A day at home

Mackenzie and I decided to have a little fun together the other day and I thought I would share with everyone!  She got to play with a little Orzo and I got to do what I do best, photograph the experience!  To me, these are some of the moments we will never get back...

Me, Myself and I

I love that I introduced my children before I introduced myself!  That makes me laugh! I never thought about it until today, when I had a few moments to write again!  That is totally me, though.  I am that mom.  I will always put my children before myself.  They are my world.  It sounds cliche, but it is so true...at least in my little part of this world.
So, HI!  I am Abby Steurer.  Born Abigail Lynn Cunningham (see where I am getting the Abby Lynn now?!)  I am in my early 30's, a wife, a mommy, a daughter, a sister (to 3!), a budding photographer, a caregiver, and a great friend.  I have one of the best support system's in the entire world and I am truly grateful for each person I have in my life.  I don't know where I would be without each of them.
I am not sure where to begin?  I went to college for Child Development and Human Relations.  I thought I would graduate and open my own Daycare Center.  That was my big plan.  Instead, I started working in one, as a head teacher, and learned the "in's and out's." I decided that wasn't the life for me after all!  Too bad I had already gone through 4 years of school and earned my degree, huh? By this time, I was already married and pregnant with our Mackenzie. We made the choice to keep our children out of daycare and for me to be a stay at home mommy!  Now, I was usually the girl with camera in hand, but after having Mackenzie, it became an obsession!  I couldn't go anywhere or have her do anything new without that camera being right in front of me!  I used to joke and say that she probably doesn't know who I am with out the camera in my face!
I was the mom that would send hundreds of picture's out to friends and family, through a sharing website, sometimes 2 times a month!  I felt super annoying.  I knew no one found my daughter as adorable as I did! Especially since I was the only one of my friends having babies at this point in our lives!  Everyone else was still single and out doing things we did years prior.  So, I started focusing more on the way I took the pictures.  (Oh, don't worry, I still sent them out!  Ha ha!) I didn't really research anything, I just looked through the lens in a different way!  And when I began to experiment, a whole new world opened up for me!  I felt a whole new side of me light up!  I never knew I had it in me.  People started to notice and comment and tell me things like, "you should do this for a living" and "you have a great eye."  It took me YEARS to really start believing anyone, in fact, I still have trouble with my confidence, but I am getting there.
It has only been the last 8-10 months that I have been researching more on my own and really diving into Photography.  I have met a few great people that have really helped me in the past year and I would be no where close to where I am now without their help.  For them, I am truly grateful. I still have a long, long road ahead of me.  One that will probably last the rest of my life!  Isn't that exciting?  I love that I have a little piece of this world to call mine.  Something to strive for...to learn...to gain knowledge in again.  It feels so good and I hope you have fun following along.

My 1st post!

I guess I will start by introducing my two amazing children!  I have a daughter, Mackenzie, who will very shortly be 5 years old.  I cannot even believe she will be 5...a whole handful, as my mother would say!  When she was born, I remember thinking the 5th year was so incredibly far away and that when I actually DID have a 5 year old, it meant her childhood was O.V.E.R!  In a way, I still feel that way.  She is no longer a baby, but she will always be my baby girl.  She grows and grows every single day and I just want it to stop.  To freeze time and to not have another single day slip through my hands.  Maybe this is why I am so obsessed with my camera?  Maybe if I take a pictures as often as I can, I will capture their life and preserve it forever and ever.  Yes, that sounds perfect!  


Mackenzie is beautiful and full of spunk!  She will be the one who will always keep my husband and I on our toes!  She is brilliant, inquisitive and full of energy.  I know all people say their children have energy, but I'm not quite sure they have THIS much energy!  The girl just doesn't stop.  Her mind is always racing with curiosity!  I cannot wait to see the wonderful, amazing woman she becomes. 


Next in line is our Nolan.  Nolan will be turning 3 in late May.  When I was pregnant with Nolan, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to love another child as much as I loved Mackenzie.  How could it even be possible to love another child as much as you love your first?  How do you share your time...your love?  Would Mackenzie know or feel betrayed by me? I was so incredibly worried about this those 9 long months.  Well, D-Day came.  Nolan was born.  All it took was that first look and I was hooked!  And Mackenzie could have cared less that he was around.  She really wasn't that into it.  She went about her business, as usual.  And I am not being mean, I am thankful she reacted that way!  It could have been a lot worse, from what I hear! 
For me, it isn't that you love one more than the other, you love each of them for different reason's.  Because of who each child is.  Because of their individual personalities.  
To get back to Nolan, there is just something so special about him.  He is the sweetest, most cuddly, affectionate, sensitive little thing on the planet. I know all people think their kids are the greatest, but he truly is the sweetest kid.  He is "mommy's little boy."  And to be fair, that Mackenzie has her daddy wrapped around her finger ;-)  She melts him! 


Here are my beauties...