8.30.19 | Documentary Family Photography

I guess habits can be hard to break.  I couldn’t help but grab a few photos of our fun activities this week for #documentfamilyfriday.

The first few images are from last Sunday morning, when the kids played with the hose in the driveway while I got some gardening done. But it didn’t start out as happy go-lucky fun.  Originally, we had pulled out the hose to water the vegetables, and I was hesitant to let them play with it.  We hadn’t planned for water games and I didn’t want them getting soaking wet.  Layla had just gotten dressed for the day and Owen was still wearing his pajamas.  I did my fair share of yelling and scolding them for spraying each other, telling them to aim it at the ground and be more gentle.  Then after seeing their frustrated and disappointed faces, I took a minute to reevaluate.  Why was I yelling at them? We didn’t have any afternoon plans, they were entertaining themselves while I got other chores done, and it was a nice hot and sunny day.  I decided that I was being unreasonably harsh and apologized to them.  I don’t do that too often, because most of the time if I’m getting upset it’s for good reason… but I try to keep things in perspective and check myself occasionally.  Sometimes I think it’s easy to fall into the habit of saying no to things, when in reality it’s just as easy to say yes and allow them some freedom.  After all, they were just having fun, being kids, and enjoying the summer day!  They ended up laughing and having a blast right up until lunchtime.

It’s interesting to see some of the changes in how Layla plays since starting kindergarten.  She often creates her own classroom now and takes every opportunity to teach lessons to her stuffed animals.  She’s also been doing an amazing job making clean up time more fun for her little brother, which means he is more apt to participate and helps her to not have the bulk of the responsibility! Smart girl.

The last few images are from yesterday, when my mom found an enormous tomato hornworm in the garden. She brought it in, placed it in a glass jar with a breathable parchment paper lid, and waited for the kids to discover it.  It was a fun surprise for them when Layla got home from school!