All those years at the office still paying off!

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Malia Walking

First off, why do I never realize how amazingly annoying I sound when I am talking to my baby?! I apologize for my super high Mommy voice in this clip but alas, it is not about me, it is about Malia walking! That is right, I finally got her on video. She began walking at the beginning of her 10th month and is cruizin' all over the place now. Here she is, I am such a proud Mommy!

2 year old dialog

Gabe (while looking in our floor length mirror in the hall way), "Gracie, look! I have eyebrows!" Gracie, " I am going to go get a toy".
These little convos make me laugh because it makes me realize that these interactions between men and women do not change much as we get older. The guys point out the obvious, and we just try to ignore them and move on to bigger and better things! ha- ha.
(P.S.- Gabe does have some room to talk about his eyebrows, he did just recently start growing some... and noticed it. We used to comment all the time how funny it was that he did not have eyebrows)

Chandra and Mike, Laguna Beach, CA

Here is a shot from the current wedding I am working on. I thought I might put up some of my work every once in a while since I do not have an official photography blog. This wedding was so wonderful. Mike and Chandra are such nice people and, you could tell, are so in love! They wanted to get married in Ireland but could not get approved to do so. So... Laguna Beach California it was. And someone was smiling down on this happy union because it TOTALLY looked like Ireland that day! Really foggy and bright green moss all over the rocks. It worked out perfectly! I love that Mike wore a kilt, it was so fun to photograph these two. Congrats Mike and Chandra!

The many uses of a baby backpack

When we are playing outside (which is every day as
long as it is not raining), we sometimes put Malia in this
baby backpack and set it on the ground so she is safe
and can just observe everything without getting "into"
everything. Well, Mr. Jones decided she needed to
join in the fun and strapped it on so Malia could get
going on the skateboarding. She LOVED it! It was so
funny I had to get it on video. That Mr. Jones,
he can be pretty inventive sometimes!

Beachn' it in January

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS



You should have been here yesterday!! We have been having some summer weather the past week, and let me tell you, it has been soooo nice! ! What a treat to get a break from the brisk cold (well, brisk for this so-cal girl anyway). A little taste of summer in mid-winter always puts a smile on my face!
We had a fun family beach day yesterday and Auntie Jen even joined in! Nothing like a little sun tan and some vitamin D to make you feel oh so good. Malia finally fits into her cute bikini and was enjoying every part of the beach, the sand, the water, and the boogie board. She is one cute beach bunny that is for sure! Gabe was looking pretty cute too, first time with the board shorts on and no diaper underneath. Like a real surfer dude.
I actually think I might be able to handle them both on my own this summer down there, we will see! That would be pretty cool.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed our little family day.

A few of my favorites...

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Talie and Ryan's wedding. The one above because I thought it just really showed how cute and fun they are together.
This one is of my sis-in-law/best buddy/assistant, Whitney. I loved the way she had her hair done for the day. She was Talie's maid of honor.
Talie has the most BEAUTIFUL face ever. It is rare I could get so many extreme close ups of a bride and have her just looks so stunning, and barley require any editing.
This photo is of my sister-in-law Chelsea and her youngest Deacon. I love how you can tell how much he LOVES his Mommy in this shot. He is just the loveyest cutest little boy.

LUUUUNNNNCCCCHHHHHH!!!!

Some of you may recall that just before Christmas I mentioned I was going to get the fine pleasure of watching the cutest little girl in the world (#2 to Malia of course) while her Mommy braves nursing school this spring. Well, we are up and in action and everyone is loving it!
Here is my favorite event of the day:

Setting the scene: Auntie Becky (AKA Mrs. Jones) set the table for lunch. Gabe reminds us we need to say a blessing and Gracie immediately folds her arms like a good little girl. Gabe folds his arms and just as I am about to say it, Gabe chimes in with a very confident commanding voice: " Dear Heavenly Father, Thankful for this day, Bless the food Mommy made, Grateful have Gracie at our house, Bless Auntie (Mommy commentary: not sure which one!), Bless food Mommy Made, Name of Jesus Christ.. then both chime in simultaneously: MMMAAAAEEE - MEN. I was one proud Mommy (and Auntie! Although I know that reverent behavior came from her Mommy! :) ).


Gabe's "feat" of the day: He finally figured out how to push his board on the cement, and actually put up the other foot while speeding down the driveway. I did not get a photo of it yet, but here is another from today of him practicing on the grass. My big boy....

HOW TO: Look HOT on a radio flyer scooter

1. Make a silly face to let people know you are real, you don't want them to think you are TOO perfectly cute.
















2. Give them an action shot, to let them know you are a girl that likes to have fun!







3. Make sure you do the classic, "BEND.....











4. ".... and SNAP!" That gets them EVERY time.






















5. And last but not least.... flash those pearly whites. Who cares if there are only 2 of them, it still makes them go CRAZY!!


Malia's new favorite mode of transportation. She even puts one foot down and "scoots" it around a bit. I tried to get it on video, but the battery was dead. Go figure....

Cop a squat

Malia's favorite seat as of this week: ON TOP of our printer. Have I mentioned I am on the computer WAAAYYY too much working ? This is yet another sign of this. She realized to get closer to Mommy she needed to find another more comfortable seating arrangement for herself. Hence, the printer. She sits right at my feet and just chills. It is so funny.

