here | there | everywhere

{28 weeks}

2012-01-23T18:25:00.000-06:00

Wow, I didn't realize that I have missed posting three belly shots. I missed taking photos of weeks 24 and 27 altogether, but here are the last three photos that I never got posted...things have been a little crazy here.

We've had a long bout of sickness in our house -- passing it between ourselves...fun, fun. I think we are finally on the mend. As far as the pregnancy goes, I'm feeling great aside from some misalignment pain I've been having with all the shifting going on inside my body. I've been going to the chiropractor the last couple week and it has helped so much. It's definitely getting harder to bend over and in general I'm starting to feel more uncomfortable. But that said, I still feel like I am doing so much better than I was when I was pregnant with Kaydence. Baby boy has been moving around really well. He always likes to wake up when I go to bed at night. I already see this is going to be a big problem after he is born. ;-) Kaydence didn't have much of a problem getting her days and nights straightened out after she was born, but we'll see with this one.

I'm disappointed with myself on how little I've been keeping track of things with this pregnancy (i.e., belly pics, appointment stats, and just general journaling). The other day, someone asked me how far along I was and I had to sit and think about it. That sort of stuff came second nature to me the first time around. I constantly had my head buried in some sort of pregnancy book or forum when I was pregnant with Kaydence. But this time around, I'm majorly slacking on keeping up with what is going on inside my body. I know they say that is common, but I wish I would have done a better job of keeping track of things so that I could look back on it for the next pregnancy. I love that I wrote everything down with Kaydence because there have been many times in the last several months where I've looked back at my blog to see what I was feeling around however many weeks. Oh well, it is what it is I suppose. I guess it's a good thing this is a boy because maybe he won't care about that kind of stuff like a girl would someday.

I'm starting to think about the nursery a bit. I sort of have an idea of what I want to do in there, but I haven't really pulled everything together yet. I would like to get it all done sooner rather than later though, just to get it off my mind. I'm already feeling so overwhelmed with everything I want to accomplish around the house before this little man gets here. I'm worried that if I don't get on it soon, it will never get done because I'll be too big and miserable to do it. Sigh.

Other than clothing, we really don't need a whole lot for this little guy, since most of our baby equipment is gender neutral. The one thing we did need though was a double stroller. I knew which one I wanted, but we were waiting for a good deal before purchasing it. It just so happened that one of our local baby supply stores is going out of business and they were selling it for 30% off. This particular stroller doesn't really ever go on sale, so we took advantage of the discount and went ahead and bought it. We bought the Baby Jogger City Select (with second seat). I'm really excited to be able to use it. I love the versatility of it and we'll be able to get lots of use out of it since we can use it as a single stroller or a double. We got the ruby color, which Teirney was excited about since it looks like Badger red. ;-)

Here are some photos of it and also a demo video at the bottom.

These are all the different seat positions you can use.

{anxious}

2012-01-01T22:29:00.001-06:00

I'm starting to get anxious and excited to meet our little man. So I have found myself daydreaming about what he is going to look like...it's fun to think about. So last night, I pulled up Kaydence's 20 week ultrasound pictures and compared them to her baby brother's. I was amazed by the resemblance! Of course, who knows what he will really look like, but in these photos he looks like a boy version of Kaydence. You're probably thinking "well, what did you expect???" lol But I thought it was fun to compare, so in case you're interested, here are some side-by-sides.

{CRAVE Photography Giveaway}

2011-12-31T22:43:00.002-06:00

As most of you know, the only lens I own is a 50mm f/1.8 and I'm *dying* to get my hands on some better glass, but our budget doesn't exactly allow for that anytime soon. Soooo...here I am blogging about an amazing giveaway that CRAVE Photography is hosting. I would be so grateful if I won a lens...absolutely beside myself and over the moon! So I'm doing everything I can for extra entries. :-)

PLEASE go check out the incredible giveaway here! AND, whether or not you enter the giveaway, PLEASE at least go "like" CRAVE Photography on FB. You won't be disappointed!!! Her work is incredible and inspiring! I adore it! <3

Thank you CRAVE for this generous giveaway! Happy New Year everyone! <3

{a girl and her red balloon}

2011-12-31T21:31:00.001-06:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas with family...Kaydence absolutely loved it! We feel so blessed to have our loving families to share these precious memories with. Now we just need to get back into the swing of things at home...a brand new year is on the horizon with lots of exciting things to look forward to (i.e. an addition of a little man in our lives)!Here are some moments captured on Christmas morning. Kaydence loved her red balloon and it was by far her favorite gift -- she played with it all week!

And here are a couple photos my sister took of us with her p&s on Christmas Eve. Believe it or not, I didn't get any photos on Christmas Eve. :-(

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! <3<3<3

It's a...

2011-12-26T21:44:00.000-06:00

I think I'm still a little in shock. My guess was boy, but I still can't believe it. We have so many girls in my family and I am completely clueless about boys. lol But I know we will figure it out along the way. :-)

I have to admit that I'm really excited about buying some cute boy clothes. Even before I had Kaydence, I always thought the boy clothes were way cuter than the girl clothes. I know most people think the opposite...hehe. But clothing aside, we are very excited to be having a little boy and for Kaydence to have a little brother. I'm just still trying to wrap my head around it -- it might take me a bit. It does make me glad we found out now and that we didn't wait until the birth, so I have some time to adjust to the idea. ;-)

We do have a name picked out, but we always keep it a secret until after the baby is born...so you'll have to wait on that. ;-) We weren't sure about a middle name until this morning. We were lying in bed this morning talking and dreaming about our little boy and we came up with the middle name. We're very excited!

I did actually purchase my first article of boy clothing today. Just a couple of sleepers and blankets that I couldn't pass up for 50% off.

I am 24 weeks today! We are still at my parents' house this week, so I will have to post a belly pic next week.

We had a wonderful Christmas and Kaydence had the time of her life. Every time she opened a gift, she would thank whomever it was from as she was opening it -- before she could see what it was (lol) and then after she opened it, she would say "it's just what I always wanted!" I don't know where she got that from...maybe her cousin??? But I have to say, it was pretty much the cutest thing ever! She was so sweet and grateful for all her gifts and she has been having so much fun the last couple days playing with all her new toys. She, of course, is coming down with another cold, but I was glad it stayed at bay until now so that she could enjoy all the festivities.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year! Love to you all! <3

{23 weeks}

2011-12-22T00:05:00.003-06:00

As you've noticed, I've missed a couple weeks of posting. My brother had surgery last week and my mom has been here helping him with the recovery process, so I've been spending a lot of time with them as well.

As far as how I'm feeling, I feel great! I never thought I would be able to say that with the rough several months I had in the beginning. I do have a few aches and pains here and there, but for the most part I think I feel better than I did with Kaydence at this point in my pregnancy, which is shocking because I feel two times bigger than I was with Kaydence at this point. lol I know by this time with Kaydence I was going to the chiropractor already. The other day I thought I was going to have to make an appointment because when I got up from lying down, I could barely walk, which was very reminiscent of how I felt with Kaydence during this time (sort of misaligned), but something must have popped back into place because I felt okay once I got moving a bit. I feel like I don't have as many aches and pains as I did with Kaydence, but I'm associating that with the fact that I'm probably more active now than I was when I was pregnant with her, but only because I'm taking care of a toddler now -- it's not like I'm running marathons or anything. lol

Christmas is 4 days away and we have yet to see any snow. I think we had one light dusting one day last week, but that is all we've seen yet. I'm not a big fan of winter, but I have to say that I would be sad if we don't have a white Christmas. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without the snow.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas with Kaydence this year...I think she is going to have so much fun. Teirney and I aren't exchanging gifts this year (too many upcoming expenses with the new baby and all), so I'm extremely excited about finding out whether this little life growing inside of me is a boy or a girl. We have a cake ordered and will be picking it up on Saturday. We have invited all of our family and friends (who will be in town) to join us at 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Day for the official cutting of the cake. I can't wait!

We have been so busy lately that I haven't even begun to think about what all needs to be accomplished before baby arrives, but that is what the New Year is for, right? I think it's really going to fly after the new year.

Kaydence keeps talking about how she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. It's so cute! The other day, she saw an ambulance go by and she said "I want to be a super super hero guy doctor when I grow up." lol Where does she come up with this stuff??? I just keep telling her that she is going to have to work really really hard in school if she wants to be a doctor. ;-) Tonight, she noticed my sore, dry, cracked (and ugly) feet and she got all excited and said "oh mommy, I will fix it, don't worry...I will be your doctor." She went and got the Aquaphor and asked me to open it for her so she could "fix" my feet. I opened it for her and she began to put it on my feet. What a little saint! She was so excited and kept saying "I will be your doctor...I will fix it." She has such a sweet little spirit.

Kaydence came with me when I took my brother to the hospital for his surgery. She came into the prep area where they put his IV in and everything. I just explained everything to her as the doctors were checking my brother over (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.). I just wish I could have captured her face on film...she just ate it all up and then kept talking later about how she is going to be a doctor someday. I love her determination. We'll see if it lasts. ;-) All that to say, it got me thinking tonight about whether or not I should have her in the delivery room when the baby comes. I just always assumed she would stay with one of the grandparents in the waiting room (or back at the house depending on the time of day), but I think she would actually do really well. I guess we'll have to see what all the circumstances are surrounding the birth, so we may have to play it by ear, but I think she would soak it all in. Maybe 2 1/2 is too young for that though??? I don't know. Do you think it would cause psychological damage? lol I guess we'll see.

I'm headed back to Marshfield tomorrow with Kaydence and my mom for the holidays...Teirney will follow later and plans on taking the following week off. Haha...as if an attorney ever really has "off." I'm sure he'll probably be working a little, but at least he won't be going into the office. I'm excited for some much needed R&R with family!

Sorry about the novel...just a little chatty tonight I guess. Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and happy New Year!!! <3<3<3 xoxo

Here is my 23 week bump.

{20 weeks and stuff}

2011-12-02T21:40:00.001-06:00

As you can see, I've been lazy during this pregnancy about taking and/or posting photos of Kaydence. :-( I have been, however, trying to keep track of some of the adorable things that come out of her mouth with her little mouse squeaky voice by posting them as my status on Facebook. I figured I would come back here and document them "officially" one of these days, so I promise to do that soon.

Well, I've officially reached the halfway point of this pregnancy. It's really hard to believe. I'm nowhere near ready for this baby to come yet, so it's a good thing I have another 20-ish weeks to go. I've finally turned a corner and feel *almost* normal. I am feeling a million times better and feel like I can somewhat function like a normal person now without feeling the need to puke my guts out. lol I still have a few random days here and there where I vomit, but it isn't putting me flat on my back for the entire day anymore, which I am so, so grateful for.

