on being just a mom

Last night Deran was talking about something funny he'd heard in reference to a song. A really popular song from a little up and coming guy. I don't know, I'm sure a few people have heard of him. Anyway, Deran looked at me with sympathy, patted me on the shoulder and kindly said, "You're just a mom now. You're not really hip at all." Not that I was ever "hip" per se, but I guess I used to keep up with pop culture (and music) more. Now I'm all, "Did Lori Berkner put that out? Barbara Milne? No?! Then I DON'T KNOW IT." I kid, I kid! Kind of. My iPod tunes haven't been updated since early 2010 at best, but in all fairness, I still really like those songs!

And sometimes it's nice to just be a mom. Business has been good and I'm definitely so blessed, but I still found myself stressing the week before Easter over deadlines, staying up too late editing, fighting off the tired grumpies the next day, and repeat. This week Avery has napped twice and it's only Wednesday, that's crazy since I thought her napping days were behind us. Crazy good for my work schedule and this week I've caught up on work and gone to bed early! Yea!

Going to bed early means I have more energy to enjoy the days with my favorite girl. We've been having lots of fun lately and she's acting so grown up these days. Tonight during dinner she wanted out of her highchair to sit in a regular chair beside me. She had the biggest grin on her face when Deran moved her to a chair at the table!

I have lots to share over the next week but first, an Easter snapshot. When it came time for the egg hunt, all eyes turned to me and my dad asked if I'd brought my camera. Indeed I had, but I said I really wanted to just enjoy the hunt with Avery and not worry with taking pictures of everything. Because sometimes, I want to just be a mom. But of course after a heavy lunch everyone was moving slowly and I started to twitch a little at all the cuteness that was going undocumented around me, so I got my camera out of the car. And I'm really glad I did because during the hunt I would've missed this.

Avery proudly running with her "burple" egg, sporting her farmer's tan, and her uneven (blown out) bow I hastily hot glued together before church. It's not a perfect picture, but it's certainly a moment that makes this momma's heart happy. It really is nice to be just a mom to that girl.

love is reassuring

This wedding post is long overdue, but I'm so happy to finally be sharing a few photos! Everything about this day was gorgeous, the church, the flowers, the reception site, and especially the people. And I know this isn't about me, but I really had a great time! :) The atmosphere was so relaxing and the bride was an absolute dream to work with!

After spending some time with the bride, I got the groom and his friends outside for a couple of pictures. It was so funny to watch these guys try to pin on the boutonnieres! The groom and his best man have been friends for a long time, with a friendship dating back to middle school. In life, you're lucky to have a handful of true friends and these guys are the real deal.

I loved that they stopped to give his mom a hug before heading up the aisle. So sweet! And I love the bride's face after everything is over and official!

The bride requested a photo with all of the wedding guests and the wedding coordinator, Karen, was a huge help in making this happen quickly. And how cool to have a photo of all of your guests?!



After the ceremony I walked out with the bride and groom for a few quick photos before moving to the reception. The groom was so sweet and mentioned that he was feeling nervous but when he saw his bride walking down the aisle, he was like, "Oh yeah, it's her! Everything is alright!" And I think that's just true of love, it reassures us in the nervous moments of life.

Congrats again Mr. & Mrs. B, I know you guys have a great future ahead! And stay tuned later this week for the reception!!

the two hands

On the one hand there's this, and on the other hand there's that. Yeah, that's kind of what this post is all about. I have a couple of sessions to share and a special birthday session tomorrow, but today is just...random happenings. Aren't you so excited?! As well you should be, Reader, as well you should be.

1) Bugs. I've been lucky enough to have been bitten by TWO random bugs this week in two completely different locations on two different days. After three days the swelling seems to be going down. Yea! And bugs. This week Avery has gotten to play with a ladybug, two doodle bugs, see a fuzzy caterpillar, and look at a beetle. I'm really trying to push back my initial, "Yuck! Bugs!" because I want her to experience them as I did when I was a little kid. Sometimes it's really hard!

2) Compromised bank cards & awesome customer service. My debit card has been compromised so a new one was issued. I haven't activated it because it's still been allowing me to run it as a debit as long as I'm able to enter my pin. Well after ordering Jason's Deli to-go while in town a couple of days ago, I realized I had no way to pay when my card was declined. The clerk gave me the food for free! And I suppose it's time to activate the new card.

