mia...

Where have I been, might you ask?!  Oh, I've been here... I've just been so busy with the increase in photo sessions, that I haven't had a free moment to myself in weeks, it seems!!  I'm either at work, behind my camera, or in front of my computer editing/posting pictures for clients.... I love that this photography thing has started to kind of take off, but I'll be glad to have this weekend to kind of recoup and unwind a bit.  I'm "taking the week off" to spend time with the family...maybe I'll even muster up the energy to take a few photos of the family, since these days I've seen more of everyone else's family than my own!  I've also got a few books on my list...and a few crafts up my sleeve...and a new business plan brewing inside my head...oh man, I think I need more than just a weekend off, haha!  Thankfully, Chris has done an excellent job with keeping up with the laundry and house work while I have been out at sessions or chained to my chair editing.  Check out my recent work HERE. (CLICK)

Our little baby is doing great, though!  She is sooooooo close to walking!  She'll take steps between toys now, as well as between Chris and I (about 5 or 6).  And she will even take a few steps, pause to regain her balance, and take a few more, before collapsing (because crawling is just faster and easier for now!).  I'm hoping to get some good video of her this weekend, and post it!

Besides testing out her walking legs, Rylie has been intently listening to words and sounds we make and trying to repeat them (especially Uh Oh, Meow, Woof Woof, and kissing sounds).  She plays Peekaboo really well now - I looove that she smacks her hands to her face, smooching her nose, but parting her fingers just enough so that she can peek through, before throwing her hands back out and smiling as we say "peekaboo!!".  She has also figured out how to throw a pretty good fit!  If she is sitting on the ground, she will throw her arms up in the air and then pitch herself forward so she falls flat on her face/tummy - quite the little drama queen!

So anyways, I just wanted to check in to make sure everyone knows we are still around, just a tad busy!  Hopefully I'll have more to share with you after this relaxing weekend :-)

Walking tall...

I just wanted to share a quick post this morning... This past Saturday, Rylie started taking several steps in a row!!!!  While we are not quite walking full time yet, she is definitely building her confidence!  I wouldn't be surprised if she was walking full time by the end of this week after watching some of her other daycare friends doing it.  We are so proud of our little munchkin :-)

Here's a short video...

One year ago.....

I can't believe that a year ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed with the most beautiful baby girl snuggled in my arms. This may sound cliche, but it is true....it seems like only yesterday that we welcomed our sweet Rylie Marina in to our lives... But at the same time, we can't even imagine our lives without her and can hardly remember what it was like before her. Our little angel is turning in to such an adorable little girl. She hams it up in front of a camera (wonder why?! Must be all that practice i give her, haha!). She crawls all over the place...she even made it all the way up our stairs last weekend without anyone noticing until she was at the top, crawling around in our bedroom (yikes, bad parent moment!). she pulls up on everything and stands on her own. She claps at just about everything! She has just stated her "oooh"s and "uh oh"s, and will make a woof woof kind of noise around dogs...and they are absolutely the cutest sounds! If we point to something, she will follow suit by raising her arm and extending her hand. She thinks her mommy and daddy are hilarious! She has been a litle more picky with eating lately, but thinks green beans and pasta are great. We packed up all of the bottles this week and have completely switched her over to sippy cups and milk. I'm not ready for her to give up the paci yet (yes, go ahead and groan!)... She loves it and she reminds me of when she was itty bitty when we give it to her (only for bed time, usually!). She is a pro at passing us something, and knows that we can only accept it with our palm facing up. If we hide something in our hands, she knows that it's still there, even though she cannot see it. It is really funny if she passes us something and we switch it with something else without her seeing...you can practically see the wheels turning inside her brain telling her that something isn't quite right....she is a smarty pants :-). Oh, and she continues to be an amazing sleeper! Although at day care she has a little more trouble sleeping, she takes awesome naps when she is at home (today's nap was 4 hours! But that could also be because she has been running a slight fever all day) and sleeps at night from about 6:30pm until 6:30am. We couldn't be happier and we know that we are truly blessed. We are blessed with a happy, healthy, and "easy" baby...we are blessed with each other's love and commitment. And we are blessed with a caring and supportive family. Although I do wish that we had more time in the day and a little more money in the bank account, I wouldn't want to change anything else. Our sweet Rylie has taught us more about ourselves and what it means to be selfless. Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl. Mommy and Daddy love you, Rylie! xoxo

Bermuda Vacation - May 2012 - the View!

And now for a few photos of the amazing view in Bermuda!!!

The view from my Dad's house...the house where I grew up...miss this place :-/

Flatt's Village:

At the Aquarium:

Bermuda Vacation - May 2012 - the People!

 (okay, so pictures of "the people" consists mostly of Rylie...but what did you expect?!)

But first, a bit of the story...

Our journey to Bermuda started at 4:30am on Saturday, May 26th.  Well, Chris and I got up a little before that to get some last minute things together, but we grabbed the baby and headed out the door at 4:30 (thank you, neighbor Jen, for taking us to the airport at such an ungodly hour!).  Rylie didn't sleep on our first plane ride to Atlanta, but passed out before our second plan could even leave the gateway!  What a relief!  I think Chris and I both had visions of a screaming baby the whole way and angry stares from gribble passengers.  

The heat and humidity hit us immediately.  And we couldn't have asked for better weather the entire time we were there!  We didn;t come home with glowing tans, though, because the sun and fresh air wiped Rylie out so quickly, that she spent most of our vacation napping in her travel crib, with the cool breeze blowing through the bedroom windows.  So, instead of tanning and beaching the entire time, Chris and I managed to catch up on some sleeping and reading...so relaxing!

We did get out to the beach once and managed to sneak 2 pool trips in (Rylie LOVED the pool!).  We also ventured in to town once to run a few errands and grab some lunch, and stopped in at the Aquarium for a bit.  Other than that, we pretty much just visited with family and friends.  Like I said...relaxing!

I hate that my side of the family doesn't get to see Rylie very often, but we stayed with my dad and his wife ("Tia" to Rylie), and my mom was able to fly in for the week, and we were able to visit with my grandmother, sister, and niece Emma a few times.  We also met up with a few friends, which is always fun!  

Enough of the chit-chat...here are the pictures!

 

 (Below are a few my dad took of us at the beach that first morning)

(I don't know how I don't have a single picture of my Dad with Rylie?!  I know we took some, so I'll have to get them from his camera after his cruise this week!)