The Moments in Between

I Heart Faces- Beautiful Black and White

2012-03-06T11:12:00.006-08:00

I had the pleasure of shooting Josh & Kayla's wedding the beginning of February. They are such a wonderful couple and I am working on getting their wedding blog post up on my business blog. This is one of my favorite photos from their wedding. The "I know your there, but can't see you" before the ceremony picture.

Update with me: Yeah I know I went MIA, but I haven't really been excited about where this blog has gone and I want to change it and spice it up, make it more exciting. I've been figuring out how to do it and here soon I'll be making changes and bring it more to life. Alexis is growing and talking like crazy. She's 19 months now and is so smart. Hope all is well!

Can you help me?

2012-01-28T19:56:00.001-08:00

My brother-in-law's company Umpqua Energy was chosen as one of the top innovative companies in America. Now, it's the public's turn to vote and we would love your help! All you have to do is

Click Here to go to their page

Click 'Like' under the picture

and that's it!

I would love you forever! Thanks for your support. If you want to tell your friends, we won't mind ;)

2012-01-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

Alexis finally let me put her hair up! Isn't she cute :)

Best Face 2011

2012-01-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't been really good at posting {obviously}, commenting or reading blogs lately. Life has just taken me by the hand and other things come first. I have taken some photos lately, but haveb't had time to upload them or edit yet. I'll show them once I do!

Best face for 2011~
It was the year of baths.
This little girl is a fish at heart hehe

My Story of the Year

2011-12-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

10 minutes til 2012 and I'm finally getting a post up. I have been away from blogging because life took over and not enough time in the day. I'm hoping to be back and regular here soon.

This year has been an awesome year! No deaths in the family, a few friends though. Watching Alexis grow and learn and experience different situations with her, has been unbelievably amazing. I never really expected it to be this awesome. She has grown so much. Jon and I have a great relationship and it just keeps growing every year. Let's start at the beginning...

I'm Back

2011-12-18T10:51:00.001-08:00

We got back from our vacation yesterday. We all had fun, Alexis especially. I'll write more about it later. This was from the Ripley's Aquarium that we took Alexis to.

By the way- this is sooc..

The Start of a Weight Loss Journey

2011-12-08T19:08:00.001-08:00

This is going to be an extremely, I want to say embarrassing but I don't think that's the right word for it, post. I've contemplated over and over about whether to write it and I'll probably dwell about pressing the publish button after it's done. But, I do think this will be therapeutic for me and make me have to own up to it. I'll tell you a little background first.

January 31, 2011- I was at the park on the river with Alexis, she was almost 6 months old. We were hanging out in the sun and grass. I was taking pictures of her, of course. This couple comes up to me and says how cute she is and all that jazz. Asks if I would like my picture with her. I'm thinking this is the best time for them to run off with my camera because I have the baby and I'm not going to put her down and run after them for a camera. Being hesitant, I said yes. And I got the camera back. Whew! Then, they went on to ask me- "How much did you gain while pregnant?". Yep, it was a weight question and asked by the old man {probably early 70s, could be younger since later they told me they were homeless}. I was surprised because I thought I looked good. My pants were baggy, I was totally loosing weight. He went on to say how his wife was my size {she was with him} and how she lost 100lbs and only took a year. That's how the conversation went for about 30 min. They, then, said their goodbyes and we kept playing.

But after that I was way self conscience. I've never really talked about my weight. I've always been the heaviest person in my group of friends, but after I saw these photos from that day and weighed myself the next day- This is the heaviest and most humiliating I've ever looked in my life. I was 50lbs heavier from the day I got married and got back up to my weight I was when I was pregnant with Alexis.

The pictures I'm going to show are very hard to look at for me. I want to cry when I see them. These were from the same day, January 31, 2011, but my mom took these later that day.

When I see these, I hear that devastating music you hear in movies. Or the theme song to Law & Order. That shirt is one of my maternity shirts. Of course, my pants were baggy- I just went and bought a size UP.

The next week I had decided it was time for a change. Especially with Alexis in the house, I wanted to be able to do things with her and ride, rides at Disney with her and not be kicked off because I couldn't fit. Starting February 1, 2011, I made a change and went back on weight watchers, but at home and alone because my husband wasn't doing it, which ment no motivation. Between February and October 1, I had only lost 15lbs. Oct 10, I changed to low carb & Jon is doing it with me, so motivation - yay!

I had done low carb back in high school and lost 30lbs and kept it off for a long time. It's not that hard really. We eat low-carb wraps and there's sugar free candy. I still get my sweet fix. I weighed on November 8 and had lost a total of 23lbs since Oct 10 and 38lbs since last February. Here are the pictures I took today. Please don't mind the hair, no makeup, pajamas- we have had some almost sleepless nights with Alexis lately and I've been tired.

That's the same shirt from the above pictures. I use it as pajamas now lol. I know I still have a ways to go, but I feel so good and have more energy, which means I'm taking Alexis to more places and having her experience new things. Her new word is "OH WOW!" and usually says it while looking at the moon and stars at night.

You know I couldn't show a progression picture of Alexis. It's amazing how fast babies change in less than a year!

{Picture on the right is sooc, btw :) } Oh and we did cut her bangs last night. I didn't want to, but they were in her face and she won't keep anything in her hair now. The very last picture shows her new bangs. The picture is dark, but you can kinda see them.

Every now and then, when I get a significant weight loss, I'll be posting them. I'm thinking every couple months or so.

There's her new bangs ^

On Your Feet

2011-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

Super Hero Love Power!

Super Heros

2011-12-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

We have a little miss super hero on our hands.

And do you know what little super heros get after a long day of saving mommy and daddy?

a lollipop :)

Always and Forever

2011-11-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

I just realized I never posted our pictures from the fair. I'm getting lazy at blogging. Actually, I've just been really busy trying to get my business up and going and it's been taking a lot of my time, plus taking care of Alexis during the day and housework. It's a lot, but not impossible and I don't mind being a little tired. Right now what I need to be doing is catching up with my record keeping, which I've been putting off, but I just don't want to lol.

My weekend was great! Saturday we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. We dropped Alexis off at a friend's house around 4pm and was babyless for 6 whole hours! It's funny because we thought it'd be so nice to have time alone, but most of the time we kept thinking about Alexis. She's never stayed with this friend before. We still had a great time. We first went down to the Daytona pier area and walked around. Jon has been living here for 4 years and has never been over there. We played ski-ball in an arcade and it just felt like we were dating. I loved it. We ended up giving our tickets to a little girl so she could get more toys. After our lovely walk along the beach and pier, we came home and exchanged gifts. He got me Just Dance 2 lol, my macro attachments, a camera strap, and a locket engraved. He didn't put any pictures in the locket because he didn't know how, but I love it! I got him his earphones and mouse pad he's wanted. We changed clothes and went to dinner at Stonewoods. It was delicious! OMG Delicious! It's been a long time since I've been there and we had a great time.

Vacation Count Down- 12 Days!

Our 3rd Anniversary

2011-11-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our 3rd anniversary. Honestly, it was a dud day. It started last week. I had an idea for each of us to write down 5 things we would like as our individual anniversary gifts and give it to the other person. In my head, it was this great idea because last year my gift was my website that really just got finished last month. It was nice and I wanted it, but not what I was expecting. The first year he wrote me a poem, that I have framed next to my bed. That was sweet. Really I don't want things, I would like something meaningful. I hope that makes sense.