I had my 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday, November 29, (yay!) and everything looks great with the baby, which we were so grateful for. However, they did find that I have a minor case of "marginal" Placenta Previa. My midwife is not too worried about it at this point (and neither am I), since my placenta is just partially covering my cervix. She said that 99% of the time when they see the placenta just partially covering the cervix, as the uterus grows during the pregnancy, the placenta will move up and away from the cervix. So that is what we will hope for in my case, which sounds promising. But guess what that means? I get another ultrasound! Yay! So I have another ultrasound scheduled for 28 weeks (January 25) to make sure my placenta has moved. I haven't had any bleeding in this pregnancy, so that's also a positive thing. I was just instructed to call if I see any bleeding.

We had the ultrasound tech put the gender in an envelope and it's currently burning a hole in my purse. ;-) We are planning on finding out with a cake on Christmas Day when we are home with family. And since Teirney and I aren't really giving gifts to each other this Christmas, this will be the best gift we could give one another. We are very excited! All this time, I have been thinking it's a girl because I feel the exact same way I did with Kaydence (even though I know that doesn't really mean anything). BUT, after seeing the ultrasound pictures, I am officially convinced it's a boy. I think the baby just looks like a boy, I can't really put my finger on it. We shall see on Christmas Day. :-)

So, what is your prediction based on the photos? I would love to see what you think in the comments below. :-)

My blood pressure is still good (112/60) and the baby's heartbeat was 155. :-) I was measuring 20 weeks and 3 days at my appointment, even though I thought I was 20 weeks and 1 day. They of course won't do anything about my due date, since it's so close.

And now, our little darling...

And here is my 20 week belly pic. :-)

{19 weeks}

2011-11-22T23:02:00.001-06:00

One week from today, we will get to catch a glimpse of our little peanut on an ultrasound screen. I'm incredibly excited and also a little nervous. I just always tend to hold my breath until I hear them say "everything looks great" and I pray that's what we'll hear next week.

I have had some really good days this past week and it's amazing how much it has uplifted my spirits. I really can't remember what "normal" feels like anymore, but at least I have had glimpses of it recently. I am still vomiting a couple times a week, but at least it isn't knocking me out for the entire day. I seem to be able to bounce back a bit more quickly. And I can't remember the last time I took a Zofran, so that is encouraging.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving in a couple days, I'm so grateful for starting to feel better because we are going to have a very busy month leading up to Christmas. We are traveling home for Thanksgiving and then the following week Teirney has a week long (or more) trial in Madison, so Kaydence and I will be staying with my sister there to pass the time. Then my mom will be coming to town for a week after that, and then it's Christmas. I'm not sure when I'll get any Christmas shopping done...I'm foreseeing some Amazon purchases in my future. ;-)

Here is my 19 week belly pic.

And now for some sap. I feel so, so blessed and since it's Thanksgiving week, there is no better time to reflect on all of our blessings, right?

I sometimes just look at my husband and daughter and think I am so undeserving to have such love in my life. They love me unconditionally.

When I'm moody, lazy, sick, and walk around in my pajamas all day with bedhead hair...they still love me (even though today, Kaydence did tell me my hair looked like a dragon lol).

When there are still lunch dishes on the counter when my husband comes home from work at night and the house looks like a tornado tore through it...my husband still loves me and utters not a word.

When my emotions get the better of me and I don't handle a situation the way I would have liked...they still love me. Case in point, the other day, Kaydence started throwing her lunch on the floor and I got short with her. Afterward, she started asking me, "mommy are you happy?" I told her "no, kaydence, I'm not happy." She burst into tears asking me over and over "mommy are you happy, are you happy...I just want you to be happy." I finally told her I was happy because it was the only thing that made her stop crying. It tore me up and I had to leave the room for a minute while I burst into tears. It made me realize how silly it was for me to be so upset about something so trivial and how much my attitude really affected her. It broke my heart.

I could go on and on about how grateful I am for my two loves and how they shower me with their unconditional love everyday, but that wouldn't be very interesting to most of you. ;-) I will just hold those things close to my heart and remain eternally grateful for all of the blessings God has given me.

And did I mention, Teirney is the most incredible father? I hope one day Kaydence will realize how blessed she is to have such a loving daddy.

I love you both to pieces! xoxo

{18 weeks}

2011-11-14T21:40:00.001-06:00

I feel like there may be light at the end of the morning sickness tunnel. I can't remember the last time I took a Zofran and my "bad days" are getting fewer and farther between...yay! Of course, that has been replaced with all the seasonal illness going around. It seems like Kaydence and I just keep swapping it back and forth. She is battling a cold/cough right now and I'm hoping she doesn't lovingly pass it on to me.

I've been feeling the baby a lot more. Believe it or not, I felt the first little twitches (as I like to call them) when I was 13 weeks. Then around 15 weeks I actually started feeling some taps and rolls and its continued ever since. :-)

Kaydence is still doing great in her big girl room. It's as if she has slept in there her entire life. I am constantly amazed at how well she handles such life changing transitions. I trust she will handle the transition into big sisterhood equally as well.

Here is my 18 week belly pic. To be fair, I feel like I look bigger in this photo than I really am in real life, but maybe that's all in my head (hehe). It's really hard to take a side profile photo of yourself. ;-)

{16.5 weeks}

2011-11-03T23:07:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe I'm already 16.5 weeks! I had my 16 week appointment this past Tuesday and scheduled my 20 week ultrasound for November 29. I'm getting really excited about it. We are planning on finding out the gender (as long as baby cooperates), but we're hoping the ultrasound technician will put it in a sealed envelope for us. We're hoping to plan a little get together with family and some friends where we can all find out together. The original plan was to take the envelope to a bakery to have the bake a cake with either blue or pink filling and to cut the cake at the get together. The only trouble is, it's proving a little difficult to find a time when all of our family can be there, so I'm not sure if it's all going to work out yet.

My appointment went well. My blood pressure has been really low, which has been a shock, since I've always been in the 120/60 range (or higher at times). It was 100/68 at my appointment on Tuesday and it has been in the same range at my last couple appointments as well...it's interesting.

Well, I wasn't sure if I would be able to bring myself to do it, but here is my first belly pic. I look about the same here as I did when I was 20 weeks with Kaydence. lol This photo is a little bit of an optical illusion, so you may have to look closely to figure it out. It's still tripping me up and I'm the one who took it. hehe

{they played, they laughed, they loved}

2011-10-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

The other day I met up with my photographer friend, Alauna of Alauna Peterson Photography, for a little photoshoot with our kidlets. We have always been fascinated by the uncanny resemblance of our little curly haired blondies through photos and have been meaning to get together with each other for awhile now. This was our first time meeting in person and we had such a fun time watching these two little "twins" interact with one another.

It was beautiful weather and the perfect time of day. We met at a State Park, which was apparently closed for some reason. But we found a trail with some beautiful light that worked out just fine. Alauna posted some of her photos on a photography forum we are both on and she got some really adorable captures too! She also took the most adorable video of them laughing, which I'll post below.

I seriously can't handle the cuteness of these two together, so without further ado, the twins! ;-)

I had to get one of them together without Kaydence's glasses on for a true comparison. :-)

{pretty fall light}

2011-10-24T02:07:00.001-05:00

The beautiful light the other day inspired me to dust off my camera, go for a little drive, and bribe my daughter with "fruity snacks." ;-) These are nothing spectacular -- mommy shots more than anything else, but it did feel good to pick up my camera again. I'm feeling very rusty and uninspired these days. BUT, I'm hoping that will change as I'm starting to have some days where I feel *almost* normal. They are usually followed by days where I feel completely awful, but at least I'm starting to have some good days, so I'm grateful for that.

I am 15 weeks today! My belly (and belly button) has officially popped. I'm not sure when/if I'll be doing belly pics like I did when I was pregnant with Kaydence, but I'll probably post a couple here and there every so often. :-)

{our growing family}

2011-10-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

Kaydence helped paint her "big girl room" this past weekend and she left a little message for everyone!

That's right, our family is growing by two feet!!! :-) Some of you may have been wondering where I've been (or not...hehe), since my posting has been non-existent lately. Well, now I can finally spill the beans and hope you all understand why I've been MIA!

I have been really sick again with this pregnancy and I have barely enough energy to get out of bed in the morning and make sure Kaydence gets three meals a day, so I have had no motivation to whip my camera out lately. I'm hoping I'll start feeling a little better soon (before all the pretty leaves fall off the trees), so I can get out and take some more photos...I'm feeling a little rusty and unmotivated these days. Its been equally sad that I haven't been able to get out much and enjoy this gorgeous Indian Summer we've been having.

I got my BFP (big fat positive) on August 3.

It came as quite a surprise since it was the first month we had started "trying." In the back of my mind, I thought it would take at least a few months, since it took us four months to get pregnant with Kaydence. But I'm not going to lie, I was hoping for an April or May baby, so I was pleasantly surprised and excited that it happened when it did. We are very excited and nervous as you can imagine. :-)

I am 13 weeks today and my due date is April 16, 2012! I started feeling sick around 6 weeks and it hasn't let up since. I was really sick with Kaydence too, but I wasn't working at the time and I could literally lay around on the couch or stay in bed all day if I wanted to, so the sickness was tolerable. But now that I have Kaydence to take care of, its been really difficult. I finally broke down and asked for Zofran from my midwife. It has helped a ton! I literally couldn't function before that and even though I still don't feel the greatest while taking Zofran, I'm at least not in the bathroom all day hovered over a toilet. :-)

My mom came and stayed with me for a week to help me out and that was wonderful, but it was hard to see her leave! I'm trying to convince her to come live with me. ;-)

We are planning on finding out the sex, which will be in about 7 weeks at my 20 weeks appointment. The plan right now is to have the ultrasound tech write the sex down in an envelope that we can take to a baker to have them bake a cake with pink or blue filling. Then we want to have a party with family and friends and find out the sex with everyone when we cut the cake. We're not sure if it will all work out due to the fact that it will probably be December before we could have the party and everyone's availability is usually limited that month, so we will see.

I had my first appointment at what I thought was 8 weeks, but they did an ultrasound and I was actually only 7 weeks at the time. My blood pressure has been really good this time around, which is encouraging. And according to my labs, my TSH levels must be fine, since they haven't mentioned anything to me, so I'm happy about that as well. I do not miss going to the endocrinologist like I needed to when I was pregnant with Kaydence.

