Half a year around the sun with juno

6 months! HOW has half a YEAR gone by? While I wish we could slow down time, this stage might be my favorite yet. Juno is smiling, laughing, playing, talking and is just so full of life and pure joy. She is so much fun right now!

Juno had her 6 month check up on Friday and all is well with our girl. She’s growing as she should be and staying steady in her 5th percentile for her weight at 13.3 pounds! She’s more than doubled her weight since birth. She is exactly two feet tall and in the 12th percentile for height. She is still wearing size two diapers and is now wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes. While she’s getting big, shes actually still a peanut and our doc said she still needs at least one feeding in the night so my hopes of weaning her night feedings and maybe actually getting a full nights sleep are now on the back burner for a few more months. This mama hasn’t slept through the night since probably early October (let’s be honest, the Lord starts to prepare you for the lack of sleep that’s coming your way in the last trimester of pregnancy) so what’s another few months? I know I am not alone in this — my sister didn’t sleep through the night until 19 months with my niece (bless her heart) — and I know MANY other moms can relate to getting no sleep. What’s sleep? Who needs it anyway?! [Sleep update below!]

Juno is looking more and more like her daddy to me and her hair is starting to grow back in. We still can’t tell what color it is but it sure is fuzzy and cute. We can’t wait to see if she’ll be a brunette or blondy or a red head. She still has a little blonde spot on the right side of her head and is still is rocking a big bald spot on the back of her head - just the cutest. Her eyes are the biggest and blue-est eyes you will ever see and her eyelashes are so incredibly long. She has the tiniest feet and even the 0-3 month shoes we have in her closet are way too big on her still. She’s so beautiful and we wouldn’t change a thing about her.

This month our June Bug started rolling over from her back to her tummy so she can now expertly roll in both directions. She loves, loves, loves laying on the floor or on her play mat while kicking and rolling around. She has found her toes and loves to suck and chew on them. Anything she puts in her hands goes immediately to her mouth. We think her first tooth is going to make its appearance any day now because the drool is out of control right now. Juno has started making all sorts of new sounds this month. Her favorite is making a raspberry sound with her lips and she laughs and laughs when we do it back to her.

In the past month Juno has started eating solids — she loves oatmeal and rice cereal — and we just gave her some peas for the first time once she officially turned 6 month olds. Our sweet pea absolutely peas — they are a hit. She is loving sweet potatoes too! We will continue exploring veggies and fruits, try peanut butter and other nuts, add in some meats and start some baby led weaning too as the months go on. Juno likes to sit in her high chair at the table with us and joins in our conversations about our days. I’m loving this whole dinner-time thing as a family! Junos tummy has been much better still and we hope to be able to start weaning her from her reflux medicine within the next few months as she starts to eat more and more solids. We will hold off giving her any dairy for the time being but may eventually introduce a little bit of soy into her diet and see how she does. Hopefully she’ll outgrow her allergic colitis at some point!

This month I finished up teaching my sweet bunch of first graders for the end of the school year and the start to summer has been full of baby snuggles, lots of relaxing and hanging around the house. Juno turned six months old while on her very first camping trip in Estes Park. Juno was a happy camper and did so well! We tried to stick to her normal routine as much as possible while we were away and overall she did great. Mom and dad learned a thing or two like how we should have packed basically our whole house because baby’s need SO much stuff (we will be bringing a bottle warmer and a baby monitor next time — ha!) and also that Colorado mountains are still so cold in early June so next year we might do our first trip later in June but now we feel ready and prepared for our next trip in a couple of weeks!

Since summer has started Juno has developed a little bit of separation anxiety. She likes her mama to be the ONLY one to hold her - she lets dad hold her too when mom isn’t around and she lets Yaya and Auntie KK hold her too, but that’s about it!. Our June goal is to work on this because this mama needs a break every now and again. Starting this week we are getting into more of a working routine again so she’ll be spending two or three days a week with my mom again while I do all the photography business things. It’ll be good to have Juno with Yaya again on a regular basis!

While on the topic of my photography business and since the paperwork has finally gone through, I’m excited to announce that I will be taking a parenting leave this coming school year and will have a year off from teaching. Not only will I get to have more time with Juno and have a more flexible schedule, but my hope is to be able to do much more photography now! In the past I have had to turn away a lot of potential clients because I simply couldn’t teach full time and do photography basically full time as well. But now I won’t have to turn people down and I can spend the year seeing how much photography I can actually do. I’m excited for this new challenge and journey and couldn’t be more happy to get to have more time with my girl!

I know I already mentioned sleep above but in Junos 5 month post last month I mentioned how her sleep took a turn for the worst. I had to actually put her bassinet back in our room because she wanted to be awake or nursing practically the whole night. The longer I was back at work after maternity leave, the worse her sleep got. She had fully reverse cycled plus I had started some bad habits because let’s be honest when you have to be up at 5 a.m. and have to be able to function enough to teach 1st graders all day, you will do anything to get a couple of hours of sleep. Our hope was as soon as summer started to break some of these bad habits, do some official sleep training and get Juno back to being in her own room for the whole night. We ran this by her pediatrician on Friday who gave us the go ahead on sleep training with the exception of making sure Juno still gets at least one night feeding in the middle of the night. So that’s our plan for now! Wish us luck!

[Update: Since writing that, we’ve now done three nights of sleep training. She’s doing great! She’s stayed in her crib all three nights for 11-12 hours. The first night she cried for less than hour total (we were expecting it to be much worse than that), the second night she cried for 4 minutes total (she only cried when we initially laid her down for bed and then didn’t make a peep the rest of the night, and last night she cried for 19 minutes total all night! I’ve been nursing Juno around 10 before I get in bed and then I set my alarm and have been going in around 2:30 to do her middle of the night feeding. Such great progress from where we were even a week ago … we are feeling so hopeful, full of energy and grateful!]

We are looking forward to summer days in the shade, splashing in the pool and enjoying a few more camping trips in the next month! We love Juno more and more everyday, if that’s even possible. She is our whole world.

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I included a handful of phone snapshots this month too while camping and swimming and eating. Juno is getting so close to sitting up on her own so when that happens I’m going to take a few more 6 month photos and will add them here later on!

Until next month …

Juno is 5 Months Old!

5 whole months … how in the world did this happen? Time needs to majorly sloooowwww down. June Bug was actually 5 months last week on May 3rd, but I’m a bit late in posting this month. Working full time in the midst of the end of the school year craziness, not to mention plenty of sleepless nights recently, makes for one tired mama so a week late on posting is actually pretty good I’d say!

5 months. That’s almost half a year old. I honest and truly feel like Juno was born yesterday. I cannot even believe that she is five months old. June Bug seems to be getting sweeter and sweeter by the day if that’s even possible. She is so smiley, so happy, so talkative, so lovey. She is without a doubt the absolute greatest thing that has ever happened to us. Just looking at her makes my heart complete mush. When she smiles, oh my. When she laughs, oh myyyy. She is beautiful, so strong, still so tiny, and a bit of a pistol too. She is just perfect in every way.

