My Aspiration

Funny Faces!

2010-11-17T10:38:00.001-08:00

Emerson's signature funny-face

Squishy-face

Goofy girls! xoxo

Field Trip!!

2010-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Avery had her first real field trip yesterday. We went to Fairbank Farm for a tour and pumpkins!

Proudly displaying her pumpkin!

Cute pink pigs!

Sisters comparing their pumpkins!

The Girls xoxo

2010-10-29T10:57:00.001-07:00

(Em didn't want to stop for a pic... Avery, on the other hand, will always grab on to Mommy for a pic!) I love my girls!!xoxoxo

Harvest!

2010-10-29T10:47:00.001-07:00

We have been so crazy busy around here! Last weekend was the Harvest Carnival at our school, Multiple Intelligences Academy! We had such a wonderful time! The girls had their faces painted and loved it! The little ladybug and bumblebee stayed on their faces for about 3 days! I wouldn't dare try to wipe it off! :)

Such cute little bugs!

Emerson

2010-09-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

My precious Emerson Paige. Avery has been in school 2 days now and I have had the privilage of spending quality one-on-one time with Em. I say privilage and I really mean that. Yes, we spend most everyday together, but the quality time we share really is a privilage to me. Emerson is so full of this colorful, loving, happy, giggly energy constantly! The days where she is sad and grumpy are so few and far between. This girl brings so much joy into our lives, including Avery's! They really are the best of friends! Emerson Paige We LOVE you!!

1st Day of School 2010-2011

2010-09-15T10:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Avery's first day of school. She is a Pre-Kindergartener this year. Avery was so excited and happy to be back at school. We absolutely LOVE our school and hope to be there for a long time! Here are a few more from yesterday:

Mukilteo Beach!

2010-08-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today the girls and I headed out to the Mukilteo beach. There was a very low tide, so low that you could see many things that you can't see on a normal day! I guess it only happens once a year or so! We had so much fun combing the beach and exploring! Emerson LOVED the starfish. Avery not so much, but she had a great time exploring as well!

Emmy-loo and one of many starfish!

Mukilteo Ferry...sun came out more as the morning went on... beautiful!

Beautiful Mukilteo Lighthouse... It holds a special place in my heart!

More starfish...

Yummmm... Mussels!

And more starfish... this guy was underwater and the water was so crystal clear!

We're so lucky to live here in "Mukilteo by the sea"!!!

More Wedding Weekend pics!

2010-08-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

On our way home from our big wedding weekend, we stopped at Smallwoods Farm and Fruitstand in Peshastin, WA. Avery's been coming here since she was a year old. This was the first time for Em (not the first time she's been here, but the first time she's been big enough to really enjoy the place!) now that she's a little bigger. They loved it!

Bug on the Chicken!

Emerson was so serious about trying to get this tractor (prop) started!

Beautiful colors everywhere!

Wedding Day!

2010-08-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

I was able to catch a few shots Sunday morning getting ready for the wedding. I didn't get any of Aunty's flower girls (my girls) :( cause I thought I'd be polite and put my camera away when the photographer arrived! ;)

Drying her hair, not too nervous (so she said!)

Hair dried and getting the first "Wedding Day jitters" of the day! So being the responsible sister and Matron of Honor that I was, I calmed her jitters with a Bloody Mary! Did the trick!

Katie's soon-to-be Mother-in-Law!

Ok, I was a little annoyed by this: the photographer left to go shoot the guys before getting a shot of my mom putting her pearls on Katie! Glad I got this one!! (I'm never gonna be polite again after this!) :)

Congratulations Katie and Brett! We were so happy to be apart of your big day! We love you lots!!

Wow!

2010-08-09T21:22:00.001-07:00

We are home from Eastern WA and my sister's wedding. It was wonderful! So many memories and good times! Here's a few from the day before the wedding!

Aunty Katie enjoying her pedicure...

Grammy and Em waiting for their pedi...

Avery and Grammy having a pedi...

Soccer Camp!

2010-08-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Avery is just about finished with her 1st session of soccer camp! She's been interested in soccer for about a year so we decided to sign her up for an intro. to soccer. We had so much fun watching and cheering her on! I found myself excitedly cheering for her on the sidelines-wasn't the quietest mommy there, but I couldn't help it! We are so proud of her! (Bug, I promise I won't be an (overly) obnoxious soccer mom!)

They had the kids kick the ball against the wall and stop it with one foot, then return it to the wall. She got pretty good at that!

But she just couldn't help but stop the ball with her hands too. So cute! The class was a mix of

3 & 4 year olds, and none of them could resist the instict to grab the ball with their hands!

Great dribbling, Bug! Love this action shot!

Avery did this camp with her friend Allyson. Lots of social breaks for these two!

Avery would run over to Em and I once in a while and tell us she was so tired! Always had time for a quick hug for her little sister!

Avery is a lot like her mommy :) in that contact sports are not a favorite! For the most part she likes the camp, but she'd rather not run into and bump into the other kids. Pretty funny! (Remember me at softball, Amy?) Hahaha! There's a lot of me in Avery that's for sure! Emerson, on the other hand, couldn't just stay on the sidelines towards the end of the hour. Avery would tell me she was done kicking the ball and Em said, "I kick it Mommy!" Pretty cute.

And here's Em, finally on the floor, off the sidelines and ready to play!

These girls bring so much joy to our life everyday! Every day is a new experience, a new challenge, and new joy! Good job, Bug! You were a great sport and tried your best each day! That's all that matters! xoxo

Camping trip #2!!

2010-08-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

Yep, we did it again! Our second camping trip began at Lake Wenatchee State Park. It was beautiful and the girls and Aunty Katie and I played at the lake for hours! We ended up not being able to stay the night there though, it was packed! We packed up and headed to Tumwater for our first (and only) night. We got camp set up, girls put to bed and at 3 am we were awaken by thunder and lightning! When the sun came up and the girls woke it was gorgeous out! They played by the river all afternoon!

Girls digging and making sand castles on beautiful Lake Wenatchee

My always-happy sweet Em!

Daddy and his girls on the beautiful Wenatchee River at the Tumwater campground!

Bug floating on the Wenatchee <3

Two beautiful girls! xoxo

Aunty Katie in the rain!
We ended up packing up and heading home one day early. Not much for the girls to do in the rain and Avery was no longer entertained by the time we played the 6th game of Go-Fish! Another memerable trip though!

I know 2 little girls...

2010-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

...who are going to miss their Aunty after she leaves!

My sister has been living with us for the past 5 months and we have gotten pretty used to it! Katie gets married this Sunday then she'll be leaving to begin her "married life" on Aug. 12 back in PA! The girls are going to be confused and missing her for quite a while, but hopefully Brett and Katie will be living in WA in about 6 months or so!

Camping!!

2010-07-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, we did it! We took our first camping trip with the girls! If you haven't done this yet with your little ones I highly recommend it! All four of us had a BLAST! It was so fun to be together as a family and experience something new with the girls outside of our normal everyday life!

Avery couldn't wait to roast marshmallows and make S'mores! But don't be fooled, this kid eats nothing and even though she looks like she likes her treat-she didn't eat it!