3) Phlebotomists. Avery had to have routine blood work and the tech convinced me he needed to use a needle in her vein because doctors prefer it, we might have to stick her finger again if it doesn't fill fast enough, etc. I said okay but told him that she was stuck in the finger the last time and it was fine. Cut to him not finding a vein after tying her arm off, then going ahead and sticking the needle in and moving it around and still not drawing blood. I'm sure the whole ordeal lasted less than a minute, but when I'm holding my sweet hysterical baby and he doesn't appear to know what he's doing...I saw red and it wasn't Avery's blood. I asked politely for him to remove it and stick a finger instead. He then turned to the tech who was helping hold Avery's arm and asked if she wanted to do it. She was so nice and was done quickly with minimal tears and she gave us a sucker!

4) Mini shopping carts at the grocery store. Really fun at first but when Avery's done pushing there's no place for her to sit because my few groceries fill up the cart. And also, it's really easy for her to push away from me while I'm trying to scan items at the self-check.

5) Self-check at the grocery store. I hate it. There's no other hand for this one. I really do loathe the self-check and I always get aggravated that I've let myself begin checking when it's NEVER faster for me. Ever.

6) New places. Avery and I tried out a couple of new toddler activities this week. I got lost once, but at least it was a quick turnaround. Avery had fun and that's really what matters.

7) Doing all right. This morning before Sesame Street I listened to a PBS supporter state that he supports the station because of programs like Sesame Street and that his 20 month old grandson knows the alphabet and can count to 20. Maybe we don't watch Sesame Street enough because my 20 month old cannot say the alphabet or count to 20, and for a second I was all, "We need to work on this!" But then again, he didn't say that his 20 month old grandson knew what state he lived in, or the Capital of that state. But my girl? Well she knows about Texas. And she knows her colors so I think we'll be okay without the entire alphabet for now.

I do realize my lows are really not low at all. In fact, this has been a pretty good week. And it's a holiday weekend which means D is home for an extra day, we get to eat yummy food, and visit with a few family members we don't see very often!

And remember last Friday when I was all, "She's the perfect model!" Wasn't that just the cutest thing?! I'm so funny! So last weekend we were walking around downtown Lafayette with our friends and I really liked a couple of areas so we chucked Avery out of the stroller and I attempted a few photos. Not a single one with eye contact. But she looked really cute!

This was actually a post for yesterday, Thursday. But in the middle I got interrupted and never made it back to a computer. It happens. So today will have a couple of posts because I have a wedding to share in a bit! Yea for multiple posts and yea for Good Friday!!

weddings, and babies, and bunnies! oh, my!

I've had a busy couple of weeks and it looks like things won't be slowing down any time soon! Easter is Sunday, and I know it's about more than bunnies and candy-filled baskets, but I don't have a single thing for Avery. I haven't even figured out what she'll be wearing to church! I did pick up a very cute pair of cream dressy shoes from Old Navy recently, so I at least know what shoes she'll wear.

I have a really gorgeous wedding to share this week. I was hoping to get it up tonight, but I had such a hard time narrowing down my favorites! So in the meantime, I'm going to share one from a session I had on Saturday with a great friend and her totally adorable baby boy! And I'll have more to share from his session soon...or at least soonish! :)

my girl friday

While I do take lots of photos of Avery, I never really set out to do a "session" with her. On Wednesday evening while we were playing outside I decided that I needed to do a mini-session. STAT. So I went in and asked Deran to go with me because the spot I had in mind is close to the road and I needed a handler. He agreed, I quickly pressed her dress, wiped the green chalk off her face and pink highlighter from her hands, and we were out the door.




Two locations, less than 20 minutes, and a handful of images I absolutely adore of my favorite girl. The look above is so typical Avery. And she's on to my tricks. So now when I try to get her attention by claiming to have her favorite red monster on my head she doesn't crack a smile, I may get a glance.

After she was loaded in the car I took a few pictures of the bluebonnets and noticed several ladybugs so I had to share one. After letting it crawl around she captured it in her tiny fist and that's when I told her it was time to let it go back home to the grass. :)



So now she can levitate, and that's pretty cool.

Really though, she is such a perfect little model. I asked her to cross her legs and she just sat there like that, so so cute!

Gosh I love my baby, she always makes me smile.