He spilled the beans already and I know what I got, I have never had the element of surprise from him, he always spills something lol. He gave me a list of 4 things. A keurig coffee maker, certain sunglasses, these certain earphone earbuds and a steel mousepad. He has been talking non stop for about a year about a steel mousepad. Of course I thought that's what he wanted most and happened to be the cheapest thing on his list. I got that for him and something not on his list.
Over the weekend, it was pretty clear he wanted the earbuds. Somehow he figured out I got him the mouse pad, since he thought I never got him the earbuds- he has been so dramatic {I now know Alexis gets that from his side of the family}. My plan was to let him think all I got him was the mousepad and then surprise here's your earphones! But I got so annoyed yesterday morning, that I told him I got him what he wanted and since then he's been happy. That's how our anniversary morning started out. He also had to work and then had an emergency and had to work late, til 8. At least we have plans Saturday and he said he has a surprise, so maybe I will be surprised lol.

I'm the one that should be mad because he didn't get me the iPad I wanted.... ;-)

But that's how it goes. Sometimes we argue, sometimes I cry, most of the time we laugh and smile. He is the best provider, husband, and father I could ever ask for!

Monday, Monday So Good To Me..

2011-11-21T05:44:00.000-08:00

I couldn't figure out which one I liked better. Both create a certain dynamic. Which one do you like better?

It's been a crazy weekend. That's all I'm saying about that. My cowboys won yesterday, yeah! It was a close game and had to go into overtime. Sunday was a typical one- football, wings, and family. 3 of Alexis's molars are coming in, so she is up alot in the middle of night. Which means, I am too and I'm sleepy today. Busy week ahead. Wednesday is our 3 year anniversary, but we're celebrating it on Saturday. On Wednesday, we are going to Jacksonville to visit one of Jon's old buddies he hasn't seen in years. His friend lives in Hawaii, but travels all over for work and this time he's close enough for us to go see him. I'm excited to meet him, he sounds awesome.

Saturday, was a bad day. I missed Old Navy's outerwear 75% off sale by a minute. Coats were 15-20 dollars {normally 60-90}. I was depressed the rest of the night. I really do need a nice coat, don't have one, but I'm to cheap to spend regular price on one lol. I'm really surprised to be seeing so many stores open Thanksgiving day for black Friday sales. Friday, I'll probably be getting some deals out there. Just for a few things we need. This Saturday, I hope to get some family pictures done and then Alexis is going to be babysat by a friend of mine and we are going out for our anniversary.

Grateful for my beautiful daughter and amazing husband, especially when he does the dishes ;)

The Many Faces of Alexis

2011-11-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know what age officially starts a toddler, but when babies are toddling around is when I say their a toddler. Today was Alexis's 15 month check-up. Doctor said she was perfect, knew that already, and healthy. She's 32" tall and 24.10 lbs. She wears 24 month pants and 18 month tops. Alexis is saying a few words. She says Dada more than mama {but still says mama}, Uh-Oh is the most frequently said right now, baby, bye-bye, baba {they all sound really similar though lol}, happy, uppy, and she barks. I never realized how fast we grow in just a few short months. 15 months ago she couldn't do anything for herself and now she's pretty independent. Playing in her room, while I was dishes. She loves the vacuum cleaner and is pretty fearless. She loves people and is not afraid to go up to someone, I don't know what to think about that yet. Pretty soon I'm going to have to get her hair cut, at least in the front. It's all in her eyes. It's making me have the baby fever and I'm not ready for another one yet unfortunately. There is so many things we need to get done before another child, but I'm looking forward to being pregnant again- one day :)

I'm getting so sad watching her rolls go away! We make faces at eachother all the time and she loves when I copy what she's doing.

I Heart Faces- Autumn Splendor

2011-11-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, we went to the fair. It was too much fun for everyone. Alexis experiencing new things, Jon blowing his diet and ate so much- starting from the time we got there, and I really loved the fried oreos. They had a little area for kids, with tractors that pedaled, roping a steer, saddle a horse, baby animals. Since this happens every fall, it is what I would consider our Autumn Splendor. Especially since today it was 80 something degrees.

2011-11-11T08:37:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we are.. {4 letters, starts with an F...} {nope wrong lol} going to the fair! I'm so excited to take Alexis and have her see & experience everything and see the animals. Of course, it'll be documented :)
This morning we woke up to temps in the 40s. Yikes- cold for us. We better get used to it because our vacation is booked and set. Our first in 2 years- I'm a little bit excited, well more like a lot excited! It's a 10 hour drive though with a 16 month old. We're going to split it up and drive 5 hours one day and 5 the next. We leave in 1 month! Yay!
Anyway, been playing around with my new camera. I have pretty much figured out a lot of things. Haven't read the manual yet, I learn more by just doing instead of reading. There are a few features I want to look up though.

2011-11-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Been playing around today. Alexis has been really good with it to surprisingly lol.

It's Here!

2011-11-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

I know I've been talking about it for a while, but it's finally here! It came yesterday and I've been playing with it ever since. My Canon 7D and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens, which will probably always stay on my camera. Here are some pictures from it.

Alexis is looking more and more like a toddler. Toddling around. Getting attitude at times. Losing those rolls { :( }. She's growing up.

I'm really happy with it and all the new features it has, that my other doesn't. Now, I need something to carry it in. Hmm

2011-11-07T10:02:00.001-08:00

I'm waiting for my camera today and hopefully it'll get me out of this funk I'm in. I'm excited :)

AND my cousin just got engaged and asked me to be her wedding photographer! I'm thrilled about this. They live in New Jersey and the wedding is in June. We've never been up that way and are just so excited to see them, be tourists, and photograph her wedding.

The yard sale went good. More people on Friday then Saturday and sold about half of Alexis's baby clothes. We had an anniversary party to go to Saturday night at Olive Garden. The WORST place for anyone doing a low carb diet. And yes, I blew it, but only for that meal. It was good, I won't lie. I was also being cheap. Because everyone's meal was paid for if ordered off a certain menu and I wanted to save money.

This week seems busy. What week doesn't?

2011-11-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've lost my bloggin' groove lately. Yard sale tomorrow and Saturday. It's been years since I've had one. How's your Thursday going?

2011-11-01T10:30:00.001-07:00

Welcome November! How have you been? I haven't seen you in a year. My favorite month. The month of my anniversary, I'll be another year older, & the Fair. I've always had great memories from the fair which starts this weekend. I can't wait to bring Alexis and make new memories. It's been quite busy. We've cleaning cleaning out everything. Saturday was supposed to be our yard sale, but we got rained out, so we changed it to this Saturday. Which ment a nice relaxing weekend with my family of 3. I have barely picked up my camera because I've been so bummed about the delay in getting my new one. It's made me photo depressed. HOPING it's here next week. Jon launched my new website last week. He designed it. JessicaGrimmPhotography.com, I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. Way better than my last.

I mentioned before that I was on a low carb diet. Which is working out great. I tried making a low-carb pizza last night, but it was awful. We've been on it for 3 weeks now and I've lost 12lbs. Back to my pre-pregnancy weight and can now start working on the rest.

We're still battling our ant problem. I read they don't like pepermint, which is great because it's kid safe. That got rid of them on my counter tops. Now, they're coming in and all over the floor. I keep spraying it and cleaned the floor with peppermint oil, but they're still here. I can't wait for the really cold weather and the ants leave and then I can take action, so they don't come back.