Em didn't go for the S'more. She's a girl after my own heart and just went straight for the chocolate! That's my girl! <3
Yep, we even took Lady! She took a few swims in the Columbia River. It was awfully hot, we had great weather, but she loved it too! Em's been very interested in going potty like big sister lately. She tries her hardest at least once a day to go potty like a big girl, but here it turned funny! (But pretty cute!)

We took the beautiful North Cascades Highway home. We stopped and had a picnic lunch and I snapped this (terribly out of focus, funky) shot of the girls. I LOVE IT! This is them to a tee! Silly girls! We had a great time and are already planning our next camping adventure!

Grammy & Papa's

2010-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Aunty Katie, the girls and I went to visit my mom and dad. Avery and Emerson LOVE to go to Grammy and Papa's! For those two it's the "Happiest Place on Earth!" (they haven't been to Disneyland yet...) :) They play outside all day to their heart's content, go for rides in the golf cart, boat rides, harvest in Grammy's garden, run through the sprinklers... you name it! Whatever they want to do, Grammy and Papa make it happen!

Avery decided to give us all manicures and pedicures with her watercolor paints and paint a little picture on our faces. I've been trying to get Avery to have her face painted for a long time. She finally let me put a little heart on her cheek. She mani-pedis to my mom, my dad and me. Sure my mom and I would let her do it, no big deal. But my dad? I said, "Dad you wouldn't have let us (meaning my sister and I) do this to you in a million years!" And my dad's reply: "You stole the words right out of my mouth!" Hahahahaha! He was beaming as she was fixing him up! So cute! Priceless, really!

Our Little Graduate!

2010-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer everyone! Finally, right? Well, it's been a while since I've blogged, of course, but I really am trying to blog at least once a week from now on! Here's a recent picture of Avery. She graduated from her first year of Preschool this past June! We are so proud of her and she of herself as you can see! Stay tuned...lots more "playing catch-up" posts coming!!

My Girl

2010-05-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was randomly snapping pics the other day. Emerson is so hard to get a picture of... she's so busy! I thought this was pretty cute! I love you Lulu!! xoxo

Hello???

2010-05-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Boy, oh Boy! What a crazy life we lead lately! I am still blogging... trying to spend more time with it actually...just getting ready to re-do the whole thing! Meanwhile we've been busy, to say the least! The girls are growing like wildflowers. Avery is going to be 4 in June and Emerson will be 2 in August. Time sure does fly!

Miss Emmy-loo!

Avery-bug!

Christmas!!

2009-12-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas at our house was WONDERFUL this year! My mom and dad came over from Eastern WA, we got together Christmas Eve with Mark's family, stayed home Christmas Day and my dad cooked a yummy Christmas dinner for all of us, and the day after Christmas, we went to my grandparents' house for a Christmas/Birthday celebration for my mom's side of the family. We saw our whole family and had such an amazing time with our girls!

Avery was so excited when she woke up on Christmas morning! She said, "Mommy, Santa came! He really came to our house!" Absolutely precious... she was astonished!

Daddy helping Em open a very special present from Mommy and Daddy. It's the children's classic Goodnight Moon. That book is very special at our house!

I had to post this one! My brother's dog Jordy LOVED Papa Dome! He kept jumping up and standing on his back... crazy dog! And like every good Papa... he just let him!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Happy Holidays!!

2009-12-19T21:16:00.001-08:00

Boy, if this isn't the 4 of us to a tee, I don't know what is!

Happy Holidays!

...Hanging by a thread...

2009-12-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still around....just going crazy during the Holiday season! Stay tuned for some fun pictures... I promise!!

Time at the beach...

2009-11-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's not a great time in the Pacific Northwest for a beach visit the second week in November, but we had to take advantage of the weather (it actually stopped raining today and the sun shyly peeked out from behind the grey clouds) and get the girls and Webster out to run and play. We bundled up the girls and headed to the beach! We froze, Mark and I that is, but the girls and the dog had a blast...now that I'm home and warm, I'm glad we went!

Avery, her usual solemn self at the beach...she spends the time gazing at the water, throwing rocks and digging.

Emmy follows so closely in Avery's footsteps in so many different ways... she loves tossing rocks just like big sister!
Em swinging at the beach park
Our handsome boy Webster LOVED the beach too!
And a post about the beach wouldn't be complete without a shot of the Mukilteo Ferry heading off to Whidbey Island!

My silly girls.....

2009-11-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

My polka-dotted Emmy-lou

xoxoxo

Blue-eyed Bugaboo!

Trick-or-Treat!!

2009-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! We did, that's for sure! Avery was a little lamb and Emerson was a little 'Who' from Whoville...we called her Emmy-lou Who!! The girls had a blast! Avery was a die-hard trick-or-treater, out til 8:30pm!!

Our "Little Lamb"...I almost couldn't find this costume in a toddler size

and she's wanted to be a lamb since this summer!

Sweet "Emmy-lou Who," our little "who" from Whoville!! (How the Grinch Stole Christmas??) :)

Ready to go!!

We actually trick-or-treated at the mall first because the weather was AWFUL! When we got home from the mall it was dark and the rain let up a little. Emerson didn't trick-or-treat outside, rather, she answered the door with my mom and LOVED seeing all of the kids in their costumes!

Pumpkin Patch '09

2009-10-20T15:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we headed out to The Farm for pumpkins!! Last year Em was just 2 months old... this year she is 14 months old and she had a blast discovering pumpkins...and lots of MUD! I tried and tried to get a decent family picture...but Em wasn't too interested in posing for mommy and Avery told me that Em didn't really want to be doing it... Webster posed very nicely for every shot. :) All in all... we had a fantastic day together yesterday!

Emerson LOVED the pumpkins!

What a great family shot... I don't know why I try so hard... honestly!

Sisters shot didn't work either :(

I love this crazy bunch!!

My <3's

2009-10-20T15:24:00.001-07:00

No words necessary

xoxo

You have no idea....

2009-10-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

...how hard of a sell this guy was! Now look... they're best friends!

(He said, "Don't take a picture. I don't want everyone to know I like the dog." Hahaha!)

Meet Webster <3

2009-10-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made it official and adopted a 4 month old Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix named Webster. We finally got our BOY!! He is so sweet, so gentle with the girls and so loving. He just wants to be with us all the time. He responds to many basic commands and listens exceptionally well! We've now had him for 24 hours and he just keeps getting better and better!

He is the perfect addition to our family... we are definitely complete now! I just hope that our kitties come around soon... they are not as pleased as we are for sure!

Ryder Cup Weekend

2009-10-05T21:54:00.001-07:00

We headed over to my parents' house this weekend for the guys' Ryder Cup 2009 matches at Alta Lake Golf Resort. It was fair-weathered, cold... but not raining! We had a great time; Mark played golf for 3 days in a row... pretty rare these days! Here's a few shots of the guys:

Excited to tee off Friday morning...

The Girls

President Mutt~Dog

Finally standing on the number 1 tee!

Fist-pumping!! John birdied #8!

Papa Dome and Daddy watching Papa's tee shot

The cutest little caddy in the world~xoxo Emmy-Lou!

