way there KJ had fallen asleep and Cole was wide awake, so we decided to carry Cole and put Sleeping Kennedy in the stroller so Dustin wasn't confined to the car while I shopped.  It was a great idea and I got some great bargains for both KJ and myself.  As I bent down to get my purse from the bottom of the stroller I noticed it was wet.  My purse was soaked and upon further investigation I found the cargo compartment of the stroller to have tons of water.  I figured something in my purse had leaked.  I quickly paid for our purchase, found Dustin and we decided to head back to the car to find the culprit. 

Hmmm.  Interesting.  There wasn't a water bottle in my purse.  Or anything liquid really.  While Dustin was trying to save things from my purse I started putting kids back in their carseats.  I lift a very heavy, Sleeping Kennedy to put her in the car, only to find that she is soaked.  Evidently the two cups of fruit punch at lunch weren't such a good idea before naptime.  That explains the standing liquid in the bottom of the stroller and the absolutely sopping purse.  A quick trip back into Gap to purchase my three year old a $14 package of panties, a change into a new outfit and we were good to go.  The purse...and most of its contents...found the trashcan.  This is why I don't buy Coach. 

Confession Number 91: She's Pretty Good

Dang!  I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted until I logged in today.  Hopefully things are getting a little settled around here.  While it hasn't been as hard as we thought it might be, getting into the groove of chasing, holding, feeding, bathing two kiddos has taken some time.  We are working on getting Cole into a routine this week with his sleeping and eating and working on keeping everything else as normal as possible.  While there have been a few challenges and those moments where you question what you are doing and if it is best, the second time around has been a lot easier.  There aren't as many moments when we question our decisions or worry about whether or not he eats every 2 hours or 3 hours is going to have lifelong effects on his health.  We are more relaxed this go around and that fits our lifestyle so much better!

One thing I have always regretted with Kennedy was that we weren't with it enough in those early days to think about getting some cute newborn pictures done.  Later we made up for it by having them done at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, but I always wished we had some cute naked baby pics to complete the package.  So, having these cute little reminders of how tiny and cuddly Cole is was a priority of mine.

A lot of you know I'm pretty partial to our picture taking buddy, Shannon Gurney in OKC.  Shannon has done our annual family photo session for the past three years and we LOVE HER.  She does awesome work and if you are within driving distance of OKC, I highly recommend you check her out.  She's actually getting Mom and Lynn in front of her camera in early summer and that is a feat all of it's own!  While we worship Shannon, she is um, well, three hours away AND her business has taken off so much she recently quit doing newborn photo sessions (much to the dismay of our OKC friends who also just had babies).  I think the sessions gave her too much baby fever because she is now expecting her third.  Congrats, friend!! 

Since moving to Grove I have come to know my amazing friend, Stacy Clark.  Stacy, like a lot of modern day photographers, is self taught and captured my heart when I found out that she loves natural light photography.  She started taking photos after becoming a stay at home mom with her first.  Since then she has built her business and does a fantastic job!  We met at her house, and even with some very finicky sunlight, she got some absolutely beautiful shots of our little man.  I'll cherish them forever and I'm thinking we'll keep her pretty busy over the next year or so.  I hope she has lots of good ideas!!!!

Isn't she pretty good??  If you are in the Grove area, you will be kicking yourself if you don't get some Stacy Clark Portraiture love for your own family.  Check her out here.  You'll be happy you did!  Or, if you are an OKC reader, you must let Miss Shannon get some amazing shots of your family.  See her latest work here.