It is indeed a "Good Friday".

Good Friday is a day of repentence and prayer, 

a day to remember Gods sacrifice for us, 

a day to ask forgiveness, 

a day to renew our relationship with God.

                                                                                  -Unknown

We will be attending the night service tonight at church.

Click here to visit CenterPoint church.

 

 

We praise you Lord God.
I ask you to continue to protect my family,
and to continue guiding us on our blessed path.

One of Grace Photography's Products

{Click the image to check out the blog post}

I'm conflicted.

I love Tosh.0

He is hilarious. I always enjoy watching the videos and seeing the pics he posts. So he posted this today and my immediate reaction was laughter that slowly turned into disgust. I am, as most of you know, a pro breastfeeder. I excusively nursed Em until she was about 7 months, until my supply just could not keep up with her deman.

Oh, how I miss nursing. She bit me the other day, so it made me miss it less. It was basically Em making the decision for me to stop nursing. She is completely uninterested and she lets it be known!

But, I digress...back to the picture.

My conflict? Is it wrong for me to laugh at this??? Leave it to Daniel Tosh to have you feeling like a very bad person.

iheartfaces Weekly Photo Challenge: Wind

My quirky little sis.

Reminds me so much of myself when I was that age.

It was a windy day for a lacrosse game, but a great day for a raw capture.

Want to see more wind entries? click the button below to check out the awesome entries!

Fun in the studio...again.

On days I'm not working on someone else's masterpiece, I'm working on my own!

Today was another cold and rainy day, so Em and I decided to bring her princess canopy downstairs, put her in a cute dress and take some pics in the studio!

I really wanted to work on a different lighting technique, and I think I found one that fits the look I am going for.

Tell me what you think! {Try to look past the uber cuteness and look at the lighting and post processing - I know it may be difficult - hehehe}

Decisions, decisions.

Brian and I have been in the market for a new car. Why? Well, we have a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and we have a Chevy Surburban. Basically we have a matchbox car and a house on wheels.

Mama needs something she can drive here and there with Em in, comfortably, and not have to take the massive house on wheels just to run to the grocery store, or take the tiny unsafe, impossible to get in and out of jeep.

So, here is our dilemma with the cars. We decided we want to trade in the jeep because we do use the suburban a lot more. That being said, do we get a smaller two row car/SUV or go for the 3 row crossover?

So here are the 2 cars in the running...

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Chevrolet Traverse

I think we are leaning more towards the cherokee because it is smaller, better for me when I go here and there with Em on a regular basis. Better fit for a mom car. And it is super cute!

The traverse - ehhh - not so cute, and I feel like if we get the traverse, what is the point of keeping the suburban? Although the suburban is bigger, the traverse is once again a huge car I am going to be driving around. However, the traverse is slightly better on gas, has 3 rows, and is slightly lower in price.

Ok, my head is spinning. I need help from my readers!

When politics interferes with science.

I am a believer in science. I am a believer in real life stories.

I am a believer in seeing both sides to every argument, and I am a believer that people should do what is best for their children based on informed consent.

I am NOT anti-vaccine, or a conspirator.

I am NOT a believer in taking a yes or no answer without knowing both sides.

This movie is going to concede to both sides of the issue, and I think THAT is what people need. Information on both sides.

Vaccine court has admitted that vaccines are not 100% safe OR effective. They have paid out billions to families whom have suffered from a vaccine related injury, and it is on the rise. FACT.

We need our children to be safe. Safe from deadly diseases, as well as from deadly neurotoxins found in vaccines. I think we ALL can agree on that.

Safer vaccines, safer schedule. I DEMAND it.

The Greater Good movie trailer.

Another teaser {I can't keep secrets}

I am getting obsessed with Em's party. It is really only about 4 months off which, considering how fast 7 months went by, is really not a long way off at all!

So we decided on a vintage polka dot theme for her party. We are having a white tent with tables and chairs in our backyard. We will have little Ball jars with 2 or 3 sunflowers inside {Originally I wanted peonies but August is not the season for them}, and each jar will have a a rusty red ribbon with white polka dots wrapped around the neck of it.

Here is some inspiration:

This is her dress!!!! Courtesy of Vintage Lucy's {How appropriate, right?}

Weekend antics.

We had quite an eventful weekend. This month Brian has weekends off {SWEEEEEET} and since it is also getting slightly nicer out, we are motivated to do more things.

Friday, I met up with my friend Kim {Bumpie as well} for some Mexican food and margaritas. We went to Bethenny's book signing next door after, and there were 998 other people waiting for Bethenny. She had 1,000 people turn out for her signing. I'm not surprised. She rocks.

