Friday, September 25, 2009

31 years ago today....

**WARNING** This is a super, duper long post! If you are short on time, or don't think my husband is as awesome as I do, you can just scroll down for the pics :)

31 years ago today, my dear husband was born :) We were talking about this last night (not to go off on a tangent, but every year on my birthday, my mom calls me and says "xx years ago today, I was giving birth to a beautiful baby girl!", so I always jokingly do that with my kids, the husband, etc.) anyways, I was expressing how neat it was to think that 31 years ago, my mother-in-law was giving birth to MY husband. It's crazy to think that the wheels were put into motion so long ago and that our own beautiful children are here because of that wonderful day :) Not to brag, but I think that I have THE most wonderful husband in the whole world (not saying he's perfect, but he puts up with me, which says A LOT). I feel so blessed that I have been able to spend the last 6.5 years of my life with him (5 of those as his wife) and that I get to wake up to him every morning (well, except when he's out of town, which is quite often). I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but the card I got for him so perfectly sums up how I feel about Chris. It says "It gets me every time. Seeing you with the kids. Watching you around the house. Feeling your kiss on my cheek. I've got a heart full of these little everyday moments that remind me I'm married to a man who's anything but ordinary. Only you can make being dependable look sexy and tenderness feel like incredible strenght. I love that you're my husband, my partner and my friend. I love that you're you." A little cheesy, yes. But it's SO him. So, as a tribute to my beloved spouse, I thought I would post some pics of us/him through the years and list the top 31 reasons why I love him so. Happy, Happy Birthday Honey - we love you SO much and are so thankful for you. Hurry home so we can celebrate!!


XOXO


31 things I love about Chris:

1. He is really funny. Like make-me-pee-in-my-pants funny. Though granted, most of the time I am either the butt or the recipient of the joke, he's still pretty dang funny!

2. He gives Owen a bath and does pajama duty nearly every single night so that I can have a break.

3. He is the smartest person I know. He laughs when I tell him that and when I brag to people that he was invited to be in MENSA in high school. But he is genius-smart.

4. He says he "doesn't even notice" when the house is a mess :)

5. He works really, really, really hard and long hours to provide for our family.

6. He is 100% supportive of my dreams and my business and gives me honest feedback and genuine praise.

7. He has great hair. I hope all our kids get his hair!

8. I think I can count on 1 hand the number of times he has ever raised his voice to me (and um, I can pretty honestly say I probably provoked it, hehe)

9. He hardly ever complains about anything.

10. He puts up with all of my whining and complaining :)

11. He had Jack take vows with us when we got married.

12. He will watch my silly girly/reality TV shows with me and actually get into them (I'm pretty sure he can tell you the difference between Blair Waldorf, Marissa Cooper and Brooke Davis)

13. He pushes me to be a better person and think more deeply.

14. He is a great teacher - he can even make physics sound interesting.

15. He bought me a puppy when I lost a pregnancy 3 years ago.

16. He wants to have a house full of crazy cute little kids!

17. He has the BEST mother in the whole world (besides mine, of course)

18. He never says no when I tell him I need a girl's night out, or to go for a drive to be alone and clear my head.

19. He has the theme songs for Mighty Machines, Bob the Builder and Caillou all memorized and can sing them to Owen verbatim.

20. He can spend an entire day playing Legos with Jack.

21. He has the most amazing blue eyes :)

22. He bought me my first "real" camera.

23. He thinks my airhead moments are cute (I'll have to tell you all the "Wafrica" story another time)

24. He can fix a computer/TV/thingamijiggy like nobody's business.

25. He always gives people the benefit of the doubt.

26. I can trust him completely, 100%.

27. He coached me through natural childbirth and was my biggest cheerleader.

28. He values my opinions, even when I sometimes feel like no one else does.

29. He sold his rowing machine to pay for our first date :)

30. He makes me feel beautiful, valued and appreciated.

31. He is a wonderful husband, father, friend, brother, and person!


PS - please forgive the picture quality (some of the older ones had to be scanned in)
























Wednesday, September 9, 2009

100th blog post and a little Jack for ya.....

Hope everyone in the blogosphere had a lovely Labor Day weekend! Ours was quite relaxing - didn't do much.... a little farmer's market, a little bike riding, a little swimming, sleeping in, ate some ribs. In my opinion, it was just perfect :) I have been burning the candle at both ends lately and was starting to feel just a wee bit burned out on work, mothering, etc. etc. so it felt really good to just breathe, recharge my batteries and now I feel inspired to get back to work and be creative - yippee! This holiday season is going to be super crazy busy - I have holiday mini sessions coming up (see the photo blog), a couple of weddings, plus regular holiday client sessions! Crazy how the holidays start in Sept/Oct. for us photographers! Anywho, I wanted to squeeze in a little photoshoot with my eldest while I still had time. Although it is INSANELY hot in Florida this time of year, it's one of my favorite times for taking pictures. There's something about the way the light starts to slant (at least that's what my mom used to say) that makes you feel like it's officially the end of summer and fall is around the corner. The afternoons are long and lazy and sun-drenched. The hour before sunset is most magical to me, it's like the light just melts and turns to liquid gold. Mr. J is not a fan of having his picture taken, and to make matters worse - I not only photographed him, but I STYLED him for this shoot. He hated the clothes, but how super cute hip does he look in his skinny jeans & fedora? I know he thinks it's lame to have his photo taken, but I treasure these photographs so....he is turning into a little man right before my eyes and I REALLY see that in these images. On another note - this officially marks my 100th blog post! Wahoo! SO -Leave me some blog lovin and make my day :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

My First....

