A Brief Hiatus...

I'm sure just handful of you noticed BUT I haven't posted on my photography blog in ten months. I guess I was just been a bit preoccupied planning for my boys arrival...and to be honest, it really just kinda fell to the back of my mind. Well, enough excuses, I'm back and Head Over Heels has been updated. The only difference between now and then (besides gaining some additional photography equipment) is that I now have a wonderful assistant. In honor of this new position, I purchased him a gift off of Etsy. Only stipulation is that he'll have to earn it, as it won't fit for another 3 months.

I'm currently booking summer sessions - newborn, family, engagement, etc so please feel free to contact me if you're interested.

And maybe I'm just a bit biased about my assistant, but he's pretty darn good...

Let the Summer Wedding Season Begin!

On Saturday night, we dropped Raleigh off at my parents and he enjoyed a fun-filled evening (errrrr and maybe somewhat of a cryfest for our boy) with both sets of Grandparents and their friends the Beckers while Steve and I attended the wedding of our friends Kristi & Ben at the Januik - Novelty Hill Winery in Woodinville. Every single detail of this wedding was perfect...especially the Molly Moon's ice cream truck, the cake pops, the photobooth, the late night milk and cookies. And not to mention the bride and groom looked gorgeous.

Also, I now have a new favorite song. The bridal party walked down the aisle to The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" but it was a cover done by Katie Melua - you can listen below. I downloaded on iTunes and can't get enough.

Congratulations Kristi & Ben...you two make such a perfect couple!

2 Months

Today my sweet boy turns 2 Months Old! Once again, I'm left wondering where the time has gone since April 28. The two of us have spent almost every single hour of the 1,440 hours of his life together and I have learned more about love during that time than I ever could have imagined. The most important thing I've learned is that there was a place in my heart that was saved specifically for this boy of mine and it makes me an extremely happy mama.

Here are just a few things that I love about Raleigh, at this very moment...

• I love the way he coos and smiles especially in the morning and before he goes to bed.
• I love the way his tiny little arms look in his pj's.
• I love the way he prefers to cuddle with his burp cloths than with any of his blankies
• I love the way he stretches (and the noises that come along with it) after a nap and first thing in the morning.
• I love his ginger hair.
• I love the way my parents and my in-laws love on him.
• I love the afternoons when we sit outside on the deck and I read my book while he lays next to me completely mesmorized by the the clouds and trees.
• I love when I change his diapers and sing crazy, made up tunes to him, he laughs and smiles. In other words, he's impressed with my singing...unlike anyone else in the entire world. Well, except for my 5th grade music teacher who asked me to be in choir, but I think he may have truly been out of his mind.
• I love to think that he knows Steve and I are an important part of his life...just by the way he looks at us.

This morning we (I say we because I felt like I was going in for shots with the anxiety I was feeling) had his 2 month check up and according to our pediatrician (whom we absolutely love), his measurements are "boringly average." Thankfully, they only took his measurements and weren't doing a personality test, otherwise we'd be concerned. 

Length: 22 3/4 inches = 50% for his age
Weight: 11 lbs 7.5 oz = 50% for his age
Head Cir: 16 1/4 inches = 75% for his age

He survived (and so did I) the 2 month shots and now we're spending the day at home relaxing before it's time to head out and meet his 94 year old great-grandpa tonight. I was worried what the side effects would be from the shots, but from the look on his face in this photo that I just took, I think he's holding up pretty well.

I attempted to capture his cooing this morning on video and unfortunately didn't have much luck, but figured I'd post was I was able to get. I've never posted a video before so this may become a common occurence.

Catching Up

Prior to my maternity leave, I remember thinking that I'd have all the time in the world to work on projects around the house, etc. Little did I know how much of my time my little boy would would really take up. I'm not complaining as I love spending every day with him, but instead of getting stuff done around the house we head out on the town, exploring the city and meeting up with friends.

University Village aka The Mecca of Mothers and Children

I have been to U.Village more in the past two months than I have in the past year. The Village is a good meeting spot with great shopping and lunch options and apparently I'm not the only one that feels this way considering I've run in to quite a few people I know and quite a few people that I feel like I know, but I really don't...I just read their blogs. I met up with Megs and Brady last week and we ended up having to change the boys in the back of my car in the parking lot.

Lunch Dates

This week has been the week of lunch dates. Tuesday at Red Robin where Raleigh met his new friend Declan who is 3 weeks younger than him. Wednesday at MOD Pizza with a co-worker of mine and today at Nordstrom Cafe downtown with Lynne (baby boy P in utero), Tara and Jackson. After lunch, we took a few photos of Raleigh and Jackson on the random Nordstrom bed display. Maybe it was the setting, but Jackson snuck a kiss and Raleigh seemed a bit confused - it was pretty cute.

Visitors

My friend Kim and her boyfriend Zach flew out from Chicago and stayed with us for a few days. Kim grew up in Seattle and Zach had never been here before so they spent the days touring the sites (Raleigh and I joined for a few excursions) and spending time with us. We had a great time having them out and look forward to their next visit.

My cousin Mike and his wife Shannon were in town from Vegas so they stopped by to meet their newest relative. I have a feeling Shannon is a bit smitten by her new "nephew."

