Rewinding Time | One Year Ago

One year ago, I scrambled, chased, danced, jumped, jigged, and laughed trying to take a group picture of my wild bunch.  By some miracle, the above image was captured.  I knew it would be a difficult task, but I greatly underestimated the will-power of my children.  For remaining in one spot for any amount of time wasn't in their vocabulary nor was it something they felt compelled to learn.  Let me say they were not shy about expressing their opinions...each and every one of them!  

Logan enjoyed giving me looks that could...umm...no easy way of saying this...have you crying for mercy.

Levi decided that screaming was necessary the moment I placed him in Merisa's arms.  At some point, I shoved a binky into his mouth, which was the first and last time he ever surrendered to a plastic chew toy.

Merisa was a great poser, as always.  However, she succumbed to the chaos and couldn't stop laughing. With one boy sending shrills of distress that could be heard by everyone within a 50 mile radius while the other boy bounced up and down as if he recently consumed an entire bag of sugar, who could blame her for being amused?  

I know I was.

That moment sealed the deal. I would never, ever in a bazillion, catrillion years try to wrangle my children off to a photography studio in order to capture their milestones on film (or SD card).  No, sir.  The kids had way too much fun watching their insane mother try to corral three spunky children all the while juggling a camera that she had no idea how to use.  Did the blurry images come from my quick as lightening children or my inability to grasp the concepts of aperture and shutter speed?  One will never know.  This is a test...please keep your answers to yourself.  (Insert sarcasm here.)

Anyway, here were are...one year later.  Without sounding like a broken record, where has the time gone?  It didn't even hit me how much they've changed until I uploaded these pictures and placed them side by side. The tears are flowing.  Flowing, I say!  The rivers are forming in our backyard as we speak...I better buy a boat.

So here they are in the same pose as a they were one year ago.  The task of capturing this image was even more difficult than last year...who would've thought?!  TWO boys off and running makes for an interesting game of cat and mouse.  Trying to maintain their attention was...well...it wasn't easy.   There were way too many distractions!  Good thing they're cute!  Am I right or am I right?

In case you would like a side-by-side comparison so you don't have to keep scrolling, here ya go.  You're welcome!  Grab your tissues 'cause it's shocking!  Seriously...go...NOW!

2011

2012

Where did my babies go?  They're so grown up.  I could go on and on about how they've changed, but I'll save that for another occasion.  Enjoy life.  It goes by so quickly. 

*And yes, Merisa's tongue is sticking out in the recent picture.  It was her own way of expressing how she felt about the whole scenario.  "Another picture?  Seriously, mom!"