The cutest golf cheerleader in the world!

Can't even blog about a golf weekend without my two little bugs! Ha ha!!

Where's My Big Sister?

2009-09-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Now that Avery has started school a couple days a week, Emerson and I have special one-on-one time together that I cherish! Now I can follow her around with the camera (Avery LOVES the camera lately and constantly wants to "pose"), this morning we went walking and fed the ducks and just sat in the chair and read books together (which is by far her favorite past-time these days). I really cherish this time with Em because when you just have one child, you get to do everything together. Avery and I took all kinds of classes, played and played together... etc. When the second child comes, you're so busy with both of them that you have to really "make" time for them individually, it just doesn't happen as naturally, for me it didn't at least. Emerson has not lacked individual time with me or Mark, but I always get around to feeling guilty about the time I provide for both of them individually. Just a "mommy thing", I guess.

Playing in the pool... first time I've gotten all of her hair into one ponytail...sooo adoreable!

I love you Emmy-lou! xoxoxo

Avery's First Day of Preschool!

2009-09-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yep! You read that right!! Today was Avery's first day of Preschool! She woke up very excited and ready to go this morning. And of course I wouldn't have it any other way! We're so proud of Avery! She's a strong, confident, caring girl. My heart is heavy for one reason: I cannot believe how fast three years flew by... I remember holding her in my arms for the first time after she was born, just like it was yesterday and today here she is off to preschool!

Proudly wearing her backpack that she picked out on her own. Yes, it's too small for her folder, but I just didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't quite big enough. She LOVES it! Super excited to go! Avery immediately found her name, hung up her backpack, put her lunch away and sat right down in front at the teacher's feet to listen to the read-aloud! She's AMAZING!!On Tuesday evening, Avery and I attended her school's Open House. There was a bouncy house to play in (definitely the hit!), the Tumblebus was there, and pony rides too! I just love her school... they are all about the kiddos!!

Taking a break to pose for a picture inside the bouncy house

Climbing... (This is her, "Mom, I know you're excited for me but just let me do my thing" smile)Tire swingProudly riding the pony. Before she got on she said, "Mom, I don't like that farmer..." Hahaha... but she warmed up to him really fast after he started being silly with her.

Happy 1st Day Avery Elizabeth!! We are so proud of you!!

xoxoxo

Happy 1st Birthday Emerson Paige!!

2009-08-15T14:41:00.001-07:00

On August 13, 2009 our sweet Emmy-Ems turned 1! I cannot believe she is a whole year old! Emerson is a beautiful energetic girl and she has learned so much in this short year! We are crazy about her!

Her big sister loves her too!!

Happy 1st sweet Emmy-lou! We love you!!

Avery and Mommy Time <3

2009-08-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Avery has become a bit impatient with Emmy lately... I can't really blame her. Em's almost walking and kinda wreaks havoc in Avery's world. At times they play beautifully all day long, other's I feel like a referee! I thought it would be nice if Avery and I could spend a little quality alone time together, so we went down to my Grandparent's house on Hood Canal with Aunty Beck to spend the night. We had a very nice time!

I've never been able to keep her out of the water... no matter what the weather, temperature, or season!

I love you Bug!!

What haven't we been up to lately??

2009-08-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

We've had such a great summer thus far! The girls and I have visited my parents in Eastern WA, Avery is in Summer Camp which she absolutely LOVES, she also takes Ballet lessons. Emerson is so close to walking and trying to say so many words... and the little "sisterly quarrels" have started as well! ;) Emerson is learning to yell back at Avery (don't like this, but it's pretty darn cute to see) and does everything she possibly can to keep up with her big sister. I tell ya what... these girls are nothing short of a miracle and life couldn't possibly be better than this! Enjoy the pics!!

Emerson is into EVERYTHING! Avery got this trike for her birthday and has since become disinterested in it. I swear Emerson will be riding it before Avery does!!

Is this not the perfect, "Who me?" face??!! "What Mom, I haven't done anything!!"

At Alta Lake. Avery was showing Em how to throw rocks into the water. Em's got an arm, just like big sister!! Look out Boys!!

Avery is very much into art and "doing projects" these days. I found this awesome Sidewalk Paint by Crayola and it's been a hit! Plus our walkway to the front door looks fabulous!!

Happy Summertime!!!

A 1st for Emerson

2009-07-19T12:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Mill Creek Festival. Avery and Emerson shared a snocone...Em's first! Here's how it went:

Avery is the sweetest big sister...she enjoyed feeding Em!

A little shocked by the cold...

Then, happy as a clam! Loved her first sno~cone!

Silly Em xoxo

2009-07-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Miss Emerson has learned to make funny-faces just like guess who???? Yes, Avery! Avery was standing behind me making funny-faces to Em while I took this picture! Silly girl!!

Emmy-Lou on the 4th...

2009-07-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Blogger wouldn't let me upload a pic of Em to my post...so frustrating! Trying again today...OK...still won't! GRRRRR!! I DO have pics of Em from the 4th.... they're just not uploading for some reason....
Oh well...just another excuse to get the camera out today!! :):)

4th of July (a little late...)

2009-07-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful 4th of July holiday with our family! Uncle Wayne and Aunt Cynthia have a beautiful restored Victorian home in Snohomish with an amazing yard that Avery LOVES to run around in. We spend the afternoon playing Badmitton, Pickle Ball, eating freshly caught crab and enjoying great conversation. Here's a few pictures from the day...

My sister Katie and our cousin Dana...Partners in crime!!

A random snap of Avery...she's so beautiful!

Her blue eyes are stunning...completely mezmerizing!

So I have a few of Emmy-Lou but blogger won't upload them due to an "internal error" so check back...I'll keep trying! (Sooooo frustrating!!)

Overwhelmed.... :)

2009-07-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me! When am I not overwhelmed lately?? Maybe when I finally fall asleep at night...if you call it that! :) But all I have to do is look at these two little girls and all else is perfect in my little world!

Emerson has the longest eyelashes you have ever seen and a head full of thick, sweet curls <3

Avery started Ballet class last week and LOVES it! Everyday she asks me if it's ballet day...I'm so glad she's loving it as much as she is... you never know with these little ones!

OVERHAULING/UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!

2009-07-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hello!! I know... I haven't been spending anytime on this blog whatsoever! I miss it so much...well, I miss the photography. I have been so wrapped up in preschool that I've neglected photography completely. Well... the preschool news is not good, but the photography news is... for now though, I'm overhauling this blog and getting back into the swing of photography again!! (Thank godness!!!!) Here's a couple just to update the girls...they're GORGEOUS and we're loving our life with them!! Avery is 3 now, and Em is 10 days shy of 11 months old!!! WOW!!!

Avery LOVES lipstick these days!

My adorable Emmy-Ems...she's always this happy!!

