the good kind of exhausted

The past few days have been exhausting. But it's that good kind of exhausting, y'know? The kind where your weekend is jam packed full of fun events, family, and just lots of good stuff.

My "good exhausted" began on Thursday evening. A friend from church asked me to photograph her kids, and of course, as each request comes in, I still get equally flattered, excited, and sick-to-my-stomach nervous. I still don't consider myself a "pro". I still have so much to learn. But the nice part of this whole photography thing? Nobody ever stops learning. Even the most sought-after, world famous photographers will tell you that they're always, constantly, learning. And I like that. I like having a dream where growing opportunities are limitless.
Just so y'all know, I don't plan on this ever becoming a "photo blog". I love sharing pictures, of course. But I don't plan on sharing a million pictures from every photo session I have from here on out. I mean, I know that's super boring to my readers... looking at pictures of people you don't know. However, I do love to document. And I love that 5 years from now, I'll be able to look back on here and see how I've grown, what I was feeling at the beginning stages of this, and the families that helped launch this dream of mine.
So yeah. Feel free to mosey on past the pictures if you like. They're purely for my own documenting purposes. :)

These kids were so wonderful... excited, happy, and playful. As the mom of a nonverbal autistic boy, I forget how much little kids, especially girls, TALK. Oh my goodness, from the moment I got there, I could tell these girls were so excited for me to be there, which is a great feeling to have. They had a bajillion questions, asking about props and poses. They wanted to be in every picture, which was hilarious.

Knowing these kids were happy about all of this kind of eased my nerves a tad. We took these in their front yard, which was enormous! Also, it was HOT out. I got there around 6pm, and it was still 97 degrees out and so humid. And I don't know if it's just me, but I realized that I move around A LOT at these things. By the end of this shoot, I was a gross, sweaty mess. haha.

The littlest one just turned one, so I made sure to get plenty of her. And the boys are such good big brothers. All of them are just adorable.

***

Friday night, we had dinner with Brad's mom. During the school year, I'm usually with my little sister and our Bible study girls. But we break for the summer, so I get to tag along on Brad's mom-son-grandson dates every other Friday. We just got some take-out and hung out at the house this time. Noah's sleep has still been spotty, so he crashed in the car on the way up there.

***

Saturday was our busy day, chock full of good stuff.
Noah had gotten invited to a "Superhero party", which makes this momma's heart so happy. The son of a friend of mine turned 3, and she was kind enough to include us. Frankly, I'm not sure Noah even knew why we were there or who this little guy even was. But it didn't matter. He still had a great time, and I think the birthday boy did too. :)

We actually got to talk to a friend of mine from church. I didn't know this, but her daughter is autistic. She was a wealth of knowledge and experience. It was really nice talking to her.

***

After the party, we made our way across town to a family reunion (Brad's side). I love these people so much. After being a part of Brad's life for so long, they really are family to me too. They love teasing Brad about our dating years, and I love hearing it.

 

Brad's cousin has an awesome pool, and we took full advantage of it. Last year, Noah wasn't all that impressed with swimming. Considering that it takes a lot to get me OUT of the water, I was a little disappointed he didn't share my love of swimming. This year, though? He was all about it. He would actually get really upset if we took him out of the water.

I've decided it's time to at least attempt to teach him how to swim. He doesn't like that we have to hold on to him. He wants to swim on his own. Trying to teach a complex concept to a kid that doesn't always understand directions well is going to be a challenge, but I think he can do it. He knows what "kick" means, and I got him to try blowing bubbles. We'll get there. :)

He spent all afternoon in the water, jumping on their trampoline, and playing on their swingset. We all know what the heat and swimming do to kids, right?

Yeah. At 6pm, he fell asleep sitting up, mouth full of food. Brad had to pry it out of his mouth, and we let him nap in the shade. He NEVER has done that before. Little man was wore slap out.

***

To end the weekend in style, Brad had planned a surprise date for us. It was one of my favorite kinds of dates where he takes care of everything. I didn't have to worry about any of it. Just got in the car and went along with whatever he'd planned.

After dropping Noah off at the grandparents', we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Charlotte (Village Tavern). We love to sit on the terrace and listen to music. To top things off? The weather was ah-MAZ-ing! The temperature dropped, the humidity was almost nonexistent, and there was a cool breeze blowing through.

After dinner, we went right across the street to our favorite mall (the one with the cool train table Noah loved). During the summer, the Charlotte Symphony does outdoor concerts on the lawn. I used to go to them as a kid (back when they were free). It's been a long time, and I absolutely loved that he planned this.

The conductor was a riot, giving the background stories to some of the songs, and the people there were so fun to watch. Couples would cuddle on blankets, kids danced with each other, and every one was so nice. There was actually a pro dancer there that got up and danced with a little girl, which was amazing to watch. She wasn't trying to show off, but it was obvious it's her passion.

And while we, of course, talked about Noah some; I have to admit it was nice not having a little person tugging on me all night. We could just sit, relax, and enjoy our night without any interruptions. It was so wonderful.

It was just a really great, busy, exhausting weekend. Actually, Noah and I both slept in passed 10am for the last two days in a row. haha.

Hope everyone else's weekends were fabulous!!