if you give a boy a camera...

Today, something incredible happened and I absolutely have to document it with a post.

       

Lucas has an old point and shoot camera that he fills with crooked, washed out, super close up pictures of feet and random parts of the ceiling and piles of toys on the floor. There are pictures of backs of heads, garbage cans, and unrecognizable shapes that may or may not be parts of people. There are pictures of pictures, pictures of corners of pictures, and pictures of half of me taking pictures. I have a folder on my computer called Lucas's Artography that is filled with literally thousands of Lucas's artistic/accidental/purposefully wonky captures. It's a treasure trove of What Is This?/Should I Even Take Up Space On My Computer With This One. I love it so much.

Tonight Lucas rediscovered his camera, after months of neglect on my part to recharge its battery. Whoops. So, I'm in the kitchen and I hear Lucas say, "Finley, go over to the blue chair." It was said in his classic Oldest Brother tone of voice - the very bossy, kinda demanding tone of voice that Finn doesn't always respond well to. But as I look over and am about to tell Lucas to perhaps ask Finley in a nicer way, in order to increase his chances of Finley listening to him, I see Finley walking over to the blue chair, turning around, and... posing as Lucas clicks off a picture of him. 

What.

As soon as the picture is taken, Finley walks back over to Lucas, who shows him the picture on the camera. The two of them show their approval of their shot, and then Lucas issues his next command. "Finley, go over to the big chair." Finley goes to the specified place, turns around, poses for the picture, and comes back to Lucas to assess their shot. 

What.

They do this over and over and over. Go to the green chair. The ball. The slide. The table. The black chair. The piano. The rails. It was absolutely amazing. They were so focused and serious and adorable and working as a well-oiled photography team. It was hilarious. And so sweet. And I am so gushy about it because watching them play like this made me feel all the feels. All of them. 

I love being their mom. I love watching them grow and learn and love. I cannot describe how fulfilling it is to be their mom. Sometimes I start to get lost in the raising of them and I forget to simply cherish them. And then nights like tonight happen and I'm oh so clearly reminded of how amazingly blessed I am to get to be around these munchkins every single day. They are so special and unique, and they're mine. Life is so good.

I feel this post would be incomplete without some of the actual pictures that Lucas took of model Finley. So without further ado...

so natural

just passing by

leg popped

who, me?

just a boy and his bear and his toys

your classic don't-make-eye-contact shot

even a professional can't always nail the focus and timing

you can hire this model for two "bapple" slices

How amazing are those, right? They make a great team.

And lastly, a video. Of some of the going-ons. It is my favorite video of all time. You should go watch it. It's a must see.