the crafty beast: paint swirl ornaments

this was such a fun, easy project to do with the wild man... kept his attention and will make great gifts for the grandparents!

 

the ornaments are $0.99each at michaels {don't worry, they are plastic ;)}, and at the time i bought them they were an additional 50% off... i used paint i already had so this project was next to nothing!

 

...mix a little bit of water with the paint {makes it easier to swirl inside the ornament}

...pour desired amount of each color into each ornament

...cover the open tops with tape

...and let them have fun!

 

 ... a little unsure of it at first

... one thing i wish i had done was add a marble to each of the ornaments for sound to make them even more entertaining

 

... let dry upside down {to let the extra paint drip} over night

 

... once dry i added his initials and the year

 

xoxo

 



tree hunt

it's official. i'm completely obsessed with tree farms. this weekend my family and i went up to trinity tree farm in issaquah to find my parents a christmas tree. although we didn't find one to cut down ourselves we still had a great time walking around the property. fresh pine trees, bonfire, gift shop, handmade wreaths, and free cider... what's not to love? 

 

now to figure out how to own one someday...



 

 

 

xoxo



creating holiday memories...

tis the season of no nap melt downs...

cheers!

faded film edit... yay or nay?

i've always been in love with the faded film look and i've been playing around with it off and on for a while now, even more so now that i have lightroom. i can't decide if i should transition the photos i take for others towards this look or keep it for my own personal memories. yay? nay?

 



nine months... and my return to blogging

the nine month recap:

- he is 22 pounds, 29 inches... in the 75th percentile for both. perfect... bigger than most but not too big ;)

- he loves to walk around my parents house using his walker, he can get pretty fast at it too. it's pretty crazy seeing him walk, even if it is assisted, i thought the walking days would take forever to get too and they're pretty much here already! ah!

- he HAS to crawl with a toy in his hand. 90% of the time it's either a dog toy or a maraca. the maraca is nice because you always know where he's at and where he's going.

- he loves jumping in his crib and on couches. i usually wake up to the sound of his mattress springs...

- his latest trick is standing up by himself and balancing for a short while. he's even bent over to pick up a toy and returned to standing. this kid has balance! where he got that from i don't know... from what i hear, his dad was a pretty clumsy kid and even though i danced for years i still have my moments of clumsiness... i've got plenty of bruises and scars on my legs to prove that.

- he LOVES crawling up stairs, once upstairs he heads straight to the bathroom to bang his toy {that he crawled upstairs with of course} on the tub.

- he prefers to stand during baths now... so i spend most of the time constantly sitting him back down. he's also not afraid to take a dive in the water and doesn't seem to care if water gets in his eyes. grandpa is hoping for a future water skier ;)

- he has discovered opening and closing doors and thinks its pretty funny.

- his two top teeth should make their appearance any day now.

- his favorite finger foods include; spinach tortillini with meat sauce, chicken, these dried pea pod things, peas, and of course the Gerber puffs.

- he likes to play chase and peak a boo.

- he can figure out how to put his small cars on the tracks to make them go down. pretty impressive if you ask me! he has awesome hand coordination.

 

things to come:

- sleeping through the night, i've switched over his middle of the night bottle to just water so hopefully any day now!

- working on learning to wave 'hi' and 'bye'... usually he just stares at us all waving like we're idiots.

- backing up and sliding down the stairs. for now he just wants to go head first straight down... no fear. daredevil ;)

- meeting Santa! waiting for zach to get into town to take him for his first pictures... can't wait.

 

xoxo



well hello old friend...

i swear i'll be back to blogging tomorrow... promise.

but for now... sleep.

good night loves.

xoxo



DellaCruz session

Steph was one of the first girls i met while we were stationed at fort bragg and right from the very beginning we hit it off. we could instantly sit and talk like we had been friends forever, to find that connection in the military world is pretty rare i think so i knew we'd be life long friends. her husband was deployed at the time so we, along with our other great friend Mandy, spent a lot of time hanging out and exploring "lovely" Fayetteville. i was also lucky in that she asked me to shoot Steven's homecoming ceremony, the first time i shot a couple! a few months later they moved to my home state where Steven is now currently stationed at fort lewis. and now that i'm back here as well we've been able to meet up and continue our great friendship. today i got to take their holiday photos before Steven heads off for training in a few weeks. they are such a gorgeous couple who are so much fun and so in love, i LOVE shooting them and look forward to many more sessions with them :)

cheers!

 

you're money baby: the story of us

 ...flash back seven years ago...

...i start working at Nordstrom, he works in the department next to mine...

...my coworkers ask me to lunch, i say yes, he is with them...

...i get asked all the getting to know you questions along with 'do you have a boyfriend', i say 'no' and think nothing of it...

...he asks me out, i say yes, then bail at the last minute {i'm 20 and he's about to turn 25... i was nervous of an older guy}...

...i feel bad so we make a date for the weekend...

...we go to a lame house party, then go for a walk along Richmond Beach... in the dark... where no one is around... with a guy i barely know... i get a little creeped out...

...we sit and talk for awhile and he asks to kiss me...

...we start to date...

...our first year of dating is filled with romantic dates, roadtrips, camping, snowboarding, meeting the families, 'i love yous', apartment hunting, fights, birthdays, conversations about rings.

...my 21{.5} year old self gets freaked out and ends it...

...we continue to talk and date off and on... each time i get freaked out and end it without much explanation...

...we start to move on and date other people...

...i get a call saying he joined the army. we write while he's in basic in Georgia...

...he gets stationed back in Washington at Fort Lewis...

...i get random texts; 'you're still my girl' 'i love you'...

...he gets deployed to Iraq...

...we are both in relationships but email each other every now and then {scandal ensues :/}...

...he comes home for two weeks in February and we meet up...

...we decide we want to be together again after all these years...

...he leaves for Iraq to finish out his tour...

...talk of getting married when he returns in July begin...

...he comes home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

...he gets orders for Fort Bragg for early December...

...we get engaged late September...

...i plan a wedding in a month and a half...

...wedding day November 7th 2010...

...we move to North Carolina...

...meet great people, have great adventures...

...9 months in i get pregnant...

...9 months later we have our wild man, Hunter :)...

...Zach has schools, trainings, and a deployment lined up so Hunter and I move home to be with family while he's gone...

...Zach has a heat stroke... worst phone call and day of my life...

...he is eventually ok... but all our plans fall through...

...Zach comes down on recruitment orders...tries everything to get out of them... but can't... now we wait to see where we are placed...

...patiently waiting till December to see each other again...

...

Love you baby and love this adventure we are on together! i know our master plan isn't working out at all how we had planned it but we can get through it... it will just be another story to tell :). you are amazing and i'm so proud of everything you do. thank you for waiting for me all those years, you are the best thing to ever happen to me. Can't wait to see what is in the years ahead of us! happy two year anniversary!!!

xoxo, me.

 

my heart belongs in the mountains