Emerson Paige <3

2009-05-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Sweet Emmy-Ems is going to be 9 months old in 8 days! I cannot believe it when I say it out loud to myself. Emerson is so happy and LIVES to be anywhere near her sister and does absolutely ANYTHING she can to get Avery's attention. It is so precious! Avery walks on water in Em's eyes. These two girls are such a blessing, a complete dream come true! In Em's almost 9 months she is motoring around like crazy, not quite crawling though, just about everything but! I can't take my eyes off her for a second for fear she'll make it up or down one of the sets of stairs anyday now! (And for fear of Avery dragging her off somewhere. All of the sudden she really wants to carry Em around, or "I want to take Emmy to my room, Mom!") Emerson is so vivacious! She loves to make you laugh! Her many nick-names include Emmy-Ems, Eminator (Avery's favorite), Emmy-lou Curly-Sue (her hair is very curly, but is turning blonder and blonder by the day)...To me she's my precious Emerson Paige. (xoxo) Ok... enough talk... here's what you're really here to see:

I'm pretty sure she's working on her third, and maybe fourth, teeth right now. Poor baby...she has a hard time sleeping when she's teething, but gets so tired! :( She's absolutely adorable and stunning, I must say. Both my girls are beautiful! Their Daddy and Uncles are going to have their work cut out for them one of these days... but till then...

Tea Time!

2009-05-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a long time AGAIN...this preschool thing is keeping me so busy...so are two little girls! And boy do I have some pictures coming! But first...Avery's new favorite activity these days? She so sweetly says, "I have a wonderful idea, Mommy! Let's have a tea party!" Even if I'm just getting done cleaning up after the previous tea party 10 minutes ago! She simply can't get enough of tea parties!

It's Been a Long Time...

2009-03-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

My girls are growing so fast... I swear, changes happen right before my eyes every single day! Here's Em, she's 7 months old and sooooo happy! I'm so happy she's happy! She even has 2 teeth! You can barely see them in this shot:

And Avery is busy as ever! She just got back from spending some time with her Grammy and Papa. Now she's home getting "back on schedule" and catching up on sleep! Boring Mommy... but I tell you what, this is a girl who needs her routine and sleep!

Lots going on around here these days! I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm still taking pictures and loving it! Preschool is coming right along...website is almost complete! I can't wait to share the web address any day now!! Lastly, here's a picture of the whole crazy crew:

Aren't the gorgeous?? :)

Our Girls <3

2009-02-03T09:44:00.001-08:00

Absolutely crazy about them!

XOXO

Who's my guy's rooting for today??

2009-02-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Wanna take a guess?

Random... just trying not to get behind again! :)

2009-01-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Are these girls the cutest you've ever seen or what??!!??!!

Mommy and Avery being silly!

Have a super day!

Catchin' Up!

2009-01-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

OK... so here goes! :) I've been away too long post everything that's gone on in our lives the last month... but here it is in a nutshell... a very small nutshell!
Christmas was wonderful at our house! Santa brought Avery a Thomas the Tank Engine Railway and a play kitchen!

Santa brought new clothes, books and rattles for Emerson. Mommy got an awesome gift from daddy that she totally wasn't expecting... a Nintendo DS! All I can say is I'M LOVING IT! (And no, that's not one of the reasons I've been neglecting the blog.) :)

And here's the newest member of our family...

No, the girls did not get a puppy for Christmas! My husband would have a heart-attack before that happened... so would our cats! But I guess they kind of did get a puppy - according to my brother. He got a mini-doxen and named him Jordie, after Michael Jordan. He is soooooo precious as you can see and such a good boy! My brother got him "so the girls could have him" he said, but he lives with Uncle Brian! :):)

Miss Emerson Paige turned 5 months on January 13th:

Just last week she started some solids... rice cereal and bananas! She is loving it and I'm so happy for her. For the last few months she's been on this really yucky formula that she has gotten used to but it's disgusting. Yeah, I tasted it.... I really feel for her, it's nasty. But it's been the only thing to help her poor tummy and each day she's become such a happier girl. So this was exciting. Seeing her love her "nanas" filled my heart with JOY! We call her the "EMINATOR" as in the Terminator!!! She is hilarious, she ROARS at us and is such a ham! She is crazy about Avery! Just today she played on the floor for 15 minutes on her tummy while Avery "cooked" food in her kitchen for Em:

Emerson is usually only happy being in mommy or daddy's arms! She does not like to be in the swing, exersaucer, Jumperoo, on the floor... NOTHING! So I was so proud of her laying here playing with Avery for that long! She is a sweetheart. Such a snuggler and lover! Em's sleeping very well at night. She goes to bed by 6pm and sleeps till 10-11pm then eats and falls back to sleep till about 6am. Mommy's getting a lot more rest these days!

One of Avery's favorite thigs to do is play the Wii with Daddy! She loves to watch us bowl and here she is shreddin' it up with daddy on his favorite game: Guitar Hero!!

She loves posing for the camera lately too!

There it is! Promise I won't stay gone for that long again! :):)

What a BAD, BAD girl!

2009-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Where the heck have I been? I can't really blame my crazy life on the holidays anymore... darn! :) But believe it or not, I have been busy! My girls have sure kept me on my toes these days! Stay tuned... working on some posts!

Emerson is 4 months old!

2008-12-16T22:06:00.001-08:00

Yep, that's right! She's 4 months old! We are so in love with her and everyday just gets better and better! Emerson is proving to be nothing like her big sister was when she was a baby. :) And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love how my two girls have such different personalities and quirks (yet they also have some striking similarities)! Em is very much a mama's girl (so was Avery)! She never lets me out of her sight and if she can't see me, she yells for me - not crying, but literally yelling at me...like how dare I leave her sight! Pretty cute! She loves to be held... ALL THE TIME! She'd rather not be left to play on the floor, or in her bouncy chair, or anything for that matter unless Avery is actively playing with her.

Emerson Paige is currently in L-O-V-E love with her piggies!! The second you lay her down, up go her feet and straight into her mouth. She is constantly grabbing her feet and trying so hard to get as much of them as she can into her mouth. So cute!!! It's funny, cause since she was a tiny baby, she's always loved having her socks taken off and her feet played with. She's in 7th heaven now cause she can play with her feet all by herself!! Em's also a lover! She loves to be kissed on and googled over! Ha ha... what girl doesn't? If you kiss her yummy cheeks, she turns her head right into you to get some more. I absolutely love that! If you put your face down by her she'll grab your head and try to eat you... I like to think she's just returning all the kisses we shower on her. I see a lot of my sister's personality coming through in Emerson. She's going to be a very confident, vocal, loving girl!

Avery is still in love with Em. I feel so blessed; we can just tell these two are already so close and love each other so much! Nothing brings me more joy than watching the two of them play together. I say play, but I guess it's more like interact. Emerson can hardly wait to go after Avery. Whenever Avery is playing and Em watches her, she kicks and squirms like crazy... boy is Avery in for it! :) Emerson is happy just to gaze at Avery all day. Avery wants to do everything for Em and she's really a good helper. Avery helps give Emerson her bottle, puts powder on her bum when we change her, puts the bink back into Em's mouth if she loses it, and loves to help bathe Em. These two girls are truly the loves of my life. We're still working out her tummy troubles (she gets that from her daddy)! Just recently we had to switch her formula again. She's taking a Hypoallergenic type and it seems to be helping her tremendously!