Alexis is teething. One molar has come in. I can only imagine how it makes her feel. Poor little girl. She turns 15 months tomorrow :) Her 15 month well, is in 2 weeks and more shots :(
She's a great little walker though. And is usually pretty happy about 90% of the time. I may be babysitting for a friend on Thursday, who has 2 boys- ages 18 months and 3 years. I know they'll keep me busy!

Our Unofficial Anniversary

2011-10-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was our unofficial 6 year anniversary. We didn't do anything special, but he did give me flowers. I love my flowers! They look like a harvest bouquet with beautiful fall colors. We're still having a yard sale tomorrow morning, hoping it doesn't rain. We also planned out our December vacation. You have no idea how excited I am about this. We haven't gone on a vacation, out of state, in probably at least 2 years. We're going to the mountains, Tennessee/ North Carolina area. We have family in North Carolina, maybe we can stop by and see them too. And we're hoping for snow! I'd love for Alexis to see it and Jon's never seen the Smokey Mountains. As a kid, we used to go several times a year and I miss it. Can't wait to go back!

Good to Wow!

2011-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today is a busy one. I'm cleaning out our closets for a yard sale on Saturday! It's so long overdue. I have 4 garbage bags full of Alexis's clothes. It's crazy. I'm going to start on my closet after this post and while she's sleeping.

My camera is delayed :(
There was a mix up and it's being sent back to the sender, just for them to re-ship. *sigh* I have to wait a little longer.

The first picture, I did just minor edits. There wasn't much to really do to it, unless I wanted to get creative.

Here's the SOOC:

Minor editing {if you haven't been able to tell, I prefer clean edits. But I guess it depends on the picture}

Then, I changed to Black & White

This second picture, is honestly like looking at myself in a photo album. She looks just like I did. I'll have to pull some pictures out soon and show you.

Sooc-

Black & White-

Happy

2011-10-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

"Happy" is one of Alexis's favorite words right now. And so is quacking at the birds while trying to chase them hehe

Shoot & Edit {Memories}

2011-10-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here are my SOOC shots for shoot & edit. It's hard to get her attention anymore. Especially when there's rocks, dirt, grass, sand, or anything she can explore lol.

Let Them Be Little

2011-10-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Let them be little
A little time more
Let them be little
Before they walk out the door
Let them be little
Are the times we adore
Let them be little
A little time more. "

- Author Jessica Grimm

Break News!

2011-10-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

I have some awesome news! Last night, I ordered my Canon 7D! I'm so excited you have no idea :D
Oh and I ordered the Tamron 24-75mm f2.8 also. They come in next Thursday. Huge sigh of relief, I was in bad need of an upgrade. You have no idea. In other news, a friend of mine is pregnant. We aren't that close, but I'm happy for her. It makes me miss being pregnant. I loved that feeling.
Yesterday, we tackled a huge project at my parent's place. They have a room attached to the garage that we used to use as a play room, but for years it's been a junk room. I kid you not, it looked like a scene from a hoarder's show. We pulled everything out onto the carport and it's full. Crazy what we keep, literally 20 years of stuff. Next Saturday, we're having a yard sale and tomorrow we get to sort through everything. In the process we found a huge, Brown Recluse. Nasty thing! Once we saw that, we sprayed the whole inside with poison.
On to the Scavenger Hunt!

{Words}

I love that she's taking a liking to books because I'm not really a reader. But I'll read kid's books any day. They have more pictures than words. ;)

{Under}

Under the sun. This one is SOOC.

{Fly}

Anytime she sees a bird, she quacks at it. She just lately took a liking to baby running after them. It's so cute!

{Orange}

This is SOOC also.

{Always Look At The Brightside}

She always reminds me to do just that. And always makes my day, no matter what the day brought.

2011-10-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Our pride and joy! :D
On our walk yesterday, she quacked at all the birds. It was too funny.

I want a blog makeover... just sayin'.

Maternity Shoot

2011-10-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing a couple more from the recent Maternity session. She's 30 weeks and I don't know if she'll make it another 10! She looks ready to pop.

Our Saturday

2011-10-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here editing the maternity session I shot from Saturday evening and listening to my old Nsync songs haha and thought it was time to post something about Alexis. She's a walker, still balancing, but walking and I love it. Last night we played hide and seek and she just had a blast. She's teething pretty bad though. Every night she's up for about an hour at least. I can feel where it is and her gums are so swollen. I feel bad for her. Saturday, we went for a walk about the city center lake and fed the turtles. These are from Saturday.

We have to brush our teeth before we leave the house!

Shoes on.

Just as we got to the lake, Alexis was walking and tripped over her feet and hit the ground pretty hard. She had scraped her nose up and had a nice goose egg on her forehead that night. She cried but not for long and was on her way again.

She has so many facial expressions. Such a little personality.

She did the small slide all by herself.

Her absolute favorite thing to do- ever.

And ended like this. She was ready for nap and did not want to leave the swings. And she had to tell us how strongly she felt about that.
My baby is more of a toddler now. I miss the littleness, but every stage has it's perks and we're enjoying this one.

I'm down 5lbs since last Monday!

I Heart Faces ::Pink::

2011-10-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

A beautiful mama to be. This will be her third and second son. She is just glowing and only 10 weeks to go! The whole day was overcast, but the sunset was so gorgeous that night.

Makes me want to be pregnant again.

2011-10-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have not abandoned you. Just been quite busy and it's hard for me to keep a good balance on things. I usually focus on one thing and the rest gets pushed to the back. But it's something I try and work on. I had to put myself on a good eating plan. I was getting out of control. After every meal, I had to eat some kind of dessert. I mean I couldn't go without it. Sugar was over taking my life. I'm doing a low carb thing since Monday. Jon and I both are doing it. I shouldn't eat bread anyway, it bloats me and I think I have an allergy to it and this also helps me stay away from sugar. I have lost 5.6lbs since Monday. I know a lot is water weight, but I feel great and have more energy. If anyone has any good low carb recipes or a good website for it, please pass it my way!

I Heart Faces ::Hands::

2011-10-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is from the wedding that I shot a few weeks ago.
How was your weekend? It was crazy rainy here and windy. So windy that it woke me in the middle of the night and I thought it was a tornado. The past 3 days have been that way. I didn't really mind it, but it sure was nice to wake up to sunshine this morning.

Orange You Glad It's Thursday?

2011-10-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

I am! Tomorrow's Friday. Always busy though, so it doesn't really matter what day it is. At least Jon's home Saturday and Sunday. :)

I'm not completely pleased with the outcome, but I'm happy with it.

Below I included some from the same shoot with author J.A. Souders with Renegade debuting Fall 2012.

What makes you smile?

2011-10-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

That's the photo contest over at Faith's blog. And I have to agree with Faith on this, my baby makes me smile. When I go to bed at night, she always puts a smile on my face, even if it was a rough day. She turned 14 months on Sunday. I can't believe it. She's walking everywhere, the Frankenstein walk and figured out she can carry things with her when she walks. She says bye bye, mama, dada, baby, baba, shakes her head no. Her new favorite word is happy and she also said me, the other day. She loves looking at my photo albums and pushing buttons. She started throwing things in the trash this week. Jon couldn't find his wallet for an hour and my hairbrush was there too lol. She knows to turn around to get off the couch. Tries to climb and when I go outside, she goes to the window to see where I am. She loves animals and imitates a ducks quack, loves making sounds and funny faces. She's into mocking us now with sounds. She loves music and when I count to 10.

