Jack has a Christmas birthday – and winter in PA is usually NOT the best time to take outdoor portraits!!

So – we had a half-birthday shoot!!

Jack will be FIVE this Christmas! FIVE!? Gah. How is that possible.

Last year he was diagnosed with Autism. He had a pretty severe speech delay.

And now. NOW. I can’t get together with my sister and him without crying.

He talks SO MUCH. He understands SO MUCH. He asks SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Did you know that finding a therapy that works for YOU and YOUR child is THE KEY!!

Go with your gut – and sometimes you have to go with the gut of the people that love you and want the best for you.

Sometimes a diagnosis is TERRIFYING. The thought of a diagnosis is crippling.

And sometimes a diagnosis is THE KEY.

Jack is kind. Jack is empathetic. Jack is FULL of questions. And a while ago – he wasn’t.

And my sister cried because he wasn’t talking. And now we cry because he doesn’t STOP talking!!

This is where his mom & dad said YES – FOREVER!!

MY FAVORITE!!

NOPE – THAT one is my favorite!!

And one of us together – because I don’t think I have ANY of us together!!

I think he looks more like me than my sister – if he looks anything like anyone except his dad – because he’s his clone!

JACKIE BOY – we love you so much and are SO PROUD of all you’ve done and all that you WILL do!

My sister came to visit in July – so we all stayed at the farm together!!

I posted a blog recently where Enoch helped my mom make food for Ebony and feed her. Jack hadn’t been able to help yet – so Enoch had to step aside – which was HARD for him.

You know what else is hard!? Navigating boundaries and relationships with your siblings when you all have kids and parent differently!

My sister lives 3 hours away and my brother about 6 – we live about 45 minutes from my parents. We see them quite often.

And when we are all visiting together – I have a hard time. Because I want to see my family and I want my kids to experience their cousins. BUT I also want my niece and nephews to experience G & Pa without my kids there monopolizing ALL the time and attention!!

SO – Enoch had a little bit of a hard time handing it over to Jack – because we are a selfish race!

AND – he ended up doing really well with the sharing! After his initial whining of course.

Jack is 13 months younger than Enoch – but they’re about the same size – the Trout genes are strong!!

THOSE GUYS – Jack only calls him Enochguy and Enoch usually calls him Jackieboy!

I LOVE THAT SHOT!! Makes me laugh every single time!!

That’s Red and her gorgeous little guy – Brownie!!

I hope we have a few more years with Red!!

Jack with his little arm around G – I know that everyone loves their mom – but our mom is AMAZING!!!

THAT FACE!!! Like I said – EVERY CHILD should grow up on a farm!!

That guy – look at how GROWN UP he is looking!!

THAT SHOT – I see teenage Enoch in that face!!

ALSO – if you need a cat – if you want a cat – DO YOU WANT A CAT!? My parents might have a few you could take!!

Do you drop off your pregnant cats at farms – PLEASE don’t.

We are NOT bringing a kitten home – but if we did – it would be that one!!

I truly believe that every child should grow up with a farm!!

Ebony thinks that Enoch and Fitzy are her cow friends – or maybe she thinks she is a person like them!

That little kitten found a home a few weeks ago!!

THESE are the memories I put on my walls!

Enoch is VERY bothered by the flies that stay on Ebony – so he thought if he held on to her – they would leave her alone!

That guy …

They’ve stopped counting at 20 – because – farm life means an abundance of farm cats. Because people love dropping off their cats in the country.

That one – she is such a sweetie – and she already found a home!

That’s Red’s sister – Blondie. It’s how we decorate the farm – and my kitchen!!

My parents have a small farm – and Enoch LOVES the cows! He has loved them since he was a baby – even though their MOO scared him so much he shook!!

Right now they have a baby girl that needs bottle fed! E was SUPER excited to help make the formula AND feed her!

ALSO – if you want a little kitten – they’ve got LOTS to pick from!!

Her name is Ebony! Her mom kicked her in the head and wanted nothing to do with her – so my parents adopted her!

I rarely take REAL pictures of my kiddos anymore – it’s something that I struggle with – living in the moment or living behind the camera capturing the moment.

I’m so happy I pulled my camera out for THESE moments!!

We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for babies!!

AND WE HAVE ONE!! Red had a baby!!

My dad wasn’t sure if Red would have a baby since she’s getting older!!

And these barn kittens!! HE LOVES THE ANIMALS!!

We LOVE having a farm to love all the animals!!

It’s rare that my sister AND her hubby get to come home – so we grabbed a few shots of their little family!!

Jack Jack – I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! Samm & Xavier – I love you guys too!!