Juno is getting so big (but really is just a little peanut still)! We think she is about 12 and half pounds from our calculations. She is in size two diapers and while most of her 0-3 months clothes still fit her, she is also starting to fit into more and more of her 3 month clothes as well! Her cousin, Elliette, just gave us the most gigantic bin of girl clothes that you could ever imagine. We are set for life. It was so fun to get out the 3-6 month bags … Juno has a whole new wardrobe now!

New within the last month is that Juno is laughing. Like big belly laughs and it is the greatest thing in the world. We find ourselves doing the most ridiculous things to try to get her to laugh. She has the biggest open mouth smile too. Goodness, our hearts could burst! She is also grabbing and holding onto everything she can get her hands on. We think she might be starting to teeth because she is chewing on everything and she’s been so drooly recently too.

Also new this month … Juno has completely forgotten how to sleep. She now likes to wake every hour or two throughout the night. In fact, we put her bassinet back by our bed because I just c.a.n.n.o.t. She still goes to sleep in her crib at bedtime and will usually sleep for a few hours initially and then I’ll bring her into our room at her first or second wake up because I just have to got to get some sleep. I know I’m starting bad habits but I’ll have the whole summer to get rid of them, ha! I think she’s reverse cycled because she just wants to snuggle and nurse all night now that I’m gone during the days. Recently it’s felt like she’s a newborn again as far as sleep goes but even worse because at least when she was a newborn I didn’t have to work all day every day. It’s been brutal but we are chugging along and come summer break we are going to do some major sleep training.

[Update: I wrote that part about sleep a week ago and the last week has been better! 🙌🏻 We got her a Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit and she has been sleeping in it since Monday. It makes her feel all swaddled and cozy while not actually being swaddled. She’s now had a few nights in a row with only two wake ups! We will take it!! Maybe the four month sleep regression that hit us hard is coming to an end … we can hope, right?]

Just the other day Juno had her very first bite of real food! We gave her a tiny bit of rice cereal and she wasn’t quite sure what to think of it. She didn’t know what think about the bib we put on her either. She wouldn’t move her head with the bib on so her big eyes were just moving all around while she held the rest of her body perfectly still. It was too funny. We’ve only tried the rice cereal once so we need to give her some more to get a true test of how she likes it and how she does with it. In just one more month we will start other solids as well. Juno’s tummy has been so much better recently. We feel like she’s become a different baby and is so much more happy and content on the daily. We are continuing with the same reflux medicine so she gets a dose of that every morning and I’ve held strong to eating no dairy and no soy to help her allergic colitis. Every now and then her tummy seems to bother her still, but overall, she is doing so much better! It’s been teacher appreciation week at work and I have got to say that my will power has never been so tested and has never held so strong. Each day there has been donuts, cookies, cupcakes, Chick Fil A, and tons of other yummies and I am so proud of myself for not even giving these tempting goodies a second thought. Oh the things we will do for our babies, right?!

June Bug has been spending the days at my parent’s house while we are working and she sure does love it there! She’s not spoiled at all while she is there, as I’m sure you can imagine. ha-ha! My sister went back to work the beginning of May as well so now YaYa watches all three babies - Ellie, Raleigh and Juno. We’ve been calling her Super YaYa because holy moly that is a lot of work! All these babies are loving their YaYa time, that’s for sure! We couldn't be more thankful and I’m sure my mom is ready for a nice, long nap in two weeks once summer break starts. In fact, she booked a trip to Mexico the first week of summer break — can you blame her? Someone is jealous over here!

Some of Juno’s favorite things right now are:

-Baths

-Her play mat - she will lay and roll and kick and squeal on this thing forever

-YaYa - one of three people that she lets hold her without wailing

-Being held (this is usually the only way she’ll nap right now)

-Putting e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g in her mouth - toys, teethers, her hands and fingers, her mama’s chin

-Her new jumpy, bouncy seat

-Making all sorts of new sounds

-Smiling and laughing

-Nursing - now that I’m back at work, Juno would nurse all night if I let her and I may have fallen asleep on the recliner with her a time or two in the night and woken up an hour or so later and she was still nursing away! (See the bad habits I’m forming … oh goodness!) The reverse cycling has been real, but looking on the bright side, nursing used to be so hard for her when she was a “premie” and she didn’t know how to suck on her own and now she’s a champ!

We sure do love this sweet pea more than words can say. Now to see what the next month has to offer. We are looking forward to Juno’s first camping trips, swimming for the first time, evenings on the patio, walks with Remington and lots of cousin time … and this mama can’t wait to get to be with her girl all summer long. 10 more days, but whose counting

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Do you think Juno is tired of having her picture taken yet? Poor girl … I think her face says it all in the last set of these pictures. This month Spring in Colorado has sprung. Warm and sunny one day and snowing the next. Therefore we got some pictures outside plus some in a sweater wrap. Oh Colorado, didn’t you know summer break starts in two weeks?

June Bug is 4 Months Old!

I simply c.a.n.n.o.t. believe it, but another month has flown by and I’m only a few days late with this post! This week we had Juno’s 4 month check up on Monday and she turned 4 months old on Wednesday. Juno has officially graduated from the newborn phase and she is looking more and more like a “real” baby (not so newborn-ish) every day. She is smiling like crazy, loves to laugh, holds her head up like a pro, is grabbing and holding onto things, she will look at us and smile when we talk to her from across the room and she will stay on her tummy holding her head up for much longer without immediately rolling over onto her back. My oh my. Our hearts simply continue to grow each and every single day. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again … we are so, so, so in love with our girl! We sometimes look back and remember when Juno was growing in my belly and we didn’t know if we were having a girl or a boy. We always say, “could you imagine if she was a boy?” Of course, throughout our whole pregnancy we didn’t care in the slightest if we had a boy or a girl, we just hoped and prayed for a healthy baby, but now that she’s here and been with us for 4 months, I can’t imagine not having a girl … it’s like she was always meant to be apart of our family, which she so clearly was!

Juno Elizabeth is 11 pounds 5 ounces. She went from the 3rd percentile in weight to the 4th! Whoah! Baby girl, slowww down, you’re getting SO big! She JUST started wearing size 2 diapers and is still wearing 0-3 month clothes for the most part, but some of her 3 month clothes are starting to fit her. We finally were able to take the newborn insert out of her carseat. She is 23 and 3/4 inches tall, which means she’s grown almost 6 inches since she was born. She had to have a quick ultrasound this week on her hips since her little bum and thigh creases were just a smidge unaligned and hip dysplasia runs in our family. Thankfully her ultrasound showed that her hips are all good so no harness for us … yay! She is long and lean, although we are starting to see a chin roll every once in a while and her sweet cheeks seem to be filling out more and more. She has her daddy’s big blue eyes and we are starting to think that she is looking more and more like him. Her hair still might be turning red, but that’s still up in the air. She still has a little blonde patch of hair on the right side of her head and she is totally rocking a very cute but funny bald spot on the back of her head.

