Red Dress 2

As introverted as Katie was, her friend Nicole that came along to do the shoot with her was extroverted. Bubbly and outgoing she was a blast to shoot. She wanted a photo with a peacock (she was the one that had suggested Mayfield Park), and kept trying to sneak up on the birds.

Im sure Nicole feels that her body type isn’t ideal, but she is beautiful the way she is. Her personality is as bold and sassy as the peacocks and she is hilarious to be around.

I believe she is studying medicine. And what ever she does in life and wherever she goes I hope she remembers how she felt while rocking this dress; like she could take on the world.

The last picture I snapped at the end of the shoot as we were heading out to our cars is one of my favorite. Its not technically a fabulous shot, but to me this photo reminded me the most of Nicole’s personality. She was determined to get close to one of those peacocks. And she stealthily attempted to sneak up on it. Of course you can see the bird eying her wearily and Nicole barely able to contain a giggle.

I wish the best for both of the girls in their adventures ahead and I hope this photo shoot that they are just as beautiful inside as they are on the outside.

Sibling love

When we just had Fiona I couldn’t imagine how I was going to split that love with another child. Then Lincoln came along and I discovered my love didn’t split,the amount of love I had grew. I love these two little people equally. At the moment they aren’t all that much alike; Fiona is demanding and Lincoln is laid back. And I love their differences. I can’t imagine now only having one child. A whole other side of Fiona has emerged since Lincoln arrived on the scene. She is nurturing, loving, and will act like a total goofball to make her brother smile. He on the other hand adores Fiona and giggles loudly at her antics. The bond these two have will grow and change but I hope that they are there for each other and will always try to make the other smile.

I was making dinner the other night and while stirring the pasta I could here singing and giggling coming from the living room. My camera happened to be on the counter and I grabbed it on my way to see what they were up to (I can see them from the kitchen, I just couldn’t see their faces).  Fiona was clapping Lincolns hand behind his back and singing some song that went along with it. Lincoln thought it was hilarious.

I watched for a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t hurting his arms, but it looked like they were both busy having too much fun. So I got ready to go finish dinner.

Then she hugged him. Im sure she was actually playing the game where she tries to pick him up and squeezes him (cue both of them giggling), then she tells him he is too heavy. Which he is too heavy, he only weighs 10 lbs less then she does.

Their goofy grins makes my heart hurt with so much love. I can’t imagine my life (and I really don’t want to) without these two in it. Yes we travel less (we still travel though!) with two kids, yes we will spend alot more money on activities for them (dance, swimming, soccer, music lessons all times 2). But the moment they hug each other  you realize all the extra costs are worth it. They will always have someone who understands what its like to grow up with their crazy parents, someone to keep them company in the backseat on family road trips, someone to grow up with.

Red Dress

For those of you who don’t read the bloggess (http://thebloggess.com/) you should, she is freakin hilarious. She started the Red Dress Project (http://thebloggess.com/2010/05/the-traveling-red-dress/), which is to remind us that sometimes we are worth it. Worth putting on a red dress and feeling fabulous even though it may not be practical. We as woman get so caught up in trying to be the best mothers, daughters, people that we can be that sometimes we lose sight that we are special and worth feeling special. Woman (men too) have so many body image issues and often struggle to believe that we are good enough as we are. Everyone always wants to be thinner, taller, more muscular, curvier, have more hair, etc that we forget that we are just fine the way we are.

I volunteered to be a photographer for the red dress project to remind woman, regardless of where they are in their life, that we are worth it. We are fabulous just the way we are.

A young woman named Katie contacted me about doing a shoot. Luckily she was willing to work around my hectic schedule at the time (it was right around the time that I was in Orlando for TEAM), and we arranged a shoot.

She is getting ready to graduate college and about to tackle the world. She is quiet, shy, and not that confident in herself and wanted a reminder that she is worth it.

She suggested Mayfield park and so we headed off to play with the peacocks again.

She is still finding her path in life, but she will be great at what ever she decides to do. There are alot of brains lurking behind that quiet exterior.

Remember in our own way we are all special and unique. We are worth it. If it takes putting on a fabulous red dress to remind us how worth it we are then we should all do it. Have the confidence to wear that dress and know that we look fabulous doing it!

