CRAZY Dreams

I have been having some of my most vivid and bizarre dreams over the last few nights. No idea what is going on. Last night I read Stephanie Meyer's new Novella before bed, and therefore dreamed about vampires. You should read all this because you might be mentioned! The night before all of these things were in my dream:

I DREAMT ON JULY 24:
Bill & Christie were pregnant with twins
Lady Gaga was doing my hair and she told me to go back to my natural color
Someone tried to steal my laptop, camera, AND hard-drive
I dropped my 17-55mm 2.8 lens (again, this happened in real life...it fell out of my shootsac) and it was totally broken.
I forgot about 2 love/engagement sessions, I literally was half asleep when they all showed up, and the weather was crappy - Danielle & Dave, and Heather Kinal & her hubby Murl. Both were really upset with me. We were climbing over roofs and in these weird blue rooms.
I was taking pictures of Jessy Deppen/Burkell & Laurel Watson/Clark, as friends, couple... I don't know why!
My mom & dad stopped over unannounced and I freaked out on them (not that far off from reality) ;-)
There was a tv show/film going on right outside my house
My mother was letting homeless people into my house and demanding that I feed them.

It... was... weird!

almost 4 months old

I cannot believe this little girl. She is 16 weeks old now and so very vocal. She loves to smile at herself, she must think she's pretty cute. (she's right)



She is doing great on her tummy, but she still gets annoyed after about 5-10 minutes there.



She rolled over last Friday twice in a row from tummy to back, but we haven't been able to get her to repeat it since. Her hair is going NUTs. She loves when Brian or I put her high above our head and sing "Super girl!"




She makes a hilarious pouty face now that cracks me up! (see below)



And she is learning and communicating. I can't wait to hear what her voice will be like one day! I am loving being her mom, struggling with time and how to get into a routine. But she sleeps so well at night, I can't complain about anything. She is an angel baby!

Here are some cute videos of her. The first is at 14 weeks, the second at 15, and the third taken this morning at 16 weeks. Enjoy :)

so much interaction

Chloe is just turning into a little charmer. She smiles and laughs and interacts with us all the time. She is grabbing, playing, and trying so hard to roll over. She enjoys us lifting her up high and playing super-chloe with her! she loves when sing and talk to her. Sometimes she gets so excited she squeels, sucks in her breath and makes this hilarious noise! She has this intense pursing face she does with her lips that I adore. She is sleeping so well at night.... She is just an incredible baby. I am in love with her so much and my family & friends can't get enough of her. I'm not sure if any baby has been so loved and showered with attention. I hope it doesn't mess her up. LOL! I have so many cute videos of her but they take so long to upload, so for now I'll leave you with a beautiful picture I took of her last week. It's so amazing to watch her discovering the world!!

Life keeps chugging along

I thought life went fast before... it is nothing compared to now. I cannot believe it has been almost 3 months since Chloe was born and I was pregnant with her. It seems like just yesterday, yet also a lifetime away! Chloe is changing and growing and a lightening speed. It is all so unbelievable. I can't get over her... everyday we are just in awe of how gorgeous she is, how cute, and how special she is.... and how much we love her. The love is like deep, wide, and thick... if that makes sense. It is all encompassing.



We put her in her crib a few weeks ago and she is doing fantastic. She has started "sleeping through the night"... going from stretches of about 9pm to 5am, then growing from 8:30pm to 5:30am, and last night, 8:00pm to 7:00am - that is ELEVEN HOURS. I am in shock. I know it won't happen every night but I am soooo proud of her. And she didn't even nurse or have a bottle directly before bed last night, she actually sort of refused it, so the last time she had eaten was almost 12 hours prior around 7:00. It's insane!





Brian loves his daughter a ton. We often just look at her and marvel at how awesome, beautiful, precious she is to us. He takes a hands on role in paretning, not afraid to tell me his opinions and to tell me to back off, and let him take over. He's sometimes cleans the house while I'm gone on the few errands I run without the baby, and he is giving me countless back massages (my back is totally out of whack from lifting chloe, the baby carrier, and shooting weddings again). I love my husband so much. Our family is so incredible to me!



