A Little Art by my E

Of course, I had to add my own touch by inverting her work :)

8 months today

It would definitely be great to blog often. I could keep a journal of our lives, through photo and text, and it's quite therapeutic. However, there are a lot of things that I'd love to do often: go thrifting, exercise, dates with M, keep the house clean and find time to be creative. But with two little girlies that just ain't gonna happen :) <---- really I'm not sad about this. Raising these two cuties has been the best experience I could ask for. Life really is about personal growth. And the emotional, physical and mental growth that occur from being a mother is extremely refining.

Little A is already 8 months old. How could that be? Time is FLYING and we really are having so much fun. That girl can get around; she crawls all over the place and tries to get into any little nook. She is currently getting her top two teeth which has made nursing impossible. Yep, she refuses to nurse so I'm trying to pump and keep up (we'll see how long that lasts). She was loving all her baby fruits and veggies but lately all she wants is milk and puffs or rice cookies. I think she's ready to eat whatever we are, well mentally she's ready but probably not too capable. When she takes baths she LOVES to chew on a washcloth. She's been practicing pulling up on me and crawling all over my legs. Her and E are so cute together and I can already see how much she looks up to her big sister. Her personality is very determined, she goes after what she wants until she gets it. That causes a little trouble for her momma, but I like to see her true nature. She's also a very happy girl who loves to bounce when you hold her up and play all those cute baby games like pat-a-cake and red wagon. We sure love having her around.

Update: she says aah-duh when she's done eating and babbles all the time. She rolls away whenever I try to change her diaper.

Eating Tips for E

I am putting these here as a reminder to myself. My little E is the pickiest eater of all time, and I'm ready for a change. Those bags under her eyes aren't going anywhere until she starts eating better. All the tips below were taken from the enormously helpful website of nutrition expert Ellyn Satter. Definitely going to be revisiting that one.

Oh and the design of this has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition. It's a blend of simple illustrator work and a mextures image (I'm way into these mextures right now). Check them out if you're interested in free, high-resolution super galactic looking images.

You, Little Baby

Tiny hands and fingers
Raised eyebrows, wide eyes
Bubbling over with joy and excitement

Wiggling arms and kicking legs
Lack of coordination
But trying so hard

Pride in little accomplishments
Smiling even when frowns creep in
Love personified

Wintertime in California

I have been dreading the day that I'd leave California to go back to Texas, and it's hard to believe that day is here. The past four weeks have been so wonderful. I guess, looking back, I got to do everything I had hoped (except more dates and more thrifting, both of which I can't get enough). I hung out with about half of my "salad club" girls and their growing families, saw my favorite friends (didn't get enough of them either), spent time with my cousins and all the Garfield's (which included grandpa's memorial and a day at Disneyland), had a fun Christmas, went to downtown Fullerton, did a photo shoot, was in two photo shoots, ate cafe rio with more awesome friends, watched my girls LOVE their family to pieces, and enjoyed watching them get spoiled (and being very spoiled myself). Alright, it was an incredible and eventful vacation.

After doing this little recap I realize that I have no reason to be sad and no regrets. All that I'm left with is gratitude. I need to get myself back to Texas where I can be with my own little family and continue to develop friendships with the great people I've met. I am so blessed to be able to experience all I have in the last four weeks, and even more so because I can fly back here any time. Here's to Christmas vacation 2013!

Words For M

You. The most important part of me. How deserving you are of my words and attention. Not only here of course, but in reality. I have been flooded with love toward you, and appreciation for all you are. The way you carry joy in your stance, how your thoughts are often turned toward others. Your exceptional people skills leave those you interact with feeling validated and desiring more attention from you. Humility is another strength, as well as intelligence, dedication, perspective, charity and simplicity. For each of these words I could cite volumes of examples.

We have much more than just a marriage, we have a bestfriendship. It extends back ten years and thousands of miles, through venues and states, in the sky looking down, or as words on lined paper. There is so much to draw from.

I love us. Think about that. It's not just that I love you, but I love what the two of us are. Isn't that feeling the definition of togetherness? You + me...so glad it's forever.

A Long List To Begin 2013

I'm constantly coming up with goals for myself and my family. Some people (esp. husband) say I have unrealistic expectations and I set my standards way too high; I know they're right. But that won't stop me from setting some resolutions, especially this time of year. The satisfaction of crossing things off that list of goals is just too satisfying.

Plus, I love looking back and comparing how I wanted things to be with how they actually turned out. It's pretty much a guarantee that I couldn't have planned for a life as good as the one I end up with. Even when things get crazy hard, I'm learning and becoming a better person.

Organization goals:
-have a place for everything even if that means getting rid of stuff (rephrase: that DEFINITELY means getting rid of stuff)
-put things away right after they are used
-prepare at night for the next day
-make a side-of-fridge wooden canned food storage thingy
-make something to store Evie's hair accessories

Photography goals:
-launch a portfolio website
-blog my past work
-create new pricing which includes mini sessions
-save for 35mm 1.4 or 24-70mm
-learn more about lightroom
-offer one on one mentoring sessions for illustrator, photoshop and lightroom

Family Goals:
-have a family night once a week
-have a date night every week (even if it's a stay home date)
-consciously spend at least 15 minutes a day playing with E (maybe switch between activities she wants and ones I want to show her)
-learn how to parent a highly sensitive child
-learn more about my husband by asking new questions

Personal goals
-do not criticize myself or others
-do not complain
-see the good in life and each one of my family members
-make new friends and get to know current ones better
-be grateful
-be ME
-do more of what I love
-let go of the past
-make time for myself

Believe it or not, I have even more goals than this, but they are just for my eyes. By the end of 2013 I hope to have a stronger marriage, be a little better mother, have greater self love and peace, and be more positive over all.