Emma's 3 Month Pictures

We had Emma's three month pictures taken July 24th.  Unfortunately she wasn't quite herself that day, but I blame it on the picture day curse.  You know what I'm talking about, any time it's picture day something has to go wrong.  Kid refuses to take a nap and is overtired come picture time.  Kid trips and gets an owie on his or her face the day before pictures.  Your self tanner makes your hands turn orange.  (Allegedly.  That happened to my, uh, "friend" one time...)  Kid chews on the collar of their shirt on the way to pictures so it's all wet and gross when you get there.  You burn yourself with the straightener.  You know, there's always something.  This day I think Emma was having tummy pains, poor baby.  Normally she is the most content, smiley baby, but this day, not so much.  However, this was already the THIRD time we had these pictures scheduled.  My sweet grandma's funeral ended up being the weekend we first had them scheduled.  It's was over 100 degrees outside the next time.  So I really didn't want to reschedule again and I was hoping once we had her outside she would be mesmerized with the trees and her surroundings like usual.  Plus I'm precise (read: weird) and I wanted three month pictures like we did for Clara and Davey, not three and a half or four month pictures.  So we went for it and we spent half of the time calming her down, but leave it to Kisha, the pictures turned out gorgeous!  She had the most beautiful spot picked out under a willow tree.  I love willow trees!

Note to self:  Emma's dress did not look cute and flowy like you thought it would by holding onto her under her dress.  In fact it looks a little awkward. :(  

I love these ones so so much!  I am so grateful I get to be their mama.

a little bit of shenanigans while I was trying to get Emma calmed down :) 

Be still my heart.  I love my little family.

One good thing that came out of having a fussy baby is we took impromptu breastfeeding pictures.  I am super grateful that I have been able to breastfeed my babes long-term.  I did the math today and I have breastfeed every single day for the past 2,076 days!  That is kind of hard to believe.

Before I had kids I always knew I planned on breastfeeding my babies for a year, but between following my children's cues and receiving training and education as a registered nurse from lactation consultants (since I worked with breastfeeding women every shift in the NICU and postpartum), I far exceeded my one year goal.

With Clara, she got to be 12 months and showed NO signs of wanting to wean, and by then I knew all about the benefits (for baby and mom) of extended breastfeeding.  So I thought we'd get to 18 months... then two years... then three years...  Then I thought, well we've made it this far, I'll just let her wean on her own.  

However, once Clara turned four I realized I might be ready for her to be done before she was!  In one of the lactation classes I took as a nurse, I learned that it's normal for children around the world not to wean on their own until up to age seven.  Of course many littles wean on their own before then, but seven was the top of the average age range.

So I slowly started weaning Clara and she officially stopped nursing at four years and eight months.  And believe it or not, even then it was still hard on her.  Davey will be four next month and I'm planning on starting to wean him then as well.  Just like Clara, he doesn't act like he will be initiating it on his own any time soon. ;)

I know breastfeeding this long isn't the norm in our culture here in the United States, but I've never been one to base my decisions on what others around me are doing.  I followed my children's cues and my instincts as a mom and it is what's right for us.

Breastfeeding my three babes has been one of the best experiences of my life.  I am so grateful.

On to the star of the show, this beauty!

Her eyes are everything.

Finally, a full smile for mama!

Normally she smiles every time we talk to and smile at her.  She made me work for it that day!

I can't even stand how precious these ones are.

Wardrobe change!  There is nothing cuter than little girls in jumpers!

She's telling us all about it here. :)

Her eyes are mostly closed here, but this is what happens when she gives her big smile.  It's like her whole body can't contain it!

Pictures are so much work and stress for me, from picking out coordinating outfits to making sure everyone is napped, fed, and looking their best the day of, but it is so worth it to have these precious pictures!  Thank you Kisha!

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