Happy 4 Months Emmy-Ems, we love you like crazy!!

Hustle Bustle!!

2008-12-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! Yep, I'm still here. We've been very busy. December hits and the hustle bustle begins! This is definitely my most favorite time of year, despite the craziness!! Pictures to come soon, including Emerson's 4 month update...and there's a lot to share!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-11-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today is Mark's birthday! We began celebrating this wonderful day this morning by baking cupcakes for daddy which we later delivered to him at work.

My husband loves ANTHING that's cake and frosting and I knew he'd really appreciate a plate full of yummy cupcakes to munch on all day long at work. By the time Avery and I were finished with the baking and frosting, I don't know who I'd say loves cupcakes more: Daddy or Avery???

She was covered from head to toe in frosting. It was in her hair, her eyes, all over her shirt and pants and all over her blankey (which is never far from her side). Pretty darn cute! Emerson was around too, while we were baking...

...she just happened to be sleeping through the whole ordeal. She got to miss out on the clean-up! :) This day is very special to us. Mark works hard and is the best Daddy myself and these girls could ever ask for! Yes, I was crazy in love with him when we got married; floating on a cloud that day three years ago. We had a baby 10 months later and another 2 years after that. Life at our house is pretty wild, tiring, chaotic, wonderful, beautiful and all those things. Sometimes we have hard days, but at the end of the day, I'm constantly reminded why I married him three years ago, or even fell in love with him seven years ago. He is perfect. Perfect for me, that is. He is my rock. He makes my tough times better, yet he doesn't always know it. He completes me. He is my girl's Daddy and I find that so sexy! ;) He's the best Daddy. I always knew he would be good, but I never knew he'd be this good.

Happy Birthday Mark/Daddy! We love you so much!

My little girl is growing up...

2008-11-15T21:15:00.001-08:00

She is really tugging at my heartstrings these days. I'm so proud of Avery, I'm crying as I type this post. She will, of course, always be by baby: my bugaboo, my luv, my sweetness. We are potty training since Thursday night and it's going great. She had zero potty accidents today. I'm so happy that she is succeeding with this and I'm thrilled that she hasn't worn a diaper since Thursday evening, but at the same time I feel like I have to let go of a part of my baby. Don't get me wrong... I love this pottying in the potty chair thing and I already love not having to change her diaper, and she is LOVING watching mommy do a 'Happy Dance' after she potties, but like I said, she'll always be my baby! Mom's do you get where I'm coming from? I look back on Avery's 2 1/2 years and I wonder where it all went. It still feels like just yesterday we were blessed with the miracle that is her. Mommy loves you, Bug! You are my sunshine!

And so are you Em!

Yes, I get all blubbery over this one too! How blessed and lucky am I to have these two girls? What did I ever do to deserve them? Today Emerson was lying in her boppy gym staring up at this big green, crinkly, squeaky dragonfly hanging down to her just begging to be grabbed. She watched it so intently, kicking her feet so hard. She reached out, grabbed it and devoured it with her sweet little mouth! Avery and I cheered for her and hugged and kissed her like we hadn't seen her for days! She must have thought we were crazy, but she liked it! She cooed and babbled at us while we gushed over her accomplishment!

Yes everyone, this is what I do all day, every day. I am a stay-at-home mom. I potty train, change diapers, do 'Happy Dances', clean up messes, make meals, color in color books, fingerpaint, kiss owies, kiss piggies (our word for feet in our household), jump in piles of leaves, and make everything alright for these two precious loves of my life. And if I had a recent picture of my husband, who makes this all possible for me, I'd put it in here, but I don't. But I am crazy about him!! I love my life. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Emerson Paige ~ 3 months!!

2008-11-14T13:44:00.001-08:00

Yep, she's 3 months old as of yesterday! And boy, has she ever gone through some changes! Em's a very happy baby, pretty easy-going now that we have her poor little tummy figured out. As you can see... we did it again! She's just beautiful! She has eyelashes 10 miles long, wavy hair so think and dark that only grows more with each passing day, and creamy porcelain skin. She is constantly cooing and talking and she's smitten with her big sister!

A few of Em's accomplishments thus far:

*She sleeps in two six hour stretches at night, only eating once during the night (HEAVENLY!)

*She holds her head up completely... she's been doing this since day one!

*Em now eats soy-based formula (LONG sad story) but thriving! :):)

*She is laughing! The cutest noise ever!!

*She adoringly gazes at her sister and daddy...she would do this all day if she could

And who wouldn't love having this girl for a big sister??

Fall Leaves!

2008-11-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

Avery and I raked up the leaves in the front yard this morning while Em was sleeping. We had a blast! It took quite a long time cause my piles kept getting jumped in over and over again... but so worth it!!!! Who wouldn't want to jump in a pile of leaves... heck, I was jumping with her! :):)

The potty may no longer elude us....

2008-11-14T10:56:00.001-08:00

... well it seemed that way yesterday morning. Yesterday, I changed Avery out of her morning diaper and put her big girl panties on her without asking her if she'd like to wear them or not. She objected at first. Then I showed her the new Dora stool she could use to step up to the sink to wash her hands all by herself when she finished pottying and that did the trick. She sat down on that potty and peed like she'd been doing it for years. She stepped up on the stool and washed her hands... and then it all went downhill from there. For the rest of the day she refused to go to the potty and I ended up putting a diaper back on her (after two accidents on the carpet.) What do I do??? Today she is wearing a pull-up but will not sit down on the potty. Will you guys leave me some comments for what I'm supposed to do??? I don't want this to be a fight of wills.... and now I know she's more than capeable of doing this and being successful at it! What's a mommy to do??? HELP!!!!

Halloween! {& crazy times!}

2008-11-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

I absolutely hate getting so far behind with my blog posts. But the second I try to do anything someone needs something from Mommy! :) But everything is going great... the girls are beautiful and healthy and life is good! :) Halloween was interesting. A few weeks ago Avery picked out her costume. She was going to be Thomas the Train. Never though, from the day we bought the costume to Halloween night, would she put it on. ( I should have known better!) So, after watching child after child come to our door and leave with candy she finally said, "Mommy, I go trick-or-treating." I said, "Absolutely you can go trick-or-treating," (I'd only been talking about it all day and asking her if she'd like to go...) "Do you want to wear your Thomas costume?" Avery: "No, I don't want to wear my Thomas costume, but I go trick-or-treating." I asked her if she'd like me to draw kitty whiskers and a kitty nose on her face with make-up and she all but jumped through the roof with excitement and off we went trick-or-treating down the cul-de-sac with our little kitty dressed in normal everyday clothing.

And each night that has come since Halloween, when it gets dark, she asks if she can be a kitty and go trick-or-treating some more! Ha ha ha! Pretty darn cute if you ask me! So I explain that we only go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, one time only. So now, imagine how much turkey talking we do getting ready for the next holiday!! Life through the eyes of a 2 and a 1/2 year old is pretty exciting every day and I'm loving every second of it!

Here are our jack-o-lanterns and that Avery and Daddy worked hard on Halloween night! (Pics of Em coming soon...) :):)

More of Em...