This past month we have had some big changes. I went back to work on the Friday before Spring break, March 15th. I was supposed to start on a Wednesday, but the good Lord above gifted me two extra days by sending down a big snow storm. Hallelujah! Needless to say, my first two days back to work were MUCH easier than I thought they would be. Ha-ha! So, I ended up going back for one day on a Friday when I was able to wear jeans and sweatshirt —Thank you casual Fridays — which was the best because I had been worried about having to put on real clothes after 3 1/2 months of yoga pants and then I had a week off for Spring break where I simply snuggled my girl for one more week all day every day - in my yoga pants. I’ve now had two weeks back since break and it’s been pretty good so far. My mom, sweet Yaya, has watched Juno everyday and Juno simply lights up and smiles at Yaya when I drop her off everyday. That alone makes working so much easier! I will admit that I’m tired exhausted and a little lot worn out. Going 9 to 10 hours a day without seeing my babe is hard, but, on the other hand, it does feel nice to have some routine, to see my colleagues everyday and to get back into the groove of teaching. So far the hardest part of going back to work has been managing pumping while I’m there. I’m prone to clogged milk ducts and I get them frequently anyway, but they are definitely worse when I have to pump a lot. So much so that I came down with mastitis mid-week. Not fun. Being a teacher, it’s hard to find the time and the space to pump frequently, but when I don’t that’s when the clogs take over. I’m having to spend every spare minute that I don’t have students or a meeting or am not making copies or running around the school like crazy person pumping. I only have 7 more weeks until I can cool it with the pumping and hopefully these dang milk ducts will find some relief. The other hard thing about being back at work is finding a routine for the morning. Every morning is different because every night is different and we have to be out the door at 6:40 for the day. We have to give Juno her reflux medicine in the morning and then wait 30 minutes to an hour to feed her so it’s been a bit of a puzzle to figure out. So far it looks like this … reluctantly jump out of bed at 5, give Juno her medicine, spend 15 minutes calming her back down and trying to get her to go back to sleep, pump while getting myself ready, wake Juno up at 6, change her, feed her and get her ready for the day. All the while my awesome hub is making my lunch, blending a smoothie for me and filling up my water bottle for the day. Then we load up the car, say goodbye to daddy, I drop her off at my parents’ and head to work to get there by 7:30. Phew, it’s a whirlwind. Juno has been so good and has adjusted well to being away from me everyday. She has eyes for her Yaya and has found a new groove when she is there. She usually takes a good morning nap for her, has been taking her bottles with no problems, and the two of them can usually snag an afternoon nap together before I am done with work. I’m also pretty sure (actually I know) that she has more toys over there than she does at home so she loves it there! My sis, Auntie KK, is still on maternity leave so she goes over there with her two babes quite a bit and my mom and sis take all three babes on walks to the park and spend time together. I get the cutest pics sent to me throughout the days.

Last month we were deep in the throes of figuring out some tummy and reflux issues with Juno. The sweet pea would just scream and scream all day long, but I’m happy to report that she is feeling SO much better! While she still can throw a good fit, she now lets us put her down throughout the day for long periods of time, she is so much happier, she usually only screams now when she’s tired or hungry and she is pooping every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Hooray! Oh how our lives have so drastically changed — am I really blogging about poop? Mercy! We changed her reflux medicine, which helps so much more despite how awful it is to give it to her - she HATES it because it’s unflavored and disgusting - and giving up dairy and soy in my diet has helped so unbelievably much.

Another big change this month is that we moved Juno to her own room! She now sleeps in her big girl crib and at first she was rocking it! The first night we put her in her room, she only woke up once and the second night in her own bed she slept ALL night. It was absolutely AMAZING! We started this switch over my Spring break in hopes that I could get better nights sleep now that I was working, and for the week of Spring break it worked. Ever since then though I think she has begun the 4 month sleep regression in full force and lately our nights haven’t been so great. Last night she was up at 1:45, 3, 4 and up for the day 6 o’ clock. Some nights are great while others aren’t and all I can say is that I’m so grateful for the comfy recliner in her room. I need to crack down and get better at being consistent when she does wake up in the night, but it’s so hard when she’s so sweet and snuggly.

This month Juno still loves walks in her stroller, car rides, and bath time - she loves to kick and splash! New this month she has learned how to make many new sounds, she tries to mimic all the funny sounds that we make and she has a newfound love of her fingers. She sucks on them all day long. She loves reading books, especially her farm animal book that makes all the animal sounds, and she loves to be talked to, bounced, rocked, and held.

We couldn’t love this little one more — now to see all that the next month has to offer!

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This month we tried to get a picture with all three cousins— we did the best we could. I hopped in for a few photos with my girl as well! Can you even handle the big cream bow in some of these pictures? One my first graders gave Juno that bow when I came back to work … so stinking cute!

3 Months of Juno Elizabeth

I did it … I’m on top of my game this month! Juno is 3 months old TODAY! (I most likely won’t have posted this until later because I still need to take some pictures, but I DID write this post on her actual 3 month birthday). I know I said this last month, but HOW is my baby 3 months old? I feel like I just had her yesterday. My maternity leave has flown by and I go back to work in a week. I’m not ready, but I just keep telling myself that I’m going to be just fine. I’m going to make it. I’ll work for three days, have a week off (thank you, Spring Break!) and then will bust out nine more weeks until summer. I can do it. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. I look at all the amazing working mamas that I know and you all are my inspiration. If you can do it, I can do it, am I right?

This month June Bug has grown so much. She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz at 8 weeks and now, 4 weeks later, she weighs a whopping 10 lbs 1 oz. We have a TEN POUNDER on our hands, which means she’s grown about 4 1/2 pounds since we brought her home from the hospital. She’s in just about the 4th percentile for weight, but she’s growing and gaining and will just most likely be a little peanut forever. After a few lovely blowouts in a row, we realized that Juno had outgrown her newborn diapers and now she’s rocking size 1 diapers … they conveniently hold in all her poop (most of the time), but I will say I got pretty good at changing her, bathing her and doing the laundry all on my own this month. She’s also almost fully outgrown her newborn clothes and is trying to wear 0-3 months clothes now. Most of them are a bit too big on her, but I’m sure they will be small on her in no time. #growinggirl

We’ve had a few challenges this month. At 8 weeks old Juno was put on reflux medicine for all of the projectile spitting up she had been doing and a couple of weeks later we noticed some not so fun tummy issues going on. Lots of gas, pain, a lot less pooping and the list goes on. She’s had a STRONG pair of lungs since day one, but man oh man, did she really learn how to use them this month when she wasn’t feeling good. Poor thing. Needless to say, we felt so bad for her so back to the doctor we went. We have now changed her reflux medication (hoping this one helps more with less yuckiness) and have started the road of elimination diets because our pediatrician is pretty certain she has allergic colitis. We can tell that June Bug’s intestines are inflamed and something I’m eating isn’t jiving with her belly. I’ve now gone completely dairy and soy free … one of the most common allergy in babies is a milk and soy protein allergy and this is what my sweet niece, Elliette, had when she was the same age [and still does] so we are hoping that this is what it is for Juno too. If she doesn’t seem to be much better in a month, we will continue down the path of other eliminations (eggs, nuts, etc. etc.). Isn’t it crazy how much you love your baby … I’m giving up all the things I LOVE (butter, milk, CHEESE ) without so much as a second thought and let me just tell you that soy is in EVERYTHING! But so far it’s been pretty easy peasy because I will do anything for this sweet girl of mine. And I’m sure I’ll feel better too in the long run, right? I keep telling myself that if my sis could do it with her baby that I can too #ifkaylacandoiticandoit - this seems to be a theme this month. The hardest part about all of this is that we are just figuring it all out right in time for me to go back to work. Having to leave her for nine hours a day when I know she doesn’t feel good is going to be hard. She’s going to be in the best of hands though, which I’m beyond grateful for, and hopefully even within this coming week she’ll be feeling so much better (she already is starting to).

