He's 6!

November 30, 2004... doesn't feel like it was 6 years ago, but the calendar says it was! The older I get the sappier I get on birthdays. Not because of the aging factor so much; more because of the realization of how fast time flies by me. If I were blowing out the candles today I would wish for a pause... a BIG pause in time. My baby is 6 today. 6!

The good thing about all this realization is that I now make an earnest effort to soak in every moment, especially milestones... riding the bus, losing a tooth, reading alone, turning 6. Soak. It. In. And take a deep breath!

We celebrated Max's birthday with his friends back on November 14. He wanted a "carnival theme" so we tried to take advantage of nicer weather by a few weeks and have the party early. We gave Max an early gift of soccer goals so kids could play a game, rented a huge bounce house, had hot dogs and cupcakes, and went on a treasure hunt. It was so fun!

Over Thanksgiving we were in Texas. Max got to celebrate there as well. We went bowling, had cake... and on Thanksgiving Day he and Isabelle ran in the turkey trot. They really ran too! So impressive! They got medals and all... best part, of course!

Tonight we are having a party at home with family. Max turns 6 at 5:07pm and at that time we will jump up and down and celebrate, following will be dinner, cookie cake, presents and hugs. I can't wait! Turning 6 is so fun!

Max is truly a blessing in our lives. We struggled to have him. He is God-given and we are so thankful! I will never take him for granted. He makes my heart sing and my eyes smile and today, especially, I want to celebrate all he is... smart, funny, charming, silly, cute, flirtatious, precocious, sweet, stubborn, bossy, happy, healthy... and ours. :) Happy Happy HAPPY Birthday Max! We loooooooooooove you so!!!

What a week so far...

I'm going to spare you all the details of the back yard drama that started last week and continues now... I'll create a whole new exciting post for that! Betcha can't wait! ;)

This week has been fun, amid the stress from the aforementioned project! Max got over the weird "fever virus" going around his school, he is participating in Spirit for Life week to raise money for the animal shelter, I launched my new website and I got some new things for my photography business... and I have pics of everything to share with you!

Let's start with school and Spirit for Life. The kindergartners voted; the animal shelter beat out two other charities as top vote getter and now they are raising money for the cause. Each day is a new opportunity to wear something different and fun and bring in a dollar to give to the charity. Max missed "crazy hat day" due to being ill but luckily the next day was "mismatch day" so he could wear it and still fit in with the theme! I admit, I was glad for that because I spent $17 at Hobby Lobby on "stuff" he could use to glue and stick to make a super crazy homemade hat! The next school day was "silly sock day" and he went for it! Tomorrow is PJ day... wouldn't that be your favorite?

So most of you know my website is alive and kickin! Visit colleencaptures.com to check it out! Chris spent hours and hours and late hours putting it together for me. I love it! I have several photo sessions lined up over the next few weeks so check back often to see updates! FUN! I'm so proud of it!!! I've been taking pictures every chance I get, and have been trying to master the silhouette... yes, it's more difficult than it seems. Here are my attempts from a few nights ago...

And to kick off my new venture I did a little shopping, of course... I ordered a custom made camera strap cover from Polka Dot Bungalow that I can't wait to get!!! I also made a camera bag purchase, a big one, but worth it! I got my new Kelly Moore classic gray camera bag in the mail today... ooh la la I love it!!! I was so excited to open it! It's gray with purple interior and has plenty of room for my camera, lenses, phone, etc. And since I am very excited about a newborn shoot I have coming up in a few weeks, I ordered this sweet teal blue hat from Neisha's Blue Baby Boutique. It came with two flower clips so I can make it work for a boy or girl and she threw in a cute little puppy dog pin as well. I cannot wait to use this thing! My friend Jenn's mom is crafting some knits as well like blankets and booties so I'll be doing more newborn shopping through her, too!

Whaddya think??

Check back soon... most of our back yard work will be done this weekend... it won't be completely done for a few weeks but I'll have progress pictures to share!