If you don't think this is hands-down the sweetest story you've heard all week year, I'll ... never mind, you WILL think this is the sweetest story you've heard all ... ever. Even if it does start out borderline heartbreaking: See, 13-year-old Latrell Higgins was adopted two years ago by a family in Florida. That's not the heartbreaking part, of course. Because the adoption of an older foster child by a loving family is pure happiness. The sad part came later, one night during dinner when Latrell's mom, Kelli Higgins (a professional photographer), brought up an upcoming newborn photo shoot on her schedule. Latrell said, simply, that he wished he had photos of himself as a baby.

That gave Kelli's 12-year-old daughter an idea. An amazingly wonderful idea.

Fact: If I had rippled abs, thunder-less thighs, and impeccable triceps just a year after I had my first kid, I’d be splashed across the cover of something too. The coupon circular, the free paper they give away on the subway, something. Best believe someone would be seeing the miracle that would be my body. Heck, I’m still trying to lose my baby weight and Girl Child is 14 now. So Beyonce’s GQ spread is a big yahoo for all moms out there who’ve fought the good fight of pregnancy and childbirth and still come out with a smokin’ hot figure.

As we ring in the brand New Year, I can't help but marvel at how fast time flies. With each year that passes, so does the childhood of my daughters, which any mom knows can be the most bittersweet part of motherhood. As I reflect on the past and look to the future, my heart overflows with all the things I want my girls to grow up knowing. I can't help but get teary when I think of all the messages I hope they carry with throughout their lives.

I don't want another day to go by without them reading these important words. These are the hopes and wishes I want to share with my kids, today and this year and every year after that.

Photo by Stephanie Calabrese Roberts

It's only when you take a look back through your photo archives that you realize how fast time flies and how much changes over the course of a year, or two, or three. With the season of Christmas upon us, it only seemed appropriate to take a little trip down holiday memory lane. I asked a few very talented mom photographers to hit their archives and share a favorite Christmas memory. In turn, what we also got are seven of the many wonderful things about celebrating Christmas with our kids.

I know for myself, the images of the holiday season can stir up all kinds of memories and magic. There is no time quite a nostalgic as Christmas.

Is the anonymity of our technologically enhanced lifestyles making it easier to kill? There’s got to be some reason why so many people have increasingly so little value for human life, especially kids. Because stories like this are becoming so sadly and disgustingly commonplace: According to police, last Saturday, Todavia Cleckley and Marcus Velasquez allegedly shot Kayla Peterson in the abdomen while she was standing outside of her Pittsburgh-area home—in broad daylight—over a pack of cigarettes. She died that evening. The victim was only 22, the accused assailants are just 14. 

Photo by Catherine Just

There’s not a lot that makes me really, truly yearn for the toddler days. Even all these years later, I recall how trying it was to have a small child underfoot. Don’t get me wrong; I adored my girls back then as much as I do now. It was just hard for me when they were young and I remember that well. All that to say, when I discovered this incredibly tender napping series from photographer and mother Catherine Just, my mama heart melted and I immediately began to long for tender moments of the past ... when my daughters were small enough to snuggle with me like this.

That Catherine was mindful enough to begin to document this time in the life of her son and that she captured such a connection between the two of them makes me envious that I hadn’t done the same. This series might be my favorite series of mother and child I have ever seen. Something tells me other mothers that see it might feel the same way.

by Meredith Winn

Being a mom to girls, I don’t have the first idea of what it’s like to raise boys. Of course, I always imagine it loud, raucous, and wild. Whenever I see images from photographer Meredith Winn, I discover that it is an adventure indeed but this mama has a way of showing the gentler face of the wild card. In today's series, Meredith captures her boys through an imaginative, whimsical and adventurous lens that makes me almost wish there were a boy under my roof.

by Angie Dornier

For as much as I really want to enjoy the rhythm and routine of my family’s daily life, there are some nights (that usually follow long days) when it’s much more difficult than others. On nights like that, every little thing feels arduous, exaggerated, and often absurd. This collection of images from mom and photographer Angie Dornier reminds me that I am not alone. But, even better, it reminds me that there can be such poignant beauty in the moments that feel difficult and drawn out, and that capturing the most authentic moments of our family life is perhaps the best and most beautiful artform there is.