This month, June Bug absolutely LOVES to smile, talk, coo and giggle when you talk to her. She’s usually especially happy right when she wakes up either from the night or from her naps. She has the best smile in the whole world if I do say so myself. She still loves to rock, bounce and be held and she loves being tied to my chest in her Solly Wrap. She loves a good, tight swaddle, a dark room and the sound of waves when she’s upset. She also has learned to love a warm bath and she smiles and coos and kicks her legs in the tub. She doesn't like water being poured on her head or getting out of the bath still though. She will scream and cry until her warm jammies are safely on. She really likes her carseat and, when all else fails, a nice drive or a long walk will put her right to sleep. So far she’s been a trooper at running errands or grocery shopping. If I can time it right and we leave right after a feeding, she will usually just sleep the whole time. She also is starting to notice her giant pup, Remington, who is always laying right by her or constantly checking on her when she’s in her rocker or bouncer. Juno will smile and reach out to try to touch her when Remi comes up to her.

Juno has become quite the sleeper within the last month! She now consistently sleeps anywhere from a 4 hour stretch to a 7 hour stretch at night. One night she even did a 8 hour stretch! I get up twice to nurse her usually around 2 or 3 and again around 5, but in a week from now when I’m back at work it’ll only be once because I’ll be getting up at 5 ... Not sure if I’m ready to be setting my alarm for a 5:00 a.m. wake up, but I guess I will have to be. She loves sleeping in a dark room with white noise on in the Arms Reach bassinet that is next to our bed. She is still is uncertain about her big-girl crib in her nursery, but she will occasionally take a good nap in there so we will keep working on it. Right now I’m happy with her next to me throughout the night so I can easily pick her up and nurse her instead of having to get out of bed. It’s been working well and I’m so thankful for all the nice sleep I’ve been getting lately. I’m back to making it through the days (well, most days) with no caffeine so that is a WIN for sure!

This month I’ve been really trying to be present with our girl and soak up each and every second of being home with her. Every smile, every alligator tear, every kick, every time she rolls over during tummy time. She’s growing and changing before our eyes and is always doing something new. I could stare at her forever and some days that’s all I do. She has the biggest blue eyes you will ever see with the longest eyelashes. Her nose is teeny tiny and oh so cute. Her cheeks are starting to get chunky. She will squeeze your finger with her tiny hand and likes to hold on to you while nursing or taking a bottle. She is the absolute sweetest thing. I’m so, so thankful for the time I’ve had off. These are moments I’ll never get back so the past 3 months of leave have been absolutely priceless.

That’s about it for now … until another month flies by!

And, we can’t forget about Remington the Berner either. She hasn’t been getting as much attention as she’s used to recently so she had to hop in for a model shot too this month …

Months One & Two with Juno Elizabeth

Well, I’ve come to terms with the fact that blogging is just not my jam. I always have great intentions to sit down and post, but somehow I always find myself weeks behind schedule. When I was pregnant I envisioned doing a blog post each month about our baby, and here I am ten weeks later with NO blog post yet. BUT, I figure it’s better late than never. The other thing I’ve learned since having a baby is that TIME FLIES. These past ten weeks have gone SO fast.

(Note that I’m writing this more for myself so that I can look back and remember all of these sweet moments and milestones with my girl as the months go by so I won’t be offended if you just want to skim through and look at the darling pictures instead.)

Here we go …

Month One Recap

Our first month with our sweet girl went so unbelievably fast. Juno was born on December 3rd, we went home with her on December 5th and we spent the first month adjusting to parenthood. Brandon was home for the majority of this first month, which was so nice. We definitely didn’t take that for granted and it was so nice to be able to tag-team and figure out parenting together, especially because for the first couple of weeks I had to triple feed and it was exhausting — it was so nice that Brandon could do the bottle feeding part of the triple feeding. We loved just staring at our baby girl and watching all of her different faces and expressions as she slept in our arms. She was the tiniest little peanut and Brandon and I would fight over who would hold her.

Juno was 6 lbs 3 oz when she was born, got down to 5 lbs 10 oz when we left the hospital and then was back up to 6 lbs 5 oz at her 2 week appointment. At 4 weeks old, she weighed 7 lbs 1 oz. She was in the fifth percentile for height and weight all month long. Juno’s newborn diapers and clothes were big on her for the first few weeks, but she eventually grew into them throughout the month. We started tummy-time right away and by Juno’s 2nd week she would hold her head up for short bursts at a time while on her belly and at 3 1/2 weeks she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time.

Juno absolutely hated being changed and/or naked during month one. She has some LOUD lungs and we’d get to hear them at their finest with every diaper change, every bath, and every time we got her naked. Since we didn’t know we were having a girl, it was so fun to receive girl clothes and gifts from family and friends during these first few weeks! Brandon and I would find ourselves saying about twenty times a day, “I can’t believe we have a baby girl.”

Month one was full of baby snuggles, lots of staring at Juno’s beautiful face, and holding our baby girl. I often burst into tears this first month simply because I loved her so much and I couldn’t handle it. (The hormones are REAL after having a baby). During her first month, Juno got to have her first Christmas [which was supposed to be her due date] and turned 4 weeks old on New Years Eve.

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Pics From Month One

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Month Two Recap

Juno’s second month may have gone even faster than her first. I honestly can’t believe that she’s 2 1/2 months old right now. How? How did that happen? Month two we continued to adjust to parenthood and I had my first go at mommying all on my own. Brandon went back to work so from 7:00-4:00 I had to learn how to manage on my own. Many days Brandon would come home and ask me what I did all day and I’d reply that I just held our girl all day — held her, fed her, changed her, stared at her, read to her, danced with her, sang to her, prayed over her — that’s about all I did this month and it was perfect.

This month Juno was still wearing newborn diapers and clothes, but she expanded her wardrobe because she got all of her cousin Ellie’s hand me downs. My sister ended up having a boy this time around so we are forever grateful for all the girl hand-me-downs we now get! At 8 weeks old Juno weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. She is 21 & 3/4 inches tall. She’s still in the fifth percentile for height and weight. Juno’s hair started to change from dark brown to a lighter brown with a hint of red (YES, RED! This mama is so excited). She still has her blonde patch of hair on the right side of her head which she’s had since she was born, and I need to know what kind of lash boost this girl is using because her eyelashes are something else.

