I managed to get a couple of photos of me and the kiddos this month … as part of my commitment to getting out from behind the camera and getting shots of my with the kids (thanks to ALEIDA’S CHALLENGE*).

I decided when I started this project that I wanted to take my photos with each child separately. As one of six kids I always felt like I never really got a big piece of my mom’s time. As I focus on getting pictures of me and the kids, I’ve also been trying to consciously spend special time with each of them. It’s not always doing something exciting like going to the zoo or whatever. It might just be snuggling together or stopping at Starbucks for a treat.  This makes a huge difference with Shelby who has a habit of comparing how much time Cooper gets with me versus how much time she gets. She’s the queen of fair. In her mind, everything should be fair and she’s on a crusade to make it so.

Anyway. Here are my photos for February:

Me + Shelby sitting at our breakfast bar, Saturday, February 23, 2012.

Shelby is super into Girl Scouts right now. We went to the Girl Scout store last week and she used her own money to buy this t-shirt. She wore it two days on a row (I washed it in between) and really wanted to wear it a third day (I said no).  She’s growing her bangs out, so they are at an awkward length right now. If she doesn’t pin them back, they are in her eyes, but they aren’t quite long enough to really pull back. Getting through this is a challenge for both of us!

 Me holding Coop in the kitchen, Saturday, February 23, 2012.

Sweet, sweet Cooper. He grabs my face all the time. If I’m not listening, he grabs it and turns me toward him. If he wants a kiss, he grabs my cheeks and turns my lips to his. It’s so sweet, but so irritating at times!  He’s turning into quite a character and says the funniest things. We got his hair cut a few weeks back and they made it so it spikes up, even without gel. So stinkin’ cute.

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Read about *Aledia’s challenge on Emilie Ahern’s blog.  Emilie is carrying on the spirit of Aleida’s personal challenge to take more photos of herself with her kids and started a Flickr group and posts her own photos to Instagram/Twitter (using the hashtag #ALEIDASCHALLENGE).

To see my photos from January, go here.