The saying "April showers bring May flowers" didn't really apply here in Charleston, SC this year. May was mostly... showers.

Lots of trying to find ways to keep my kids entertained while maintaining my own sanity.

Photography inspiration doesn't always abound when the weather is dreary, but I think I found some pretty great moments.

So here you go - my Life in 52 challenge photos for the month of May:

Week 19

You might recognize this photo from my Top Mom Photos blog post a few weeks ago. I'm making an effort to get in photos with my kids more often - and not just when my hair and makeup and clothes are perfect.

Week 20

Once the weather started making us feel stir crazy, we decided to venture out of the house. One of our favorite spots is the South Carolina Aquarium. My mother-in-law gifts us a membership every year for Christmas, and we love being able to go spend a couple of hours with the fish now and then.

P.S. I just love how you can see his little reflection in the glass!

Week 21

My sweet girl had her last day of Pre-K! I can't believe she'll be starting kindergarten so soon!

I actually almost forgot to take this photo altogether! I was headed to the hospital for a birth after dropping my daughter off at school. As we were leaving, I suddenly remembered the picture! I didn't want to get it at the end of the day because I had NO idea when I would be done with the birth (hazards of the job - but I love it). So I quickly grabbed the chalkboard and got her to pause for a picture. As I was snapping the photo, I said, "Wait... where are your glasses?"

She was a little mad at me for not retaking the photo with her glasses on, but we were going to be late if we tried to retake it. So this is what we're sticking with!

Week 22

This is my favorite photo of the month. The rain had been pretty heavy for a couple of days. Since we were stuck inside anyway and my 2-year-old had been asking to use the potty, we decided to spend some time focusing on potty-training. He spent most days just running around the house in underwear (makes for less laundry when the accidents happen). One afternoon, the rain paused briefly and my husband went to take the dogs out for a quick walk. My son wanted to go along, but I told him that he needed to stay inside because he didn't have clothes on and it was wet outside.

He said, "It okay, Mommy. I have my rain boots."

Then he took off outside after his daddy. So I did what any self-respecting photographer mom would do and I grabbed my camera. 

I hope you enjoyed another little peak at my life this month. For more from the Life in 52 challenge, click here. And check back at the end of this month for more!

I know what you're thinking...

You think I forgot about the Life in 52 challenge. 

I haven't been posting my challenge photo each week like I have been doing all year.

Well, I actually have been participating in the challenge still. I just reached a point where I decided to group my photos into one blog post a month. That way you get 3-4 photos at a time instead of just one each week. This will also free up more time for me to write more blogs related to birth/maternity/motherhood awesomeness. 

So without further ado, here are my Life in 52 lifestyle photography challenge photos from the last few weeks:

Week 14
Okay... I have a small confession. I didn't exactly forget week 14, but I had other priorities. I had surgery that week, so I was focused on getting my family and household ready and then... ya know... having surgery. I hope I can appease you with this adorable picture of my kiddos on Easter.

Week 15
The gorgeous, warm weather finally arrived here in Charleston, SC during week 15. One of Bug's favorite things to do on warm weather days is have a picnic lunch in the yard. This was our first official picnic of 2018.

Week 16
If you know anything about my son at all, you know he's obsessed with "vrooms." In his little language a "vroom" is pretty much anything that goes: tractors, construction equipment, trucks, cars, etc. He often runs around and pretends to be some sort of "vroom." 

Week 17
I don't even really have an explanation for this one. Bug and I were being silly and this idea struck me suddenly. I didn't tell her what I was doing to her hair. I just told her she had to wait and see the picture when I was done. She has always had quite the expressive face...

Week 18
You have no idea how long we wandered around the garden center to pick the perfect flowers. Bug is very particular about what she likes, and we had to make sure we looked at ALL of the options before she could decide. She had fun planting them with her daddy though - and really, that's all that matters anyway.

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It's confession time: I barely touched my camera outside of client sessions this week. I took a couple of iPhone shots of things my kids were doing, but the Life in 52 challenge was far from my mind most of the time. Not only have I been busy editing client sessions, I also found out this week that I'm going to be having surgery after Easter. 

Something about the mom of the household having surgery and being out of commission for a little while seems to create a cloud of impending doom. I have an incredibly capable husband who is also a phenomenal dad and we have plenty of family and friends around who are going to help. It's just that there's so much every day minutiae that we moms handle unnoticed by others - can I get an amen?

I've been a flurry of domestic chaos trying to make sure everyone has plenty of clean laundry and planning one big grocery shopping trip to stock up on everyone's favorite snacks for a few weeks. Of course, I've also got to finish making my kids' Easter outfits and preparing their baskets.

Anyway, on Friday, all of my social media newsfeeds were bombarded with photos of everyone's adorable puppies. It seems it was "National Puppy Day." I'm not sure who made that holiday up, but as I glanced over at my snoozing dog, I thought, "Maybe it's time to feature a photo of something other than my children." 

