our very own special arrival

Two weeks ago we welcomed our own baby girl, Lucy Jean, to the world.  It was an amazing day, a quick  and wonderful experience, and a joyful moment for our entire family.  At 2:03 on July 26th we became a family of four.  I must thank my friends and family for being there for all of us, for helping out, bringing food and gifts, as it is moments like these when we realize who our support circle is and how much we love and appreciate them.  I also want to thank Lulabell Photography for capturing such memorable images throughout the birth, and Aedan Studio for bearing six hours with us for the newborn session.  I will forever be thankful for both of these 'photographer-friends', as I obviously couldn't have done it myself!  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Our Renaissance Princess

Happy Fourth!

 
I can't remember the last time I posted any of our personal photos...   I just finished editing my favorite photos from a trip we took together a couple of weeks ago in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

in the Redwoods near Klamath, CA

at Trees of Mystery

We soared above the Redwoods on The Sky Trail

at the Trees of Mystery

Enjoying the hammock, perfectly placed between our beach room and the ocean.

 enjoying the beach near Smith River, CA

- Happy Fourth of July -

52 Fridays: Generations

I took these while visiting with family over the weekend.  The two outside is my husband with 

our oldest niece, Sophie.  The middle image is my little brother with my daughter, Emmalee.

Next week's theme:  Before and/or After

52 Fridays: LOVE

My 3-yr-old niece (left) and my 6-yr-old daughter (right)

We took these on Valentine's Day.  

But when you love someone so much,

you just cannot narrow it down to one.  

So I would like to show the rest of the set with you...

Next week's theme:  Reds/Pinks

I Heart You

52 Fridays: Winter

Next week's theme is "In Your Fridge"

First Days of Kindergarten

Emmalee's days of freedom are no longer.  She will always have something to do from now on.  School... college... work....  I am having commitment issues with this school thing.  Say, like getting her to school by 8:25 every... single... day?  Preschool was pretty relaxed, and now my late mornings are no longer.  ;-)  Oh, and not to mention, for 5 years she's been MY NUMBER ONE.  Now?  She is some other lady's ONE out of TWENTY SIX...

 There goes my baby...

Last Days of Summer

Although it's not official yet, Summer is over.  Though I'm not convinced Summer ever really started.  (If you live in Oregon, you know what I mean).  It's been too long since I blogged anything personal, so I decided to get more personal on the blog!  Today, I wanted to start by sharing a few images from my daughter's last swimming lesson a couple of weeks ago...

Emmalee is 5-years-old (well, technically she's 5.75 years old, and trust me, it counts!) and she starts out every swimming lesson very fearful, but within only 3 weeks she makes HUGE progress and (sometimes) surprisingly passes the class!  There have been times she tells me she wants to be a swimming teacher when she grows up.  But for the record, she has also said she wants to be a photographer.  I haven't decided if that's due to MY influence, or the beloved 'Photographer Barbie' she stole from me...