I had my 12 week appointment last week Tuesday and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Kaydence got to hear it too. She is very excited about being a big sister and loves to talk and sing to her little brother or sister...she gives lots of hugs and kisses too....it melts my heart!

I will try to scan the ultrasound photos later and will post them below.

This is what is going on inside my belly this week (taken from www.babycenter.com).

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

{where has my baby gone???}

2011-09-12T01:02:00.002-05:00

I was looking through some old photos the other day, came across these, and fell in love. This was literally about a week or so after I got my DSLR (all taken with my kit lens). I knew *nothing* about photography at this point and Kaydence was only 5 months old. I have never posted these anywhere because it was literally just me "practicing" in manual mode.

I don't care about any of the technical stuff in these photos because all I see is my baby being a baby. At the time, these were just "throw away" shots to me, but now I adore them so much that it hurts a little. So a little word of advice, sometimes it pays to keep the throw aways...I'm so glad I never deleted them! And the miraculous thing is that these somehow escaped my epic hard drive crash of 2010, so I will treasure these forever and always.

Where, oh where has my baby gone??? ::weep::

Clickin Moms

2011-08-25T18:48:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was asked by Clickin Moms if I would write an article on why I chose not to go into business at this time. I agreed, and the article was just published on their blog this week. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, you can find the article here.

For those of you who don't know what Clickin Moms is, it's a photography forum dedicated to moms who like to "click" the shutter. ;-) There is a membership fee, but if you love photography and you're a mom, you should definitely go check it out. It's an amazing resource loaded with oodles of tutorials and thousands of extremely talented women who are so generous and willing to share their knowledge.

Clickin Moms also has a pro forum, which I am a proud member of. They just launched their CMpro site this week and it's a beautiful thing! There is a gallery of images where you can view of sampling of work from the CMpro members. The gallery can be found here. If you take the time to flip through the images, you will see how many amazingly talented photographers there are out there! I feel so honored and humbled that a couple of my images made it into the gallery. Maybe you'll recognize them. :-)

Another exciting feature about the CMpro site is that the CMpros are listed in their directory under locate a photographer. So if you're in need of a photographer and don't know how to go about finding one, this would be a great resource for you.

Kaydence is out of town visiting her grandparents for the week while I get some things done around the house, so I'm missing her bad right now. And since no post is complete without a photo, I leave you with this -- it's definitely a mom shot, but I love this girl. ;-)

<3<3<3

{beach bliss}

2011-08-10T23:00:00.001-05:00

Last week, we took Kaydence to the beach for the first time this year. I'm not sure why we waited so long because she thoroughly enjoyed it! It was one of those perfect summer evenings. We packed a picnic dinner and and headed out. Kaydence thought it was the greatest thing ever. Sometimes I really wish I could be inside that little head of hers. Her smiles that night were priceless!

I know it looks like Kaydence's only wardrobe is a swimsuit (haha). But what can I say? I guess it has something to do with the fact that she has actually spent a lot of time in her swimsuit this summer, and it also seems to be when I grab my camera. ;-)

{warm summer nights}

2011-07-29T00:36:00.000-05:00

I took Kaydence to the pool the other night and we met our friends there. It was such a beautiful night and the light was gorgeous! Kaydence couldn't contain her joy -- I could sit and watch her splashing about and jumping in the water for hours -- she loves it so much and I love her!

At one point, she was by herself on the edge of the pool pretending to jump in (it was only about a few inches deep where she was standing). And she must have been making up some kind of story or something because she was jabbering away at herself. Then, a few moments later, she got out, turned away from the pool, covered her eyes, and started counting as if she was playing hide and seek with someone. lol She told me, "mama, I'm playing hide and seek!" I love her free spirit and imaginative nature.

{and they lived happily ever after...}

2011-07-19T12:23:00.002-05:00

I was so honored to be asked by my friend, Haley (of Haley Kraus Photography) to second shoot a wedding with her. It seemed so far away when she originally asked me, but alas -- as it is with time -- it has now come and gone.

As most of you know, I have never shot a wedding before, so this was a whole new experience for me. Haley did a fabulous job and it was so fun to be able to do something like this together. Haley was gracious enough to allow me to edit some of the images I captured...thank you, Haley! <3

So, through the lens of a second shooter, I present you with the beautiful Megan and David! These two are the sweetest couple you will ever meet! They were so relaxed and fun and their love for one another was so evident by their smiles and the way the looked at each other the entire day. And to top it off, they have an absolutely beautiful daughter. I could have stared at her all day long...she is truly gorgeous! Thank you, David and Megan, for allowing me to tag along and capture this amazing day with Haley!

{she loves him}

2011-07-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

Need I say more??? ;-)

{popsicle lips}

2011-07-13T23:11:00.003-05:00

When Kaydence woke up from her nap yesterday afternoon, the first words out of her mouth were "may I please have a 'pecial treat'?" How could I say no to that??? So I took her for a walk in the wagon and gave her a popsicle for her to enjoy along the way. I knew she would probably ruin her outfit in doing so, but oh well, that's what being a kid is all about, right? It's still soaking as I write this...hehe. ;-) She went straight to the bathtub after she was finished...and it took a bit of scrubbing to get the red off her chin and belly. lol Oh and a funny little tid-bit, that photo of her in the wagon? Do you see the rain? It's hard to see, but that is why she was holding her hand out like that. Crazy enough, it started raining out of nowhere with the sun as bright as it could be. lol She kept asking for her umbrella. haha

These are the moments I want to remember forever, which is why I'm so grateful to be able to capture these memories on film.

I love you baby!

P.S. I used a vintage polaroid effect by Katie Lloyd Photography on these. Go check out her blog and download the psd file here. The psd file can be used in PSE or PS. Thank you so much, Katie, for sharing this lovely file with us! :-)

{dancing in the light}

2011-07-10T11:33:00.001-05:00

Summerfest has been here all week, so we took Kaydence down Friday night to go watch Gaelic Storm. We usually try to go on the last day every year because it's free (which is today), but we knew we would be busy with other things today, so we thought we would take her down for that show on Friday night, since we figured she would love to dance to their music. And we were right! Teirney's brother and sister came down this weekend, so we all went together. Kaydence had so much fun dancing with her Aunt TT and Uncle Daryn! She had the best time ever and we had the best time ever watching her. She stole the show...of course, I'm bias.

Ahhh...the beauty of cell phones is that you have a camera with you wherever you go. So glad I was able to capture these images. :-)

{goldilocks and the 100L}

2011-07-08T00:02:00.002-05:00

I wish I could say it was mine, but alas it is not. I'm second shooting a wedding with a friend of mine this coming weekend, so another friend was kind enough to lend me her 100L for us to use for the wedding. I wanted to play with it a bit tonight, but was too lazy to go outside to really take advantage of it's full potential, so instead, I just took some shots of Kaydence eating ice cream after dinner...her favorite thing. ;-)

This is the first time my camera has ever touched L glass and it is already truly, madly, deeply in love already. Even indoors in low-light, this lens is a beauty...sigh. Oh well, someday...someday. ;-) I can't wait to try it outdoors. I'm so blessed to have such sweet friends who trust me enough with their expensive equipment.

Here are a few mommy shots from tonight. For my photo friends who are curious, my settings are listed below. These are not perfect by any means -- with an ISO of 3200 there will be some noise, but you get the idea.

100mmL

ISO 200

f/2.8 (wide open)

1/160

The rest of them were taken with these settings:

100mmL

ISO 3200 (highest my camera will go)

f/2.8 (wide open)

1/100

{potty training and such}

2011-07-07T23:39:00.000-05:00

I think I can officially say that Kaydence is potty trained! Woohoo! Sure, she has her occasional accidents here and there, but she has even stayed dry for the last couple nights, including nap times.

The week after we came back from Cabo, I was determined to try the 3-day Potty Training method. I looked at the weather that week and it said rain all.week.long, so I figured there was no better time to try it since we would be stuck indoors anyway.

I have to admit, it was pretty intense and you really need to be committed to it if you try this method, BUT, it totally worked. I will say though that it takes a special child to be *completely* potty trained in 3 days. So if you decide to try this method, don't be discouraged if you're child is not completely trained in 3 days. I didn't leave the house for 5 days (I thought I was going to go insane -- lol), but at that point I did feel pretty confident that she would tell me when she needed to go. Our first outing was to Stonefire Pizza and it all went well. Then later that weekend we went to Strawberry Fest and she even told me when she had to go there, which I wasn't sure would happen.

The saddest part though was that she was *dying* to go outside, which I wouldn't have had a problem with after the 3 days, but it was so yucky and raining out yet that we really couldn't. Poor baby probably felt like a prisoner in her own home. I got a lot of photos to commemorate this huge mile stone, but I will only share a couple since the others wouldn't be appropriate for the internet (bare bottom and all). ;-)

Longing to go outside. :-(

I'm so proud of her...and she feels like such a big girl. Where has my baby gone???

{splishy splashy}

2011-07-03T15:12:00.001-05:00

We are spending this holiday weekend with my sister and her family. My entire family is here (23 people), which has been so fun! We took Kaydence to the fireworks last night and she loved them! I haven't gone through those photos yet, but I'll try to post some of those later this week too.

Kaydence follows her cousin, Makenna, around like a little puppy dog and just adores her. You can be assured to see tons of smiles and hear lots of belly laughs whenever those two are together. Very few people can get Kaydence this excited, including her mommy and daddy, so it's such a treat to see her so happy like this. I sort of wish I could kidnap my niece to have her come live with us, so we can get more of these belly laughs. :-)

Cabo San Lucas

2011-06-29T18:06:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that three weeks ago tomorrow we were hopping on a plane to Cabo for our friends' wedding. We stayed at the RIU Palace for 7 nights and it was fabulous. Kaydence stayed back home with her grandparents and had a little vacation of her own...I know she was in heaven. We were able to Skype everyday, which was amazing and definitely helped our bouts of missing her.

I didn't take my DSLR because a) I didn't want to have to worry about it getting stolen, or b) feeling obligated to take photos and feeling guilty if I didn't feel like it (some of my photo friends probably know what I mean). So alas, my DSLR never got to smell that salty air...poor thing. Believe it or not, I don't even have a p&s anymore, so I had to borrow one from my parents. But, ironically enough, this "photo nerd" actually forgot the p&s in our room the day of the wedding...ugh! :-( So I have zero images from the wedding itself...so sad! But there were plenty of people documenting the day for our friends.

The resort was absolutely beautiful and we had such a wonderful and relaxing time. This place was so "picture perfect" so it was hard for my to narrow down my favorites...sorry in advance for the massive share.