There was a loud truck passing by on another street and she was acting very dramatic. She's started covering her face and saying, "Eyes!" like whatever has happened has somehow affected her vision. Or perhaps she's so offended by what she saw, she was somehow traumatized? I have no idea. It's cute though! She did it at the fabric store on Thursday after seeing a bug on the floor. I really need to get her to say, "My eyes!" because that would be funnier.



Happy Friday Internet!

the reception

Remember this wedding? Well now it's time to take a look at the reception! There was a table all decked out in crazy garb for guests to don upon arrival and take a photo. I thought it was a really fun idea! Another really great idea at this reception was crayons and coloring books at the kids' table. So perfect to keep little hands occupied!



Another thing I LOVED about the reception were the caricaturists. That's right, there were TWO. I spent a few minutes watching the bride and groom take a turn.



And I was happy to catch a couple of sweet moments between these two.



And things may have gotten a little crazy around cake time...



I'm so happy for all of you guys, T Family, congrats again!

they'll call her avery the lizard catcher

So one day a couple of weeks ago Avery and I spotted a lizard outside. I called for Deran to come catch it because I was too scared. It's hard to believe I once played with lizards and worms and YUCK. Anyway, out comes Deran with a sock on his hand to catch the lizard because one time he saw a lizard bite a girl's ear and it bled. And then 20 years passed and he never grew up, but whatever because he caught it! I touched the lizard and talked to it to show Avery that it was okay. She wouldn't actually touch it but she leeeeaaaaned over as far as she could to see it and then she would stick a hand out but jerk it back before actually feeling it. After a couple of minutes D let the lizard go and life went on.



A couple days later when Avery & I were out, we saw our friend again. So this time I went and put on a sock to catch the lizard. I can't be gettin' lizard bit! Lizard (we're super creative with naming around here) is wily and escaped! A little while later when we were playing in her room, Avery got socks out of her drawer, put one on her arm and told/motioned me to "C'mon! Hose!" And then I realized she was going to catch the lizard and it was the most hilarious thing ever! Except for when she actually tried to catch it, because that was pretty funny too.

Just note where the lizard is as opposed to where Avery is still hunting...



Then he left us for a higher spot on the house. He happened to be shedding and we saw him change colors from brown to green so that was neat.





Now Avery checks for Lizard every single day. And more often than not, she's donning a dirty sock she found in the living room on one arm. He really does reside in that hose setup, we see him at least once a day there. I'm not sure on the life span of lizards, but I have to say that he's looking pretty rough. He lost part of his tail and has been brown for the last few days, plus he's more wrinkled. Having a toddler after you a few times a day probably doesn't help much.



When we don't see him, I tell her he's gone to sleep, that's he's napping and we'll look later. I'm not sure of my response if he should disappear permanently. Surely another lizard will come along...one that might actually get caught!

three isn't always a crowd

And in fact, this sweet family has a fourth. Dad is in the military and I'm especially thankful for his service! It's really easy to take our freedom for granted, it's important to remember that it's not without a price.

I was worried as I headed to meet up with them, but by the time I arrived the sprinkles had let up and there was sun! Well, it was sunny for a minute anyway. :) But no rain!

How cute is he?! So cute! I know it may not seem like it by the big grin, but he was actually really serious most of the time. He reminded me so much of Avery who, even now, only really doles out smiles when she wants to.



And Miss A was adorable on the slide. She went down on her back, on her stomach, all kinds of ways!

Thanks so much for meeting me C Family, I had fun visiting! And I could be wrong, but I think they had a good time too.

a crazy face

We met Deran at work one afternoon and spent some time at the park down the street from his office. It's a really awesome park! After Deran and Avery crawled up the rock wall, I noticed her still crawling around looking at various things on the floor.



Then she spotted me and decided to come closer.

Then she stuck her face between the bars and looked CRAZY.

Besides the crazy face, I think my favorite moment was watching the two I love the most play in the tunnel.



I do love seeing those two together.

a family of four

Remember this sweet baby? It's hard to believe she's already three months old! On a Monday, I met up with this cute family for a quick mid-day session.






Ash, your babies are adorable and I'm so glad we were able to get together. And thanks for freeing Avery from the stroller. :)

in the morning

She can be found in any crazy position. She's yet to make it a whole night in her room, but I'm not complaining. She's awfully cute to wake up to!