Getting in front of the lens

A co-worker/friend passed along this article to me recently.  She said it's so true and something she wish she had read years ago when her boys were little.  It's about the mom staying in the pictures.  If you haven't read it yet, it's worth your time.  It really struck a chord with me.  Here we are nearly 12 months into our little guy's year of firsts and I am in a handful of pictures, always feeling the need to be the one to get the picture or to have at least partial hair and makeup in tact.

So when I woke up to the sound of the camera for the picture below, I was fussing at PC.  "Gah... delete that... no makeup, hair is pulled back in a mess... " and he said "but y'all look so sweet together."  I'm glad he didn't listen.  Who cares?  This is how we spend at least half of the night and when our little guy finally starts sleeping through the night, or in a big boy bed, this picture will hold a treasured memory.

And this one.  We're introducing new foods and some don't agree so well with LB's tummy.  This is him with an upset tummy and I just want him to know that I am right there.  My arms wrapped around him, telling him I love him and that I'm so sorry his tummy hurts and I wish I could make it better.

If I hadn't handed the camera over for this, I would have missed the best kiss ever.

From here on out, I am getting in front of the lens and making my best effort to capture those moments that yell "mom is right here!"  And moments that tell a story of how much I love being LB's mom, even if it's not always picture perfect.