This is me (hubby gets credit for this photo)! ;-)

View looking through the patio door of our room.

The building our room was in.

We got to look at this everyday...sigh! It was so beautiful!

An excursion on a "glass bottom" boat...the boat itself was nothing to write home about (lol), but the views/beaches were breathtaking!

A seal in it's natural habitat...amazing!

The bride and groom getting a photo taken.

Our last night in Cabo and of course we took one too many self-portraits. ;-)

{another waterlily}

2011-06-07T02:13:00.001-05:00

Summer is here...finally! We actually had a pretty nice week this last week, so Kaydence and I were able to get to the pool with our friends. I was really excited to take Kaydence this year because, while she really enjoyed it last year, I thought she might love it this year...and I was right! I can't tell you how excited I am this summer to see her experiencing all the fun for the the first time (again). She is so full of life and so concerned for the well-being of others. Sometimes I think she is a better mommy than I am. ;-)

Here are a few Kaydence-isms, since I need a place to document them.

When we were at the pool the other day, her little friend, Alexander, was just getting over a cold. We were all in the pool, when all of a sudden Kaydence jumps up and starts running towards our strollers/towels, etc. To which I promptly said, "no running...you need to walk, walk, walk." lol I sit there for a minute trying to figure out what in the world prompted her to dash for the "shore." When I notice she is rummaging through my friend's purse...no manners I tell you. Once she found what she was looking for, she came running back to the pool with a Boogie Wipe in hand as if she was headed towards a finish line with her eyes fixed on the goal (yeah, she paid no heed to my instructions on no running...go figure). So she runs up to Alexander and proceeds to crouch down and wipe his nose. My heart immediately melted! I wish you could have seen this all play out...it really was the cutest thing.

Today, I made a comment to her that I was "really shaky for some reason." To which she said, "I'm shaky too, mama." I said, "why are you shaky." And she said, "cuz I need a coffee too." lol How in the world would she associate that with coffee...I have no idea because we weren't talking about coffee at all. I was floored!

I'm really shocked at some of the things she remembers sometimes. Today, I put the dress she wore for her birthday on her and she immediately said "happy birthday to you" and started telling me who was all at her birthday party. That was 3 months ago...I was amazed!

Our neighbors have a little girl Kaydence's age and they just had another baby girl, so lately Kaydence is always talking about how she wants a brother or sister too. One day we were talking and Teirney asked Kaydence "so do you want a brother...or a sister?" She said, "yes." So Teirney asked again, "well, which one?" She replied, "black." lol So I guess she wants us to adopt. :-)

There are so many more things that I'm just not thinking of right now. :-(

Teirney and I are headed to Cabo San Lucas for a wedding for some friends of ours. Kaydence will be having a ball here with her grandparents. So as we get ready to leave in a few days, it's only fitting for me to leave my readers with this. :-) You might recall my posts from last year at the pool (here, here, and here)? Well, how could I resist another vintage inspired bathing suit for my little beauty? She wears them so well! Stay tuned, I have another one to reveal later this summer.

{a picnic for two}

2011-06-02T01:26:00.002-05:00

morning light

your eyes so bright

with uncombed hair

cozy and warm

inside our little home

a picnic for two

just me and you

your little hands

your little feet

the way you dance

or sing a tune

wish every day

could start this way

<3 <3 <3

*some photos taken by kaydence herself. :-)

And in case you're wondering why she got naked half way through (lol), it was because she dropped the record player on her little foot and insisted I take her pajamas off in order to kiss her little toes. Love her!

{miracle}

2011-05-15T19:19:00.006-05:00

This blog post title pretty much sums up what I'm about to share. There is no place on earth that I would have rather been on March 17, 2011 at 6:50 p.m. This is the story of Levi Daniel...a precious little miracle sent from above.

This little miracle was much anticipated. Since his birth was taking place a couple hundred miles from my home, my parents gave me a cozy place to stay while awaiting his arrival. We knew he could arrive any day...and then it happened. I got a call from Shannon the evening of March 16 telling me that she had been having contractions all day long and that they were getting closer together...she was certain they would be meeting their little one within the next 24 hours. So I showered, packed up my bags, and was set and ready to go whenever I got the call that they were headed to the hospital. Around 11:30 p.m. that night, Zach called and said they were heading to the hospital. So off I went. I met them in the parking lot and we entered through the Emergency room to the birthing center. The rest is history and journaled in the photos to follow.

I hope these photos will bring you joy as they tell you the story of beauty that can come from pain. I felt so honored to have been a part of this beautiful day. Thank you, Zach and Shannon, for allowing me to document this day that will never be forgotten.

BEFORE YOU GO FURTHER...I would love for you to check out the video montage I have put together below. But if you don't have time, feel free to scroll down to view some of the photos that are in the video. I just feel like the video tells the story best. :-) They are grainy and dark, but I personally think that adds to the photos since it embraces the mood of this momentous day.

The Birth of Levi Daniel from Leah on Vimeo.

Cousin Love

2011-05-06T10:12:00.001-05:00

We are spending the weekend with my sister and Kaydence is in heaven because that means she gets to play with her cousins...all of which she adores of course!

It was warm enough to play outside the other evening and Kaydence was eating up all the attention from her cousin and her little friends. Kaydence loves playing with the "big girls."

I Heart Faces: Soft & Sweet

2011-05-02T00:43:00.001-05:00

I'm breaking out an oldie for this I Heart Faces challenge...I haven't had much time behind the camera lately. But this photo will forever be a favorite of mine! It pretty much melts my heart. This was a tickle session right before bedtime...moments like these are why I'm so grateful for cameras.

Don't forget to go check out all the other lovely entries here.

Part II: {Levi}

2011-05-01T11:32:00.001-05:00

Here is part II of baby Levi...don't you just want to eat him up?!?! You can view Part I here.

A birthday teaser...

2011-04-29T02:43:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed that I haven't posted Kaydence's birthday photos from March! ::gasp:: I feel so bad that I haven't even touched them, but I've been busy with trying to catch up sessions I've done for other people that I haven't taken the time. Well tonight, since I was having fun experimenting with black & white edits, I thought I would pull some up. So here are a couple as a teaser for you. She may be 3 before I get them all posted. lol

Her birthday theme was bumblebees because she loves the Laurie Berkner Bumblebee song.

Kaydence was given this dress last year for her birthday and she didn't get to wear it until now because it was too big (it's still a little big on her). For halloween, my sister made Kaydence a bumblebee candy bag. I knew we probably wouldn't use it again, so I cut out the bumblebee and asked my sister if she would sew it on Kaydence's dress. It turned out really cute.

Sick Days

2011-04-29T00:13:00.001-05:00

Kaydence was pretty sick earlier this week. She had a fever for 3 days and vomited one night too...poor baby. But we have that behind us now and we are supposed to have a sunny 59 degree tomorrow. The only thing that would make me more excited is if we lived someplace where it was sunny and warm year round...oh and I would take a 70+ degree day instead too. ;-) Oh well, I'm grateful! I'm so ready to be done with this cold and dreary weather...ugh.

Here is just one photo from one of our pajama days this week. I had to use a high ISO since it was so dark and dreary out, so not the greatest sharpness, but there is something I'm really proud about with this one...ready for it??? This is my very first black & white conversion where I haven't used a single action!!! One of my goals for this year was to do this and I feel so proud of myself. I really love, love, love it (for now anyway...i'm sure i'll be tweaking it some) and feel so proud that I have it in me not to use an action. Any action that I use is almost always tweaked to it's death, so I really need/want to figure out how to write my own the way I want them. After I finished this edit tonight...in less than 10 minutes...I was feeling a renewed sense of worth and motivation. I know that may sound funny, but I think those photographers out there know what I'm talking about, right?

Anyway, I just had to share with someone! Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Part I: {Levi}

2011-04-25T19:22:00.001-05:00

Remember last month when I told you I got to shoot a birth and a newborn sessions for some very dear friends of ours?!?! Well, I'm finally getting around to editing these. Its been a busy month and on top of it, I've been having some color issues with my computer (again), which has set me back a bit. I'm editing the newborn session now and then I'll go back and edit the birth. I just figured the new mommy and daddy would appreciate the newborn photos first.

I'm posting these in two parts because I have a lot of photos and I'm not completely finished editing all of them yet, but I really wanted to get some of these posted. I hope to post Part II later this week.

All I have to say is that this little guy is the sweetest thing ever (as are his parents) and he and his parents have a very special place in my heart. I feel so honored and blessed that my sweet friends asked me to take some photos for them!

I will share one photo from the day little Levi graced our world with his presence. What a beautiful little family!

And without further ado, here is your little man, Zach and Shannon! Love you guys!

{blogging sisters}

2011-04-09T01:24:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to do a post like this for a few months now, but I always seem to think of it at odd times.

My baby sister, Josie, is just starting to enter the blogosphere and I thought that some of my readers may be interested in her little corner of the world. She only has 3 followers right now and I'm pretty sure two of them are my mom and I.

She is pretty much all the things I am not, a talented organized list making homemaker who loves to cook, bake, and sew...and somehow still has time to spare for her full time job...oh wait, maybe it's the other way around.

Now, while I *can* do those things (well, besides being organized and a list maker -- lol), I certainly don't enjoy them the way she does, which is evident as you scroll through her blog. She has been so diligent in keeping up with her blog posts and all the lovely meals her hubby is so blessed in eating (my poor husband -- lol), that it would be a shame if I didn't share it with you all.

So without further ado, my sister's blog, mae(de).for.you. If you find her recipes tantilizing, I know she would feel honored and blessed if you click "follow." :-)

After scrolling through her blog again tonight, I was reminded that they don't have us over for meals nearly enough...hmmm...that needs to change ASAP. ;-)

And because it's always nice to place a face with something (and no post is as interesting without a photo), here is my beautiful sister taken just a few days before her wedding last August.

You know you want to...go follow her. :-) xoxo

If you are on The Facebook...

2011-04-06T14:07:00.001-05:00

Please, please, please consider voting for Kaydence in the 77Kids Photo Contest. All you have to do is comment on the photo and your vote will be counted. Thank you so, so much! I realize this is one of those popularity contests that I have no hopes of winning, but we would love your vote just the same.

Thank you so much! <3

Here is the link and here is the photo I entered.

{Lily}

2011-04-05T02:15:00.004-05:00

While I was visiting back home a couple weeks ago, my mother-in-law asked if I could come by to do an impromptu photo shoot with little Lily. Lily's mama, Brook, has been a long time family friend of their family and her husband is overseas right now in Iraq. Brook doesn't have a camera (other than the one on her cell phone), so I was happy to come and take a few photos for her so she could share them with her husband who is overseas.