There's so many things that make me smile, but she takes the cake :)

In Between the Chaos

2011-10-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of F's. No not what your thinking.. It was full of fun, family, and fotos ;) Saturday, I threw my parents a surprise 30th anniversary party and it was mustache themed. Everyone had a lot of fun with the stick-on mustaches, chocolate mustaches on a stick, and photobooth. My parents were happy, we had a good turn out of probably 50 people. And slowly my house is decluttering from storing everything lol.

Yesterday evening, I had a wonderful photo shoot with Author Jessica Souders. Her book Renegade is debuting in the fall of 2012. We had so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Jessica was amazing and it instantly felt like I was catching up with an old friend. I'll be showing a few from that session this week.

The kids in the photobooth were soooo cute! The photo booth photos were taken on a little point and shoot on a tripod. I originally had my DSLR to use, but being there was children ages 14 months to 5 years old running around, I was too nervous to leave it unattended.

This is Nathan & Bailey. Not sure how old Nathan is, but Bailey is 2 this month.

Alexis & Liam - they're 3 months apart and Alexis just turned 14 months yesterday!

For the Good to Wow! sooc, I'm using one from the shoot last night. I'm nervous about this one already. The sky looks blown, she is way underexposed, but I like the light coming through her hair. We'll find out Thursday if I can pull it off.

Gotta Hold Your Head up, So You Can Let Your Hair Down

2011-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited tomorrow is the party because then my house can get back to normal! Yay! I hate clutter and just things laying around and there is a ton of stuff now. I'm excited, it's coming together nicely. Not to mention, we're supposed to get a bit of cooler weather this weekend and drier, no more humidity {for a couple days anyway} and Alexis has been a walking machine. It's so cute, I love it. I have videos, hopefully to post soon.
I just finished editing the wedding I shot and I'm going to share a couple of my favorites, it's so hard because I have so many lol. The others can be seen on my other blog here.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Quarterly Top 5

2011-09-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

I can't beleive it's that time again, time for the quarterly top 5 from July to September. And it made me realize I haven't taken any photos of Alexis since the 8th. Which is not like me, but things have been busier than usual. Here are my top 6! It was so hard to pick and wanted to include more, but the page would probably be endless lol

This was back in July. She can't even fit in those white shorts anymore.

haha you have to have at least one mad face

I love the chunk, but unfortunately it's slowly fading.

Bath time is her favorite time of day!

Her 1 year old shoot

Finally, captured her zombie 'walking'. She's becoming more brave the last couple days and walking without holding onto anything. It's the awkward, I might fall walk, but I'm so proud of her.

There ya have it. And yes, I'm still party planning, party planning for a surprise is so stressful! I'm definitely not a party planner, I'd rather just attend. But hoping everything turns out fine. I got 108 stick on mustaches yesterday (for only $7.00, go amazon!).
Here's our little Mario.

Camera Phone Photo

I Heart Faces - Best Face of Summer

2011-09-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is one from Alexis's one year shoot. The sand is all over her face from eating it, throwing it, haha and she looks so satisfied!

I've been busy. Busy planning my parents surprise 30th anniversary party. If you haven't heard it's going to be a mustache party. Busy editing a wedding I did a week ago. Busy editing a family get together Friday night, (not my family). Things are slowly coming together for the party. My mom's brother and sister-in-law are coming and it's going to be a surprise that their here. I think it'll go good. I'm setting up a photobooth with props, so we should have some fun photos from that.

Shoot Before & Edit After {Portrait}

2011-09-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

The past couple days any free time I get, I've been processing images from the wedding. Usually the only free time I get is an hour or 2 while Alexis naps around now and then at night after she goes to bed. I'm snacking on golden oreos right now, Alexis is napping, it's raining out- Life is Good. It's so relaxing listening to rain. Ok, here is my SOOC and I'm pretty pleased with it. I really just enhanced the colors and cropped. I don't mind any Constructive Criticism.
So please, CC away.

Canon XSI
ISO 800
f/5
SS 1/125

Edit-

I Heart Faces: A Touch of Sun

2011-09-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

A beach wedding last night, ended in a beautiful sunset! You can read more about it in my previous post here.

Beach Wedding

2011-09-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

We had a good weekend. Alexis's clumsy stage seems to be fading some for now, so that's good. Although this morning, she found one of those sand spurs and put it in her mouth without us seeing. She was crying while trying to chew something. It was stuck to her tongue and I got it out, but I felt horrible. Our yard is full of them right now.

Yesterday, I shot a beach wedding. I had helped on some weddings before, but this is my first 'I'm in charge and responsible for everything' wedding. I think it went really well. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no time for groom/ groomsmen and bride/ bridesmaids pictures before the wedding. It was a DIY wedding and it was pretty chaotic. Hardly any bridal portraits either or intimate ones between the couple. The wedding was supposed to start at 6 and didn't til 7. Sunset was just after 8, I believe. Everything was running late because they all started to get ready late. I am happy with what we did get. I'm going to post a what I've learned and guest photographers that get in your way of doing your job post sometime this week. There was this beautiful sunset during the ceremony though and if we had made it on time, we might have missed it :)
And in the end, the bride and groom were very happy and that's all that really matters.

and here is my SOOC of the bride for the good to wow link up

2011-09-16T07:20:00.001-07:00

I think I'm going to do a blog makeover. I don't really like the way it looks and all. Look forward to changes in the near future here! I'm going to start featuring blogs, if you'd like to be featured, leave a comment or send me a message and let me know.

This morning Alexis decided to wake up at 6:30, which was ok because Jon had to be to work early and with one car, I wanted to take him, so I wasn't stuck at home all day. I am kicking myself now though. I always carry my camera with me everywhere, except this morning and it was a bummer I didn't. There was thick fog in the fields that looked like a blanket and when the sun came up, it was huge and pink. Oh my gorgeous! and only had my Iphone which really doesn't capture the beauty I saw this morning. Tomorrow morning, I'm thinking of getting up early and see what I find out there. Maybe it'll be another morning like today.

Sharing more from the bridal party...

This was the start of the purse game and since I carry around a diaper bag I would have had everything lol. But I left it with Jon who actually had the baby.

Amazing what we all carry in them.

This was the pass the box around til the music stops and whoever has the box at the end has to go put on what's in the box. It was a lot of fun and all that was in the box was a teddy bear haha.

This was cute. They each wrote a part of a poem and gave her a pair of panties that went along with the poem.

And you can guess what grandma gave LOL

2011-09-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Hi Hi Hi, I know it's been a few days *cough cough*. But yeah I've been busy. I figured out I'm going to throw my parent's a surprise 30th anniversary party in 2 weeks. lol just figured out everything yesterday and today I'm mailing out invites. lol It's going to be a mustache party. I've already got so many ideas! Setting up a photo booth for sure, with mustache props, hats, and boas and things. A pin the mustache on Burt Reynolds, mustache cake, and favors. It'll be fun. But I have very little time to do everything.
Saturday, I had a Bridal Consultation. That went very well and I know we are going to work great together. They are so much fun, my kind of people! Sunday, I did go to a friend's bridal shower and took a ton of photos. Just finished editing them today. And got some to post. Today, my goal is to print the invites out and mail them off. I hope it's not too short a notice for some. On top of all that, my baby still isn't feeling 100%, not Jon- Alexis lol. So, that doesn't make it easy.

Homemade cake, it was delicious!

The Bride to Be- This Sunday!

More to come!

