winter photoshoot, or "poor teddy"

guys, we were lucky enough to grab some family christmas photos 

by the incredible kylie fly turley last week which was a BLAST FROM THE PAST;

she and her cute triplet sisters were my neighbors in college,
and she did this photoshoot of gid and i in hawaii when we were newlyweds six years ago.

six years!! 

time, man. it flies.

anyway she did great work, especially considering this was poor teddy's first experience with snow.
(who'd have thought we'd get such a lovely backdrop just by driving up the mountain a few minutes?!)

enjoy, friends. and tell me which one to use for our cards. 

i'm still trying to decide.

i call this one "poor teddy", lol.

thanks again for the pics, ky!

 gid's top
my top, necklace & boots
teddy's top & boots

(everything linked is on SALE! you're welcome.)

dear october,

nice of you to show up. 

i thought you'd never make it. 

"just wait till three months," they said. "everything gets a little easier at three months."
teddy was born at the beginning of july. so you october, you were my gold, sparkling three month prize. i've watched the leaves change from green to gold in anticipation for you. september has never been longer. including that year that i got married to gid.

you know october, i used to think to myself, "what do mothers do all day?" i did.
secretly of course, because i didn't want people to know what a judgmental
(shall i say it? i shall.) arse i was being.

well now i know, october. i know what mothers do all day long. i know, contrary to what i imagined, that changing diapers, feeding and keeping up with a newborn takes more than an hour or two here and there (nevermind other things like laundry, cleaning bottles, or keeping yourself fed and washed). i know that breastfeeding and keeping your milk supply up is horribly exhausting, and i'll defend women who decide not to do it until the day i die.

teddy turns three months old tomorrow, october.
isn't that exciting and sad all at the same time?
he slept for seven hours two nights ago. (last night wasn't nearly as wonderful, but lets go ahead and say he's getting closer to sleeping through the night, okay?)

when i talk to him, he coos back. 

he laughed about a week ago. 

you'd love his laugh, october.

and i know everything isn't going to be easier now. i know i'll still have horrible nights full of crying, diaper changes, and endless spit up. i know in many ways that when one thing gets easier, it's only inevitable that more difficult things will show up. it's a law of physics or something, right?

but i'm still going to take a moment, lift an imaginary glass of champagne and make a toast.  

(toast sounds delicious right now). 

to three months. 

three horrible and wonderful months. three months without murdering anyone, without running away, and without showering (haha). three months of desperately trying to convince my baby that my breast is just as good as his bottle. three months of keeping his diapers changed and his little tears wiped. three months of hating gid being at work, and crying because i miss him so badly. three months. watching my baby grow out of newborn, 0-3, and 3-6 month clothing
(you guys, he's tall).

 three months of adjusting to a life that is so very very new, 

and being able to say that we survived. 

for three months, anyway.

here's to you, october.

picture story.

i found these photos in my camera from last year.

 can you believe how flawless her tangled and wild curls are?

she's got all the luck in the world, that one.

makes me want to do a fine art series of photographs just focusing on one feature at a time. 

sigh. lets go do a photoshoot, friends.

first week home.

it seems like the first few days home from the hospital are the longest.

the hours creep by, and yet are somehow filled with things like nursing sessions, burping, spitting up, laundry, and changing sweet little diapers. 

if you're lucky perhaps you get a nap or a snack here or there. 

i like to think someday when my sister's family look back at pictures like these they'll somehow forget how tired we were when we took them; only that they were the sweet beginning hours of a new addition to a sweet family.

"look how much he loves me!" mimi said, right before i snapped this shot.

sometimes life is just the sweetest, you know?

brand new.

i feel like there's never been such a sweet baby in the history of the world.

of course, that's not the first time i've said this. when i held my first nephew for the first time i fell in love just as quickly. every time i hold a new baby i'm instantly wrapped around their tiny fingers, i can't help it. don't even get me started on my nieces.

  (what's that, little baby? you insist on crying unless i bounce in a very specific way making a shushing sound every 7.3 seconds ALL NIGHT LONG? i don't care if i can't stand up straight in the morning-- if it keeps you happy, i'll do it.) 

what is it about a brand new little baby that makes your heart melt? goodness those sweet little quivering lips kill me. the velvet soft skin. the nuzzles. !! the nuzzles! 

i can't handle it. i can't handle the sweetness of being an aunt. can you imagine how obsessed with my own baby i'm going to be? it's going to be nuts. look out world.

my baby keeps kicking me,
so i'm going to go to bed.

a photoshoot about home.

My friends Hannah and Mike asked me to take pictures of them in their first home together.

There's something sweet and simple about the photos we captured.
Feels metaphoric, don't you think friends?

New beginnings. Fresh walls. Empty rooms waiting to be filled.

Memories waiting to be made.

I think my favorite thing about the shoot is how casual it all was.

They didn't premeditate their outfits or set the house up in a special way.

They just had me photograph them as they are on a day to day basis.

I guess it also doesn't hurt that they're both crazy good looking...

This is the first time I've done a shoot like this one, and I'm totally in love the idea.

When (if ever) Gid and I get a home,
I'm going to have someone photograph us in it before we have our stuff in it.

Here's to beautiful clean beginnings, friends.

That's all for today.