D-land, Take 3

Let me paint a picture for ya... Auntie, Hannah, Allie, Mrs. Jones, Gabe, Malia and Mr. Jones living it up and enjoying the season passes last Monday at the D-land. Yeah, it was a special treat. We went at 3 so Mike took off early from work, we picked up the kids at school and headed to the happiest place on earth. We went straight for the toy story ride. I can't get enough of it. A nice short 20 min. wait and we were off. It was so fun hanging out with Auntie Michelle and Hannah and Allie. We thoroughly enjoyed it! Here are the pics. Enjoy!

La Cucaracha

Malia was messing around in Gabe's room the other day while I was on the computer in the hall. This is her rounding the corner. I just happened to have my camera right on hand and snapped a photo. She was READY TO PARTY! Needless to say a dance party ensued directly after this photo was taken....

Bye Bye Pull-ups!!

It all started Halloween night. We had plenty of Candy on hand, and Gabe was taking an interest in this new little white and blue plastic potty in our bathroom. I thought it was a sure shot. He went pee pee and even number two, as soon as I bribed him with one of his Halloween candies.
Little did I know! Man, this was the hardest thing ever! I know, some have had it worse, but I am a baby I guess. We exhausted our candy stash (not an easy feat!) and Gabe decided he was over it. NOOOO!!! I had gotten rid of diapers and had a load of pull-ups on hand! What do I do?! I just could not let him give up, not after all of OUR effort. I would ask him, "Do you have to go potty?" and he would say, "Just go in my pants", and I would say, "Why?" and his response... "Just want to!" Ok ok, so I went back and forth, coming SOOO near to putting him back in diapers. But I thought no, no matter how hard this is on me (and our budget! Yeah, we really supported the pull-up people for a while!) we were going to stick to it. I was going to be nice about it, encouraging if he did not make it there in time. I am telling you I tried anything and everything people told me.
It is now January. And guess what worked~!? #1- Gabe DECIDED he wanted to do it. #2 I put him in underwear instead of pull-ups, but this was not the first attemt at this, just finally the right time to do it( he picked out the pair he wanted to put on) and He FINALLY expirienced an entire day of clean underwear and realized how much better he felt not having "stuff" in his pants. #3 The few times he faught me after that and I made him stay in the bathroom and go and then we would wave bye bye and tell "it" to go to it's home! HA! It was funny, but it just came out of my mouth once because he seemed kind of attached to it, so I thought maybe we could wave bye to it! He liked that and now is pretty good at even going in other's toilets! #4 I had JUST bought a TON of pullups at costco, doesn't that always seem to be the case?
But, IT IS OFFICIAL! He is potty trained! In underwear now for 5 days, no accidents, goes when he has to with no encouragement from me! He just tells me he has to go, we go in there and take care of business. Can I tell you how sick I am of asking, "Do you have to go potty?" Thank goodness I am going to be useing that phrase at a normal rate again!
AND the best part? Not what I thought it would be, the savings of funds ;) Not the feeling of accomplishment. It IS, not having to change two kids everyday!! I did not even realize how much that sucked! Sorry, but it did. I never even noticed it because it was just what I had to do. I really have so much more free time now! My back is not as sore from throwing around a 2 year old and fighting him to get him changed. Funny huh?! That other stuff is cool too !~

My official census: EVERY kid is different, we just have to "keep on swimming" after we decide to potty train! If you are in it right now, don't give up! You can do it! (Us Mom's need some encouragement sometimes too I think!) This potty training is just as hard (or even harder) for us as Mommies, as it is for our little munchkins.

2 WEDDINGS AN ANNIVERSARY AND A SNOW DAY!!

WELP... We had a pretty fun week this past week. I had to photograph 2 weddings. One was on Wednesday, the weather was foggy and it was perfect! They had a bag piper and the groom wore a kilt. It took place in Laguna beach and was such a fun event.

We also had our FIVE year anniversary, and we spent it at Mike's sister's wedding! It was so fun and I feel honored to share the day with Talie and Ryan. I was able to be their wedding photographer which was also an honor. Above are the TWO photos I have edited so far, time to get to work!
Since we had family in town, we decided to spend Saturday up in Big Bear sledding with all of the kids. To our advantage, Grammy and Papa were already up visiting some family friends for the weekend so we had a whole bunch of fun people come out and enjoy the snow with us. It was snowing for part of the day, which I always enjoy, and we had SOOO much fun playing with all of the cousins.
We went back to Brad and Marnie's cabin for some hot cocoa and treats, and then a feast of a dinner. It is always so nice to snuggle up by the fire and visit while it is snowing outside. Gabe also got his FIRST snowboard!! He, of course, was obsessed with it and did not want to stop. He did pretty good too for a 2 year old.








Check out the video of him showing off his skills below:

Got it!

Ok, I thought of what I want my New Year's resolution to be... not quite a "resolution" as much as a "goal". I am going to make a wedding album! Those of you who know me are probably thinking, you make one of those like once a month, what are you talking about! But, if you know me REALLY well, you know that I have NEVER made my OWN wedding album. I have just been too busy making them for everyone else! So, that is what I am going to get done pretty soon here. Let me know if you need one too, of course I would need access to your wedding photos. Michelle... I am already on it! (Oh wait, Michelle thinks blogs are LAIME so she is probably not even going to read this anyway)

Happy New Year!

Malia's New Years resolutions:

1. To walk! She just took 3 steps all by herself tonight!!

*** What motivated her to do so??? Her other resolution:

2. To switch out her bottle for the sippie cup. She a pro at it already and that is all she wants. No more bottles for this baby!! Daddy was coaxing her with a sippie cup full of rice milk when she walked over to him from the couch.