Subect Wide Rule 70 Sheets

2011-09-09T08:27:00.001-07:00

This seems like a crazy week. Alexis went from 2 naps a day to 1. Last night, I couldn't stop sneezing and finally went to sleep after 2. Alexis was up from 11pm- 1am because her nose was runny. This morning we both wake up not feeling that great, I don't need a cold right now! Tomorrow, I have a bridal consultation and I'm trying to plan out my parent's 30th anniversary party for next month and keep it a surprise. I didn't really do much for their 25th, hoping this makes up for it. We are pretty much solid broke because I failed to manage the $$ right the past few weeks. We've always been tight anyway, since I quit my job. But really the job wasn't worth what I was getting paid anyway. It feels overwhelming. Today might be a take it easy day. I think a Starbucks run might be in the cards after Alexis wakes up.

Happiness is-

2011-09-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Miss A doing her thang! Need I say more?

Monday, Monday

2011-09-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

If you want a good read and some ideas to help your photography or something to inspire you. This is a good read- 22 Things You Can Do Today To Change Your Photography Forever. There are definitely some things I'm going to try on this list - like #13. I really want to get to where I don't have to think about it, it just comes naturally. What would you like to work on?

How was your weekend? The highlight of mine was Jon and I had a date night last night! It was like our third one since she's been born. We really should do them more often, but I hate asking someone to watch my child, even if it is my parents. It's like I feel like it's my responsibility. We saw Cowboys and Aliens. I'm usually not into the whole alien thing, but this was pretty good. I'd watch it again. Jon's working today. He gets holiday pay on top of the hours he works today, so that's a nice bonus. There's quite a few things I need to do, but I don't want to do them. I keep putting it off. I guess I gotta get my butt up and do them, especially while Alexis is napping...

I love this second one, I think it's adorable, but unfortunately the focus didn't quite fall on her.. oh well. It's a mommy shot lol

Swinging outside on the swing

13 Months!

2011-09-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe how fast this time is flying by. I finally got a picture of her taking a step! She's getting more beautiful everyday.

August Still Life Standout

2011-09-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

Head on over and link yours up!

Shoot Before & Edit After {Water}

2011-09-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Original-

Obviously it's under exposed and her skin is blue. I opened it CS5 and used the levels. With levels I added some fill light to brighten it and then I went into the blue levels and took them down from 1.00 to 0.96 and then went to the red levels and took that from 1.00 to 1.02. Cropped, a small saturation lift (10% opacity), resized and sharpened at 20% opacity via unsharp mask.

Edit-

Can't wait to see your edits this week!

My Weekend in A LOT of Pictures

2011-08-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. Went to Orlando, it was a mini-vaca, but our main focus was we were there for our district convention. It's a religious convention that we attend every year and it's 3 days long, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Always a highlight of the year. We left Wednesday and only had an hour drive, but it felt like worlds away.

We stayed at

Had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, full kitchen and laundry, living room, and a jacuzzi tub. It was pretty much like an apartment and it was free. Which was fantastic.

Eating lunch before the pool

We were at the pool everyday, even after the convention. Can't pass up the pool, stocked with slides and play area for the kids, with water shooting everywhere. Yeah, that was my favorite area.

Friday at the Convention during Lunch

Friday there was about 4,200 people in attendance and Saturday and Sunday there were over 6,000. There are no riots, no police, just a peaceful gathering. It can and does happen.

Pool Time again!

With uncle Paul on the porch

The clubhouse building to the resort

My Little Family

Paul and Jon walking to the pool

Beautiful landscaping

First time in a hammock

And she loved it!

Playing with Dad

The lounge chairs

Hot Tub!

Beautiful Florida Sunsets

Pool Towel Tent

The Biggest Connect 4 I've ever seen!

Playing at the Kid's Zone

My Loves

I used to do that face when I was little.

The Sunday full costume drama. This is always a cool part. This was Joseph's story from the Bible. They did a great job.

We had a great time, but always glad to be home. Alexis did fantastic for her first time away from home. Now we know we can take her anywhere.

No News is Good News

2011-08-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

At least that's what I thought. For a while, I knew that a close family member over in Germany was dealing with cancer. They came for a visit last spring and shortly after they went back home, she found out she had the disease. We never heard anything and I thought everything was going well and she was getting better. Last night, I got an email from my cousin saying she had died yesterday morning. He said she was in so much pain from the chemo, that she went to the hospital to get a pain pump because she couldn't deal with the pain anymore. It made her able to rest and she died in her sleep at only 46 years old. I take comfort in knowing she's not in pain anymore, she's just sleeping, and that we will all see her again.

It's just a reminder to not take anyone or situation for granted because they could be gone tomorrow. Remind everyone everyday how much you love them and don't go to bed mad. It's not worth it. Enjoy every second, with who ever your with, and whatever your doing. Don't wish you were somewhere else. Chances are someones wishing they could be in the situation you are.

Give me a lollipop and call me crazy

2011-08-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

We are busy this week. Here's how my weekend went- Saturday morning Bridal Consultation (She Booked :D) & Alexis's one year shoot. Sunday- Meeting and grocery shopping and laundry. Monday- Alexis stayed up til 2am Sunday night( I think she's getting sick again), Service in the morning, Hair appt. Today I'm packing for Orlando. We're heading down til Sunday, leaving tomorrow. It's only an hour drive. Hoping lovely hurricane Irene doesn't impact us to much. I might not have much time on here the next couple days, we'll see. I'm bringing my laptop with us. What have you been up too?

Caption this!

2011-08-19T04:18:00.000-07:00

The photo below would be perfect for an awesome & funny caption and I just can't think of one. Your challenge is to create a caption for this photo and I'll pick my favorite 3 and feature you on my Monday blog post! I know I have some awesome readers, so I can't wait to read what you come up with :)

It's the weekend, well almost. It's so close I can smell it.
Bridal consultation Saturday- excited & nervous! Eeek! Any tips?

Jon text me yesterday at work and said he was fired. At first I panicked. Then knew there was no way. He wrote back just kidding, which was not funny. Later that day, I told him I was pregnant and I think he peed his pants haha. I'm not pregnant though. For our anniversary (which isn't til November), he wants a metal mouse pad. Told me it was expensive, but it was only $70. So, I told him I want the Canon 5D Mark II Canon body. I think I beat him at expensive there lol. Later, he told me he wanted to get that for me somehow, that was surprising. I'm not holding my breath though, we don't have an extra $2500.00 just to go spend. We're such nerds in this house. hehe

He also bet me to ask everyone I talked to, what their favorite color is. What's your favorite color?

Have a fun weekend!

Lovin the Sun

2011-08-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

I told Jon last night that I was having baby fever. I think he peed his pants when I told him haha. The fever comes and goes, we're not ready for another yet, but I miss the tiny baby. I love my Alexis. Here she is loving the sun lol.

Original-

Edit:

12 Month Stats

2011-08-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Today, Lady Alexis had her 12 month doctor visit. It's fun to learn what her weight and height are, but then there's always shots at the end. These hurt because she cried all the way home. It didn't help that it was past her nap time either. She is 30.5" tall (90th percentile), 23.1 lbs (80th percentile), and her head was 18.8". She hasn't gain much weight since the last appointment, but that's ok, she's a baby on a mission now. There's no stopping her. She must not be gaining it in her belly, because her butt and thighs are big and wears 24 month pants. I even have some 3T pants that fit her perfect. She's just perfect though and it doesn't bother me at all.