At just about 5 weeks old, Juno “real” smiled for the first time and seeing her smile was our absolute favorite part of month two. Juno is so much more interested in the world around her now, will follow us with her eyes when we talk to her, smile at us and she began to find her voice — cooing and ooohing all the time. Also at 5 weeks old, Juno celebrated her cousin Ellie’s 2nd birthday and then four days later her twin cousin came into the world. My sister and brother-in-law welcomed Raleigh Emmett into the world and Elliette became a big sister on January 6th. It was so fun to have Juno and Raleigh meet one another after all this time. We love these babies so much.

June Bug still hates getting out of the bath and doesn’t like being cold or naked. She loves being in her carseat either in the car or on a walk and she loves being bounced and rocked. She became an expert roller by 8 weeks old and now tummy-time will only last seconds or a couple of minutes before she’s rolled over onto her back. We have had to stop swaddling her with her arms in because she is moving like crazy and we think she might be close to rolling from her back to her tummy now too (although she hasn’t yet). She now sleeps with her arms straight up in the air all night and it’s so funny. And speaking of sleep, this month we practiced everything we learned from Taking Cara Babies newborn class and Juno’s sleep got to be so much better (depending on the night). This was SUCH a nice improvement because during the first month of June Bug’s life she had her days and nights mixed up and was up a LOT during the night.

I can’t believe that month two came and went so quickly, but I have a feeling that I’ll be saying that every month. As I write this, we are only two weeks away from month three! Slow down pleasseeee. This mama has to go back to work in a few short weeks and she isn’t ready!

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two month pics

Happy New Year! A Look Back On 2018 - The Year of the Babies

With every new year, we always like to take a moment to reflect on the past year and to thank all of our amazing clients that made our year so wonderful. From newborns to weddings to families, every session we had this year filled us with so much joy and we are truly grateful to each and every one of you. Here are a few highlights from our sessions this year. Then, read on for some of our personal highlights from 2018 …

A BIG thank you to all of our clients and friends who entrusted us to capture your special moments this year!

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Now, here are some of our favorite personal highlights from the year …

In March, we traveled to Siesta Key, FL with my (Emily’s) family. Click here to read all about our trip! This was Elliette’s [our niece] first time at the beach and it was the absolute best watching her experience the ocean waves and the sand for the first time. We had so much fun on this much-needed vacay!

Then, in April, this happened …

We found out we were pregnant! I’ve decided to coin 2018 as The Year of the Babies because less than a month later, my sister found out she was also pregnant with baby #2!

and our sweet sister-in-law, Katie, was also pregnant with her first baby so I spent a good part of the year pregnant with both my sister and my sister-in-law. Katie was due in September, I was due in late December and my sister, Kayla, was due a mere two weeks after me. #theyearofthebabies

Brandon and I celebrated our anniversary with a camping trip to Grand Lake. One of our favorite places!

We spent the end of July camping throughout Ouray, Telluride, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Carbondale and Aspen.

On September 9th, Micah James came into the world. Our very first nephew and a cute one at that. Brandon’s brother, Jeff, and SIL, Katie, have become the best parents.

Also in September we spent a long weekend in Steamboat cheering on my brother-in-law who ran in the #runrabbitrun 100 mile run. Brandon, Remington and I camped while the rest of my family rented a condo. So fun to have a weekend away with family and Cameron (our BIL) is nothing short of amazing!

Throughout the Fall, Kayla and I compared our growing bellies. We called these babies the #twincousins since we were due so close to one another.

In November, my mom and sister threw me a darling little baby shower to celebrate Baby Gayle …

and then Brandon and I went on a quick baby moon (it was cut short due to weather) in Breckenridge over Thanksgiving.

Our favorite part of 2018 happened just a couple of weeks later on December 3rd. Juno Elizabeth Gayle was born at 3:52 in the afternoon. At only 36 1/2 weeks pregnant she definitely caught us by surprise, but now after having her be here for the past 4 weeks we can’t imagine it any other way. We also didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl so finding out she was a GIRL was the best surprise of all. Weighing 6 lbs 3 oz, 18 inches tall and with some mighty loud lungs, we are truly grateful and so unbelievably blessed. We couldn’t be more in love with our June Bug.

*These last 3 photos were taken by the photographer at the hospital when Juno was about 15 hours old. Thank you to Bella Baby Photography for these! We are so happy to have these photos to remember Juno when she was a brand-new newborn.

We spent the holiday season cherishing every new moment as a new family of three (well four - we can’t forget about Remington). We wish you a Happy New Year and a very sweet year to come. We hope to see you in 2019 … we are now booking sessions for the rest of the Winter and the Spring! Happy New Year!

And since it was #theyearofthebabies, I know you’re wondering about Kayla & Cameron’s baby. We are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby #2. We thought for sure he or she would be here before the New Year, but baby is too cozy in Kayla’s belly. Come on Twin Cousin #2 ... we can’t wait to meet you!

Siesta Key - Family Photos on the Beach!

Over mine and Kayla's Spring break we went on a family vacation to Siesta Key, FL and, oh my heavens, it was such a g.r.e.a.t trip. All 7 of us went - my parents, my sister and brother in law and their baby girl, Brandon and me.  It was so insanely gorgeous there.  We spent day after day lounging in the sun reading a good book or playing in the sand with our sweet niece, Elliette.  It was Ellie's first time at the beach and she l.o.v.e.d it!  She ate quite a bit of sand but it never seemed to phase her.  She wanted to dig in the sand and stand in the waves all day.  We just got back a week ago and while it's been hard getting back to the grind, it's so nice to have these photos to take us back.  Just look at this sunset ... this was real life for 6 days.  Absolutely amazing.  Sun, sand and salt water were SO needed!

My mom's birthday was a couple of weeks before our trip (happy birthday sweet mama!), and for her present we told her we were going to try to get a family photo of all 7 of us on the beach and then she's going to choose some to print and have in her house.  :)  So, one evening while we were there, we set up the tripod and tried our best. (This is also how Brandon and I took our own engagement photos 3 1/2 years ago). I think we got some keepers!  

And when you're a photographer and have your camera at the beach, you then get a little carried away.  My poor family ... they were troopers ... we took photos until the sun was nowhere to be found!

How precious is this sweet baby at the beach? I could just eat her up.

She sure loves her LaLa & Papa too ... and I think it's mutual.  

I'm moving to the beach . . . as long as my whole family moves with me!

Kayla took these next pics for us ... she's a pro already!  Thanks KK!

Just a few more . . . 

Heaven on Earth.  A B.I.G thank you is in order to my mom and dad.  They were the ones who took us on this amazing vacation and we are so incredibly blessed by them.  We sure do love you both!  We can't wait for our next family vacay!  :)

Abby Jean's 6 Month Portraits - Ken Caryl Ranch

There are no words for these pictures ... I had the best time capturing this sweet 6 month old's faces, expressions and happiness.  She is pure joy!

Two Newborns & A Whole Lot of Fall Family Fun

I know it's January, but I am f.i.n.a.l.l.y getting around to posting from our crazy (yet wonderful) Fall. And by Fall I mean August through December.  Where does the time go? Not only do we usually get so swamped in the Fall that we fall behind on posting, but we also like to let Holiday cards get sent out before we post many of these in case clients are wanting their Holiday cards to be a surprise! This year my goal is stay on top of blogging ... we will see if that actually happens.  With that being said, this post is a doozy so grab a cup of coffee or a beverage of your choice and scroll down to see what we've been up to recently.  Here are two darling newborn sessions along with all the fall family shoots as well!  Enjoy!

