My Once Upon a Time...

A few more "1st Day of School" Pictures from one of our favorite photographers.  Take a good look at his T-Shirt, because our dryer shredded it right after...I was so upset, but at least we have these pictures! He actually took a bite out of this apple. I only realized later, that it was a styrofoam apple and not a real one...oops! ...and he was done with pictures! Haha!

These might be my all time favorite pictures.  With Fox's first day of preschool approaching, I wanted to get some pictures done to remember this stage of his life. I wasn't even planning on going to this photo shoot, because I had already paid for another "Back to School" Photoshoot on the same day, but when the photographer posted a picture of the set up the night before, I quickly changed my mind and I'm so glad I did.  I've been very nervous about him starting school soon. He is such a shy little guy and I'm worried it will be a nightmare. I'm sure in the first few weeks it will be (just like his swimming classes), but I hope that he will grow to love it quickly and makes friends, has fun and learns a lot. He will start out going two mornings a week and then five mornings a week starting in January (unless Hannah will stay with us for another year, in that case, he would continue going two mornings a week). ...

Day 225 My fearless child! He kept yelling: "I'm flying!" Day 226 Such a sweet boy, I wish I would get these kind of hugs from him! Can anyone guess where we are? :) Day 227 Katie snapped this picture one morning after we had a rough night with Mr. Fox. He usually doesn't sleep in our bed, but he had a night terror and sometimes, when it's 4am, this is the easiest solution to get everyone in the house back to sleep! Day 228 When did he become such a big boy? Day 229 Another day at swim class with Coach Joe. Fox really enjoys going now and he has made such huge improvements in the last couple of weeks. He can float for 20+ seconds and fall into the pool and then swim back to the wall and crawl out. It's amazing (and terrifying) to watch! Day 230 In Germany, we have a tradition where children receive this "Schultuete" filled with lots of goodies on their first day of school. I really wanted Fox to have ...

Day 218 Family Bike Rides are our favorite! Fox always makes sure to cheer us on "You can do it Mama" and "Faster, Faster Mommy!" followed with "I have so fun!" Day 219 Mom's Night out with Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and the Movie "Bad Moms". It was a blast! Day 220 We met my friend Julia and her kids at the train park, but didn't last long in the heat. Day 221 Another hair cut in the books. Am I the only mom who has pictures of every single hair cut? Ha! Day 222 "I don't want to take a nap! I'm not tired!" After his hour of "quiet time" in his crib, I took him out to play and then this happened!  Day 223 Day 532 (or so it seems): Painting in Progress! The walls will go from two shades of grey to another two shades of grey. Day 224 Hawaiian Bunco Night!

He told me he was flying to "In N Out"...he sure is my kid! And this one right here...yea, he sure is Katie's kid too! ;)

Being a mom is hard. If you are a mom, I’m sure you already know that.  I have been really struggling lately and most days I go to bed feeling like a failure. Thinking I could’ve done better, could’ve done more, could’ve had more patience. I’ll always tell myself that tomorrow, I will do better.  Tomorrow, I will be the best mom that I can be, the best wife, the best daughter, the best friend, the best employee. But then tomorrow comes, and somewhere between lunch and dinner, I will drop a ball. Or two. Sometimes even all of them. And then I beat myself up for not being able to handle it all. Or not handle it the way I would’ve liked to. Mom Guilt at its finest.  I thought everyone feels like this every once in a while, so I talked to Katie about my feelings and asked her if she ever felt like a bad mom and she said no, she never feels like that.  Most days I feel like I have too much on my plate. I start work at 5am, hoping Fox will sleep until at lea...

Day 211 Best $2 ever spent! I found this little soccer game at Goodwill and knew Fox would love it. He has been playing with it ever since and it's so cute when he tells us "Cheer me" (Cheer for me). Day 212 Jumping for Joy Day 213 Katie took Fox to the trampoline park and sent me this picture...look at that crazy hair! Day 214 Gelato Date with Mama! He kept asking me "Where's Mommy's ice cream?" so we had to bring her some to work! Day 215 We've had some good monsoons here in Phoenix and Fox loved to watch his first lightning. Day 216 These two had so much fun teaching me all about Snapchat Day 217 This tractor made his entire day! Seeing him so happy made mine!