One Morning with Shannon {A Photo Essay Series}

One Morning” is a photo essay series that provides a sneak peek into the everyday lives of the Fairfield County Moms Blog contributors. The morning routine is photographed by N. Lalor Photography and words are written by each mom to tell the story behind the images. It’s a rare and intimate look into each family’s life, one morning at a time.

My kids like to sleep in. It’s not something I share amongst the other moms at the playground unless I’m aiming to get some dirty looks, but it’s this lucky mama’s truth. Most mornings, I have to wake them. This works to my advantage on weekends and during the summer. During the school year is another story. Being that we are all not morning people, my children and I (heart) summer and the stress free mornings that we share together. My husband, who is not off for the summer, does not share in our love of summer mornings. He is out the door before most of us are awake. Typically, I am next to rise and get a little laundry folding, exercising, or reading done. On this particular morning, my little guy B was the first child up and pretty excited to start the day!

I work as a teacher September through June, so those weekday mornings don’t allow for much more than getting everyone ready and getting out the door. Summer mornings are the exact opposite and almost always include playtime. We enjoyed several rounds of Shopkins’ Bingo before breakfast. Little B feels pretty proud to be joining in on our games now that he is a big boy. He won the first round!

The kiddos continued to play the game on their own while I prepared breakfast. Because we have the time, I typically make a more involved breakfast each morning and am able to drink my coffee out of a mug instead of a travel cup. We got this neat family set from a recent trip to Williamsburg, and my little ones feel super grown up drinking their milk and juice out of them.

My daughter is a picky eater and pancakes with a side of chocolate chips is her standard breakfast. Fortunately, she will also eat some eggies without too much complaining. Little brother isn’t picky and will eat an array of fruit along with eggies and toast. He just takes an eternity to finish a meal. Note the empty kitchen with him still sitting with a full plate. I had to put on the timer which he hates, but it almost always gets him moving.

L is seven years old and gets herself dressed every morning. Her hair requires some assistance from me. My daughter’s hair is not always a tear free task, and this curly haired, non-brush owning mommy is learning. I was all set for a girl with curls to take to Ouidad, but I am in unknown territory with a straight haired gal. A little detangler and a new brush allowed us to pleasantly co-exist as I braided her hair. Success!

Time to feed Nemo! They take turns feeding him every other morning, but sometimes they like to share. So blessed to have children who genuinely love one another. They have professed never wanting to leave each other even when they are grown up!

After getting B dressed for the day, we have a little snuggle time. He just loves to kiss and hug. I have been drinking this time up this summer as we never have much time for that on the mornings that I work. My little “pumpkin bunny” would cuddle me all day and night if the time allowed – so extra cuddling is built into our carefree mornings.

We try as a rule to always clean up after an activity or before we move on to the next part of our day. I think it is an important habit for my children to practice, and I also know that it would fall on my “to-do” list at the end of the day if we didn’t do this. No, thank you! I have enough chores to complete without adding toy clean-up to the list.

Now it is time for me to sneak off and get ready. Most mornings, I can get in a quick shower while L and B play together or watch T.V. Since we went to Quassy the day before, I showered at night. As I got myself ready, the two of them played with B’s cars and garage.

Before we are out the door, we all brush our teeth together. The kids recently got spin brushes which makes brushing time a little more fun. B needs a little help from me, and big sister can get it done solo. She’s got a wiggly tooth she is avoiding so I am not allowed anywhere near it!

Today, the first thing on our agenda is blueberry picking at Jone’s Farm. It is five minutes away, so we can head over there easily to pick the crop for each season and for some play time in the little houses. Some sunscreen and one last bathroom break for the youngest, and we are out the door!

It is only fitting that this post is shared on our last week of summer vacation. I am able to look longingly at these photographs knowing that we lived each day of our summer to the fullest, and that I am beyond lucky to have this precious time with them each year.

Images for this project are captured by N. Lalor Photography, a lifestyle portrait photographer based in Fairfield County, CT. To see all posts in the “One Morning” photo essay series view here.