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My sweet friends, Travis & Nicole, brought Abigail Jean into the world on August 31st.  Could she be any more perfect?

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Then, on October 19th, Makenna Marie came into the world and Lindsay & Kyle are the greatest parents.  This newborn session was so precious ... I didn't want to leave!

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The Fall is my favorite time of the year for family sessions.  These next three sessions were taken on a rainy day in Downtown Denver.

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These next two sessions were both taken at Daniel's Park.  It may have been a little windy, but the background couldn't have been better and the families are darling whether their hair is blowing in the wind or not  :) 

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Next up, two sweet families taken at Woodie Hollow Park ... one of our favorite places thanks to the family below!  

These three girlies were flower girls in our wedding and I cannot believe how grown up they are now.  I first started babysitting for them when the oldest was TWO.  Now she's FOURTEEN ... how did that happen? #imustbegettingold

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Every Fall, Three Pond Park seems to be one of our main go-to places.  The Fall colors are always so pretty there ....

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Of course, we had to take my sister's family photos too ... I can't resist taking pictures of that niece of mine.  Elliette was 9 months here.

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Come November and early December, we snuck in a few last minute sessions just in time to get those holiday cards out.  Phew!

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Isn't this little one so handsome? This was a quick studio session that I did at home. I love the clean, white background and those eyes!

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It's been a very busy year! We are so blessed and grateful for each and every one of these families.  Thank you for the fun shoots and for letting us share these pictures. We are currently booking for all of 2018!  

Happy New Year: Reflecting on 2017 as we ring in 2018

As 2017 comes to a close and we get ready to ring in a new year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year and to thank our clients who made this year one of the best. 

2017 started off with an all-time high when we welcomed our niece into the world on January 2nd, 2017. Elliette Kay has filled this year with so much love, laughter and joy. 

The summer of 2017 was a great time for adventure.  Near the end of 2016, we purchased a travel trailer and this year was spent traveling and camping throughout Colorado. Some of our highlights were hiking throughout Mueller State Park, going to Carbondale with our good friends, and trying new beers at the Octoberfest in Breckenridge. We were certainly #happycampers

This summer we also went on a two-week long road trip with the travel trailer to Nashville, TN. We stayed at an amazing resort on a beautiful lake. We watched the sunrise everyday, went fishing, swam in the water, and walked up and down Broadway while eating good food and listening to great music.  We celebrated the marriage of Brandon's cousin and got in lots of quality family time as well. Remington went on a boat for her first time and initially loved every second of it until Emily jumped in the water at which point she had a complete meltdown.  

In October we spent four ocean-filled days in San Diego with Brandon’s family celebrating his parents 40th anniversary followed by a quick stay in Fresno, CA to celebrate the lives of both of his grandparents who passed away this summer.  

Our Fall was filled with teaching (Emily), guitar playing (Brandon), soaking up every ounce of Fall weather and lots and lots of portrait sessions. Fall family portraits are always one of our favorite things every year and since many of our clients use these pictures for their Holiday cards, we never post them until after Christmas.  With that being said, I'll do a blog post of these soon!

Last but not least, this year wouldn't have been the same without the friends and family we are surrounded by. Here are some other favorite moments from 2017 ... Our year was clearly centered around our sweet niece  :) 

As you ring in the New Year tonight, take some time to reflect upon 2017 and set new goals, hopes and dreams for 2018.  Each and every session this year from newborns to families to headshots meant so much to us, and we are so grateful for each and every one of our clients and friends.  Happy New Year! 

*P.S. - If we took your photos in 2017, your gallery is back up and running until February 1st.  Use code: NEWYEAR18 for a 30% discount off your print order of $30 or more!

Kyle & Lindsay Maternity - Three Pond Park

Congrats to Kyle and Lindsay ... they are getting ready to wlecome their first baby!  Is Lindsay not the most stunning lady ever .. pregnancy sure does look good on her!  I was blessed to be able to teach with Kyle a few years ago and I am even more blessed by the friendship that has grown since then with Kyle and Lindsay.  This session was so much fun and I cannot wait to meet sweet baby girl in October!  The countdown is on!

Travis & Nicole: Baby Girl Coming Soon!

Our sweet friends Nicole and Travis are getting ready to welcome baby girl, Abby, and we could not be happier for them! You are going to be the B.E.S.T parents and Abby is already so lucky! We can't wait to meet her in one month! Thanks for such a fun afternoon you two three!

Ben & Liz: A Denver Wedding

There are no words to describe the love that these two have for each other.  This day could not have been any more perfect and Brandon and I were blessed to be apart of it.  Ben and Liz had an eventful day on June 4th in Denver. Liz and her bridesmaids got ready at the beautiful Brown Palace.  After that she rode in style with her dad to Alamo Placita Park where Ben got to see his beautiful bride for the first time. After taking as many photos as we could possibly squeeze in, we headed to Denver Community Church for their "I-do's". Their ceremony was both elegant and simple full of tears of joy and laughter.  After the ceremony, we headed to the most beautifully decorated reception location, The Mercury Cafe. This place was magical and was the perfect spot to celebrate the night away. Instead of cutting a traditional wedding cake, Ben & Liz cut the ribbon off their Oreo cake that sat underneath two superhero Corgi cake-toppers.  Why you ask?  Because why NOT!?  For those of you who don't know Ben and Liz, while they don't have a dog YET, they are obsessed.  So much so that Liz joined Instagram purely for the puppy pictures.  The fact that they love Remi the Berner as much as I do makes me love Ben and Liz even more than words can say.  I've never been to a reception that was filled with SO, SO many home-baked with love-cookies.  Liz's mom and dear friends from all around the U.S. made and brought cookies all the way to Colorado to make this reception absolutely perfect.  And to top it all off, they even had ice cream from the one and only Sweet Action Ice Cream.  Now this was a wedding after my own heart :)  Liz's mom also made the beautiful bouquets and the day ran smoothly thanks to the wonderful Cherry Bomb Events. The love that this bride and groom have is contagious ... I don't think I've laughed as hard as I have on both the day I took Ben & Liz's engagement photos and on their wedding day, and they made my job E-A-S-Y!  Ben and Liz, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us capture the beginning of your marriage.  Wishing you all the best and lots of laughter ahead!

Adiós Sticky Cabinets - Our Kitchen Remodel

You might remember when Brandon and I closed on our new home last June.

Well, it's been exactly a year and we've finished our biggest project yet ... remodeling the kitchen.  Upon moving in, it was my ultimate goal to get rid of the old, sticky cabinets and open up the space that we have on our main floor.  So, in January, Brandon set out to tear down some walls, add some walls to extend the kitchen, and vault the ceilings.  Here's a look at what our kitchen looked like before we started the remodel.

