I can see the light

 All I have to say is... I can see the light! The end is in sight! Just a few more days until my other half is home! To say the least, I feel like I'm going bonkers without him. I miss making him laugh and I miss him making me giggle. I miss him waking me up for work with sweet kisses or sneaking up on me while I'm getting ready. I miss him obnoxiously following me around the kitchen while I cook dinner and then cracking up with his little-boyish-"I'm-silly"-laugh. I miss cuddle and pillow-talk time; I miss him calling me nicknames (that mostly include "cool" bacterias of sorts that he has learned in med school); I miss praying together before meals and sleep, and our evening walks.... I could go on... and on... I'll spare you.

All this to say, I'll be a little MIA for a while. Life calls!

Hope everyone has a great week! 

(Tree photos from a stop at the Redwoods last summer. Random photo of me snapped by Andrew before he left- )

Awesome & Awkward

Awesome

• A Monday night delicious picnic dinner at the park with friends
• A few hours spent with my favorite little man, Isaac
• Hearing Andrew talk on the phone about a "fun" activity that he successfully completed at Air Force Officer training... can't wait to hear more and see him soon!
• THESE amazing cookies from Christine over at Apartment 46
• Expecting the worst at a dental appointment (because it's been years) but getting great news! No cavities!  

Awkward

• Crying alone in the ophthalmology exam room at a 2 hour long eye appointment. I was starving. The tech was rude. I'm practically blind. I'm emotionally exhausted. And, I miss my best friend like crazy...
• Showing up to a mini photo shoot smelling like baby spit up (Thank you sweet Isaac)
• Realizing that I've nearly emptied my husband's drawer of t-shirts. Wearing his shirts is the closest thing I can get to a hug...
• I've also completely taken over his side of the bed...
• Taking out the trash and gagging all the way down the hallway to the trash shoot... thankfully no one was in the hallway to see me

Jack #2 | Lessons | Newborn

I had another mini photo session with Jack!

All of my friends have little boys...

 We are majorly lacking in the girl department...

This little guy was quite the trooper! I'm still learning about photographing newborns and I seem to learn something new each time. 

This time I learned:

The temperature of the photo-setting plays a HUGE role in your photographs. The "mottling" or white/pink spotting that you can notice in the 2nd to last photograph is present because we were photographing on the porch in natural light on a warm afternoon but it was slightly too cool for baby Jack. Otherwise, his skin would have a nice creamy appearance straight out of the camera. Editing mottling is very challenging. Next time I will make it a priority to have a calm, warm environment for the baby as this produces much nicer photos! Thankfully, most of these turned out fine and the mottling was not as severe as in the prior shoot that I did for Jack. For Baby Blake, I used a heating pad under his blanket. This seemed to not only keep him warm enough but also make him comfortable to fall asleep. A heating pad will now always be in my newborn prop basket (which I need to add props to)!

Always learning! 

Help me Rhonda, Help, Help me Rhonda

 

 

It was so nice to have my Aunt Rhonda here from Houston for a few days last week. I used this opportunity to take her to some of my favorite Portland spots. Though we both decided that more time was necessary to hit up everything, I think she got a good taste of this great city. There was a lot of eating, walking, and sightseeing. She even assisted me with a mini newborn photo shoot. I sure had a blast!

Here are 10 "Portland" things that we did while she was here (photos don't correspond with #'s):

1. Antique shopping and walking in Sellwood (Milwaukee st) 

2. Farmer's Market (Pioneer Square)

3. Strolls along SW Waterfront

4. Mississippi Street Fair (NE Portland)

4. Little Big Burger (Mississippi St)

5. Cha Cha Cha (mexican food NE Portland)

6. Aerial tram ride up to "the hill" (OHSU)

7. Pine State Biscuits  *Rhonda rated this her #1 fav*

8. Walking/Shopping along Alberta St. (NE Portland)

9. The Waffle Window II (Alberta St- NE Portland.) **Rhonda rated #2 fav**

10. Pedicure & walking/shopping along NW 23rd St (NW Portland)

 Just for your listening pleasure, I've included this lovely song... I was surprised that just 1 person started singing it when meeting us. 

DIY: Airplane Mobile Birthday Present

First things first, Happy Birthday Andrew! Looking forward to celebrating with you soon! In the meantime though, here is one of your birthday presents- an airplane mobile with your childhood model planes.

About  month ago, while we were at my in-laws, I noticed Andrew's childhood airplanes that lined a shelf in his room. He has always talked fondly of them and loves airplanes in general. Little did I know, he had another drawer full of toy planes of all sorts. All of this to say, I felt the DIY brain waves working and ta-da! Here you have it! What better timing too as he will see this when he returns from his Air Force training. I think it looks better in person too. It lives in the work-in-progress office/guest room (more on that later). Hope he likes it!

I used an embroidery hoop (painted blue-grey) & hobby wire. 

 What do you think?

Barn Wedding Flowers | Anna & Jeremy

 

  

Remember this wedding that my hubby and I photographed last month? Well, I also had the pleasure of assisting with the flowers! I think this may have been my favorite part because it was something I'd never done before. My dear friend, Catherine, has done many weddings and was kind enough to do Anna & Jeremy's wedding! She's amazing, let me tell you! 

The bride, Anna, wanted gerbera daisies and anything barn-ish looking as the wedding took place in a barn on a beautiful Washington farm. But, simple was the key word throughout. So, naturally, we went with burlap and raffia.After a slight mis-hap getting the flowers, the bouquets were put together and all went smoothly. I didn't post photos of the corsages for moms/grandmas and boutonnieres for the grandfathers/fathers that we also made, but they were there!

 The gal in green is another Anna (not the bride). She has a sweet blog that you can check out here. Anna is the sister of Catherine and was a great help as a stand-in bridesmaid, bride, hot tea bringer, and 3rd eye. The gal in the red is Catherine. Great work Cath! And, thanks for teaching me and letting me help!