These were the best close up shots I could get of her. I should have brought my big bad zoom lens, but I really didn't think there would be that many people there! I snapped a pic of her fabulous heels on the way down the stairs.

I got yelled at. Kim called me the paparazzi!

Saturday we hosted a BBQ at our house. Lots of wine, steaks, and guitar jammin'.  Brian's friend Willy, aka Uncle Willy is the entertainment for the kids.

Jake {My business partner's oldest son} & Willy doing Wolverine!

Who needs toys when you have Willy?

Em loves Willy. He was grabbing her legs, and she thought it was hysterical. Everyone has that one crazy friend that becomes the "crazy uncle." Well that's Uncle Willy for us!

My friend Ally had some nice quality time with her youngest son Luke. {Ally is my business partner's wife, and one of my dearest friends}

 

It isn't often you can snap a picture of Luke and have him actually smiling or not getting angry with you for taking his pic. 

I caught it. Just the moment.

It was perfect.

Sunday we spent most of the day outside and relaxing.

 

Em loved just relaxing in the grass!

Her buddy Leo liked her hanging in the grass too.

I love to freeze time. Time goes by so fast, and there are so many raw moments that need to be cherished, and this is why I love what I do. For moments like this!

My aunt came to visit yesterday too. She took us to dinner and helped us brainstorm ideas for house renovations. She is super creative and crafty. Our kitchen and my studio need a major make-over. {Inspiration coming soon!}

Ok, so the master {Emerson} calls, so that's all for now! :)

A lack of studies = awareness?!?!

In "honor" of World Autism Awareness Day...

Click here if you are curious about the MASSIVE rise in Autism, and what YOU can do to help and prevent. It takes a whole lot more than wearing blue.

Ok, ok I'll jump on the bandwagon too...

And give a little sneak peak into Em's plans for her big 1 year!

I am only going to show you her birthday party dress. We are doing a vintage polka dot theme. I love the vintage clothes look, and I am obsessed with Vintage Lucy's.

So here it is!

Slow down!

I feel pretty...                   Oh so pretty...

Emerson is 7 months! I was getting her ready for bed and put her in her very first sleep sack we ever bought her and it is a size 0-6 months and up to 18lbs. She used to SWIM in that thing, and now it is getting a bit too snug. I can't even believe how fast 7 months went by.


We don't have our well baby until next week, and now we start going to the pedi every 2 months rather than every month, but since Em couldn't receive her eye exam at her 6 month check up, we decided to do it a month later. 

Em developed a super bad rash today on her back. Like, broke the skin and bleeding bad. So we made a quick trip to the pedi. This kid has daddy's ultra sensitive skin on top of having sensitive baby skin anyway. It seems as though it was a contact rash. I noticed the rash when I changed a major blowout diaper, and it happened when she was in her jumperoo. She was in the jumperoo for about 45 minutes, and I started to smell something....I took her out, and her entire outfit was ruined with poop..Thanks Em! 

{Of course she decided to go right when daddy was just walking out the door to go to work.}

So I think the combo of poop, and the jumping created friction on her back which made her super sensitive skin break out. 

I felt awful!  Glad that's all it was though.


In better news...


Em gained 3 lbs in 1 month!!!! She is 16lbs 11oz. GO EM! She wasn't measured, so we will just have to wait for her height stat next week.

BIG THINGS HAPPENING THIS MONTH {She started falling behind a bit at 6 months, so this month her changes have been quick and major}

*She is a squirm worm! Always on the move, scooting and rolling all over the place. She is starting to grab onto the bumper in her crib and pull herself up. She does this when I change her too, which makes diaper changes super fun!

*She is a full blown sitter ::PHEW:: and she is getting on all fours! Not really rocking yet, {THANK GOD}, and she will stay on all four's only for a few seconds.

*She has been holding her own bottle since 5 months, and we switched to level 3 nipples today. We have been using level 1's!!!! I was an exclusive breast feeder, WTF do I know??!?! LOL. That being said, we nurse twice a day still.

*She is in size 3 diapers completely now, fits in 6-9 month clothes, and in some 3-6.

*We clap hands, occasionally. It really takes a lot of encouragement for her to do it. She mostly does it when Brian plays the guitar for her.

*She is also starting to roll onto her tummy and sleep like that at night. Just like her mommy and daddy. 

So, being that my kid has returned to her moose-like self, I felt it appropriate to show off all her rolls...

These pics were taken in my studio a few days ago.

PEACE OUT!