Life Update: Life With Three 2 and Under

Where do I even begin with a life update? In order to figure out where to start, I checked my blog for the last time I gave one.

June 9th, 2022. 

I was 25, childless, and photographing 35+ weddings a year. If you want to know how things are going now, consider this- I just typed out this entire blog. It took two hours. And in 30 seconds, my toddler erased it and replaced it with this:

That’s how things typically go these days. But I couldn’t ask for anything more. 

I think I’d like to write this like a diary to my 25 year old self, since that’s where we left off- and she would have her jaw on the floor hearing about life in 2026.

Dear Jamie,

It’s April 28th, 2026. The last time we talked, I think you were considering starting your family, right? In a few short months you’ll be pregnant with Oliver (spoiler, he’s the best), and it will mark the beginning of the absolute sweetest chapter of your life thus far. Seriously, he saves you. Every fear, every doubt, every question- he’s the answer to it all. And bringing him into the world will be the hardest and most precious thing you’ve ever done. 

Until you get pregnant with twins in 2024. Oliver will be a year old. Twin pregnancy while raising a toddler obviously replaces that as the hardest thing you’ve ever done. 

Until you have them, and then you have to raise twin newborns and an 18 month old, so clearly things get harder. 

But with the added hardships your life also somehow continues to get better. 

The people that pass you at the grocery store say things like “better you than me!” and, “you sure have your hands full!” 

My most recent favorite was a couple eating outside at a restaurant and both of them audibly gasping and dropping their forks as if we were walking around naked. 

But they react that way because they don’t know. 

They don’t know how Oliver, Mylo, and Odin wake up in the morning looking for me and excited to snuggle up in my lap. And they don’t know how Oliver runs around the kitchen while the babies follow him around, the house echoing in laughter. And they don’t know the village we have, who drops everything just to spend time with all of us, to cook us meals, to take the load off. 

So when I tell you that in the next two and a half years you’ll already have three children, don’t be scared. I know twins have always been one of your biggest fears. But everything turns out okay. 

Today I’m sitting here typing this and for the first time I’m able to get some work done while they entertain themselves. Mylo is walking now, and Odin isn’t far behind. Oliver has always been able to entertain himself. They’re getting so big, and developing the funniest personalities. Mylo and Odin are identical (no, I can’t always tell them apart), but their personalities are wildly different. Mylo is the type who can dish it out but can’t take it, and Odin just keeps to himself. He’s so chill. Oliver is just now realizing he likes them, which is so fun to watch. 

It wasn’t always like this. Let’s back up to the day I found out about them- which is funny in retrospect. I had been sick for weeks and weeks before I was able to get the first ultrasound. The second pregnancy is so much different then the first mentally. The second pregnancy is like getting to experience it all but without the fear of “what if I can’t do this?” because now you’ve experienced that you can and you will. Announcing it to Roman was a little less jittery, and waiting for the first appointment didn’t seem to take so long. In fact, I even told Roman not to worry about attending the first ultrasound, because it was supposed to be a boring one. He had just started a new job and I didn’t feel the need for him to request off this early. So there I was, alone on the table in the ultrasound room. A place I’ve been before, not that long ago. So the nurses and I are already familiar with each other. I like it here- it feels safe. 

It was immediate. It didn’t take any searching. The second we began- two dots in their own little bubbles. It was VERY clear. I kept silent but my eyes darted back and forth from the screen to the tech to see if she had a reaction. She smiled as she typed “A” and then “B” on each dot. When I left the ultrasound room I was met with 5 or 6 glances from nurses in the common area as I fell into a puddle on the floor. I mean sobs. Loud sobs. You would have thought it was worse news. But to me, nothing was worse than the thought of being pregnant with twins, delivering twins, or raising twins and a 1.5 year old. Seriously, nothing. I didn’t calm down for weeks. My life as I knew it completely turned upside down.

But if I saw a glimpse into today back then, every worry would have faded. And I remind myself all the time that I really did that- I really carried two babies to 36 weeks. I raised a one year old while I did it; I attended countless appointments over an hour away, sometimes multiple a week; I delivered them (naturally AND via cesarean, something they warned me could happen but I chose not to believe); and I kept them and a household alive and thriving. 

But the most unexpected thing this experience brought me? Connection to other moms. When I was feeling completely scared and helpless I reached out to the very few people I hardly knew who had twins. They literally carried me through the entire pregnancy and postpartum. I feel so much closer to mothers in general. I feel like I understand motherhood in such a unique way with a perspective only a few people are lucky enough to experience, and it’s molded me into a version of myself that’s so grounded and at peace. 

With all of that going on you’d probably think I’d be done with photography completely by now- we’ve always wanted to be a stay at home mom. But I realized something in the last year of staying at home alone with three under two- if I quit photography, I would go INSANE. I tried to quit. I told myself and everyone else I was done, and it fizzled out. But it was always there. We’re 10 years in now. Doesn’t that make me seem old? It’s because I am. I am so old. My body hurts. My interests include sourdough bread and adult coloring books. But I still photograph weddings- and now I’ve found a new passion for photographing mothers and their babies, too. And the best is when I get to photograph past wedding couples as they grow their families- such a full circle moment. We’re literally growing up together. 🥹

So here we are. April 29th, 2026 (yes it’s been a day since I started writing. I didn’t say I’ve mastered efficiency yet). Life feels… constant. There’s no space for boredom. A trip to the grocery store feels exciting. Fresh air feels like medicine. Sometimes I stay up until 2am watching people on TikTok fizz jewelry. My wedding books are slowly filling up again. I see expecting moms all the time, documenting the same journey I’m on. I’ve found that these are my favorite sessions to do now (which you wouldn’t believe little Jamie), but it makes sense.

My specialties as a photographer have grown with me. When I started I had just graduated high school, and was photographing mostly senior sessions. That evolved into couples sessions, and as my past clients got engaged, married, and started families- I was doing it right along with them. That’s my favorite thing about my photography journey. It’s such a beautiful thing to experience the very best things in life with people; with a community of women- who I’ve grown with over the last ten years. Lots who have become some of my closest friends!

That just about brings us up to present. I went out to dinner last week for my birthday. It’s been months since Roman and I have gone out together, but it’s been years since we’ve gone out and not worried about our kids and had a good time. We did that. It took me a long time to trust someone with my precious babies. I hardly left Oliver with anyone. And then when the twins arrived, the worry switched from my kids to worrying about the adults. Three under two is stressful! But when your village shows up for you, and you actually let them in, you no longer have to do it all by yourself. Motherhood was never meant to be done alone, and twins taught me that. I had no choice.

Well, life is really weird and cool and fun. And never without a few struggles. But that’s what it’s all about, right?

Didn’t see all THAT coming did you? Let’s just hope that my next life update doesn’t include adding three more children. 🙂

With love, 

Jamie