2008-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

...big sister is out of town right now with her Grammy and Papa. So I've tried to get some shots of Em and she decided to ham it up a little! :):)

She sticks her tongue out all the time now. I think she thinks it's funny cause she's always smiling at the same time. Pretty cute!

I just love the look in her eyes in this one. Not a perfect picture, but look at her eyes! She was actually gazing at Avery. You can just see the love pouring out of her eyes for her big sister! Such a proud mommy! It's such a blessing being a mommy to two beautiful, perfect girls!

I just can't help it....

2008-10-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

She's just far too cute!

{Happy 2 Months, Em!}

2008-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'm a couple days late with these, she actually turned 2 months on the 13th... but I'm doing my best! I want to take more shots of her later when Avery is napping. Here's a couple though. Enjoy!

Look at those cheeks!

I know that huge barret looks obnoxious, but its the only way I can tame her hair!! It just keeps growing...I'm so in love with her! XOXOXO

Come On Seahawks...

2008-10-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

I even wore my pink jersey!!

I'm so behind...

2008-10-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have so many pictures to post these days and can't seem to find the time to do so! Will somebody please tell me that my life will become more organized soon?? :) In the meantime, here's a few:

A sweet moment...

Happy Emerson... she is all smiles these days (just haven't caught one yet)!! I'm so crazy about her!

My big girl! I cannont believe she was hammin' it up for the camera the other day!

Emerson will be two months old tomorrow! Hopefully I'll do a little session with her tomorrow afternoon and get those posted! Enjoy these for now.... :)

{Cute pics. coming soon.....}

2008-10-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

.... Yes, I'm still here! I'm just busy feeding, changing diapers, making couch cushion forts, building wonderful things with wooden blocks, putting together puzzles, painting, decorating for Halloween, wiping runny noses, taking trips to the library for storytime, Gymnastics.... and more while still managing to snap a few shots here and there of my precious girls. Stay tuned.... :):)

Busy Weekend!

2008-09-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

I had the privilage of shooting two families this weekend, both with 3 week old babies. They were born one day apart from each other and they share the same last name... what a coincidence!

Sweet Baby Girl 'S'

Precious piggies, heaven sent!

This is sweet baby boy 'C'. He is just another reminder that miracles really do happen all the time! What a blessing to his family!

Thank you families for allowing me into your homes to capture the sweetness of your new little bundles! I can't wait to do it again another time!

I never thought I'd find the time...

2008-09-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

...to make the changes I wanted to my blog! I started last night and just now finished! But hey, the girls are sleeping, I'm enjoying a glass of red wine, there's no noise whatsoever but the hum of the computer... needless to say, I'm very happy right now. (I really like my new banner!) ;) My girls and I were gone all last week to my parent's house in Eastern WA with my sister and her boyfriend who were visiting from Florida and now I'm trying to play 'catch-up'. It was well-worth the craziness I'm feeling right now though. My sister is beautiful and I savor every moment I get to spend with her when she's home. Avery warmed right up to her aunty and I took pictures all week of the two of them! Here's just a few from our week at Alta:

My sister Katie and her boyfriend, Bret. We were all on my dad's boat out on the Columbia River. It was gorgeous!

Avery eating HUGE blackberries at the fruit stand my mom works at. She couldn't get enough of these suckers! Look at that blackberry covered smoocher... I could eat her up!!

Emerson, who is one month old already (!!!) being snuggled by her Grammy. My mom and dad came to stay with us for a few days after Emerson was born. It was so sad for me when they had to go back to Alta when Emerson was 3 days old. My mom hadn't seen her since then and had tears in her eyes when I was snapping these photos. My mom and dad absolutely adore their two grand-daughters. I love how much they love them!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!!

2008-09-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone,
Since having Emerson, I haven't been able to properly update my blog. I've got so much to post and a lot of changes to make... so just hang in there with me!!!

First try at a Storyboard

2008-09-01T16:00:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to learn how to make a storyboard FOREVER and I finally found a resource to help me do so. I still think there's got to be an easier way to do this though. As you can see, it's far from perfect... Theres a black line showing in the middle picture on the far left. I couldn't get it covered with my picture completely. I would love to make these for friends and family members and print some for the girl's rooms but I need more help with them!! If anyone has any pointers or suggestions I would really appreciate it!!!! Until then... I'll keep playing!

2008-08-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Sisters

I'm trying...

2008-08-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

...to get more pictures posted these days. I'm just not getting the computer time I was used to getting before someone came along!! ;) That little someone is 2 weeks old now!! Can you believe it?? Where does the time go? I'm having fun photographing Emerson now... at first I was aprehensive... didn't want to break her, upset her, wake her... and so on. Now, not so much. :) Here's an official 2 week picture:

She is so beautiful. Her full head of dark hair blows my mind... I'm so in love with this little girl!

I'm also in love with this little girl:

I never thought I'd see the day where she'd actually eat a sandwich!! (I've been trying for so long to get her to eat a sandwich~now she can't get enough of them!)

And a tribute to Uncle Rob before I sign off:

This year, Avery's Uncle Rob played in the U.S. Open (this is a BIG accomplishment!!) and her Daddy caddied for him. Uncle Rob signed a pink hat for Avery which Mark brought home for her and although she refused to wear a hat, she adores this hat... sleeps with it most of the time. Well today, Em was napping on Avery's bed while Avery and I were cleaning and organizing her bedroom and Avery thought Emerson should get to wear it too! Super cute!!

I love my girls!!!

8 Days Old

2008-08-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

And I can't post without a picture of her... Could she be any more beautiful?

Their daddy is going to be in a lot of trouble one day!!

Introducing Emerson Paige!!

2008-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

She is finally here! Emerson Paige was born on August 13th, 2008 at 1:58am weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces and measuring 20 inches long! We are so excited to have her home. Big sister Avery is loving "Baby Emmy" so much. I couldn't have had things go any better! Here are some much anticipated photos of Emerson and big sister Avery! Enjoy!!

Sisters

Holding "Baby Emmy" at the hospital for the first time

with help from Grammy and Papa. She's a very proud big sister!

I've been slow...

2008-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

...Literally! I'm waddling around like a fat goose these days and feeling like there's no end in sight!!! I technically have 3 more weeks to go. I need to get past Sunday and then I'll be doing whatever I can to get this precious little one OUT OF ME!! Ha ha ha!! Anyways, Avery's getting awfully bored with mommy these days. I've been instructed to stay pretty close to home so that doesn't leave us many options for activities. Daddy takes her to the park and museum when he has a day off, which she really enjoys, but being home with mommy all day I get a lot of this to deal with:

and how can I blame her? Her facial expression here is probably how I look all day too! Ha ha!! But we'll continue to hang in there! Think "contracting" thoughts for us!!

It's Been Awhile...

2008-07-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

...since I've posted and a lot has happened! While we're anxiously awaiting our "Baby Sissy", she's seemed a little anxious to make her appearance lately! But all is well and we're doing great! Just taking things easy for sure! Here's a few cute shots of Avery playing at the beach and the park last week (while I was still able to take her to do fun things....) :):)

All Boy!