Lily is the sweetest little thing...so compliant and sweet. I had the best time snuggling her and I even got to help babysit her one night while I was home.

This shoot was a little bit of a challenge for me since I have never done a shoot with a 2 month old before. It doesn't work very well to do the typical newborn poses with a baby this age, so it was a good learning experience for me. Thank you Brook and I hope you enjoy the photos!

Some randomness...

2011-03-31T15:54:00.000-05:00

Just a random list of randomness to document things for my own benefit. And because no post is very interesting without a photo, here is one I took with my cell phone yesterday. It wasn't too cold out yesterday, so we went outside and played for a bit. Kaydence was thrilled I brought her little car out.

And now on to my list of randomness...

- Kaydence is 2 (sniff, sniff)!!! We had a small party with just family the weekend before her birthday. Will post photos soon.

- Kaydence had her 2 year appointment on Monday. She is now a whopping 21 lbs/2 oz (below 5%), height: 32 3/4 inches (50%), and head: 47cm (25%).

- If you ask her what her favorite color is, she will inevitably say gray. It completely threw me for a loop the first time she said this because what child says their favorite color is gray??? lol Then I realized that that is pretty much all my wardrobe consists of and wondered if that had anything to do with it...she wants to be just like mommy??? ;-) She continues to say her favorite color is gray -- every now and then she'll say a random other color, but it's usually gray.

- My baby is not a baby anymore. It's an odd mix of emotions because I'm proud and sad all at the same time. Teirney and I realized this is the reason a lot of people have a second baby by the time their first reaches the age of 2. Let me tell you, we officially have a 2 year old going on 17 and it's a little hard to swallow most days. ;-)

- Kaydence just learned how to say her full name altogether and it's absolutely adorable! We have been working on this while I was away for awhile. Speaking of which, I should explain (see next point).

- Kaydence and I were visiting family a few hours away for 3 weeks while I waited for a friend of mine to have a baby. They had asked me to take their birth photos and newborn photos and we weren't sure when she would go into labor, so I just hung out with Teirney's and my family for a few weeks to await the big day. We had first celebrated KK's 2nd birthday party there and I just decided to stay after that. Teirney came up for one of the weekends, but we did miss him lots, but with all the family around, it kept us pretty occupied! Our friends had a beautiful baby boy and it was the most incredible experience. There will be photos to follow as soon as I can catch up with everything...I do have a couple of them that I could post, so maybe I will do that later.

- Kaydence is so full of life! She is so vibrant and fun and her little KK-isms are priceless and infectious! Along with those come some not so cute KK-isms. We are really struggling with her hitting and pushing us and other kids right now. We have tried timeouts, but they haven't really proven effective, so we are trying another approach...ignoring her. Everything we've read/researched (and confirmed by her pedi) says that that is the best way to handle it at this age. We'll see. I have to say I'm not completely convinced, BUT I have noticed that it has diminished a little in the last couple days since we started doing it...I suppose that could also be coincidental...who knows.

- A few KK-isms:
*When she is happy and you ask her to do something (e.g., "KK when you put your books away, you can watch Sesame Street")...her response: "Oh yeah, Ok!" And then she'll continue to say "ok, yeah" as she is putting her books away. The problem is, telling it hear, is so not the same as seeing it and hearing it. Maybe we will need to try and record it one of these days. Her "oh yeah, ok" is very happy and high pitched...sooooo cute!

*Some nights after we put her to bed, we will hear her talking and singing to her baby "la lalala lala."

*When I call her name, she will usually respond by saying "Yes?"

*She HAS TO do everything by herself...she always says "no, KK do it."

-She LOVES to dance! Her favorite songs are (in her words) "the bumblee bee song" by Laurie Berkner, "via vio" (victor vito) by Laurie Berkner, and "shine, shine, shine" (this little light of mine) by Elizabeth Mitchell. She also adores the ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Our favorite place to dance is in the kitchen, believe it or not. She will stand at one end of the kitchen and have me stand at the other and dance together. She even tries a few ballet moves I've tried to teach her (hehe).

-I just started telling her the Goldilocks and Three Bears story (my favorite as a child) and I couldn't believe how enamored she has been with it. She just quietly sits and listens...no pictures or anything, just me telling her the story. Now that she has heard it several times, she actually finishes my sentences, it's the cutest thing ever and gives me warm memories of my own childhood.

-She loves puzzles! We gave her a couple of "real" puzzles (the ones that you actually have to piece together) for her birthday and she does them so well...I was surprised how quickly she picked it up.

-She can say all of her ABCs (and sing the song) along with most of their sounds. She can count past 10, but she gets the numbers mixed up...we are working on that. She also knows a wide variety of colors.

-She still isn't much of a monkey...meaning she doesn't climb things the greatest yet. She still wants help getting up onto our couch, which believe me, is not very high. So we're trying to teach her how to do it herself.

-She usually insists on putting her coat on all by herself and does pretty well, but we always have to hold the second arm up for her.

-She loves to play with playdough and color, but they don't keep her attention for very long. I think she would dance and listen to her music all day if I let her though.

I feel like I'm missing so much...I may need to add to this list as I think of them. It seems like she has grown/learned leaps and bounds in the last few weeks even.

So if you've made it this far, bless your heart. Like I said, this list is mainly for my benefit because (sadly) I don't keep a baby book. So I need someplace to record all this stuff.

So now I've come to the BIG NEWS in our house! No, I'm not pregnant. lol But Kaydence will be gaining two extra eyes. A couple months ago after her nap she watched a show on tv and after it was over, I noticed that her left eye was turning inward (towards her nose). Of course I was worried, so I called her pedi. The pedi referred us to an Ophthalmologist at the Children's Hospital. We couldn't get an appointment until yesterday. So off we went. It turns out KK is farsighted in both eyes, but her left is much worse than the right. So she will need glasses! He said it is a good thing we noticed it because if it had gone untreated, she could start to get a lazy eye. So I'm very grateful we caught it when we did. I asked if this is something that can be corrected over time, but he didn't give me much hope of that. He said he doesn't like "putting a life sentence on it, but probably not." Now we are on the hunt for the perfect glasses for our little peanut. :-) It's a good thing she loves to wear them...now lets just hope she keeps them on!

Ok, wow, I had no idea this post would get this long...so sorry. Now that I've blabbed your ears (eyes) off...I think I'm caught up for a bit.

xoxo

{Naomi}

2011-03-16T14:05:00.003-05:00

My dear friend, Heidi, had a baby girl a few weeks ago and I was privileged enough to be able to photograph her at 4 days old! She is so beautiful!

This is my second newborn shoot so far and I'm realizing I have sooooo much to learn yet, but a BIG thank you to Heidi and Jake for allowing me to invade their space and meet their beautiful little girl. I love her and can't wait to get to hold her again!

P.S. I made the headband shown in the first several photos. :-)

A bit of sunshine...

2011-03-08T20:45:00.001-06:00

...for these dreary days.

Yes, I think it's safe to say that I'm addicted to making these things. I'm looking into opening up an etsy shop, so I'll keep you all posted. I actually made this one for Kaydence to wear at her birthday party, but I had put it onto a barrette instead of a headband (she doesn't keep headbands in), but she kept ripping it out of her hair anyway, so I just decided I would make it into a headband so I could use it on a newborn.

Hope you're all having a great day!

xoxo

Another headband...

2011-03-03T16:02:00.004-06:00

I guess I should do a blog just for headbands. lol So sorry to bore you with all these headband posts. I'm mostly posting these for my benefit, so I can look back for reference. I've had a handful of people mention that I should start selling these, so if there is enough interest, maybe I'll consider doing that. And just a sidenote, if I do start selling these, the two little round buttons you see on this one, will become my signature to all my headbands -- I would try to incorporate at least one of them in the headbands I make.

So...one more for good measure...I really love this one. :-)

More Headbands

2011-03-01T00:34:00.001-06:00

I made more headbands the other day. I'll probably make some more too since I still have a ton of material. The fabric I used is mostly repurposed. One was a vintage (real vintage) pillow case, one was an old handkerchief (that was never used), and one was made out of a pair of pants (chords). I have another headband made that is the same as the medallion headband (the middle photo), but it's made in a different fabric (the same fabric as the flower I posted the other day (below).

I had so much fun making these, so I think I will keep making them. :-)

I got crafty...

2011-02-26T00:51:00.000-06:00

I have a couple newborn shoots (for friends) that I'm doing in the next couple weeks, so I got up some motivation to make some newborn headbands. I've had some ideas floating around in my head for awhile now, but I'm the type of person who finds it easy to envision something, but difficult to pull it off. So this is a *version* of the headband I had envisioned, but this was my first try. I have plans to get my craft on tomorrow as well and see if I can create that perfect masterpiece I've been picturing. lol

I really like the way this turned out, except I think it is too big for a newborn. I tried it on KK today and it looks cute on her, but I think a newborn might drowned in it. lol

But what are your thoughts??? Likey, or no likey???

I Heart Faces :: Phone Photo

2011-02-21T03:05:00.000-06:00

I took this photo a couple weeks ago on my cell phone (a self portrait type photo). I have been wanting to post it here on my blog, but forgot about it until I saw the theme over at I Heart Faces this week. So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to post it.

It was a gorgeous day outside and Kaydence and I were looking out the window at the birds. I used the mirror to take this photo. It's amazing how much easier it is to take a self-portrait type photo when you have a mirror...haha. I realize it's not the greatest/clearest photo in the world, but I still love it!

I love my girl! It seems like her little personality grows leaps and bounds by the day.

Don't forget to go check out all the other great submissions here.

Family Nap-time

2011-02-21T02:38:00.000-06:00

Kaydence is teething (or so it seems since she had her hands in her mouth non-stop today) and she always seems to have a hard time going down for her naps when she is teething...not sure why, since she goes down fine at night. But today was especially hard. She wanted me to cuddle her before her nap, so I did and she fell asleep on me, but the minute I tried to stand up to put her in her crib, she clung to me (almost like a death grip...she was shaking) and said "cuddle mama...cuddle mama" over and over. I tried putting her down, but she just screamed, so I couldn't do it. So instead, we decided we would just have a family nap today in our room. Teirney and Kaydence fell asleep before I did, so I slipped out to grab my camera and captured the photo below. She has always been a beautiful sleeper...of course I'm bias. :-) I love her!

The rest of the photos are just various captures from the weekend. As you can see, she spent most of the weekend in her jammies since we didn't do a whole lot this weekend.

