Hey friends! We have made it through the first couple weeks of life with baby number four. It has had many delightful moments but also some trying ones. It has certainly been a transition period for all of us, but that being said, we ADORE Benjamin! He has already added so much to our family and we feel complete!

I definitely have had some things to confess as I mull over the last couple weeks...

1. I have become very aware of my own phone addiction. It's strange how only having an iPhone for couple years has become such a part of my daily life. It definitely has so many advantages but my eyes have been opened lately to how dependent I have become on it. Sometimes this reliance on my phone can be dangerous (like in the car) which I am majorly changing. Nothing is really worth it...cue the recent AT&T commercial with the mom wrecking the car posting a photo of her daughter. It also infiltrates our lives more than we know....when I have my 4 & 6 Year olds playing and I hear them saying "put that on Facebook" or "lets get on YouTube" - I know something needs to change. Do any of you do phone free hours or just check it at certain times? (I struggle with needing social media for business but I digress...)

2. One thing we have been dealing with among our kids is learning to respect each others things. I think 99% of their altercations come about from the kids either taking, touching or fighting over things. I think that there are certain special things that the kids can control if others touch or not, but there are so many toys or things that are just community property as far as I am concerned. How do some of you deal with this among siblings? I am not all about refereeing the kids all the time but some good guidelines to help them to learn to respect each other and their things would be nice.

3. I have some favorite websites that I visit often, which I confess is sometimes more often than I should! One of these favorite websites though is 6pm.com. If you haven't already heard of this site, you need to go! It's all name brand items, sometimes last year's version (who cares?!) but it's always free shipping. The prices are usually great prices as well, especially on things like North Face or Under Armour.

4. Matt and I celebrate our ninth anniversary this week! Really not sure how that's at all possible?!

From our honeymoon in Dominican Republic: (Were we ever that young and thin?!)

5. I confess I love cooking shows, but I think I would love cooking even more too if someone else was doing all the dishes! Am I right?! Being home with the baby the last few weeks, I have logged too many hours on Food Network but it's getting me some ideas to cook for the fall. Mostly though, it just makes me hungry when watching and I have been bad at snacking! :( My current favorite shows are still Pioneer Woman and Trisha Yearwood. They both make recipes that I might actually be able to recreate!

6. All this food talk leads me to my next confession, I am really wrestling with the post-baby body. This is nothing new for me and I mostly just preach to myself that healthy babies are TRULY miracles, so me having to lose some weight isn't the end of the world. I think I am maybe wrestling with unrealistic expectations. I thought that with being in better shape and having worked out into my last trimester, that I wouldn't have a big baby belly. Well friends, not so. The good news is though I am starting to clean up my eating (it's gotten way off track in survival mode) and I can't wait to be cleared for exercise again in September! Taking my own advice on this one and giving myself grace...but also making a plan!

7. I am going to be in a wedding in a few weekends and I am thinking over what to do with my hair. It's August so I am thinking of getting it up. Have any favorite up-do styles you love that I need to see?!

8. Anyone else bummed on all these celebrity couple divorce announcements? I was saddened by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner but then TOTALLY shocked by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. People, you've been married over a decade...can't we work it out?! I realize that I know none of these people personally but it just seems sad that they've been married a good, long time and have kiddos involved. All I have to say is that if Faith & Tim ever announce a split..there's no hope! (sarcastic but kind of true right?!)

9. I am now booking photo sessions for fall!! It's my favorite season to photograph outdoors! Ok, I like all the different seasons but it's hard to beat autumn. I am running a special that includes your favorite 3 digital files with your photo session fee (if you book your session by August 31, session can happen any time between now and end of year). Contact me for availability, emily@emilytroutmanphoto.com

10. I am going to attempt to make some "clean treats" this afternoon to start back on track! (I didn't want to end on an odd number today :) Favorite clean treats?!

Have a great week my friends!!

Emily Troutman Photography