Lincoln – 9 months

9 months! The last month has been pretty rough on you. You spent most of it sick with ear infections, or a ear infection that just wouldn’t go away. And apparently you don’t do ear infections well. You spent alot of time throwing up (who knew your little belly could hold so much!), and I spent a lot of time cleaning up. And sadly I spent over a third of the month away from you (so hard to do!). Mama had to work in California for 11 days, and it seriously was the longest 11 days of my life being away from you and your sister. But I brought back presents for you in an attempt to lessen my guilt. So when your in therapy later, just remember I tried to bribe you with books and clothes.

Even though it was a rough month for you health wise that didn’t stop you from growing (well, it did stop you from gaining weight, you actually lost over a lb the first few days you were sick) and learning. Two new teeth came in, and you have 3 more about to come in. Your also just figuring out how to be mobile. You scoot around on your butt a little bit. You are almost never in the exact spot that I left you, but you aren’t very far. You only scoot a foot or two. Your thinking about crawling, you get on all fours and do the rocking thing. Your probably not too far away from crawling.

You are incredibly inquisitive, and want to investigate everything within your reach. We never really had to baby proof with your sister, we would just tell her no and redirect her. I have a feeling once you get mobile we are going to have some serious Lincoln proofing ahead of us.

Remember a month ago when you were just starting to feed yourself? You are much better at it now. It drives your father nuts that I allow you to do this to yourself, but now I can eat lunch with you instead of cramming food into my mouth in between your bites. We do still feed you when a spoon is required, but I guess “required” is some times left up to interpretation.

You also totally rock at drinking out of a straw, and have that whole sippy cup thing down. Your not always coordinated enough to get it to your mouth, but you keep trying.

You think peek-a-boo is the best game ever invented, and will often start the game your self by flipping up your bib and covering your face, and then giggling hysterically when you pull it down and we say “peek-aboo!”

Today we had a long wait at the dr’s office so you entertained yourself with a fun game of peek-a-boo. You also love to throw the exam table paper all around; up in the air, over your head, torn into little bits of paper all over the office. I’m sure they love cleaning up after you have been in.

You are still a happy giggly baby, and people still remark on how fabulous you are. You make this whole parenting thing look fun. You thought it was great the other day when I got you and your sister each a balloon at central market. You spent the entire shopping trip bopping the balloon around and laughing.

On to your dr appointment and stats. Your check up went great and not surprisingly you are still a big boy. At this rate are going to be taller then your daddy. You are 30 inches! Which is in the 98%. You lost weight while you were sick and are finally back up to your pre sickness weight at 22 lbs 4 oz, which is in the 90% (imagine how big you would be if you hadn’t lost weight!).

You are a fun little boy, and I love how happy you are about everything. its a joy watching you grow. My only request is can you please go back to sleeping in your own bed? Your finally better, you don’t need to sleep upright anymore so its time to embrace your crib once again. But otherwise I hope you continue to think the world is a fabulously fun place.

Happy 9 months kiddo!

Playtime; Blocks

I was working on my computer the other day while the kids played behind me. Fiona asked me to build a tower with her, and I couldn’t say no. The two of they looked so cute playing together.

Lincoln was especially excited to be able to play with his big sister. He adores Fiona and takes every chance he gets to play with her.

Fiona and I build the towers straight up as high as we can go. I believe our record is 23 blocks before it topples over.

She gives the blocks a quick pep talk encouraging them to stay up.

Lincoln tried to get in on the building action.

Then they made a block train together. And when I say together I mean Fiona lined them up and Lincoln tried to move them.

This is my favorite Lincoln face. Where his entire face scrunches up in a smile. Eyes closed, little baby teeth showing, kind of grin. He does this when he is really happy, which is normally when he is eating. I don’t normally have my camera then, since I seem to get covered in food as well, so I haven’t been able to capture my favorite grin until now.

Rocking out with Daddy

Lincoln is a mama’s boy through and through… at least for now. He is discovering that daddy is pretty interesting though. Mark was watching him for a few minutes while I did something (I don’t even remember what now. Errand? Work? Who knows) and when I went in to check on them, Mark was on the floor playing his guitar for Lincoln.

Lincoln was a captive audience.

Mark let Lincoln play Fiona’s guitar (shhh, I wont tell Fiona if you don’t). How cute is Lincoln while he is watching his daddy?

I love that he tried to figure out how the guitar worked. Hmmm… the noise comes from the strings near this hole… but how?

Such a happy little guy. He will soon discover that his daddy has all kinds of fun toys that make lots of noise. Let the fun begin!