What a year 2010 has been, thought I should take a few moments to reflect. When New Year rang in, I had two cute chubby babies who still stayed wherever I left them. That is a huge contrast to the very active toddlers I have today! My days are filled with hugs, cries, smiles, tears, poo diapers, messes, boo boos, laundry and all other kinds of things that come with toddler territory. Take today for instance; Dean woke up with poo exploding out the top of his diaper so his initiation to the day was a jump in the shower with daddy to get the poo off! Dean also has a case of of pink eye with goo leaking out his eye, and because of this, as any mother knows, that stuff spreads like wildfire so we are home bound. And that was only the first couple hours of my day :)

In 2010, we have been to the doctor what feels like a jillion times this year, complete with a few late night emergency room visits with things like croup, pneumonia, etc. I know that I technically became a mom in 2009 and those six months taught me tons but this year has been FULL of even more mommy lessons. Macy & Dean learned to walk this year, got big kid teeth, and all sorts of new developments. As the kids grow and change, I am forced to grow and change with them! I am excited and nervous as to what a third little Troutman will bring to our lives in summer 2011. I don’t know what I thought motherhood would be but I have to say it’s the biggest blessing and the biggest challenge I have ever been faced with.

Another major part of my world is my photography, which has been great for me this year. It has been a huge growth year for me with continuing to develop my style, my skills and my business overall. I am thankful each bride and groom that trusted me with their wedding day and feel like I came away with some of my best work yet. I know I still have much to learn about running a business, it’s yet another part of my life that requires constant growth and change. I have also loved all the other photography projects I have been a part of this year with little ones, couples and families. Each time I get behind the camera to capture a nugget of someone’s life I get excited and remember why I love it so much! I was also able to do some professional workshops and events this year, which was a huge blessing and also allowed me to make some new photo friends. Meeting Jasmine Star was a definite highlight and getting a family photo session with Rae Barnes was also great for our family. I am definitely looking forward to what 2011 will bring for Emily Troutman Photography.

And last but not least, there’s the love of my life, my Matt. He puts up with my crazy and works his butt off to take care of us. We have been through many challenges together and learn through most of them. I think what I re-learn through each challenge is that I am glad he’s the one who I am facing them with.

*I wrote the above part of this post in the early afternoon. My day continued to take a turn for the interesting. I (thankfully) had started putting together a shepherd’s pie for dinner while the kids were still napping. When they woke up, Dean’s eye was about swollen shut with goop and it did not look good. Called the doc and got the last appointment of the day – you know how that goes. I had to be at the doc at 4:20 with Dean, meanwhile Matt had to eat dinner and be out the door by 5:30 for job # 2 and I knew I wouldn’t be back. Thankful for good friends who happen to be neighbors that came to the rescue on that one! By the time we got Dean to the doc, he had a fever too. Thankfully (after waiting over an hour – hey it was the end of the day, what did I expect) we found out that it is just pink eye and he did have some wheezing in the lungs which means breathing treatments. I tell you all this to drive home the point that motherhood is a crazy adventure that rarely allows you to get bored or sit still! Also, if you seem me around any time soon and I look exhausted, you know why – this was just a random Wednesday in my life and you see all that it had!

And here's a cute video Matt took while he & macy had dinner :)