My Baby is 1

Hello... nobody!!
I know no one reads this ole thing anymore.  And that's OK.
The weird thing is, I've felt such guilt about not blogging! I became that stereotypical second time mom-- the one I vowed I wouldn't become!  Oh well.  Life happens and we are busy and loving this time in our lives.  I spend so much time working on a computer these days, usually the last thing I want to do is type when I'm done.

Just wanted to update and document a little bit about what's going on with the Willy's right now.
We are loving living in Montgomery, Alabama.  We have the best friends we could ever ask for and absolutely love it here.  So funny how life works, right?  I never thought I would end up here, but we feel certain that we are where we are meant to be.  We love our house (can't believe we've been here over a year!) and have been doing lots of work to bring it up to speed.  We updated the kitchen last month which has made a huge difference.  The green countertops and 1960's dishwasher are gone and now I don't cringe every time I cook. OH, who am I kidding.  I don't cook much these days... but I am forced to grab things out of the fridge and do various tasks in the kitchen throughout the day :)

My business has taken off.  It's been such a huge blessing to our family and I absolutely love it.  Not to say it has been easy, but I truly believe that if you work your a*& off, anything is possible.  And I've put in the time, people!!
The kids/family/portrait business has done great and I'm adding weddings to the mix this year.  I shot one in August and had a blast.  I have several booked for Spring and get inquiries daily.  Three today, actually.  I'm swamped, and happy to be busy.  I love having my own purpose, creative outlet, and although it's not conventional-- I love WORKING again!  I learned pretty quickly that staying home without a job on the side just wasn't for me.  I know some people thoroughly enjoy being home full time with no distractions, but it just wasn't for me-- and that's OK.  I think we have found the perfect situation for our family.  The kids go to mother's morning out three mornings a week and I schedule shoots around school and on the weekends when they can spend time with Reed.  Next year, however, we will be upping the school to 5 days for Chappell and 4 for Collier.  This fall I spent most of my evenings working until 2 am... Reed and I decided that just couldn't happen anymore.  I was tired, cranky and overworked.  SO, more school it is.  It's just a few hours in the morning then they will be home with me in the afternoons.  I'm hoping this will allow me to get more work done in the mornings so I can enjoy more time in the afternoons with the kids.
Erh.  Enough about me!

Chappkins:
Chappy turned 4 on December 9th!!  Where has the time gone.  It breaks my heart.  We had a princess and superhero party at the house with the BGB.  She had a blast with all of her little friends.
She's so smart, kind and spunky-- everything I hoped her to be.  She is hilarious... and reminds me almost daily that she is "going to grow up very soon."  I think she knows that it kills me when she says that... so she says it over, and over, and over, and over again.  She loves singing and is quite into acting and all things dramatic.  We have her enrolled in dance classes, The Big Green Bus (gymnastics) and choir.  Between that and church-- I feel like we are already hopping from one activity to the next.  She is doing well in school, and received a great "report card."  It's crazy to me that this time next year we will be choosing where she will attend kindergarten.  LORDY.  That is a whollllle 'nother deal.  We are currently very confused about this decision.  We'll see what happens.
Chaps can spell small words (STOP, CAT, LOVE, and a few others), knows all of her letters (upper and lower case), numbers, can do simple addition problems, knows her address, phone number, months, days of the week... that's about all I can think of right now.  She remembers everything and has Reed's memory for sure.
We are taking her to Disney World on Valentines day.  I am so excited!  Maybe more than Chaps??  Kidding, she makes me show her YouTube videos of Disney every day.  Reed and I have the whole tripped planned out and we are super pumped.  Cannot.wait.

Collier:
Ummm, Collier, you are an angel baby.  This child seriously makes my heart melt.  He is very different than his older sister -- and it's kind of refreshing in a way.  {Chappell, if you read this some day-- don't think for a minute that I don't love every ounce of you!!  There just isn't room for more than one Chappell-Leigh-Curtis-Liams.}  He is quiet, and reserved.  You have to work to get a laugh out of him, but once you do, he won't stop.
Carlos turned one on January 11th.  I can't believe how fast the year went by.  It's funny how with your first, you are constantly looking forward to and anticipating the next stage.  With Chappell, I was nervous and often questioning myself... and judging how I was doing as a parent.  I think I was more at east this time-- able to sit back and just ENJOY my baby.  I remember being so SCARED with Chappell.  Scared of germs.  Scared of milestones.  Scared of breaking the beloved schedule.  It was exhausting being that scared!!
2012 was a wonderful year, and I'm honestly sad to see it go.
Collier was a great sleeper from the get go, and still is.  Maybe this is why our year was so great?? Ha.  He still goes to bed around 7, and we don't see him until around 7:30 the next morning.  Reed usually gives him a bottle on his way out the door to work.  Collier still goes right back to bed after his bottle, and usually doesn't emerge till around 10 am!!  I mean, are you kidding me?  I know how lucky I am.  I'm not giving this morning nap up until he wants to... and speaking of bottles... why was I such a freak about this the first time around? I remember putting them up the day Chappell turned one.
Who gives??
They are only babies once and it's not like kids go off to kindergarten with a bottle.
See what I mean??
The second time you don't stress out about stupid stuff.
C-man is eating table food, and has four sweet little teeth.  Teething doesn't seem to bother him.
Nothing seems to bother him.  Collier had a double ear infection last month and I knew immediately something was very wrong because he doesn't ever cry.  Like, the kid doesn't cry.
Carlos (our strange nickname) can say, mama, dada, baba (bottle), bye bye, hiiiii, hey, no no no, niiii niiii (night night)... you clap and wave and give high fives.  You are not walking but seem to be close.  You cruise on furniture and occasionally let go for a little while.  Today you looked like you were going to take some steps but thankfully decided not to!! Ha.
You still take two naps a day.  Praise GOD.

Collier,
On your first birthday, I want you to know that I love you (and your sister of course) more than anything.  When I found out that you were a boy, I was nervous.  Excited, but so nervous.  I had no idea how I would interact with you because there aren't any boys in my family.  You are the first boy to be born in 6 generations!!  
You stole my heart the moment I laid eyes on you.  
You are such a kind soul.  Just sweet, sweet, sweet.  Even at one years old, I can just tell that about you.  About a month ago, you accidentally bit your sister.  She was handing you a cheerio and you got her finger.  When you saw that she was upset, you just boo-hooed!  It was the saddest thing I've ever seen.  You were so upset that you hurt her!
You learned how to give real kisses this week.  I'll sit next to you while you play... and every so often, you crawl back to me, look me in the eyes and give me the sweetest kiss on the mouth.  It literally makes me cry.  I love you so much, baby boy.  Happy Birthday!
Love, Mama