Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This year's Thanksgiving certainly doesn't give off the usual festivity vibe, but this mama is still excited for a much-needed break from work. I like my job and the help I get to provide to adult learners, but the constant juggling act between working, being a mom, and the CEO/CFO/COO/Secretary of this family can get exhausting. I feel like I haven't had this type of a break in a long time. As I said in the last post, we decided not to travel to see our families this year, so we are keeping low-key in Houston.
The most exciting to share (No, I'm not pregnant 🤣) is the beautiful photos taken by Blip.Photography, a local Houston photographer that I found through a neighborhood mom's group on Facebook. Not having Sherry Canono Photography be our go-to family photographer since way before Zoe was born made me really sad, but as usual, this pandemic had a different plan in mind. However, connecting with Barbara was an absolute blessing, and I give social media all the credit for the easy connections that I am able to make.
I knew trying to get photos taken with an extremely active/curious 17-month-old toddler was going to be a challenge, so sadly we decided not to include the dogs this time. I would say that it breaks my heart that Lilly & Stark are becoming less visible on the surface because all our energy goes to chasing Zoe. We had a full 1-hour session with Blip.Photography, which was laid back and fun thanks to Barbara's patience around Zoe. As predicted, Zoe was constantly on the go, so we decided early on that it was best to go with her flow than having her pose with us. Narrowing down from 100+ photos to 20+ finalists was no easy task, but I am so pleased with the photos that were captured. What made these photos perfect is showing what Zoe truly loves - climbing and touching dirt. 😂
Let's just admit that this year really sucked on so many levels. All of my hopes to have Zoe see her grandparents went down the drain, and my excitement for building my "village" as my support system hasn't really happened since we are all trying to keep each other safe (aka no close contact). It's definitely not how I imagined creating memories for Zoe (and let's admit, for us the parents), but I'd like to believe that Zoe is living a really happy and healthy life; these photos captured and reminded of the blessings that shielded us from the many terrible things that occurred around us. I can probably go on for hours with a list of things that I wished it happened, but I am instead trying to focus my energy on counting our blessings. The truth is, I am so thankful that our babies (Zoe and our two fur babies) made our days brighter by their sheer existence. I am thankful for all of us being healthy (and having the resources to stay healthy) while being able to keep our full-time jobs, which I know cannot be said for everyone. And technology...to give me the ability to have groceries delivered when mobilizing my troop is a challenge; to allow daily facetime with the grandparents so they get a dose of Zoe; to provide entertainment when this mama needs to deploy a distraction for the little ones. Our nanny, who helps me with childcare so I can devote time to working during the day. All in all, I realize that we are a privileged family that puts us in a far more comfortable situation than so many others.
I am now clearly deviating from my original intent to showcase our new family photos, but thank you for sticking around and reading this if you are still here! I sincerely hope that you all find creative ways to connect with your friends and families this holiday season. This holiday season is certainly going to be tough in many ways, but I'm going to continue reflecting on our blessings and staying positive! Stay safe and be well. ♥
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