I've started shooting weddings/working again. It is a whole new ballgame with a child. For three main reasons - 1) I miss her so much for that 8-10 hour stretch I am gone, everytime I see a child I want to grab it. She is on my mind a lot. 2) It is very difficult to juggle it with breastfeeding and not getting a break sometimes. I am not always able to pump and this can become, shall we say, uncomfortable and can also screw with my milk supply for a day or two afterwards. But it is worth it. I've also noticed I'm taking more pictures of children at the weddings .... like my camera is drawn to them! and 3) I can hardly get any editing done during the week because she keeps me hopping. Sometimes she'll nap for an hour or two and I can get some things done, but the house needs to be kept in some semblance of order, dishes and laundry have to be attended to as well. It is tricky to balance, but I love love love Chloe's addition to our lives, it is all worth it. And I am super blessed because I have so many people who can help. My mother who is invaluable to me and loves Chloe so much, my sister and father help out, my Aunt Mary and cousin Rebekah are also helping me too. Another friend Kelly has watched Chloe (and I think really enjoyed it) twice for me without asking for any money. One of my best friends Christy made us another meal yesterday AND cooked one for us in the freezer. Even at almost 3 months, people providing us with food is HUGE. I am so grateful.







In other news our good friends Christie & Bill had their beautiful baby boy Jackson. He is a little peanut and it is so wonderful to be sharing this experience with so many good friends.



I also will have some pictures of Chloe with a few other of my friends babies that I hope to post later. Oh she's starting to pick her head up really well. She still doesn't tolerate her tummy for more then about 10 minutes at a time, but the boppy is helping her.



Also, Amy's wedding is quickly approaching and her shower is coming up. We have a few things to do to get ready but I think it will come together well. I can't believe my little sister is going to be married soon. I am so excited for her!!

And here's a video of chloe being adorable:

chloe's dedication & my first mother's day

May 9, 2010. Chloe was also officially 2 months old on this day!



The joy of my first mother's day was Chloe getting dedicated and dressing her up as my little beauty. She was so good all day and we had a wonderful lunch with both sets of grandparents and her aunty amy & future-uncle-josh. It was a great day. I love my family and my baby girl! Here are some pictures.











When we got home I set her down in this chair for a minute and she just set down with her legs crossed and had this little cute smile/expression. I ran for my camera!!!

chloe is 8 weeks... thats like 2 months. woah.

As you can see, Chloe's expressions are keeping us on our toes, laughing and warming our hearts! She is smiling much of the day, and just being such a little dear! She is reacting to our faces, voices, and kicking and playing during her active times. She loves to lay on her back, look around and kick kick and squeal. We are still working on tummy time - we force her to do it for a few times a day as long as she can tolerate it, and she's getting better. The last 2 days I've noticed her right on her side at least 3 times. I think rolling over is soon to follow!



Chloe has had a few great sleeping nights... May 2, she slept from 9:30pm till 4:00am, had one feeding, then went back to sleep in the co-sleeper from 5:00am-8:00am. It was the best night of sleep we've had since she was born! Last night wasn't quite as good, but still not too bad. We're getting there! I think we're going to move her into sleeping in her own room and crib in the next week or two here. I'm kind of dreading it though because breastfeeding is sooo much easier when I don't have to get out of bed - although to be honest, I end up out of bed usually to take a potty break! :)

Mom and dad (thats us) are doing great. I am adjusting to this little girl now, the changes, and just loving her and life. I can't believe I've been blessed with this adorable sweetie. I often look at her and cuddle her and think - she is literally the most beautiful baby I've ever seen! I'm sure every parent thinks that about their child though ;)

I bought a few new toys, a new nursing cover I love and a gorgeous Mei Tai carrier - I will post about them another time.

chloe's birth annoucement

Sent out more than we could afford... if you didn't receive on printed, here it is for the world to see! I love my little darling!