14 Months

This is the {priceless} face of MY 14 month old

Barrett celebrated 14 months on March 18th, while we were in South Carolina! I didn't take Monkey with us for his milestone picture...so we took them after we got home.

He must be getting used to the camera, because he was being such a ham for me! AND thanks to my new camera for being able to capture quick expressions!! Yes...my new camera came on Friday, after we got home, and my lenses came on Saturday. I haven't had a lot of time to play around with it, but I know that I LOVE IT!! Reason #1: The flash doesn't have a 5 second delay (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) causing me to miss hundreds of adorable Barrett expressions!

Show Mommy where your toes are....

He always has love for Monkey...ahh, squeeze
can't you just feel his passion :)

What does the monkey say?
He says this, Mom ---> who-who-ha-ha

South Carolina

Yes...we're back from South Carolina! We got home late last Thursday, and I've been trying to get back into the swing of things; catching up on laundry, cleaning the house and working like crazy on invitations. I got several new orders from my Etsy and website while I was gone, so I'm happily very busy!!

I've had LOTS to post about over the last week, but other things are taking priority! I'll try to get caught up this week.

Barrett's first plane ride was a success. Considering the very long days of travel, he was such a trooper. This was our departure day: Woke up at 5:30am to get myself ready and then woke Barrett up at 6:30am (hour earlier than usual)...Gigi & Papa picked us up at 6:45am and we drove an hour to the Wichita airport...We had a 2-1/2 hour flight from Wichita to Detroit...1-1/2 hour layover in Detroit, which was enough time to use the bathroom, grab a quick lunch and buy Barrett some milk...Then we had a 2 hour flight from Detroit to Columbia...Got into Columbia at 3:55 pm (2:55pm our time)...My brother picked us up and we had an hour drive to Aiken. WHEW!!

We had a great time on the trip! Barrett had fun with his cousins, Emma and Lauren, and he loved all the time we got to spend outdoors. We got to visit horses, go to storytime in the park and watch Emma play soccer.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to see my older brother and his family in South Carolina.

Lauren had some news to share with us....
Can you read her shirt?

"I'm a BIG SISTER"
Baby #3 will be here in October...maybe I'll get a nephew!

Hayden Parker::Newborn Session

{You are invited to view my first newborn session}

Thank you to the "Y" family for letting me practice on your sweet baby boy!
Hayden was only four days old when I shot these, and he was an angel.

Hayden Parker::Newborn
(this link should take you right to the slideshow)

If not....
it is under the "slideshows" tab on my website
~Enjoy

sweet baby::sneak peek

Here's a little peek at the newborn shoot I did last Friday. I didn't really have a clue what I was doing. I have a LOT to learn about settings. But it was fun, and I got a few images I was pretty happy with. I'll share a few more soon.

Exciting news!!!! I ordered my new camera last night! After many hours of research and reading TONS of reviews, I ended up with the Canon EOS Rebel XSi. I bought some lenses a few weeks ago, so I saved some money only having to get the camera body. I'm excited to get it and start learning! Thank you to all my photographer friends for your help with my decision AND for introducing me to B&H Photo...the camera I got was close to $200 more at Best Buy and other places.

Barrett and I are in South Carolina visiting my older brother, Brian, and his family. We flew out with Gigi and Papa this morning, and will be home Thursday night. Barrett's first time on an airplane! I'll have pictures from our trip to share soon.

Remember the fabric?

This one....

I bought it a few weeks ago, hoping to use it as a backdrop for one of my photo shoots. Well, I had my first newborn shoot yesterday afternoon. A sneak peek, and more on that later! So, yesterday morning I got the fabric out, and ironed all the wrinkles. Then I decided to test it out on Little Bear. What do you think? I love the way it looks in black & white.

My entry hall is the perfect spot to get some great natural light. I just hung the fabric up on the wall, opened the front door and started snappin'. This shot (straight out of the camera & blurry) shows you a little of the set-up.


Oh, and then I plopped Barrett into his toy bin. He thought it was hilarious. It lasted about 45 seconds, and I only took about eight pictures. So I was thrilled to get the above two, that I absolutely ADORE! I love his eyes, and that he's looking straight into the camera in the black & white one. That doesn't happen too often! In the other one, he's looking out the front door. Probably watching a squirrel run across the front lawn! I love the expression I caught. I can't wait to find more fun fabric and props to experiment with!

Okay...off to do something outdoors! It's beautiful today and Barrett should be up from his nap any minute. Have a great weekend!! I'm enjoying everyone's {get REAL} Spring Style posts!