Now, I am lucky to have a husband who does this type of thing.  So besides the hardwood floors, the electrical, the gas line, and the drywall on the ceiling, Brandon did everything else.  If you need anything done in or outside of your house 5280 Paint has got your back.

Remi was a trooper throughout the whole process.  And while that was all being done, we lived out of our basement

We set up a little kitchen with a microwave, small stove, and a toaster oven and we made the best of it.

We were trying to do this all on a  pretty tight budget so we opted for IKEA cabinets and absolutely have fallen in love with them.  Thank goodness Brandon wasn't overwhelmed when all of these boxes got dropped off.

So without further ado... here is a before and after taken from the same spot.

And one more... taken from the far side of the front door.

I am in heaven...

My FAVORITE part of the kitchen is the beautiful teal island, which was a gift from my mom.  I love the color, the distressed finish, and the butcher block top.  Gorgeous to say the least!  Did you know that my mom, Lori (Interior Ideas and Renovations, LLC) is an interior designer and general contractor?  She contributed to the brains behind our kitchen, put all of our hardware on our cabinets and island, took us to the granite yard, helped with appliances, the list goes on...

And my second favorite part of the kitchen is the little breakfast nook that we added on.  I love this bright space to sit and enjoy my coffee or flip through a magazine and I especially love how our garage door is now connected and goes straight into the house!

See how the teal brick wall matches the island?  :)

I especially love the little things that make this kitchen come alive ... the white subway tile, the amazingly huge and open sink, the beautiful marbled quartz counter top, the natural hardwood floors thanks to my cousin Brian (Heritage Custom Renovations) and the gas stove that we snagged from Sears Outlet and the hood vent (Amazon).  Also, my wonderful parents gifted us their old fridge when they decided they wanted a new one, and my mom found our dishwasher for a bargain price from Mountain High Appliances  ("Mountain high appliances in Louisville, in Louisville..." I can't say that without singing the jingle ;) )  Our stacked microwave and oven are also from IKEA.

The rest of our main floor looks like this now ... new kitchen table (thanks, Margaret, for the discount!), new paint, new hardwood floors, new baseboards, new rug made from the extra carpet from the basement, and my Grandpa's old piano)

During the remodel, we also got a brand new patio that wraps around the side of the house and Brandon painted the exterior.  Brandon also built us an amazing garden, and a few months ago we got a new roof as well!  This is our happy place!

A big thanks to everyone that helped along the way!  Couldn't have done it without ya'll!  Now come on over for dinner!

Life Lately & Snow Day Fun - Colorado Spring Blizzard 2016

Let me just start this post by showing you a picture of what it looked like here in Colorado on Tuesday.

Yup, that's right.  On Tuesday it was nearing the 70's ... sunny and beautiful.  The grass was green and spring was in the air. During work, I actually went outside to warm-up during my plan time because I was cold inside! Brandon and I took Remi on a walk in short sleeves after I got home from work.  Remi rolled around in the grass and played fetch and it was a perfect Spring day.

Now, I shouldn't be shocked by any means because blizzards in Colorado can happen without any warning and it's not uncommon to get a spring blizzard, but when the news informed us that we were on a "blizzard watch" for Wednesday, I said "Yeah right, there is no way".  Being a Colorado native, I should have known better, but even Tuesday night and early Wednesday it was WARM!  We actually slept with the windows OPEN all night!

Wednesday morning my phone rang at 5:30 waking us up and when I saw the number I knew that we either had a delayed start or a snow day!  The later came true upon answering so I immediately turned off my alarm and tried to fall back asleep, but Remington wasn't having it.  When we got down stairs and let Remi out, there was only about an inch or two of snow on the ground.  In fact, we thought "what the heck" and proceeded to take the pup on a walk around the block!

Side note:  Remington is getting spayed on Monday so we had her pre-surgery appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m.  Since I now had the day off, I decided to tag along and only after getting in the car did we realize that we couldn't drive anywhere!  For the first time ever my Rav4 was stuck and on our street of all places!  Without us even realizing it, it had dumped at least 8 inches of snow or maybe even more in the two hours since we had been up and it was still coming down pretty heavily!  So we called the vet, rescheduled her appointment, and hopped back into our PJ's!  Brandon was supposed to continue building our neighbor's fence which he started earlier this week, but due to the storm, he decided to take the day off as well.  It was so nice to have the day off when my handsome hubby was around!

Brandon had made us breakfast burritos first thing in the morning so by nine we were hungry again. Given the gift of time, I whipped up some home-made pancakes.  Brandon thought it would be fun to make giant pancakes so that's what we did. We put both giant pancakes on top of one another, smothered them with butter and syrup, and topped them with fresh blueberries. While the giant pancakes were cooking on our new gas stove, I sat in our new breakfast nook, watched the snow fall outside, and sipped on a warm cup of coffee. Oh, how I love a forced day off to relax and enjoy the little things! Two forks, one plate, a mound of scrumptious pancakes and I was one happy lady!

Another side note: Brandon and I moved into our house last July and since then we have been living in a  kitchen that was straight of the 60's with minimal cabinet and/or countertop space. The cabinets were small, a gross shade of brown, and STICKY beyond belief. We were so thankful to have even bought our first house and we had absolutely no right to ever complain about the kitchen, but we knew it was on our very long list of homeowner's to-do's. So, near the end of January we decided to gut the whole kitchen, tear down a few walls and the ceiling, add on a small breakfast nook, and two months later, it is finally resembling a kitchen again!  While it's not finished completely, we have brand new cabinets, beautiful marble countertops, a vaulted ceiling, a cute and bright breakfast nook, and incredibly nice new hardwood floors. We have all new appliances (except for the fridge) and we are so in love with our new kitchen. We (and when I say "we" I really mean "Brandon") are now putting the finishing touches on (backsplash, toe kicks, window sills, baseboards, a final coat of paint, etc.) and are waiting for our greenish/blue/dark teal island to arrive.  When it's completely finished, I will post some before and after pictures.  I am so blessed to have a husband who did and is still doing all the handy work, a mom who has helped us design the kitchen, and a cousin who installs beyond-gorgeous hard wood floors.  I am a happy chef over here ... oh wait, I don't cook, that's Brandon's specialty.  :)

After our delicious 2nd breakfast, we headed out in the snow to play with the Remperson (AKA, Remington Estelle Gayle).  Oh man, she LOVES the snow.  We couldn't get her to come in all day and by the time she did come in, she was soaking wet and her fur was filled with tons of little snow balls matted within every millimeter of her.

Brandon kept measuring our snow fall throughout the day ... in the evening we had 15".  He also had to keep knocking off the trees and the Comcast cables.

After so much playing, we came inside, lounged on the couch, and took a nap.  What else is there to do on such a lovely day off while the weather is frightful outside?

At 4:00 Remi had a playdate with Harvey from next door.  They are best buds.  To see a couple of pictures of Harvey when he was an itty bitty pup click here!

While the fur babies were playing, the neighbors and us discovered that we both made crock pot meals for dinner so we decided to have a crock pot feast for dinner at their house.  We headed over with our spaghetti squash pasta and they provided delicious french dip.  It was all yummy to say the least.  We are SO lucky to have neighbors that we like, get along with, and have dinners with.  Can I get an Amen!?