Stop motion animation! This has been a week for birthdays - and videos :) My BFF is celebrating her birthday next week and I made this special invitation for her party. It was SO much fun to make - I'm totally hooked on stop motion videos now! I can't wait to make another one. Again - there is music - so pause my playlist at the bottom of the blog before watching the video. The music totally makes the video, so it's a must :) Happy Hump Day friends!!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Mister!

Well, as I'm writing this post, I have a lump in my throat and a tiny tear in my eye. My baby boy turns two today! I'm not sure why I am so much more emotional this year than I was last year, but I just can't stop looking at him and thinking " he is SO big". He has changed so much this year and has gone from a baby to a toddler, to a little boy. I adore this little man with all my heart and soul.
Dear Owen,
I can't believe you are two today! It seems like just a few short months ago that I met you for the very first time :) You were so tiny and snuggly and perfect in every way. I love watching you grow up and seeing how you change. You are the funniest, happiest child I have ever known. You have me rolling on the floor laughing all the time with your funny words and faces. You are a spot of sunshine in my life every single day. I love seeing your cute face and hearing you call for me every morning "Mommy, where ARRRREEE YOUUUU? Ya in the office? Ya in the bathroom"? I love how you like to run, run, run as fast as you can everywhere you go. I love the outfits you pick out for yourself, like the red bandana shirt with the frog boots and lumberjack hat. I love how you are so affectionate and hug and kiss me and tell me you love me all the time. I love that you adore your big brother and want to do everything just like him. I love that you always want to go to work with Daddy and dress like him :) I especially love that you love Jesus and always want to see him and talk to him. You have a big personality and an even bigger heart for such a little boy. I am so proud of you and it makes my heart want to burst when I think of how blessed I am to be your mommy. I love you!
PS - if you want to watch the slideshow, there is music - so hit pause on the playlist on the very bottom of the blog.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Have a colorful day!

With less than one week left before school starts, the munchkins and I are looking for some last minute (cheapy) things to do. For Christmas, my mom gave me the cutest little book: The "Mama's Little Book of Tricks".
This book has the cutest, most *clever* ideas for entertaining your little ones while making you look like a rock-star mama (which is something we all want, right!?) I cannot tell you how many times I have dug into this nifty little book for ideas on: how to make grocery shopping easier, how to get your kids to eat veggies, how to put a cup of water upside down on your head without spilling a drop, how to whistle with an acorn top, identify nine different kinds of bugs....the list goes on and on. And I look super cool to my kiddos :)
I just had to buy a load of school supplies for Jack and was trying to organize a drawer for them when came across this random, misfit pile of unwanted crayons. I remembered a project from the book that I actually used to make with my best friend when I was a youngster. Perfect! Currently, two of Owen's favorite things are: 1.) coloring and 2.) breaking things. So I gave him a big, fat bowl of naked crayons and he sat there & broke them up for me (which kept him occupied for a good 15 minutes). Here are step-by-step instructions (with pics, natch) for making recycled crayon cookies (and NO, you don't eat them!)

Step 1.) Gather together all your gnarly, broken crayons. Step 2.)Strip Em Down, Get Em Naked....
Step 3.) Gather together supplies: muffin tin (I used a mini muffin tin and a regular one to make 2 different sizes), Pam cooking spray and tin foil.
Step 4: Heat the oven to 300 degrees...
Step 5.) Break (or cut) the crayons into little bits and niblets. Line the muffin tins with foil, spray them with Pam and fill with crayon bits.
Step 6.) Heat them for 10-20 minutes in the oven or until the crayons have completely liquified.
Step 7.) Let them cool completely (about 10 minutes), pull foil out of muffin tins and unwrap. Voila...... pyschadelic, cool looking recycled crayon cookes :)
These are especially fun to color with because of all the different colors! These may be making their way into the gift bags at a very special 2-year old's birthday party this week :)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

This Kid

Cracks me up!
He is seriously funny! He's very animated and his vocabulary just blows my mind. Well, that and the fact that he says almost everything with this really funny accent - think loud, mouth pulled back, froggy sounding voice. He also loves to scream (well, I say scream, it's actually this incredibly loud, un-human sounding shreik/squeal) in the car, at home, at a restaurant, basically anywyere. When I call him out on it, he just laughs and laughs and laughs. Come to think of it, he spends a good deal of time laughing at me too. Hmmmm. Oh Mister, how I love you!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Sassy Pants is Three.

Don't ask me how that happened, cause I can't tell you! My first ever blog post was right after Banana's first birthday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! Hannah is such a beautiful, sweet, funny and loving child, I am so very proud that she's my neice :) I love her so much! Even if she thinks she's too old to pose for me anymore, hehe. Here are some pics from her princess party last month.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Happy 4th, Er, 5th of July!

We've had two late nights in a row, trying to squeeze in as much Independence Day fun as possible! Fireworks were a big hit with Owen this year (he was terrified last year). Here are some pics of the little man enjoying a snow cone that was bigger than he was!
We are off to the beach this week, so posting may be non-existant. I am going to try to fall off the grid as much as possible, even going so far as to (temporarily) delete my Facebook and Twitter apps from my iphone (gasp!). Hopefully I can survive without my daily dose of social networking. Just kidding, I am beyond looking forward to relaxing on the beach, digging into a good book, playing with my kiddos and spending time with good friends. I'll be sure to update *with pictures* when I get back. As for now, I'm off to bake an apple pie for {yet another} celebration/cookout today. Have a great week friends!


Bonus Pic of our new kitten (well really she is JACK'S kitten) Eevee. I'm afraid the poor darling was named after a Pokemon.