Now the next photos need a little explaining. I follow a blog of an amazing photographer (Kerianne Brown Photography) who is doing a 365 project of her son. Well, along side of her 365 project, she posts a video montage of her gorgeous son, Will, every weekend that her and her husband collaborate on. If you you have a minute, you need to check out her incredible blog and at least watch a couple (if not all) of the videos. They are absolutely beautiful and breathtaking -- I am always speechless after watching one and wish I had the talent/skill to do something like that. I watch with awe every week at what a beautiful gift she is giving her son by doing this. Not to mention, he is the sweetest, happiest, and gorgeous little boy ever!

So every weekend Kaydence and I look forward to watching the video together -- she is in love with "Baby Weel" (as she calls him) and it's so fun to see her get so excited about watching the video. She is so enamored by him and loves these videos, so it's something fun we look forward to. Saturday afternoon I looked to see if there was a new video yet, but there wasn't. So I just let her watch a couple of the old ones. Please don't mind her hair and jammies (lol). The following photos are just of her watching "baby Weel." :-) I don't know what we'll do when she stops doing the videos (haha).

Bath-time Hairdo

2011-02-20T13:29:00.002-06:00

These were taken back in November (Kaydence was 20 months), so her hair has grown a bunch since then, but I came across these while catching up my 365 and wanted to share. And apparently, I've been into black and whites lately because scrolling through my blog that is practically all I see lately.

Eta: Okay, so here are some color ones that I added to make it fair. :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T15:12:00.001-06:00

Here is my little valentine in her festive raincoat and rain boots splashing in the puddles in our driveway yesterday. It was gorgeous out yesterday...in the 40s and the snow was melting so it was just warm enough for her to sport her pink hearts just in time for Valentine's Day.

Valentine Kisses

2011-02-13T09:40:00.001-06:00

We had a playdate the other day at a friend's house (you can follow your blog here) and Kaydence and her little boy had so much fun together. I thought this was appropriate for Valentine's week.

Afternoon Play

2011-02-08T18:13:00.001-06:00

a pajama kind of day

afternoon play

a giggle or two
with a tickle between
a belly laugh or three

hugs and kisses too many to count

just between you and me

...love you my sweet girl!

I was going through photos from this past November (still trying to catch up my 365) and I came across these and couldn't help but sharing.

P.S. And yes, you do see crusties on her face (hehe), but that's what being a kid is all about too, right? right? I pray we will shake this eternal cold one of these days...summer can't come soon enough in our house.

Through the eyes of her mama...

2011-02-04T00:05:00.000-06:00

...she is beautiful inside and out!

The other day, Kaydence came to me and said "may I please have toast, mommy." I melted.

Here are some mommy shots with my new 50D that I just got last week. I haven't had much time to play with it, but I love it so far!

I was telling Kaydence to "be cute" here, so she put her head on the couch arm like this.

She ripped a heart and was so concerned.

I said, "ok, kk, smile for me" and this was the look she gave and didn't even look at me. lol

Snack time! And look at where all her apple rinds are. lol She gave this look when I mentioned it to her and of course I had to grab the camera.

and then this look. lol so naughty but awfully cute!

She is teething right now, so her hands are in her mouth almost constantly...so sad!

And this is the, "ok, mom, time to put the camera away and actually pay attention to me" look.

She was just done at this point.

Some news...

2011-01-25T22:31:00.000-06:00

1) I sold my camera!!! Woohoo!;

2) I just ordered the Canon EOS 50D and it will be here in 2 days!; and

3) Kaydence gave up drugs (i.e. her paci -- lol)!

First, I'm beyond excited that I was able to sell my camera, and now, I'm over the moon with my new camera that will be delivered on Thursday! I was originally going to get a refurbished 40D through Canon's Loyalty Program, but when I called them today they told me it was out of stock, but that they had a 50D in stock. After hanging up with them and discussing it with my husband, I called them back and ordered the 50D. So it is currently on its way to me! Yay!

Now on to weaning Kaydence from her paci. Last Friday night, January 21, I just up and decided we were going to wean Kaydence from her paci the next day. The following photo is how I came to the conclusion. Pardon the cell phone pic...I don't have a camera (lol).

Well, it might be a little hard to tell here, but do you notice how her palette/teeth are changing/crooked? One side noticeably (to me) protrudes from the other. Well, I've been really concerned about it lately and after talking to a friend who weaned her daughter for the same reason, I decided it was time.

I first noticed Kaydence's teeth/palette changing a few months ago, but I was nowhere near ready to wean her at that time. I continued to worry about it, but figured the damage had already been done and we would just have to correct it with braces when she was older. So I thought we would wait to wean her until she was a little older (maybe 3) when we could explain it to her more and she would understand. But then this friend told me that since they weaned their daughter, her teeth had started to move back to where they should be (she has a slight overbite, but there is a significant difference). I guess her doctor said that the teeth have a greater chance of moving back before the child gets their 2 year molars. So once I heard that, my mind was made up and I decided we would wean Kaydence the next day...sooner the better, right?

So this is how it all went down. I talked to Teirney about it on Friday night and he was very reluctant, but decided we would give it a try and just see how it went. So the next morning when Kaydence woke up, we immediately told her it was a big day today because she was going to be a big girl and say "bye bye" to her paci. We talked to her about it in this high pitch excited tone like she had won the lottery and she seemed to take to it well (hehe). She got all excited and we had her take one of her pacis and throw it in the garbage. I said "say bye bye to your paci -- because you're a big girl now and you don't need it anymore." And that's exactly what she did. She threw it in the garbage and said "bye bye" and was as happy as a clam.

Then, later that morning, Teirney was taking the trash outside, so I told Kaydence to come in the kitchen and say goodbye to her paci. I showed her that it was in the garbage and that daddy was taking it outside. She said "bye bye pa" and waved excitedly. I said "you're such a big girl and you don't need it anymore." And I explained to her that she would be taking a nap without it because she didn't need it anymore. I don't know how many times I said that to her that day, but I just kept pumping it into her head -- yes, it's called brainwashing. lol I was secretly so worried about the upcoming nap that was quickly approaching.

Fortunately for her (and us), Kaydence has a blankie that she has had since she was very little, so she at least has that for comfort (and I don't care if she keeps that until she is 90). So nap time came and she of course cried (but more like fussing, not full out crying) for about 20 minutes and then she fell fast asleep without it. That night, she went down without it again and it was silent for about a minute, then she fussed for about 2 minutes, then talked for about 1 minute, then it was silent and she fell asleep. Needless to say, I was shocked!!! You have no idea how much this child loved that thing. She would ask for it in the middle of the day and even though we tried to limit it to naps and bedtime, she would usually somehow find one in the middle of the day -- the softy that I am usually let her have it for awhile. So the fact that this has gone so smoothly, has beyond FLOORED me!

The next day was Sunday and we took a roadtrip to visit my sister and brother-in-law and that actually didn't go so well. She always has her paci in the car and she is as calm as a cucumber. Well, she basically cried/fussed all the way there and all the way back (1 1/2 hours each way). It was pretty miserable, but we survived. That night she went down pretty good again...only fussed for a bit. So far, every day has been the same...she fusses (not cries) for a bit, but then she'll fall asleep fine and sleep normally. I have hope that it will only get better.

This whole entire time, she hasn't asked for it once...no, not even ONCE! Not even when she is fussing in her crib, so our brainwashing must have worked. lol She really is getting to be a big girl. She understands so much and I even feel like she is acting older since we've weaned her, of course, that could all be in my head. :-)

I'm sorry this got to be so long winded, but I mostly wanted to document this for my own purpose. If you've gotten this far, bless your heart. :-) Here's to hoping next week she goes down without fussing. :-) My baby is growing up...sniff, sniff!

So for the record, as of January 22, Kaydence is weaned from her paci!

Shutter Love Tuesday :: Tints

2011-01-18T14:44:00.001-06:00

I haven't done these "contests" in awhile and now I've done two already this week. I should be continuing to work on catching up my 365 blog, but here I am getting distracted again. Although, this was one that I just came across from my 365 and thought it was sweet, so I don't mind sharing it here too.

This was taken back in October when the beautiful fall leaves were still on the trees and at their peak. Kaydence and I were playing in the living room one day and the warm sunlight, filtered by the vibrant yellow leaves of the oak tree in our front yard, was shining into the living room so beautifully, casting shadows and the like. Kaydence was sitting on the chair looking out the window at the squirrels busy gathering their food for the winter and she sat there for a good 5 minutes. I was so glad she sat there long enough for me to grab my camera to capture this moment.

I edited this photo a couple weeks ago and when I was looking through photos that would fit for the theme over at The Trendy Treehouse for Shutter Love Tuesday, I just couldn't resist sharing this one since I thought it appropriately fit the theme.

Don't forget to go check out all the other beautiful "tint" entries below.

{snow day}

2011-01-18T00:13:00.000-06:00

It snowed all.day.long today, so Kaydence I were stuck inside. We [I] am going a little stir crazy because I haven't been out of the house for several days. Kaydence went down for her nap today and it was very quiet inside, and outside (except for the falling snow)...it made me feel a little isolated. But tomorrow will make up for it because she has music class in the morning and swimming lessons in the evening. It's supposed to continue snowing through the night, so we'll see how the roads are tomorrow. I hope everyone had a lovely day, no matter what the weather was like.

Christmas Eve Day

2011-01-18T00:03:00.000-06:00

I'm slowly but surely working through my photos and thought I would share a few from Christmas Eve Day. I haven't gotten to Christmas Eve/Christmas Day yet, but I'm getting there. :-)

My sister and her husband were also home at my parents' house for Christmas and it was great to spend some time with them. They brought their Wii with them, which was some fun entertainment that even Kaydence enjoyed. Christmas Eve morning she played a tennis match with her daddy (fulfilling a dream of his that one of his children would play tennis). :-) And then we had a lovely brunch made by my sister and her husband, complete with mimosas, a divine asparagus frittata, and homemade white chocolate raspberry scones. Mmmmm...makes me hungry just thinking about it again. We had such a relaxing, wonderful morning together as a family and I just wish we could get together more often. Here are some photos of our morning.

I Heart Faces :: Winter Wonderland

2011-01-16T23:47:00.003-06:00

The theme over at I Heart Faces this week is Winter Wonderland, so I thought our Christmas card photo would be an appropriate one to enter. I know I've already posted it here, but hopefully you don't mind seeing it again. :-) You can view the front and back of what our actual Christmas card looked like here.

Don't forget to go check out all the other beautiful entries here.