So meet Ellie Mae. We adopted her from the Charleston Animal Society in 2011, a little over 6 months after we got married. She's a mutt - most likely a mix of pit bull and some kind of terrier. She has a boisterous, scary-sounding bark, but I can assure you that she is the sweetest and most skittish dog you will ever meet. She had endless energy as a puppy, but now she mostly likes to lay around on this big stuffed giraffe pillow, dozing the day away.

See more from the Life in 52 challenge here.

Spring is just around the corner and for photographers of every kind, that means the business is picking up. I'm so excited for all of the newborns, babies, and families I'll be photographing in the coming months, and I'm sure you're all looking forward to reading about something other than my adventures with my kids! However, I must admit, I do enjoy the slower season that winter brings. I've enjoyed this time of turning my camera towards the beautiful, everyday moments in my own home.

This last week of calm has been so precious to me. I ended up submitting 3 different photos to the Life in 52 lifestyle photography challenge this week. 

First, my husband decided to take Bug out for a special daddy-daughter dinner for some one on one time. She was SO EXCITED. She asked me to help her pick out the perfect dress and to style her hair in a bun. My heart could have exploded with love that day. 

Later in the week, Bug wanted some arts and crafts time. She received a kit for Christmas to create and decorate stepping stones. She's been begging to make one and we finally had everything we needed to get it done this week. After it dried and we took it out of the mold, Bug got started painting the stone. When Bubba saw her, he came to me with his little, chubby toddler hands out saying, "Mommy, me paint too!"

I poured a few colors of washable paint onto a paper plate and gave him a small paint brush and a piece of paper. The house was blissfully peaceful for a solid half an hour while they created their masterpieces.

I'll admit we don't paint around here often. It's so cumbersome to cover the table and pull out all the supplies and, of course, clean up afterwards. However, every time we do something creative and messy, it brings such happiness and calm that I end up thinking to myself, "We really should do this more often."

Maybe my goal this spring will be to find the time to make more messes.

​See more from the Life in 52 challenge here.

I love photos. I mean I know that sounds obvious because I'm a photographer, but I really do! I've hired photographers for many occasions - both big and small - in the past because it's a service that I value.

We've been in our new house for 6 months now, and I'm still struggling to decide what to hang on my living room walls. I have this one big blank wall that would be perfect for a gallery wall. The problem is I'm going through years of photos trying to decide which ones to display.

As I was sifting through photos, I came across a few from a breastfeeding session I had done when Bug was a little chubby baby. They are photos I cherish.

I had to wean Bug almost as soon as she turned 2 years old. She was only nursing once at night before bed by that point, but it was still bittersweet. My husband and I were ready for another baby, but in order to be treated by the fertility specialist and begin medications necessary for me to conceive, I had to stop breastfeeding. I ended that sweet part of my relationship with my precious girl so that we could add another little love to our family.

As I sat fondly looking through these photos, I realized I don't have any nursing photos with Bubba! I have one photo in the hospital from his first latch, but that's it. I really wanted to take a moment to document this time with him too.

He turned two in January, and he really only nurses maybe 3 times a day now. People who say that moms who nurse toddlers are only doing it for themselves have clearly never nursed a toddler. My son likes to point out and name my facial features while he nurses:

Mommy eyes.

Mommy nose.

Mommy cheeks.

Mommy teeth.

Let me tell you... little toddler fingers getting shoved in my eyes and nose are not exactly my idea of a good time. 

There are days when I'm so over nursing him, and I just want to be done. There are days that he only wants me, but I'm so touched out, I could scream. 

However... I love being the calm in his crazy. I honestly don't know how much longer we'll go on nursing. There's a chance he's my last baby, so I'm not going to rush him. I will sit and snuggle and nurse... and I will count it all joy.

See more of my photos from the Life in 52 photography challenge here.

Being a birth photographer means I get to celebrate birthdays a lot. It's obvious that each new life that enters this world will have a major impact on the family he or she is born into; however, we don't often stop to think about the ripple effect this baby will have on the future. The person he will grow up to be; the career she will one day choose; the friendships and relationships formed.

Today, we're throwing it back to a birth that happened four and a half years before I was even born, but it changed the trajectory of my life forever. This week we celebrated my husband's birthday. When we got married, I started the tradition of baking a cake for him on his birthday every year. Some years, he requested a specific type of cake (German chocolate cake). Other years, I found a recipe I thought he would love (cookies and cream cheesecake). 

When my daughter was two years old, she started joining the fun. She has been helping me pick the cake and icing colors ever since. 

This year we made a chocolate chip cookie cake with blue icing and heart sprinkles.

In this week's Life in 52 photo, Bug is explaining that she chose heart sprinkles because "hearts mean love" and she loves him so much!

See more from the Life in 52 challenge here.

It's hard to believe that only weeks ago I was posting my first Life in 52 post about our record snow fall here in Charleston. Although it's technically still winter, we had beautiful sunny days with temperatures in the upper 70s all week. 

It. Has. Been. Glorious.

You'll often hear people complaining about the heat and humidity here in Charleston, SC. I've been known to grumble and complain on occasion myself (mostly during the 2 summers when I was pregnant), but I wouldn't trade it to live anywhere else.

