This week’s writing prompts at Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop are:

1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous August and write a poem or a blog post.
2. Who needs a vacation when you can spend your summer doing this…
3. List 8 things you’re looking forward to and/or list 8 things you are dreading about sending the kids back to school.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: deep.
5. Your childhood neighborhood.
6. List 10 things you love about the state you live in.

I’m a sucker for a trip down memory lane (and an opportunity to make a collage) so I decided to go with the first prompt. I dug deep into my archives and squealed at all the chubby cheeks, all the cuteness, all the feels.

It started with these chubby cheeks  from MM’s baptism.

The “two fingers” was his signature comfort move for years.

A year later, still with the chubbiest of cheeks, giving me all the feels in a kiddie pool for one.

In 2008 the two fingers movement was still going strong and his big blue eyes continue to be everything. I’m not sure how I found enough arms to hug him tightly and take this picture at the same time. Maybe I am an octopus.

In 2009, the cuteness got some competition in the form of a sweet baby sister.

And the world was never the same.

In 2010 we were all like “aw, yeah fitness!” We got a bike trailer and adorable kids’ bike helmets and everything. And I started playing around with filters in my photography.

In 2011, the kids were moving so fast that I couldn’t get any pictures of them together. BB discovered the world of hair accessories and working her angles, MM continued to be his sweet smiling self and I became the paparazzi.

In 2012, I was all about reflective surfaces. I took my favorite zoo picture to date, started BB’s love affair with mirrors and discovered the beauty that is botanical gardens (and pictures of my daughter at botanical gardens).

In 2013 I discovered instagram and instagram filters and apparently lost my real camera. The children, luckily, did not lose their cuteness.

Last August, BB started kindergarten and both kids began school super early – their new school started in Mid August, at least 2 weeks before the rest of the town went back. Also, cuteness expanded to include this picture of both kids cuddling their “puppy”.

And here they are this August – these are actually the only pictures I’ve taken of them this month. Perhaps it’s time to stop digging through the archives and start creating just a few more summer memories before school starts.

Check back in August of 2025 in which I become a puddle of sadness the mother of teenagers.