A Day in October

2011-01-13T00:45:00.000-06:00

I'm still working through catching up my 365 and am feeling like it may be Christmas in July before I even get to post my photos from Christmas (lol). Don't worry, it won't be that long...I'll skip ahead. :-)

Anyway, these were taken back in October at a pumpkin patch and I thought they were too cute not to share. Seriously, don't they look like they belong in a Baby Gap ad with their cute little outfits??? lol

So the time has come...

2011-01-12T12:02:00.000-06:00

...for me to sell my beloved Canon EOS Rebel XSi. Yes, you read that correctly, I am selling my very first DSLR! I feel a little sentimental to be honest with you. I know that sounds silly, but it really has been a wonderful camera for me and I do love it dearly. Don't worry though (not that you would -- lol), I'm not saying goodbye to photography, I'm just hoping to upgrade. But in order to do so, I need to sell my XSi first.

Here is all the info as it will be listed on Craigslist.

I am selling my dear Canon EOS Rebel XSi that I purchased in August of 2009. She comes with the original box, software, and cords and additional accessories as listed below. She is in excellent condition and has been well loved and well cared for, with no signs of wear. The only reason I'm selling her is because I'm hoping to upgrade. If you would like to view the photos I've taken with her, just scroll through my blog. I can't say enough about this camera and I hope to give her a good home. If you wish to purchase the camera with the lens, please let me know and we can work something out.

I'm selling her for $575, including the following accessories:

*original box with manuals, software, cords

*camera bag

*canon camera strap

*battery charger

*2 rechargeable batteries

*SanDisk Ultra 8GB SD memory card (worth $50.00 at Best Buy)

*LCD screen protector

*BONUS: DVD Michael the Mentor "Canon XSi Crash Course" (this DVD helped me a lot and taught me all the basics)

NEGOTIABLE:

*EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Kit Lens

*UV Filter

The following specs have been taken from http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012403canoneos450d.asp:

The EOS 450D features:

12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor

Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System

3.5 frames per second

3.0” LCD with Live View shooting

9-point wide-area AF system with f/2.8 cross-type centre point

Picture Style image processing parameters

DIGIC III image processor

Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software1

Compact and Lightweight body

Fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites

-------------------------

List price (US)	• Body only: $799 • Kit: $899 (with 18-55 mm IS lens)
List price (EU)	• Body only: €749 • Kit: €849 (with 18-55 mm IS lens)
International naming	• US: Canon Rebel Digital XSi • Japan: Canon EOS Kiss Digital x2 • Elsewhere: Canon EOS 450D
Body material	Plastic (Stainless Steel chassis)
Sensor *	• 12.2 million effective pixels • 12.4 million total pixels • 22.2 x 14.8 mm CMOS sensor • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in low-pass filter with self cleaning unit • 3:2 aspect ratio
Dust reduction	• Low-pass filter vibration at power-on (can be interrupted) • Anti-static coating on sensor surfaces • Software based dust-removal (camera maps dust, removed later)
Image sizes *	• 4272 x 2848 (L) • 3088 x 2056 (M) • 2256 x 1504 (S)
Output formats	• RAW (.CR2 14-bit ) • RAW (.CR2 14-bit ) + JPEG Large/Fine • JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine, Normal
Image processor *	DIGIC III
Lenses	• Canon EF / EF-S lens mount • 1.6x field of view crop
Focus modes	• Auto Focus • Manual Focus (switch on lens)
Auto Focus	• 9-point CMOS sensor • Cross-type F2.8 at center * • AF working range: -0.5 to 18 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100)
AF modes	• AI Focus • One shot • AI Servo
AF point selection	• Auto • Manual
AF assist	Flash strobe
Shooting modes	• Auto • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Auto depth-of-field • Portrait • Landscape • Close-up • Sports • Night portrait • Flash off
Metering	• TTL 35-zone SPC • Metering range: EV 1.0 - 20 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4)
Metering modes	• Evaluative 35-zone • Partial 9% at center • Spot 4% at center * • Center-weighted average
AE Lock	AE lock button
AE Bracketing	• +/- 3.0 EV * • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Exposure compen.	• +/- 2.0 EV • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Sensitivity	• Auto (100 - 400) • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 • Highlight tone priority * (ISO 200 - 1600)
Shutter	• Focal-plane shutter • 30 - 1/4000 sec (0.5 or 0.3 EV steps) • Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Bulb
Aperture values	• F1.0 - F91 (0.3 EV steps) • Actual aperture range depends on lens used
White balance	• Auto • Daylight • Shade • Cloudy • Tungsten • Fluorescent • Flash • Custom
WB Bracketing	• +/-3 levels • 3 images • Selectable Blue/Amber or Magenta/Green bias
WB fine-tuning	• Blue (-9) To Amber (+9) • Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)
Color space	• sRGB • Adobe RGB
Picture style	• Standard • Portrait • Landscape • Neutral • Faithful • Monochrome • User 1 • User 2 • User 3
Custom image parameters	• Sharpness: 0 to 7 • Contrast: -4 to +4 • Saturation: -4 to +4 • Color tone: -4 to +4 • B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G • B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G
Drive modes	• Single • Continuous: 3.5 fps up to 53 JPEG / 6 RAW frames • Self-timer 10 secs (2 sec with mirror lock-up) • Self-timer continuous *
Mirror lockup	Yes (custom function)
Viewfinder	• Pentamirror • 95% frame coverage • Magnification: 0.87x * (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity) • Eyepoint: 19 mm * • Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter • Fixed precision matte • Proximity sensor disables LCD shooting mode information
Viewfinder info *	• AF information (AF points focus confirmation light) • Shutter speed • Aperture value • ISO speed (always displayed) • AE lock • Exposure level/compensation • Spot metering circle • Exposure warning • AEB • Flash ready • High-speed sync • FE lock • Flash exposure compensation • Red-eye reduction light • White balance correction • SD card information • Monochrome shooting • Maximum burst
DOF preview	Yes, button
LCD monitor *	• 3.0" TFT LCD • 230,000 pixels • Wide viewing angle (160° horizontal and vertical) • 7 brightness levels • Up to 10x zoom playback
LCD Live view *	• Live TTL display of scene from CMOS image sensor • 100% frame coverage • Real-time evaluative metering using CMOS image sensor • Best view or exposure simulation • Grid optional (thirds) • Magnify optional (5x or 10x at AF point) • Optional Auto-focus with mirror-down / mirror-up sequence • Two modes; normal and quieter • Remote live view using EOS Utility 2.0 (via USB or WiFi/Ethernet using WFT) • Manual focus only
Camera settings display	• Shutter speed • Aperture • Sensitivity (ISO) • Exposure mode • Meter / Exposure compenation • Bracketing • Flash compensation • White balance & fine tuning • Metering mode • Custom function set • Auto focus mode • Drive mode • Auto focus areas • Black & white mode • Beep • Red-eye reduction • Image size / quality • Battery status • Frames remaining
Record review	• Uses last play mode • Magnification possible • 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold
Flash	• Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash • Guide number approx 13 • Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On/ Off, Red-Eye Reduction • X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Flash exposure compensation: +/-2.0 EV (0.3 or 0.5 EV steps) • Coverage up to 17 mm focal length (27 mm FOV equiv.)
External flash	• E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites • Hot-shoe
Other features	• Orientation sensor • Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity
Auto rotation	• On (playback uses orientation data in file header) • Off
Playback mode	• Single image • Single image with info (histogram brightness / RGB ) • Magnified view (1.5 - 10x in 15 steps, browsable) • 4 and 9 image index * • Auto play • Image rotation • Jump (by 10, 100 or date)
Custom functions *	13 custom functions with 34 settings
Menu languages *	• English • German • French • Dutch • Danish • Portuguese • Finnish • Italian • Norwegian • Swedish • Spanish • Greek • Simplified Chinese • Japanese • Traditional Chinese • Korean • Russian • Polish • Hungarian • Czech
Firmware	User upgradable
Connectivity	• USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) mini-B • Video out (PAL / NTSC) • E3 type wired remote control
Storage *	• SD / SDHC card
Power *	• Lithium-Ion LP-E5 rechargeable battery (7.4 V, 1050 mAh) • CR2016 Lithium battery (date/time backup) • Optional ACK-E5 AC adapter kit
Battery Grip *	Yes, BG-E5
Direct printing	• Canon Selphy Printers • Canon Bubble Jet Printers with direct print function • Canon PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge • PictBridge
Dimensions *	129 x 98 x 62 mm (5.1 x 3.9 x 2.4 in)
Weight (no battery) *	475 g (1.0 lb)
Software	• Zoom Browser EX / ImageBrowser • PhotoStitch • EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture; Windows & Mac except Mac Intel) • Digital Photo Professional (Windows / Mac)

Catching up...

2011-01-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2011!

I have lots to post about, but this is just a quickie for now. I plan on doing a "year in review" of sorts this week, but I just had to do a quick post to upload some photos I came across while I was catching up my 365. I have lots of catching up to do on the blog for my 365 project, which you can find here. But while going through some photos from back in October, I came across a few cute ones of KK and her BFF and I just wanted to share.

I'll do a "year in review" post later this week as well as sharing some Christmas photos, but until then, I present you with some cuteness. :-)

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T20:09:00.000-06:00

I'm a day late wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, but yesterday was a fun filled family only day, so my computer was never touched.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and took time, in the midst of all the commercialization, to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

I hope to try and get my 365 caught up in the next couple weeks and I'll try to post some more Christmas photos this week too. Love to you all!

{21 month update}

2010-12-14T02:44:00.001-06:00

My baby is 21 months! I think it's safe to say she is no longer a baby, but of course she'll always be my baby...you mamas know how it is. I just wanted to give a quick update on some of her milestones to document them, since I know I will regret it one day if I don't.

She is still a peanut. She hasn't been weighed since her 18 month checkup, but she couldn't be much over 21 lbs. (if that). She still isn't a great eater and won't eat many veggies, except for peas and corn, which she would eat at any given time. She is getting quite the vocabulary lately. She isn't quite talking in full sentences, but she is surely trying. She'll pick up my phone and start jabbering away...cutest thing ever.