Raleigh also met Kevin and Stacie for the first time this week, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them together. We love when the Mullins come to town from Boston...especially when they come for 10 DAYS!

Summer Soltice

As most Seattlites are aware, Summer is here...sort of. We have one 80 degree day and the next day the temps fall to the low 60s. I'm really hoping that with the true arrival of Summer (according to the calendar), that the sun will stick around a bit more. Raleigh and I spent the first official day of summer enjoying a BBQ at my parents house with some of our family friends while Steve enjoyed a night of sailing on Lake Union for Duck Dodge.

Upcoming Travel

Two weeks from today, Raleigh will be taking his first plane ride down (with me...can you imagine if I put him on the plane alone? I'm sure it's been done by some crazy parents) to LA to visit my girlfriends. We'll be flying down with Cabe and Easton and staying with the lovely L.Spry in Santa Monica.  Spry even told me that she "wants to be Raleigh's mom for one day" so I will absolutely be taking her up on this offer and will allow her to do all of the duties that I do on a daily basis.  I have no concern at all as I know Spry will make one fabulous mama one day.

RinaCamper Part II

So, it's been just around three weeks since we sold the original RinaCamper and Steve has already bought her replacement. This 23 ft, 1976 Ideal Travel Trailer is in such great condition it blows our mind. It's over 30 years old and has such great potential...once we're finished Couging it out, it will be better than it's predecessor. I mean, for starters, it has a BATHROOM!!

Hand Sucking and Napping

Raleigh has taken a liking to sucking the back of his left hand. He's tried his thumb but has a tough time keeping it in so he's moved on to the back of his left hand and I love it (does this mean he's a lefty?). I also love the way he'll situate himself in the most comfortable of positions on his stomach (don't worry Mom's, I'd never leave him alone on his stomach) and take extra long naps.

Happy Dad's Day

There are so many amazing Dad's out there in the world, but I have to say that the three best Dad's I know are my Dad, my father-in-law and my husband. This year was extra special because my adorable husband was added to the list. And by adorable, I mean he has just gotten cuter and more handsome in my eyes since becoming a daddy. Fatherhood seems to work really well on Steve.

Steve - As we both know, Raleigh seems to be on the verge of talking and has become quite the chatterbox. Well, last night before we went to bed and you two were chatting, I'm pretty sure I heard "I love you Dad." You may have mistaken that for any other coo or smile, but I'm 98% sure the huge smile on his face as he stared at your face was that exact statement. Thank you for agreeing to go on this wild adventure called parenthood with me and thank you a million times over for being Raleigh's daddy - I wouldn't want it any other way.

We've been pretty busy this past week with friends in town, sightseeing, visiting family, a baby shower and an engagement party so we spent Father's Day doing exactly what Steve wanted - a relaxing day at Harstine Island with his mom, dad and brother.

Sometimes, he just gets tired of having his photo taken. Unfortunately, he should probably get used to it because this is how things will be for most of his life.







Grandpa Mike with his favorite boys

Here are some photos from the Bainbridge Island ferry on Friday. Being outside, feeling the fresh air on his face, seems to be one of Raleigh's very favorite things in the world. So, the breeze on the ferry deck made our boy quite content.

I've been able to get so much done today because this is what my sweet boy has been doing for the past 2 hours...

Sunday Morning

Laughs, coo's, cuddles and a blowout on our duvet cover is how we started off our Sunday morning. While I was dozing off, Steve was playing with Raleigh and I was startled awake by "don't move!" So, we quickly striped the bed, for the second time of the week, and tossed everything in the wash. I laid Raleigh back down on our duvet and he fell asleep almost instantly. All of this occured before 6:30am. Our weekends of sleeping in until 8 or 9 (sometimes slightly hungover) are behind us (for now), but we're perfectly happy with this change.

Snuggled up with his WubbaNub from Grandma Mo.

And this is Raleigh's (current) favorite spot in the entire house. He espeically loves laying on his changing table, naked and after a bath.

Lake Chelan...Paradise

This past week, Megs and I took a mid-week trip out to my Grandpa's condo at Wapato Point - just us and our kids and it was pretty perfect. We met in Ellensburg, loaded up my car and got to Chelan around 2pm. My parents had been there for the weekend with some friends so they stuck around and hung out with us for a couple of hours. Since Raleigh's arrival, they'll do just about anything to spend some time with their grandbabe.

We had a couple of firsts on this trip...Raleigh, Ava and Miles first time to Chelan and a first of rain. In all of the years that I've been going to Chelan, I don't ever remember it raining. Even with the rain (rain is meant to stay on the west side of the state), we made the best of it...took the kids for a drive, they immediately passed out, found a liquor store, bought a fifth of tequila, got corndogs at the the drive-thru, played a couple of games of Rummikub and drank Megs favorite margarita (equal parts limeade, beer and tequila blended together and poured over ice - Deeeelish!)

As you can see from the photos we had a pretty amazing time. Besides for lounging in sun, I think Raleigh's favorite part was the special attention he received from his Bend besties...especially Ava. I look forward to the day that we can take Raleigh to Chelan when he can run around and play in the pool and at the beach.