Doctor said her constipation is probably from changing to whole milk. I was told to increase her fruit and green vegetables to help with that. I asked about head banging because she has been just hitting her head on things. I don't know if she likes that it makes a sound or what, but she said that's normal.

Next appointment is November. She's napping and I think I'm going to too.

Beautiful Eyes

2011-08-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

She has some awesome eye color. I wish it would show up better. I have brown eyes and Jon's is blue. Her eyes, are brown in the center, then fades out to blue with a dark blue rim around the edge. I guess you call them hazel? I don't know, but it's gorgeous. Lucky her, I always wanted like blue or green eyes, but I'm stuck with brown. She also thought she'd eat some dirt and has a dirt mustache hehe
She walked even more over the weekend with her longest stride of 4 steps. It's so cute.

Summer Time is Almost Over.. Yay!

2011-08-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Really ready for some cooler weather. We played for a little outside yesterday, in the shade. Until I realized, somehow I put the blanket on an ant hill and ants were crawling everywhere in the grass. None on us though. I swear it wasn't there before.
Alexis took her first 2 (real) steps 2 days ago. I don't know how I forgot to mention that yesterday! Ever since, she's been taking little step here and there without holding on. Such a proud mommy.
What's good for constipation in a 1 year old? Poor thing this morning was having a rough time. I know peaches and prunes. But is there some other stuff?

There just happened to be one dark cloud, that came over us. She felt a rain drop and just got so excited lol.

Can you lose yourself?

2011-08-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

I met my BFF, DeeDee, when we were about 16. Yeah, it had to be 16 because I could drive. She must've been 14 or something like that. Anyway, I remember one time she brought up - when we were a little older say 17/18- that she had lost herself. And we would joke around that she found herself in her dog's dog cage. But I never really understood how someone could 'loose themselves'. Growing up Britney Spears was the big thing. Especially with Deedee, her favorite ever. One song that she came out with, "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman", I never really fully understood til probably now.

As a teenager, I knew who I was.
-I wasn't skinny, not even average size and I was fine with that. I still wore bikinis to the beach and never once did I say I want to look like so and so or look in the mirror and say I don't like this or that. I honestly loved myself and the way I looked. My dad is a heavy guy, but always had the confidence to back it up and I think that's where I got it from. My skinny friends, they didn't know it at the time that they were skinny but sure know it now haha, would always look in the mirror and say I don't like this or that.

- I drove a 91 white cadillac seville with pink neons, red leather interior, and loved it. Her name was pearl.

- I wasn't really shy and always greeted new people into our group of friends, like Deedee. She moved here from PA and I didn't want her to feel weird or out of place. I did that with a lot of people because that's how I would want to be treated if I went to a new place.

- I didn't like talking bad about people. I liked listening to what so and so did, but didn't like joining in the conversation.

- I always sang in the car, danced in the car, wore big earrings, was part of the life of the party, would always make my rounds to everyone to say hello.

- I had a camera, either point and shoot or disposable with me at all times.

- Kiera was my best friend since 12 years old and we were attached at the hip. I was always at her house and we were always doing something.

Now, I realize in time, you lose that person or at least I did, that I once was. Kiera was my best friend, but we started drifting away slowly after she got married in 07. And now my best friend is my husband, which is how it's supposed to be. Marrying Jon, he was not really as out going or sociable as I was and we kind of evened eachother out. Now he's more sociable and I'm more shy. Because I'm more shy, I don't like drawing attention to myself. Which means I don't sing as much or dance in the car. I don't go to parties or stay as long as I used to. I still don't like talking about others but I don't greet new friends like I used to. I drive an 07 toyota camry and mostly it's turned to one of Alexis's kid CD's. I'm still not skinny, but now I have a problem with that. Now, I'm more conscience. I wear a tankini and never thought I would. Which I don't understand.

Well, I've been wearing my big earrings again. In about a week, I will be back to my blonde highlights instead of my natural color. I am back to eating right, so I won't be as self conscience. I sing in the car and have been more chatty with friends. Ya know it feels really nice to be getting back to being myself. Being a mom does change things also, because now I pay more attention to her than me. But I have to take care of myself to be able to care for others. I'm getting there, it's taking time but hoping to feel like myself, and not shy. I hate feeling shy or nervous around other people. I guess you really can lose yourself or at least who you once were.

But one thing that stay consistent, was I always had my camera and still do ;)

Here I am at 16

I loved my car

Me, Deedee and Kiera

Oh yeah, it was like 1am. We went to walmart like this, ran through the park like this. It was awesome.

Needed: Inspiration

2011-08-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been just not inspired to pick up my camera. Even just to shoot Alexis. It just seems like the same old pictures because we're in the house a lot since it's too hot to go outside. There's only so many times i can take a picture of her playing with a toy. I'm not sure what to do, but I do need some inspiration. I would do a "photoshoot" but she won't lol. I want to do her 1 year pictures, but I seems like I need Jon's help or someone's help to be next to her while I'm taking the pictures. Any ideas?? What do you do when you get in a rut?

She'll probably hate me for this one day.. after a bath, I've always blow dried her and now she wants to jump on the bed lol.

Edit Me Challenge

2011-08-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Another very cute photo from My Reflection of Something Blog for the edit me challenge.

Here's my edit-

I'm usually not one to put quotes on pictures, but I thought that was a cute one.
I straightened it and then played on the vintage feel of the photo. I like the end result.

Here is the original-

Head on over to check out others or to join in!

Friendship..

2011-08-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

A best friend is better than gold and harder to find.

When Alexis is sick, she always wants her best friend monkey to keep her company.

She's feeling better now though, still some runny nose and congested, but looks a lot better in her face.

Weekend in Review

2011-08-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, a good friend of mine got married. It was a lot of fun and you can tell they really love eachother and are happy, so I'm happy for them. Here's some picture from their wedding, I was not the photographer for the wedding, but I don't own a point and shoot either. Had my camera and I like how they turned out.

I've been friends with all these guys since I was 5, crazy we're all grown now.

Dad giving away his daughter. It was a great moment.

Making a promise

Sealing the Deal

I love how he's looking at her here.

Mmm cake!

Something was funny

Yay!

Friday News

2011-08-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

We got some sad news last night. My niece lost the baby. A few days ago, she started bleeding and cramping, so they rushed her to the ER and did an ultrasound and couldn't find a heartbeat. She was supposed to be around 11 weeks, but the baby only measured 6 weeks. Then at the doctor's the next day, I guess she started going into labor and delivered at her doctor's office. I don't know the whole story, but that's the just. It's sad, but maybe for the best because she was only 15. She's also feeling guilty for feeling relieved. I hope this doesn't depress her to much. Turns out her uterus is backwards and had really bad back pain the whole time she was pregnant. Does that mean she'll have a hard time not miscarrying with pregnancies in the future? I don't know much about how that stuff works.

We are still going to visit them in March next year. They live in southern Oregon, around Medford, and we are going to go to the coast sometime while we're there. Where's your favorite place on the coast in southern Oregon/ northern California? Looking for beautiful places to go.

On other news, right before I was going to start this post, my dad called me and told me a good friend's house burnt down. Everything's gone. They're all ok, but it just seems crazy. They've been in the house for 40 years. I don't know if all the pets got out ok, they had quite a few birds. My dad just wallpapered they're kitchen last week. So crazy, my thoughts go out to them as well.

