laughing little lady

just before bed the other night i let beth play on the floor while i was putting away her clothes. i looked over at her and she started to laugh. i made a face and she laughed even harder. i made a funny noise and she laughed even harder! and thus the game began. to date, she's never laughed so hard or been so entertained. we played like this for an hour and it was literally the greatest thing ever. that i could appear to make her almost as happy as she makes me.

now, i realize these two minutes might seem to go on forever to some of you (except for maybe you grandmas and grandpas), and i get that. it's totally different when it's not yours. but if you can just make it to the minute mark, that's the best part - what i envision for babies is like laughing until we cry for adults where you can barely even breathe.

sigh....

the joy continues.

enjoy.

coming along

the deck is coming along. both quickly and not quickly enough.

the man is putting his heart and soul into this thing and he's doing a really, really good job.

after nearly a month's worth of work, we are making good progress.

and thank goodness i have a grandpa who knows a thing or two

about how to wire for lighting.

gramps, we owe you. you just saved us a few hun!!!

we'll have you up for a que when it's finished. :)

we thought about putting it off one more year, but i am so glad we didn't, despite already nearing the end of july. there is still plenty of time to enjoy it, especially after i talk hank into getting that fire pit he's already told me we have to wait on like, 100 times.

(please enjoy this aerial view)

i can't wait for this bad boy to get finished. the actual decking wood finally arrived this weekend after having to special order it and wait 13 days to get it. so just a few more days... just a few more days...

don't worry, you all are invited. we're not letting this summer slip away without a few parties on this thing. it is going to be awesome.

favorite picture of the week

macy

my "lucky" friend alyssa gets to watch beth everyday while i'm at work. oddly and perfectly enough she had just adopted the most beautiful little newborn girl just two months before beth was born. however, macy was born premature and now she and beth and are on almost exactly the same track: they weigh within 4 oz. of each other, measure within a 1/4 inch of each other in length, and 1/2 cm of each other in head circumference. they make quite the pair! with another set of 4 year old twins and two step daughters alyssa looks like super mom truckin all these kids around!

last friday i had the awesome opportunity to take some shots of 6 month old macy. she is GORGEOUS and made it SO easy for me. her skin is so silky smooth and she has the best smile on the planet that she would throw out all the time. she is totally to die for.

just for the record alyssa, i will do this for you anytime - i totally loved it!

i hope you like this sneak peek...

my friends, the larsons

a little while ago i had the pleasure of shooting my friends, the larsons.

(thank goodness theirs were some of few that i had saved to another computer...)

our time was short due to other time constraints and i was bummed because i was having a really good time and felt the juices flowing. they are such a photographic family!

a few pics from our time together.

thanks for letting me practice on you guys. i had such a good time with you. i will photograph you guys any day.

no, for reals. anytime, ok?

your sympathy please

back to my comment about regretting terribly the fact

that i had waited to post? indeed, i have some bad news.

one day while working on my computer i decided to edit the last couple pictures of my latest photo session - my dear friends, the larsons. i went to pull up their folder, but alas...

it was missing.

"that doesn't make any sense... i just had it up a couple hours ago."

no, literally, a couple hours ago. i tried again. nada.

then i realized, not only was i missing that folder, but my entire Pictures folder.

did you hear me friends? my ENTIRE pictures folder.

i searched and searched my computer - had i inadvertently moved it somewhere else? had i accidentally deleted it? nope, not in the recycle bin. the whole thing was gone. just up and disappeared. and i am talking thousands of photos. it was the craziest thing on the planet. the whole folder, gone. right off the drive. my external drive, i'll add. aren't those supposed to be crash proof? i'm kicking myself over and over. it's like gouging my eyes out with toothpicks. it's brutal.

so many wonderful pictures of beth, of hank and i, of trips and holidays, of our wonderful day to day life, of sessions i am using to build a portfolio, of... lots of things. gone. and i am kicking myself for not at least posting some of them 1) to have shared them with you - i had lots to share, i just got lazy, and 2) to be able to go back and save the ones posted so that i at least had those. and now, i am starting from scratch.

i am hoping by some miracle they can be salvaged - i'm still looking into it, but for now, i ask for your sympathy. please don't rub in how stupid it was that i didn't post any of them sooner. it would just be salt in the wound. instead, your regrets would be appreciated so i am not wallowing alone. i am so bummed out.

starting from scratch, and with promise (though i know i've done this before) to post more often.

rats. that's all i can say.

rats.

in honor of daddy

i can't believe i haven't posted in a month... much longer than i meant to go before posting (and regretting it terribly - more on that later). time is flying by. it's crazy. it's making me feel old.

but i wanted to post today for two reasons. 1)because it's my second favorite day of the year and that makes me happy (the first day of summer and longest day of daylight), and 2)to celebrate all the dads on father's day.

especially the new ones.

us? we took it easy like a sunday morning. that's what hank wanted to do, so we did. took naps and hung out in the back yard, where i managed to catch a few priceless shots. baby loves her daddy!

to the best dad ever, we love you.

now outnumbered by women, you hardly get your way anymore and we want you to know that we know how hard that probably is for you and how much we appreciate it. you are really a good sport. there should be two father's days for dad just like you because you put up with so much.

but we think you're great. you're the coolest, funnest, raddest, (hottest), playfullest, tickliest dad out there and we couldn't ask for more. thank you for being the best dad on the planet - we love you for it.

happy father's day big daddy.