We didn’t think my brother would make it home for the holidays this year – but he did! His wife stayed in Ohio and worked but he brought the kiddos out for Thanksgiving!

On Wednesday night – Thanksgiving Eve – Jared & Fitzy were in Cleveland for a BASKETBALL game!! They stayed at the Westin and had a GREAT time!

BUT – my controlling momma heart was kind of FREAKING OUT a little!! I wasn’t able to really breathe until they pulled in the driveway! WHEW!!

They got in a little after 2 on Thanksgiving and grabbed a plate of food and then opened Christmas presents!!

COUSINS!!!

Enoch 5 – Fitzgerald (who is asking to change his name to just Fitzy) 7 – Rowyn 7 (soon to be 8) – Jack 3 (so close to 4) – Judah 6 – QUITE THE CREW!

That’s only the 23rd gun to add to their collection!!

Rowyn wants to be an ARTIST!! BRING ON THE PAINTS & CANVAS!!

Judah – have you been noticing his faces!! They are the best!

Jack calls me Daniel – and Samm loves it! It IS pretty adorable!

SO MUCH CHRISTMAS!!

My sister is OBSESSED with the poop emoji – so my dad got her a special gift – PASS THE POOP!!

And every year we have to line the kiddos up and get the NEW picture – they are growing TOO FAST!!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving with our families!!

This is the THIRD year I’ve taken photos for Becca & Macy & their family!

If you haven’t noticed – it’s been a VERY VERY rainy season! The day we scheduled photos – after rearranging the farm chores – it called for LOTS of rain. It rained all morning – BUT – miraculously – in the early afternoon – it stopped!!

We still made sure to get some in the barn – because that’s their life!

COUSINS – I LOVED growing up with cousins!!

The last time I saw this sweetie – she was BRAND NEW!!

Growing up on a farm – they will have the BEST childhood!!

Aren’t they so sweet!!

SWEET SWET SISTERS!!

THANK YOU for asking me to come photograph your ever-growing family! See you in a few months to capture all THREE of your babies!!

My sister came home for a long weekend in October.

We had an eventful Saturday – making glass pumpkins – going out for pizza AND Iron Kettle Pumpkin Farm!

Her hubbie wasn’t able to get away from work – but we needed some new pictures of Jack!

He’s gonna be FOUR after Christmas – CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT! FOUR! I seriously feel like I was JUST driving to NJ to be there for his birth.

I love that one!

His one front tooth is longer than the other – significantly longer – it’s ADORABLE! I LOVE IT!!

That Fitzy guy & Jack – they are kindred spirits!

Jack recently started speech therapy – he has quite the speech delay. Fitzy was in physical therapy when he was about 16 months old because he wasn’t walking yet. Jack walked late too.

My sister. She is calmer – gentler – more patient – much more chill than I am. Less selfish. She doesn’t have an agenda she “needs” to complete everyday.

She has literally soaked up every single moment of motherhood that she could.

Anyway – back to the speech therapy. She also made an appointment to get him into a child development specialist – with a RIDICULOUSLY long waiting period. MONTHS & MONTHS.

She had that appointment on Halloween – or right near it. She called me – and said – she said that Jack is on the Autism spectrum.

I listened – which is hard for me – something I am constantly working on. I asked how she was. Good. He’s a great kid. He’s gentle. Calm. Chill.

We had talked about it a while ago – years ago. The way he handles things – that’s the best way I can describe it. He’s so specific.

We’ve watched Jack while Samm & Xavier went out to dinner – once. He knows his trains. He is pleasant and sweet. Gentle and loving. The only time there’s any issue – when he has to share something or when something doesn’t go the way he wants – which is pretty normal – and not just for toddlers!

Fitzy is VERY specific about times. Being late – unacceptable. He lined his toys up. Sorted them. OVER & OVER & OVER again. Jack lines all the things up – always.

Enoch gets VERY obsessed about sorting his basketball cards. He was VERY obsessed with Red – she’s a bully – she pushes the other cows around.

Jack is considered very high functioning on the spectrum. I told my sister – I can’t say I’m sorry to you. Because there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s not broken. He doesn’t need to be fixed.

Some things are going to be harder – YES. BUT SO MANY THINGS ARE HARDER ALREADY. Life is pain. But there is so much beauty from pain.

He IS amazing. He WILL be amazing. And his mom and dad ARE AMAZING!! And remember – AMAZING means so many different things. We have to change OUR thinking.

AREN’T THEY ADORABLE!!

EVERYONE wants to hold the baby!

I can’t believe this peanut is ONE already!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for asking me into your lives year after year! It’s such an honor to hold your memories in my hands!