Alright, here's something to make you smile :)

My summertime photo

My favorite of the week. Bath's always make her happy :)

Bath Time Edits

2011-08-04T06:12:00.001-07:00

I don't have a sunset picture, but I do have a bath time picture that was taken at sunset. I think that'll work ;)

Here's the original-

Horrible color cast. I don't have a flash I can bounce off the ceiling. The ISO is pretty high, so it's noisy (grainy)

Not shot in RAW, I open it in CS5. First thing I did was remove as much color cast as possible. I used the level options and made a custom white balance using the dropper tools. This is what came out of it.

I did nothing else, except resize and sharpen for the web.

I also converted to black and white-

On an Alexis update- she has seemed to woke up this morning not sick anymore. I'm hoping she really is feeling better because yesterday was hard. She was inconsolable and wouldn't eat or anything. Hoping for a better day today.

A black & White Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

We all got sick in my house now. Jon is over it pretty much and I think had it worse than me. Mine is like a bad cold, but Alexis got it now. She's just been cranky and miserable. Yesterday she turned into a 1 year old. Growing so fast and I'm glad I get to capture it all. I know I've been neglecting my blog, but as soon as we're better, it'll be easier to keep up with it.

So, a little reminiscing...

Our first family portrait, while the doctor is sewing me up.

After being all sewn up and brought to my room. I literally had 20 family members in there waiting lol. I remember being so happy, but I was just exhausted and needed some sleep. I see pictures of women after giving birth and their hair is all nice and they look so pretty, well it's obvious they didn't have a c-section. I had no choice on the matter, we found out Alexis was breech at 38weeks 2 days {a wednesday} and went in for the c-section at 39weeks{a monday}. I pretty much looked like heck and I needed to sleep and well couldn't move.

Then we come to 8-2-2011 and this is pretty much how the day was...

Poor girl just wasn't feeling good and still today not feeling good either

But for not feeling good, she still doesn't want to sit still or cuddle

Then, when we got ready for bath time, it was the happiest I saw her all day..

Scavengrt Hunt Sunday

2011-07-31T01:56:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to participate this week. The week was crazy, so I did pull some from the archives. Some you haven't seen, maybe one you have.

Walking Empty Streets

This prompt has me singing to Green Day - "I walk these empty streets on the boulevard of broken dreams."

Repeating Patterns

Floor

And there she goes!

Then and Now

I originally wanted to use a picture of Jon and I back in like 2004, but realized all those photos were on my mom's computer, which won't do me any good at 5am lol

Fingertips

Saturday Morning

2011-07-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

I think today we're taking it easy. There was a beach party we were supposed to attend, but we don't want to get anyone sick. Alexis is down for a nap, my hubs is reading CNN, and I'm on here. I am going to put this down and go spend time with him, since he's been sick and I haven't really got to be with him. Hope you enjoy your weekend :)

Yeah her room is a mess. Don't judge. All that stuff in the corner is ready for a yard sale. Just trying to find a free weekend to have one.

::Question for Moms & Photographers::

2011-07-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, my throat is starting to hurt. I hope it's just a fluke. I've never had the flu and don't want it, not to mention I've been taking care of the baby and really don't want her to get it. Jon's feeling 95% better today, he's doing a half day of work. I tried to persuade him to just stay home, but he said he had to go.

Anyway, what photo book companies have you used and do you like? So far, I've only used MpixPro. Who have you used and like? Blurb, My Publisher, MixBooks, others, etc..

And for all of you moms, what do you do with your child, around a year old, during the day when it's to hot to go outside? I'm needing some ideas on what to do with Alexis, besides sit at home. In the mornings, after I drop Jon at work - we have one car, I usually take her to the park on some days and swing her for a half hour or I've been going to the beach for an hour in the mornings. At the mall, they have a little place kids can play. I've taken her their twice, but all the kids are running around and I'm afraid one of them won't see her {most of the kids running around are not supposed to be there, considering the height rule, but they are} and it seems just dirty. I'd love to hear your suggestions!

This week I've had time to pull out my camera, with Jon sick and all, so I'm joining in the edit me challenge at My Reflection of Something Photography.

Here's my edit-

First, I cropped and then lightened it slightly. Then ran PW action vintage at 45%. Used the masked tool and brushed over her at 50%. Then ran the seventies action at 30%. Resized and sharpened for the web.

Here's the original-

Shoot Before & Edit After {Laughter}

2011-07-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

I think I prefer the black and white, it shows more emotion and depth. I did a clean edit first, then I ran PW's action - Black and White Beauty. Resized and sharpened for the web.

Summer Fun in the Sun

2011-07-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

These are some photos from Saturday when we went to the beach. Jon has had the flu since that afternoon. Poor guy, yesterday he felt better and today he feels worse. So, my time has been limited for blogging. No signs that Alexis and I will get it. I hope not, I've never had the flu. & I surely don't want Alexis to get it. She'll be a year old in less than a week :( / :)

Silhouettes & Laughter

2011-07-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

We all need a good laugh every now and then. It's healthy and causes less wrinkles ;)

Did you see my water shot for I Heart Faces yet? Click Here to go to the blog post. I promise it's cute :p

I Heart Faces ::Water::

2011-07-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Went to the beach Saturday for an hour with my 2 babes. I just love watching Alexis at the beach, she likes liking her lips with the taste of the salt water lol. Makes the beach a ton more fun when you see it through a child's eyes. Jon decided to get the flu Saturday afternoon, I know it's not on purpose. Feel bad for him, hoping feels better soon and that neither me or the baby get it. How was your weekend?

Summertime

2011-07-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

My sandy, beach, bikini baby

::Edit Me::

2011-07-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Joining in the Edit Me challenge at My Reflection of Something Photography.

Here's my edit-

Original-

First I lightened and upped the saturation a bit. Then I used, Nelly Nero's action - Whipped Cream. Took down the curves 1 layer to 60% and turned on the optional darken layer. {one of my favorite actions}

A black & White Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Took Alexis to the beach this morning. It always seems easier said than done lol. But Alexis loved it and that's all that really mattered :)

These are from my iPhone, post production in photoshop.

& then she konked out.

Quietness

2011-07-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Alexis is finally napping in her bed. Peace & quiet, at least for a little while.

There used to be 3 rolls, now it's down to one. I will miss those chunky legs.

& There she goes!
Alexis says, "Toy, you were so 2 months ago."

T.G.I.F.

2011-07-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

She holds her bottle now, yay!

Loves Moose on Nick Jr. You can see her mosquito bites on her face. They're getting better and has no new ones. Thank goodness.

Where's the baby?

Shoot Before & Edit After {Sky's the Limit}

2011-07-14T04:32:00.000-07:00

Reflection of the sky.
Let's see, I did my normal work flow. Checked levels, Slight lighten and boost actions from PW - opacity to taste. Resize and sharpened at 30% for web. Going to visit your edits now :)

Another Black and White Wordless{ish} Wednesday

2011-07-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but we found out our 15 year old niece is pregnant. May God have mercy on her soul. It's a long story. Basicly, she thought she knew better than her parents & didn't like their rules, ran away to live on the streets with this 19 year old kid 6 weeks ago. Ended up coming home and now is 6 weeks pregnant. She's in for a huge reality check and is about to grow up really fast. It's hard enough to have kids in your 20s, in a steady relationship, and with a steady income. But we are supportive and will be flying to Oregon when the baby is born end of February/ beginning of March. It's sad the first thing I thought of was, well first - what?!? {but kinda wasn't surprised}, then asked if I could do her newborn pictures lol.

Pictures on the brain, pictures on the brain, lookin' so cool with pictures on the brain.