2008-06-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Look at this little guy! This is Avery's cousin Camden who's 3 months older than she is. Gotta love his shirt!

His shirt (and pizza face) does the talking!!

Avery is 2!!

2008-06-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

One year ago... ...and over the weekend!

Everyone told us, and still does, that the time flies when you have a little one. And boy does it! It's such an understatement. I can't believe Avery is two years old. She continues to amaze me everyday whether it be with her vocabulary (which is probably larger than mine) and the way she puts sentences together, her compassion for people she cares about, her constant wonder about the world around her, and lately, her manners! She can be a very polite little girl and I swear sometimes it's a switch that she just flips on on a whim. But her manners and sweetness are so precious to us, when they show themselves (which is quite often lately!!). Avery had her birthday party on Saturday and had a blast! She got so many cute outfits and fun toys. It was a wonderful day. We had family and friends, and pizza and cupcakes! What could be better than that? I've still got a lot of shots to go over from the party and from Eastern WA the week before... so more photos to come!

One more from yesterday...

2008-05-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

... because it's her Daddy's favorite! :)

Almost 2!

2008-05-24T14:15:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go?

Avery and I went to the park today because it was 75 degrees outside!! What a great surprise with the weatherman predicting rain... what do they know? ;) Anyways, I snapped a few darling shots of Avery and I'm just totally amazed at how much she has grown. I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She's going to be 2 years old on June 3rd!! My baby is growing into a big girl... Just blows my mind! I suppose I'm all nostalgic and emotional since I'm 12 weeks away from having another little girl. I'm on quite the rollercoaster of emotions lately. Avery is really getting interested in my growing belly saying, "Baby sissy in Mommy's tummy," and "I love baby sissy," and "Give baby sissy a hug." Now if only I could get Mark to snap of picture of Avery hugging "Baby Sissy"!!!

Another from last weekend...

2008-05-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

My parents are in love with these boating pictures... thought I'd post one more... :) In less than 3 weeks, my precious little girl is going to be 2 years old! Where does the time go? I'm so thankful that I've developed a love of photography! And excited that in about 13 more weeks ;) we'll have another little one to add to the picture-taking adventures!! Avery's going to be the best big sister in the world!

Afternoon at the Beach!

2008-05-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Avery and Daddy playing at the water.
What a beautiful day! I couldn't wait for Avery to wake up from her nap this afternoon so we could head to the beach. I was sooooo excited to have the opportunity to take some pictures outstide in the beautiful, natural sunlight, at the beach on a warm day. I caught a few cute shots of Avery and Mark and Avery and her friend Addie before I realized there was lint and dust in my camera that I couldn't clean out. I was devestated to say the least. But thankful for the shots I was able to catch. So tomorrow, camera is going in for a cleaning!!

Avery and Addie playing at the water's edge.

"I Like to Drive Papa's Boat!"

2008-05-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a family weekend in Eastern WA where my parents are now living. Although we didn't get the weather we were hoping for, we still had a wonderful time! Daddy took 4 days off work and we had the best time hanging out with Grammy and Papa, golfing, boating and digging in the dirt (which I didn't take any pictures of because every other picture of Avery outside lately seems to be while she's digging in the dirt)!! Her favorite things to do were go on Papa's boat and go out on the golf course. Mark brought a small golf club for Avery to use for the first time... but she was mostly interested in running and putting the ball in the hole...not necessarily hitting the ball.

This shot is pretty adorable, though!!

Back to unpacking and painting!!

We're still here.....

2008-04-24T20:55:00.001-07:00

.....just busy moving!! Although it's stressfull and busy and crazy and exciting all at once, we really are getting somewhere with it. We'll be out of our house next week and I can't wait!! While Avery and I were getting ready this morning, she thought she'd put some make-up on too. I've been dreaming of getting shots of her "doing her make-up" for so long... although it's not in front of a big mirror and posed how I'd like with lipstick all over everything, it's a start!! Enjoy!!

Busy Packing!

2008-04-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

We are packing up our house, getting ready to move back to Mukilteo!! I am so excited about this move! As soon as I get off this computer I'm going to pack up my kitchen... procrastinating slightly, but still happy about it! If I don't get around to posting in the upcoming days, here's one to hold ya over for a while!! (God, she's cute! And you should hear some of the things that come out of her mouth lately: "Come on, Mom. Let's go!" Last night Mark's tongue had a big slip and he said, "Holy Crap....etc. etc. So what came out of Avery's mouth about six times in a row? "Holy cap, daddy. Holy cap, daddy!") Enjoy!!!

Cross-processing!!

2008-04-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

I really feeling like I'm diving in lately! I love photography...I love the creative post-processing process, but I've felt so limited. It's just a matter of jumping in and trying things. You can't screw ANYTHING up!! What's really been throwing me is Cross-processing. I've seen some images I really love, but just can't seem to make it happen with mine... until today! I took this shot of Avery yesterday at the Children's Museum, it's just a plain shot... not much going on and converting it to black and white seemed to make it more boring. So I tried my hand at cross-processing. I love this shot so much more now! It just has an "edgier" feel to it, don't ya think? I love how her little eyes and lips pop, and her sassy little side pony tail screams girly-girl!! I love how the light is accentuated through the processing too! I just might be getting somewhere, ya'll!!! I'm motivated to snap away and play again and it's a great feeling! Maybe I'll try my hand at some belly shots!! Ha ha ha!!

Finally Playing with Textures

2008-03-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've really been wanting to play with textures!! I've seen some beautiful images that have texture applied to them (check out http://www.lifescapturedmoments.blogspot.com/) and I haven't been able to get over how much life, story, and details they add to the image. Plus, I'm a huge fan of the "vintage look" and adding textures really seems to bring that look out of the photo. So here's my first couple trys... I took these photos for a family back in November and thought they'd be good to try some texturing on:

Especially this one: sweet girl is playing with a vintage-type telephone. The crackled texture on this image makes me think of an old picture in a frame I might see hanging at my Great-grandma's house. :)

Well, I'm going to keep playing around with these! Loving them... I wish I had never been so intimidated by this process. That's another reason why I've continued falling in love with photography... there are endless learning opportunities, and with every new thing I try, my confindence grows and grows!!!

Random Images from this Morning

2008-03-27T13:19:00.001-07:00

I finally pulled out my camera this morning...grrrrrr! I have not taken any pictures lately, esspecially indoors. I'm such a brat. I really want an external flash and I'm convinced I can't take pictures indoors til that happens. But today I gave in and took some anyways. Avery was goofing off on my bed and trying to put my glasses on. I couldn't resist trying to get a shot or two of this!

Then she started snuggling with her blankey and being so sweet and precious (which is a welcome sight because lately we've been throwing a few temper tantrums a day over the silliest, smallest things, and of course I never thought my child would ever do such a thing... YEAH RIGHT THEY ALL DO!!!) and I caught this one of her face really close up:

She's so beautiful, I'm forever going to be astonished everyday; her daddy's going to have his hands full in the years to come with 2 little girls to watch out for!!

I'm Still Here...

