My Favs of 2013

So this is the time of year I always do a post, recapping our year with MY favorite pictures. I try and use ones that I didn’t already post at some point but sometimes my favorites deserve to be repeated!! lol

January

Martin Luther King Jr weekend…crazy that it seems to be a very warm weekend here in sunny California. We have been to the beach a good few times on this weekend, since we have a wonderful 3 days off work!! But I was 37 weeks prego…awaiting the arrival of our little girl. I love this picture…Owen loved that little baby before she even was in our arms!

February

We got to bring Ella home on Feb 2nd…a few days after she was born and released from the NICU. She really was a great baby from the beginning…but when she cried she was like a mini pterodactyl. This is one of the cuter pictures I got her telling me she wasn’t happy!

March
The month of grandpa’s.

I love this picture…might have been Papa’s first and last time in a bounce house..was at Owen’s 4th birthday party!
I couldn’t pick just one for March…I LOVE this picture of my Dad and Ella too!  Both pics were taken the same day, same party…I love the way he’s looking at her and she's gazing back at him…

 

April

Ella and Carter already in love…spending time on spa dates together! haha Look…he’s even holding her hand!!

MAY

Big Brother wouldn’t take his eyes off the TV behind me…and BiG Eyes on the right always looked so startled when she was little.
And the rough housing began… see the grip our little “princess” has on Owen’s hair…haha…and it begins!!

 

JUNE
  
My handsome boy being tortured to smile for the camera…and Ella’s first river trip. Daddy was so proud showing her off.

JULY 

Trying to use my camera on Manual…figuring out the shutter speed, ISO, etc with good natural light AND trying to get  the kids to sit still for long NEVER happened! haha SO all my pictures of them someone is blurry! ((I’m practicing…my Camp MomTog friends understand…this stuff is hARD!)

And Owen fell in love with his cousins all over again this summer! Peyton and Bailey are his buddies…he didn’t seem to mind that they were practically 10 years older than him.

AUGUST
 
I love the unposed pictures I can get of Owen…he always in such deep concentration. I LOVE it. And August seemed to be around the time when Ella was starting to come out of her boring baby phase and into a little lady with personality.

SEPTEMBER

I tried not picking any iphone pictures for this post…even though I have really developed a bad habit of ALWAYS using my iphone and rarely taking out my big camera anymore…but I couldnt resist on the pic above. September was a HORRIBLE month for the Souza’s. We had the flu make it rounds in our house and poor Owen went from one sickness to the next…for like 3 months STRAIGHT! But the pic above was taken right after he puked ALL OVER MY BED…and needed a mid-day soak to get all the vomit out of his hair.
ANd the pic below was finally a day they were well enough to play outside. And it was the first time I noticed Ella’s intent to actually play WITH Owen!
 

OCTOBER

On a warm October Sunday we brought our kiddos down to the Norco riverbed for a little adventure. Owen was in pure heaven…I was FREAKED out thinking we’d run into a wild boar OR a dead body! I don’t do HIKES. 
The pic below was a “moment” I caught of Ella with my Mom at the Southridge park. love it.

NOVEMBER

Finally a picture of my girl and I. Since I’m usually the one TAKING the pictures I’m very rarely in any good ones. But had my friend take some of Ella and I while camping.
And another iphone pic below…Owen sharing his wish with his favorite little girl!
 

 

DECEMBER

 
The pic above…yes…a cluster! She hated the hat…didn’t want to sit still….so this was the only one in focus enough to see. Love the idea…saw it on pinterest but jesus it was tough.
And on Christmas Eve, Owen was “reading” a book to Ella…loved it.  

Few things I realized this year…
a) As stated above, I take WAY to many pictures with my iphone, and not enough with my good camera. But I have an excuse…since I’m doing the Project365 of Ella (pic a day and posting on IG) i NEED good ones on my phone. (I’ll post about the 365 later…only a few more days left Thank God)

b) Which leads into the second thing…I have WAY more pictures of Ella than I do Owen. Maybe its an age thing, shes much easier to get pictures of, I don’t know. But I know this year I need to get more pictures of them together AND more of JUST Owen alone! Its when I starting thinking “shit does it seem like I favor one of my kids over the other…?” I’d hope not…I love these two children equally. This time last year I didn’t think it was possible BUT it totally is. Weird how your heart just makes room for more children!

c) I can’t just pick ONE picture a month anymore…since I have 2 kids I feel like I get at least 2 pictures a month if I want them now. I can change the rules if what I post…its my blog damnit!

d) I don’t know if the pictures above were my favorites…or just ones that I liked and thought MAYBE they weren’t already ON the blog. I wasn’t able to sit down and do this in one shot…2 demanding kids made this one post take 4 days to complete. So I lost my train of thought, my mojoe, my motivation…therefore these pictures could be just ones I thought could fulfill my idea of the post. ((HORRIBLE))

Anyway…a quick look into our year. Can’t wait for what 2014 has in store for us!