I might sound a little crazy. Been up since 3am, it's now 7:30am. Alexis has this whole new thing, that no matter what she wakes up after 4 hours of sleep at night. We get her back to sleep, takes about an hour, but we do. Jon even got up at 3 and took care of her, but I couldn't get back to sleep.

I can't believe this was me last year today. I do miss that big belly and enjoyed being pregnant.

Alas, a year later and we find ourselves here. A bundle of joy {sometimes lol}

Sleepy Baby

3..2..1.....

and out.

So much for a {wordless} wednesday.

Little Cheese Ball

2011-07-12T07:59:00.001-07:00

TIme to Eat

2011-07-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

Eating time can be a little messy around here

And can easily go from this..

To this..

Jon brought me home a dozen red roses, love them and him, of course ;)

No Title Monday

2011-07-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

How was your weekend? I didn't have an over the top one, it was kinda relaxing. Except worrying about Alexis's mosquito bites. She's got 5 on her face, 2 on each arm and 2 on each leg. 1 on one of her arm, swelled up part of her arm on Friday and had me worried and another on the same arm is looking more like a rash, but are looking better each day. I've been putting a cream on them. That seems to help. I hate that they love her so much and we aren't even outside a lot. My friends 13 month old woke up yesterday with his eye swelled shut from a mosquito bite. I saw him and felt so bad for him. That's the sucky part of summer for ya. Oh and Alexis had a third tooth pop in up top.

I've also been working on editing a family session from Friday. I'm kind of disappointed because I didn't pay attention to my settings as much as usual, but all in all they came out good.

Summer Fun @ I {heart} faces

2011-07-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

And if you're wondering, yeah he threw her right in lol

2011-07-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!

I am off to a wedding shower this afternoon. But I need to get a gift first. Such a procrastinator when it comes to these things lol

Before & After

2011-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

Fireworks on Display

2011-07-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to watch the fireworks. It was Alexis's first time seeing fireworks and she liked them. I thought she might be scared of the loud popping, but nope. She actually got bored at one time and started watching a bat that was flying around. I love bats, they eat mosquitoes, which were out in full force by the way. Guess what goes good with fireworks? Ice cream, we got some after and Alexis was ready for bed. Yesterday, was also the anniversary of my grandpa's death. I can't believe it's been 4 years already, I can remember the day and night so vividly.

Alexis's Favorite

2011-07-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is her favorite thing to do

But it's just so hot to be out and let her swing for hours. Plus I've noticed all the play grounds around town are in the sun. Can't they make one in the shade or put it under one huge tree?

My 2 kids. Hahah this makes me laugh. She's just starring at him, like what are you doing? How everyone's Monday going? Jon had to work today, so it's just a normal day. I am going to try to get some firework pictures tonight over the beach. I'm sure I'll see many of your firework pictures here tomorrow. I've lost 2 followers, why is that always a bummer? I'll update more :)

2011-07-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

Have you liked our Facebook page yet?

This morning I woke up and looked at Jon and said, " Is today Friday or Saturday?" I really thought it was friday and Jon had to work. This morning we went to breakfast at our usual Saturday hole-in-the-wall, no 5 star, where the locals go kinda place. It's nice to walk in and everyone knows who you are. Alexis is 11 months today. *sigh* I know one day I'll be like my baby is 18 years old today, scary thought. I joke with Jon all the time and tell him, he'll be walking her down the isle one day. This is what I had last night. It was really good :)

Quarterly Top 5

2011-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

This was hard, there's so many! Looking at these I can how much she's grown in just 3 months. These are in order from April to June. I'm just weird like that.

Baby Legs! & Senior Biz?

2011-07-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hola mi amigos. I've been watching Dora the Explorer lately and learning some wicked Spanish. Well actually it keeps Alexis entertained for a few minutes, so I can get something done. She's 11 months tomorrow :(
Where'd the year go?? It's been really rainy here lately, which sucks because Alexis doesn't like to be inside all day. I don't either really.
I sure am going to miss these legs!

Yesterday, I did a senior shoot with the beautiful Alyssa. She's the cousin of a friend and visiting from Pennsylvania. She was really sweet to work with. Oh to be 18 again...

A black & White Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

She'll be 11 months on Saturday. Where is the time going? She's climbing mom's steps and pulling to stand. Lately, her thing has been copying my facial expressions. It's so funny. She's been waking at 5am and I think it's because she's hungry. But she won't eat more solids at dinner and she's not wanting to eat solids at all really. Any advice?

I realized I was spending a ton of time to blogging. Which I love, but now figured I have to balance it out with the rest of my life. I'll still be blogging 3-4 times a week, but probably not everyday like I was. Just a heads up :)

So Refreshed

2011-06-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Want to know the highlight of my weekend?? Jon and I had a date night! It was amazing to have time alone with Alexis. She has been teething more and just cranky all day. I was at my whits end and just needed sometime to ourselves. We left her at nana's and pop's house and had a nice night. Dinner and a movie. Yeah it was cliche, but I didn't care what we did. I could have went and sat at the beach and been happy. After a night like that, I felt so much more relaxed that I could be a better mom. Our last one was 6 months ago. We're going to try to do them twice a month at least. I just feel guilty asking my parents to watch her. Not sure why, but I have a hard time asking for help when I need it. I have to get over it, because this will make me a better mom.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to photograph these cuties. They're really good friends of the family. It was so hot, but we got some nice shots. The youngest is 2, but I thought he was 3 going on 4 lol. No wonder he didn't want to get his picture taken haha.

You can see the rest of them here.

I Heart Faces- Whimsical

2011-06-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

"It’s Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday"

2011-06-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

So, the other night we tried our second time of CIO (crying it out). I don't like the full out crying it out, so we went in every 5 minutes and make sure she knew we were there and told her everything was ok. This was our second time trying this. We tried it when she was 8 months old and she tried for over an hour and still didn't go to sleep. This time, the second time we checked on her (10 min into it & she was crying hysterically mad), she had gotten so mad that she stood herself up twice. She couldn't pull herself to stand before that. By the third time we checked on her, she had thrown up everywhere. So that ended the CIO for me. We changed her sheets and clothes. I don't mind that I have to rock her to sleep, I enjoy every minute because I know I won't be able to do it for long.

Jon's mom made this diaper bag all by hand. Amazing!

This is the mirror I have yet to hang. Half the plastic is broken off lol.

Shoot Before & Edit After

2011-06-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I'd have anything to post today, but *wala* found something. :)

A black & White Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

"Um, what did you put on me?"

"What is this? EWW it's great grandma's bra!!"

Your Best Shot

2011-06-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Not sure how I missed this, but glad I find it in time!

Yes {:)}
I have to use this one again. It is my best shot ever, I think, of her. Especially because this is pretty much sooc.

Over the weekend...

2011-06-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

It was a nice weekend, except Jon's sick. Has been for a week and is going to the doctor tomorrow. I think it's a sinus infection. He's been a trooper and I'm proud of him. So, we really rested and hung around the house. Sunday, we went to a wedding. It was pretty and intimate. Wanted to share a few photos from it, I wasn't the {paid} photog, but of course I wasn't going to leave my camera at home!

Let's Hear It For the Boys

2011-06-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

All We Are, We Are

2011-06-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Everyday's the start of something beautiful.

This never gets old.

That being said, today's not my day. Got some bumming news, Alexis is fighting to nap and when I finally got her to sleep, the neighbor had to use the phone. Which ment she woke up. Can it be tomorrow yet?