2008-03-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

...Just really busy lately! The latest exciting news is that we found out we're expecting another little girl. I'm so thrilled! How special for Avery to have a sister. There's no other relationship like it! We lucked out this time and received a few 3D images from our ultrasound last week. This is a picture of her precious little face. The technology is so amazing these days!!

I was lucky to have a girls weekend this last weekend over at my parent's new house in Eastern WA. My cousin and good friend headed over for a weekend of scrapbooking, eating, and sleeping in. It was wonderful. We made so many beautiful things (although I did not bring my camera) and I'm still trying to organize myself now that I'm back home again. :) We're also getting ready to put our house up for sale, I'm actually meeting with our agent today. So things have just been CRAZY here. Hopefully I'll have some great shots to post after Easter. Avery's going on an Egg Hunt tomorrow morning. Her first one!!

Playing around...

2008-03-04T10:34:00.001-08:00

...thanks to Jordan!! (Her blog is in my Favorites..."Just My Crazy Little Life") Thank you so much Jordan for sharing how to get rounded corners on our images. I haven't got it figured out completely yet... but here's my try at it:

You can only see 3 of the round corners because the picture is in black and white with a black frame around it. I also tried adding some film grain to the picture but to me it mostly looks like it's glowing and blurry? Like I said... just playing around. :)

Just Veggin'

2008-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post and this picture is from a few weeks ago, but it really shows what we've been up to lately, unfortunately. Last Sunday and Monday, Avery had a little 24 hour flu bug which then turned into a cold. She's much better now, but mommy caught the cold (real fun while being pregnant) and so we had a slow rest of the week! But now, all's well and everyone's happy again at our house and everything is back to normal! Hope everyone else is happy and healthy too! Oh yeah, two more weeks from today we find out the sex of the new baby!!

Our Little Heartbreaker!!

2008-02-23T19:59:00.001-08:00

Avery's eyes are just striking! I know I'm a little biased since I'm her mommy but I get compliments on Avery and her eyes everyday from friends and complete strangers we see out and about, so I'm know I'm not the only one smitten with her eyes. They catch me off guard all day long and I'm continually reminded how beautiful my little girl is, and I'm not shy about admitting it. :) We were playing outside today (we've had the most beautiful weather lately) and so were the neighbor kids (first grade age I think). Here's Avery peeking at them through a gap in our fence:

She's not very discreet about it and eventually they caught on to her little game, and that's what it became. Pretty cute!!

Smitten?

2008-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

I'll let you decide :)

My Girly Girl <3

2008-02-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Avery was playing in my room this morning as I was getting ready for the day. She found my Bert's Bees chapstick (the best stuff in the world, BTW) and started putting it on saying, "Lip-goss Mommy, lip-goss!" Too cute! I'll have to get her a tube for her little purse!! :)

(PS... I'm really proud of this INDOOR photo, no flash used! Just the natural light coming in through our bedroom window!!)

{Enjoy}

2008-02-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Just a few quick shots from tonight :)

"Snuggle"

2008-01-31T14:49:00.001-08:00

Lately Avery has been so snuggly! She'll bring me her blankey and curl up in my arms and say, "Snuggle, snuggle," I just love it! It really tugs on my heartstrings knowing that she can come and get something she needs/wants from me...like a snuggle. Makes me feel like I'm doing my job right. :) Right now, my hope chest is sitting in front of the window in our living room. Avery will put her blankey on it, climb up on to the chest and "snuggle, snuggle" her blankey. I caught a few shots of this last night:

This last shot is my favorite since she decided to sneak a smile in with her snuggle!

Under Construction...Again!

2008-01-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm playing around with banners and backgrounds right now for this blog. I'm just not happy with how it looks...so bare with me... Hopefully it will look cute soon. It's just so plain right now...grrrrrr! :) Anyways... Avery and I finally made it outside yesterday. It was so sunny out, but so cold! We weren't out for very long but I snapped a few cute ones of my little bug. I still can't get over how blue her eyes are!

She absolutely LOVES checking the mail, so here she is with her mail (or should I say treasures?) :) I think it's so precious how the simplest things make her so happy!

She's a Gymnast!!

2008-01-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Avery started Gymnastics last Monday, but today her daddy got to participate with her and mommy got to snap pictures! I won't waste any space describing to you how much Avery LOVES it... the pictures will speak for themselves!

"I know I can do this (with some help from my Daddy)!"

"Boy, this one's tricky!"

"I did it!!"

I'm afraid the next phrase out of this sweet girl is going to be:

"Trampoline, Avee's house! Peees?"

The pics. are a little grainy thanks to the high ISO as I was adjusting after each shot to get this yucky indoor light thing figured out!! Practice makes perfect eventually, right? Have a super day!!

It's been a while...

2008-01-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

...since I've posted! Talk about busy!! Since Christmas it's been non-stop around here, but I'm back and my camera is out again! Christmas was wonderful at our house. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures. Avery had so much fun on Christmas morning and I was so busy enjoying every second with my family that I didn't take a lot of pics.

In other exciting news... Avery is going to be a big sister! We found out soon after Thanksgiving and couldn't be happier! I'm officially 9 weeks pregnant today. We had our first peek at the baby and of course we're even more excited! I'm finally starting to feel a little better. Not as tired and nauseous which is a welcome relief!

Stay tuned for more pictures!!

Burrr......Baby it's been COLD outside!

2007-12-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

To our Arizona and Florida Aunty and Uncle coming home for Christmas: Bring your warm clothes cause this weather is surely not what you're used too! Can't wait to see you!!!!

Sledding...

2007-12-17T20:45:00.001-08:00

...was a no-go this weekend at Alta Lake. Avery and I got back last night. We gave sledding a try for the first time and she did not like it. She really didn't like seeing mommy sled by herself either. Maybe next year. Sorry no pictures to post from the weekend. I didn't pack my camera. Seems like I get Avery packed perfectly for out of town trips, yet I always forget my own things!! Oh well, I must be a mom! Ha ha ha! Anyways... I'm hoping to catch some great holiday shots coming up in the next week. Plus, I've got some exciting news coming as well, so stay tuned......!

Another Beautiful Family

2007-12-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

I've been so lucky lately to be holding my first sessions!! I've photographed some beautiful families with in the last month and I'm just loving it! Lifestyle photography has definitely become my newfound passion! Here's a couple from the other day:

Anyways... super-cute family!

I'll be heading out of town tonight. I'm taking Avery over to my parent's house east of the mountains to play in the snow for the weekend. And I'll definitely have my camera!! (Avery doesn't know it yet, but she's going to give sledding a try for the first time!)

One more from the other day:

2007-12-08T08:51:00.001-08:00

'C' fell asleep in the car on our way home from picture taking on Thursday. We flat out wore the little guy out... he was in the middle of eating his lunch. Sweet boy fell asleep with his hand in his Happy Meal bag! Tooooo cute!

ALL BOY(s)

2007-12-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

Today I was able to get down to my cousin's house to do a little session with her boys. I'm thrilled with the way her pictures turned out. I'm quite happy also because I finally got to take some shots on train tracks! LOVE IT!! I think train tracks are my new favorite place to take pictures! The boys were VERY cooperative... little treats never hurt! Here's a few from today:

Pretty cute, huh?