I've only experienced real snow that actually stuck to the ground 3 or 4 times in my life. Because it's such a rare occurrence, it's always so exciting and fun.... for about 2 days. After that, I'm OVER IT. Maybe if I lived somewhere where snow was more common, I wouldn't feel that way because we'd be better equipped to handle the snow. However, I just don't enjoy the cold weather. My already dry skin becomes downright painful, and all I want to do is stay inside and eat all the unhealthy comfort food I can find.

I guess it's a good thing the cold weather usually only lasts a short time around here. We usually have beach appropriate weather from February until November - and there's no such thing as too many beach days.

I took my kids to the beach for the first time in 2018 this week. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision. We checked the forecast - 0% chance of rain. Perfect. I loaded the kids and our beach cart in my minivan and headed to Isle of Palms. When we arrived, it was raining. So much for that 0%.

Little pop-up rain storms are very common, so I knew to just wait it out. I had packed plenty of snacks for the kids, so I kept them satiated with food for about 10 or 15 minutes until the rain passed. After that, the sun was back and the weather was PERFECT. 

The water was still a little too chilly to play in, but that didn't stop Bug. She repeatedly ran back and forth to the water filling buckets for the moat around her sand castle. Bubba excitedly ran towards the water once, but as soon as that cold water touched his toes, he cried and ran the other way. He was much happier sitting in the sand, digging holes, and burying his toys. 

I didn't bring my "big girl camera" to the beach that day. I just wanted to enjoy the sand and the sun with my babies without always looking for that perfect shot. However, you can't NOT document the first beach day of the year! This week's lifestyle photography challenge photo is actually just an iPhone photo. Not my most professional or artistic work, but a photo I treasure just the same.

See more from the Life in 52 challenge here.

I had imagined photos of my little valentines making crafts for week 7 of the Life in 52 lifestyle photography challenge. I could already see their sweet faces celebrating the day of love. However, this week has been heavy - weighed down by sadness and worry.

A heartbreaking death in my husband's family.

A little girl close to my daughter's age was abducted after her mother was brutally beaten not all that far from where we live. Miraculously, she was found safe, but we all know those stories don't often end that way. Plus, the fear and trauma that family will struggle with for years to come is unimaginable. 

Another school shooting not long after I registered my sweet girl for school next year.

My mama heart is weary. I'm anxious and unsure how to navigate this future where my babies will move farther and farther out into this frightening world and away from my bubble of protection. Do I prepare her for the darkness that exists in our fallen world? How do I do that without tarnishing her kind, tender spirit of which this world so desperately needs more? How do I find that balance?

I know I'm not the only mother lost in these worries. I can't decide if it's comforting or frustrating that no one else seems to know the answer to these questions either.

So I tiptoe in to watch her sleep, and find her resting peacefully with her hands clasped as if in prayer. My cup runneth over and for just a moment, my heart is at peace. 

See more from the Life in 52 challenge here.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you know we sold our house last summer and built a new one. We love our new house, but there's been one part that I haven't enjoyed.

Construction.

It's a relatively new neighborhood, and they started building on the lot next door pretty much as soon as we moved in. It's been 5 whole months of large trucks blocking our driveway, loud tools, and music blaring all day. Our new neighbors are set to move in very soon, and I can't WAIT.

My son, however, sees things a little differently than I do. He is OBSESSED with trucks and tractors and machinery. We even worked that love into his 2 year photos. When one of these large vehicles comes to work at the house next door, Bubba runs all over the house to find the window with the best view. Once he finds it, he will sit there - just watching - while they work. Every once in a while, someone will notice him watching and honk and wave. It's pretty much the highlight of his little toddler life.

This week, a cement truck came to pour the driveway next door and parked right in front of our house. I figured it was most likely the last time he would get to watch this, so I let him sit on top of the train table in the playroom and watch as long as he wanted.

This week has been pretty slow here in my family. Some people might think that's boring, but I embrace slow weeks. Working to build a business with two kids at home rarely provides truly relaxed weeks. 

The weather here in Charleston, SC has been tolerable. A little chilly for my taste but not terribly cold. I've enjoyed time with my kids and husband, managed to get my house back into some order, and even found the time to take in a couple of online business classes.  This week has been a blessing.

I will admit that my photography challenge photo from this week wasn't entirely candid. My daughter received one of those ribbon wands for Christmas (or was it her birthday? I don't really remember), and she's been trying to twirl it around the house for weeks. Unfortunately, she struggles to find an area in our house where her ribbon doesn't get wrapped around a doorknob, a dog, or a little brother.

Yesterday, as we were going out to the backyard to play, I saw the ribbon wand discarded in a tangled mess on the floor of our living room. I suggested to my daughter that she might have more luck twirling the ribbon outside where there were no obstacles. I grabbed my camera, untangled her ribbon, and waited.

It was a little windy yesterday. She actually got herself wrapped in ribbon a couple of times, but that never stopped her from twirling...

See more posts from the Life in 52 challenge here.