She actually knows most of her alphabet. Well, I should clarify, she doesn't actually say her ABCs in order, but if we ask her what a letter is, she will tell us, or if we're reading a book or something, sometimes she'll point to a letter and tell us what it is. Lets see if I can remember all of the letters she knows...um...A, B, C, D, E, F, I, L, M, O, P, S, T, U, and Y. She can repeat all the other letters after us, but she struggles to pin point them when we ask her what they are. But for instance, with the letter G, she'll make the sound of the letter, but just hasn't said the name on her own yet. And funny enough, she struggles with the letter K as well. But she is doing really well. We have worked a little bit on colors with her and she is hit or miss with getting colors right when we ask her. Her favorite color to say is "blue"...everything is blue. haha

As for counting, she can almost count to 10. She will skip some, but it is usually 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and then it sort of trails off and she'll say 10. lol But she is sort of all over the place with numbers because it seems like it's different everyday...she will say different numbers in different orders. So we aren't quite there yet.

Big milestone! She said her first full sentence today and I missed it! :-( Teirney was in the living room with her tonight watching football and a commercial came on with a duck on it and Teirney said, KK say bye-bye to the duck (because he was taking her out of the room), and she said "bye-bye ducky, I gotta go now" in her adorable high pitched little voice. Man, I wish I could have heard that!

Another cute thing, we pray with her every night before bed and we'll ask her to pray too. She mumble some cute little jibber jabber and then she'll say "men" for amen. :-) Well, the other day we were in Culvers waiting in the Women's bathroom to use the stall so I could change her and she looked up at me with her cute little eyes and folded her hands and said "pray?" It melted my heart. I really wish everyone could have heard her with her sweet little voice say "pray?". So we did, we prayed. :-) Then tonight, we asked her to pray and she did and when she was done she said, "da" and did the sign for grandad and said "pray." She wanted to pray for her Grandad (my dad who had knew surgery last wee)...it was so cute. I love her!

Now onto some disciplinary things she is learning. As I mentioned, she isn't a big eater. Well, lately she has been having some temper tantrums in her high chair at mealtime if we put something in front of her that she doesn't want. One of her other weaknesses is to hit things in front of her or throw it on the floor if she is upset (yeah, fun times...i think my dining room floor is caked with food and milk...it's pretty disgusting). But lately, this is how we've handled the temper tantrums. If she is throwing one of her tantrums and starts hitting and flailing her arms like she is going to knock her plate or cup off the table, I just tell her firmly, "Kaydence, if you knock that on the floor, you are going to have a time out." It worked today, but I'd be lying to you if I said it is 100% effective. lol The child has a mind of her own, that's for sure, so we do have to resort to time outs from time to time. So anyway, then we just leave the food in front of her and walk away, or sit and eat and ignore her until she calms down and she almost always starts to eat whatever it is we put in front of her. So I had to entice her with sweet potato fries in order to get her to eat her mac&cheese with broccoli, but it worked. She was doing her usual temper tantrum and I told her that she needed to eat two bites before she could have a fry...it took her awhile to calm down and decide she would eat it, but she did and I gave her a sweet potato fry. And then we did it over and over until she ate half of her mac&cheese. I was so proud of her that she understood what I was saying. But now we know she understands, so she can't pull the wool over our eyes anymore. ;-)

She really is a good girl though, she has her moments, but so do we all. She loves to dance, so we will have to see if we can get her in a dance class sometime next year. She is already signed up for music class and a swimming class, so we will be busy.

Well, it's late and while I'm sure there are plenty of things I'm missing in this update, my brain is fried. I'm in the process of trying to go through all of her 365 photos that I need to post to my other blog. No, I haven't given up. I've been taking a photo everyday, but just haven't had time, with all the other photo shoots I've done lately, to keep up with the blog. But hopefully I'll be able to get them all posted and caught up by the end of the year. But for now, I'll leave you with a couple photos I came across.

Kaydence was 19 months in the first one...it was taken in October. And in the second one, one day last month (20 months), I was getting ready in the bathroom one morning and she was in the living room watching Baby Signing Time, but it was awfully quiet (she'll usually play while she is watching), so I went in to check on her and this is what I found. It was the cutest thing ever! She has never *ever* fallen asleep on the couch like that before. It was so sweet!

Oh and I apologize in advance for any typos or grammatical errors I've made in this post...it's too late to proof read. ;-)

{anticipation of new life}

2010-12-07T11:39:00.002-06:00

What better way to start off this holiday season than with the anticipation and excitement of new life! Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet a friend of a friend for some maternity photos. It was my first time photographing an expectant mother, so I had a lot of fun. Poor mama probably thought I was crazy asking her to lie in the grass while I experimented with my photography. Not to mention, as warm as it may appear in the photos, it was freezing cold. She was such a trooper as I dragged her to a couple different locations. I just remember being that far along barely being able to move. So thank you, Shauna! :-)

She was the cutest little pregnant woman I had ever seen -- doesn't she look amazing?!?! She was 37 weeks here and she is presently the proud mommy of a little baby girl (they didn't know what they were having). I'm so happy for their new little family!

Shauna, I hope you're enjoying mommyhood and I hope you enjoy looking back at these photos of that little life you carried inside of you. :-)

{treasure beyond measure}

2010-11-23T03:03:00.000-06:00

This is the last family from my Madison photo shoots. And this family has a special place in my heart. I was Hannah's assistant at the firm I worked at in Madison before we moved. We clicked immediately and became fast friends (5 years ago now...can you believe that, Hannah?).

I'll never forget on my first day of work, Hannah took me out to go grab a cup of coffee at one of my husband's and my favorite coffee shops...I knew we were kindred spirits right then and there. ;-) How many attorneys take the time to do that with their assistants? Come to think of it, I was blessed because I had 3 attorneys I worked for who would take the time to do that with me frequently (I was spoiled for sure).

Wow, there are so many memories I could sit here and reminisce about...the laughter, the tears, the funny and not so funny. But one thing is for sure, this woman has the biggest heart in the entire world. She is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. She never ceases to amaze me with her kindness, and her genuine passion for life is contagious. I can never figure out how she does it all...she pours herself into everything she touches and still has more to give...she is completely selfless and absolutely amazing.

And her beautiful daughter, Makeda, is a reflection of all that her mama is and is equally as beautiful inside and out. I can't tell you how honored I feel to be able to call them my friends. And by now I'm sure I've made her blush (hehe), but she deserves all the admiration I can give and I know I don't tell her enough how much her friendship has meant to me over the years, even though we certainly don't get to spend much time together anymore. Hannah, you are like a sister to me and I love you...you are a treasure beyond measure! :-)

{Sunny Sunday Giggles}

2010-11-21T09:51:00.002-06:00

This is a continuation of my Madison photo shoots I did for friends.

These kids belong to one of the attorney's I worked for in Madison when we lived there. We have kept in touch since I've left and it was great to catch up with her and her adorable kids again. Her little boy is only a couple weeks older than Kaydence. I'll never forget the day I told her I was pregnant and she said "me too." Unfortunately, we were already living miles a part by that time, but I have been privileged to see them on several occasions since. These kids were so fun and full of life and completely gorgeous, as you'll clearly see by the photos.

And a bonus one. lol Lets just say, the kids were pretty much done with photos by this point. ;-) They did really well though. :-)

{Double the Fun}

2010-11-21T03:06:00.001-06:00

Here is another beautiful family from my Madison mini-shoots. We didn't have a whole lot of time because all the kids had a soccer game they had to get to, so we just had to take what we could get. Aren't these twins so sweet? I felt bad we didn't have enough time to photograph the kids on their own, but they are adorable just the same. They were so quiet and well behaved...and couldn't be cuter.

I know this one is silly, but I still love it.

{Bursting with Life}

2010-11-18T00:34:00.002-06:00

Here is another beautiful family from my Madison shoots. Let me just say, this little girl loves her mama! Those smiles are all for her mama and what a lucky mama she is. :-) Both her and her big brother were bursting with life and I had so much fun trying to capture some of it.

{Rainbow Sherbet}

2010-11-16T15:04:00.002-06:00

Here is another beautiful family from my trip to Madison. The last time I had seen these two adorable little girls prior to this was when they were very, very little. It was so great to see them again all grown up. They were as sweet as sweet can be, just like their parents and just like rainbow sherbet. :-) I wish we had had more time to hang out this day, but it was so good to see them even for a short bit.

{Candy Apple Fields}

2010-11-13T15:07:00.001-06:00

This is a continuation of my Madison photo shoots I did for friends. There were six families total that met at the park on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon. We were short on time because all the kids had a soccer game to attend afterwards, so it was 6 mini sessions in a about an hour's time. So you'll be seeing more from those mini sessions in the next several days.

Do you remember, Alexa, from this post? Well, here she is again with her sweet mom and dad. It was great to see them all again and Alexa was as cute as ever and such a little ham...she doesn't even need to try. In case you're wondering, no, there were no candy apples in the field, but how lovely would that have been? When I look at these photos that is what came to mind, so I thought it was fitting.

{A Walk in the Park}

2010-11-08T03:43:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm working through some photos I did for some families a few weeks ago. One of which was my cousin's adorable kids. They were the best behaved little cuties and even stopped to "pose" a time or two. They were simply adorable and I had so much fun playing "follow the leader" with them. Tracy, you were so sweet to ask me to take some photos for you. You have the most amazing kids. I hope you like these. :-)

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2010-11-01T12:47:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago I traveled to Madison at the request of several families for photo shoots. When all was said and done, I had taken photos for a total of 8 families that weekend! So I'm trying to catch up and am slowly, but surely, starting to post those photos.

I had so much fun tagging along with Chuck, Jordan, and little Marah for their annual trip to the pumpkin farm. There couldn't have been a more perfect day to take a trip to a pumpkin farm as it was this day...a little windy, but all-in-all a pretty perfect day.

CJ&M, thank you for including me in your family excursion. I hope these photos will help you relive this time for years to come.

{Lucille}

2010-10-26T20:59:00.001-05:00

I felt so honored to be asked by one of our friends to photograph their beautiful baby girl a couple weeks ago. It was the very first time I've ever photographed a newborn and, truth be told, I really didn't deserve to photograph this beauty. But a big thank you to Donny and MacKenzie for bearing with me and allowing me to invade their space, even though I had no clue what I was doing. These photos don't do little Lu justice, she is truly perfect and beautiful in every way! Congratulations, Donny and MacKenzie, you two are already wonderful parents!

These photos give me some serious baby fever. :-)

What a beautiful family! We love you guys!!!

I Heart Faces :: In the Orchard

2010-10-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

How fitting that the theme over at I Heart Faces this week is "in the orchard," when I just posted Kaydence's 18 month photos below from our excursion to the orchard the other week. The only problem is, I am having a really tough time deciding on which one to pick.

I finally decided on this one since it shows how much she was thoroughly enjoying her apple and it shows the orchard in the background. But I have a few other favorites from that day, which you can view here.

Don't forget to go check out all the other great submissions this week here.