{get REAL} Spring Style

{get REAL} sharing snapshots of your own simple. everyday. life. moments

This week:: What Spring style are you lusting over?
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm ready for the cool spring weather,
NOT cold and snow, like we had this afternoon!!
So, what Spring clothing or shoes are you ready to wear.
Either something you already have or something you've been eying online or in the stores??

I'm ready to trade-in the heavy winter coats, and get a fun Spring TRENCH COAT. I really love this apple green trench from Target. Oh, I could find a fun new Spring purse to go with this one :)

From Target:: apple green belted trench


Then there's this blue-gray trench from Old Navy. It would be a little more versatile with my wardrobe.

From Old Navy:: blue belted trench


Can't wait to see what everyone else is lusting after! Go cruise the net and get to posting.
I'm adding "Mr. Linky" this week ( I hope this works), so everyone can link up and we can all get to know each other. Just add your blog link and you can leave a comment too. Have fun!!

Just the other night...

I nursed my Little Bear for the last time.

It was so bittersweet:: I was blessed to be able to nurse for almost 14 months. I was sad that the moment meant my baby was not really a baby anymore. I was happy to have my body back, but I was heartbroken to lose that bond.

Just the other night...I rocked my baby in the dark before bedtime, and stroked his hair as a tear (okay, it was more than one) fell down my cheek.

Just the other night...I gave Barrett a bottle of milk before I put him to bed. He's had bottles many, many times, and even before bed. But this was the first time that I sat in the rocker and gave him a bedtime bottle. I cuddled him close, rocked him, and kissed his warm forehead at least a 100 times.

Just the other night...As I laid Barrett in his crib and kissed him goodnight, he smiled up at me and melted my heart.

I started the whole weaning process at the end of January. I took it slow for me. Barrett's always been a pretty laid back babe, so I knew it would all be much harder on me. I started cutting out one feeding every week. After my body had adjusted, I would cut out another. After we were down to only the bedtime feeding, we went to every-other-night. Justin would give him a bottle on the nights I wasn't nursing him. We did that for a little over a week, and then we were done. It was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope to be able to nurse my next baby...but that is a few years down the road!

Speaking of new little babies...my good friend Roiann just had another little boy on Monday! Meet Grant's new little brother, Hayden.

special birthday

If you're a blogger, or blog follower...I'm sure you know about one of Heaven's newest angels, Cora Paige. Her sickness broke my heart, and although I did not know her family personally, I prayed hard for this sweet little girl. After the devastating loss of Cora, the support for this family in the blog and Etsy world has been AMAZING! So many wonderful people have given their time, talent and proceeds to build a playground in memory of Cora. I just read on Polka Dot Moon that as of yesterday, the Etsy Cora Playground Project has raised $15,667.93!!!! WOW!

Yesterday would have been Cora's 1st birthday.

Happy Birthday, precious girl...I'm sure you were dancing in Heaven.

One of Barrett's little friends, Norah Kate, turned ONE this past Friday. We were excited to find this sweet Cora Paige dolly on in the Playground Project shop! There are still lots of great items listed, so head on over and shop!

get REAL::where do you blog

I haven't had too much to blog about lately, and after designing a button for Brittany's weekly challenge...I thought it would be fun to come up with my own little challenge.

I'm calling it {get REAL}
sharing snapshots of your own simple. everyday. life. moments

I've had so much fun meeting new people through blogs, and even getting to know more about my friends through their blogs. This will be a way to peek into each others real lives...nothing too personal, just fun stuff! I'll post a random question each week, and then a picture &/or description to go with it!

Do you wanna play? I'd love to have you join me...if not, just enjoy my random REAL moments.

Some of the ideas I have for future {get REAL} posts:
* What does your comforter look like?
* What's on your coffee table?
* What hangs on your front door?
* Did you have an embarrassing moment this week?
* What Spring fashion item are you lusting after?
* If you have a DVR...What's the 5th saved show on your list?

See, RANDOM!! AND if you want to play and have other ideas, send them my way!

SO FOR THIS WEEK.....Where do you blog?

90% of the time, I'm at my dining room table. The other 10%, I'm on the couch...that's usually in the evenings when Justin and I are watching TV.

I sit against the wall, so I can see the TV and look out the window. AND if Barrett is awake while I'm blogging, I can easily see him playing on the floor. I usually blog while he's napping, but often work on EJ Design orders at the table and like being able to watch him play on the family room floor.

Okay, if you WANNA PLAY...feel free to grab the {get REAL} button above and post your own Where do you blog pictures. Be sure to leave me a comment, so I can come check it out.