After that we headed home and snuggled into bed.  I was already sleeping with my kindle in my hands when my phone woke me up yet again, but this time at 9:30 p.m. last night.  Same number as this morning.  Ummm what?!  "This is a call from the Cherry Creek School District to inform you that all schools will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, due to inclement weather."  Hallelujah!  I turned off my alarm and drifted off to sleep now knowing that I had another day off.

This morning, Brandon, being as sweet as he, got up with the pup and let me sleep in until 7!  Seven!  That never happens!  It was a miracle!  While yesterday was more eventful, today was such a nice day catching up on things I normally only get around to on the weekends (laundry, cleaning, sweeping the floors).  We shoveled the driveway with the help of my dad and hung a new blind in our nook with the help of my mom.  Brandon finished building a fence, I worked on my blog.  We took Remington to the vet and we played outside in the sunshine and snow.  Now Brandon is at Easter practice at church and I'm just hanging at home. I think I'll read my book, finish my laundry, and reply to some emails.

Needless to say, it's been a wonderful two days off.  Now it's back to work tomorrow (which I'm glad about because my first graders and I need to change out the apples in our mealworm habitats and make sure our milkweed bugs have enough water to make it through spring break ... good ol' life science for ya), and then off for a week for Spring break.  Not a bad couple of weeks if I do say so myself.

There you have it.  That's been life lately, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

IMG_2749 from Emily Ann Photography on Vimeo.

P.S. if you think this post was long, just imagine how lengthy they will become when I have actual human kids, not just fur-kids.  Yikes ... you still have a few years [at least], but you may want to brace yourself for them now!

Gretchen & Greg - A Denver Backyard Winter Wedding

I've photographed Gretchen's family for many years now so when she called me out of the blue a day in November and asked if I would be available to photograph her December wedding, of course I said "yes!"  Greg was Gretchen's ski instructor when she was a young teenager, and all these years later, Greg has been waiting for her to marry him.  I mean, could their love story be any more darling?  I met Greg the day before their December wedding and immediately saw how perfect they were together. Gretchen and Greg wanted photos of the two of them outside of their wedding attire out of the chaos of the wedding day so the day before we met at the park and captured a few photos of just the two of them before the big day.

Gretchen's parents host a "Soup Kitchen" every Holiday season ... Gretchen's dad, being the chef that he is, makes a potluck of delicious soups and they invite all their friends and family over for the tasty affair.  What I love about their Soup Kitchen is that everyone is welcome just how they are, and every December their Denver house fills with people ready to taste tasty soups.  Since this was happening anyway on December 20th, Gretchen and Greg decided to have their ceremony right before this big event in Gretchen's parents' backyard.  They set up a warm, beautifully-decorated tent and the intimate ceremony was beyond perfect for the two of them.  The winter decor and beautiful bouquets of flowers added just the right touch and the day was a memorable one spent with friends and family from all over the world.

Gretchen and Greg, thank you for letting me be apart of this beautiful day!  I love the both of you and wish you all the best!

A Year For the Books, Fall Family Sessions, and a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I cannot believe that tonight we will head into the year 2016.  I have so much to be thankful for as I reflect upon what a year it has been.  2015 was a year for the books!  A BIG thank you to everyone who made this year extra amazing!  Here are my top ten highlights of 2015 (in chronological order):

• Brandon and I bought our first house and we are finally feeling a little more settled in, have finally hung some things on the walls, and are continuing to work on never-ending house projects.  We are slowly but surely turning this house into a home.  I'm lucky that my hubby is handy!
• Finally got the brother I have always wanted.  My sister got married on June 20, 2015 and now I am so happy to say that after 25 years of life I now have a brother (well two now, but I'll get to that) and a pretty cool one at that!  Congrats to KK & Cam!!

• On July 11, 2015 I married my best friend.  We had a beautiful, small backyard wedding at my parent's house and it was perfect in every way.  Thank you to my friend Sharon Arnoldi for capturing such a special day!  I also gained another brother and sister (love you Jeff and Katie!) and two loving parents (Mitzie & Lou!).  A big thank you to my mom and dad for such an amazing wedding, letting us use your house as our incredible venue, and for all your love and support!

• Honeymooned in Cancun, Mexico!  We stayed at an AMAZING resort where we had our own pool on our private "roof-top terrace" and divulged in fresh-made "Coco-Locos" on the beach everyday.

• Emily Ann Photography grew immensely ... thank you to ALL of my amazing clients old and new.  Thank you to those who continually give my name out to friends ... I wouldn't be where I am today without YOU!  I am so lucky that I have clients who do all of my marketing and advertising for me.  And a BIG thank you to those who trusted me for the first time to capture your special moments whether it was an engagement, a wedding, a new born bundle of joy, or your family.  I am truly blessed!
• Traveled to Ft. Lauderdale with Brandon, my brother and sister in law, and great friends where we spent time swimming in the ocean, walking on the beach, and enjoying the immense hospitality of a church that hosted a HIFR show.  That little yellow book has been a blessing in so many ways, and it was so much fun getting to see Brandon travel and play at this show.
• Brandon and I welcomed our new fur-baby into our hearts.  If you haven't met Remington yet, here you go!  To see more pictures of this cute pup, click here.

Wishing you all the best, good health, and an abundance of happiness in 2016!

Remington

Meet Remington the Bernese Mountain Dog, the newest addition to our family!  After waiting 8 long weeks, Brandon and I finally got to meet and bring home this sweet girl last Saturday.  We have now spent a little over a week with her, and we are completely in love.  I've been meaning to post some pictures of her and with the surprise snow day today, I am finally able to! So far, Remington (Remi) spends the majority of the day sleeping and thinks she is a lap dog.  She's going to be in for a reality check once she gets bigger.  She's gained 4 pounds in one week and now weighs a whopping 21 lbs at 9 weeks old.  She was the biggest in her litter and her breeder said that she will be at least 100 pounds when she is full grown ... I mean, just look at those paws!

Last weekend, we set up the tripod to take our first official family photo ... Remi wasn't thrilled, but we got one!

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I am completely obsessed with her spotted nose ... it will eventually turn all black so I had to pull out the macro lens before that happened! (I know, somehow overnight I turned into a crazy dog lady)

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Remington loves the snow ... running in the snow, burying her head in the snow, chewing on all the sticks she can find...

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And while I baked cookies today, she did what she does best.  The entire time she didn't move.  Playing in the snow wiped her out!

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And last but not least, since my dear friends requested a video, here you go, Ben & Liz!

Ben & Liz - A Fall Engagement

It was so much fun to capture the love that these two have for one another.  This session was filled with a lot of laughter, goofiness, and pure love.  They even came prepared with hot chocolate, shooters, blankets, and "snuggle clothes"!  Congrats to Ben & Liz ... we can't wait to be apart of your wedding!

Alex & Jared - A Red Rocks Chapel & Molly Brown Summer House Wedding

These pictures are all the words I need ... a gorgeous wedding for a beautiful couple.  Blessed to be apart of it!  Congrats Alex and Jared!  Best wishes to the two of you!