8 Months

My little guy is 8 months old today! Where has the time gone? It's amazing to think all that has changed in such a short amount of time. These photos are actually from about a month ago - I'm just finally getting around to posting them. I'm having so much fun being a mom and it is just about to get even better...

I quit my full time job as the director of business operations for a medical supply company so that I can stay at home with Bray and focus on my photography business! I'm so excited to be able to give being a stay at home mom a shot! Now if someone would just pay me to take photos of Braylon I'd really be set!

Bray is doing great and getting bigger every day. He weighs a little over 16 pounds and is 27 inches long. He babbles all of the time and loves to laugh. We get "dada" and "mama" occasionally but that is about it at this point. He isn't quite crawling yet but he is close. He just scoots on his back or rolls to get where he wants to for now! He loves to eat anything we give him and still sleeps great too. We are seriously the luckiest parents ever. We took him to his first Broncos football game 2 weeks ago and he had his first plane ride that weekend too! Next weekend we are off to California for a little much needed time with my family. He gets to see his Grandma and Papa and meet 2 of his uncles, an aunt, his cousins and his g-ma for the first time. I'm SO excited to go home. I can hear the beach and In-N-Out calling to me!

Sweet Hope

In case you didn't notice there is a new button for Sweet Hope on the right side of my blog now. Sweet Hope is an organization dedicated to helping orphans worldwide. Lisa founded Sweet Hope in 2006 and is an amazing, funny, talented and just all around kick-ass chick. Her truffles and caramels make wonderful Christmas gifts too. She writes a fabulous blog that you can find at www.lifeofelle.com. Follow along - you won't be disappointed! And consider purchasing some of her amazing candies for gifts this year!!!

growing up...

My little boy is growing up! He got his first tooth about a week ago and yesterday his second one popped through. To top that - he said his first word! Aghhhh! Now dada-dada-dada-duh-da-duh-da-a-dada can be heard regularly throughout my days. It is pretty freakin' cute - it's just that these milestones seem to sneek up on me every once in a while. I realize how fast time is going by. On a lighter note... we gave Bray a pickle for the first time the other day... check out his reactions! Too cute! It took him a minute or so but he decided that he is a big fan of the pickle!

evelyn & braylon's lucky day

Here are a few of my favorite images from a photo session last week. This was actually Braylon's first time on the swings. He doesn't look super impressed in this photo but he really liked it! I'm having so much fun with my photography and I feel like I'm starting to find my style. I can't believe I wasted so much time not doing what I love! It's been scary, challenging and a little overwhelming getting things started and every once in a while I question whether or not I've got what it takes. When it comes down to it though - I'm the only person I need to impress. I only have to live up to my own standards and I'm not in competition with anyone because there is only one me. Someone famous said something like that once. The coolest part has been the support that I've gotten from the most unexpected people. Pretty cool.

6 Months Old

I can't believe that my little boy is a half year old! This is a photo of him crashed out after his doctor's appointment and shots :( on his 6 month birthday. Look at those eyelashes and pudgy cheeks! I guess our scale at home was a little off because he is only 15 pounds, 3 ounces and is 26 1/2 inches long. He is kind of a little guy but we think he is perfect. Besides, the lighter he is the easier it is for me to carry him! He is doing great with eating solids foods - so far he has conquered rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas and pears. He LOVES his pears! He seems to like everything though and has been really chowing down the last couple of days. We are desperately trying to find a solution to help me stay at home with him but until my photography is established (or we win the lottery) we are kind of between a rock and a hard place. We can't afford (and don't want him in) daycare but we can't afford for me to quit my job either. Thank God I work for an amazing company that is letting me take him to work with me everyday. It isn't ideal - it's actually really hard on me but at least it is helping us get by for now. My website is finally up though - www.luckyfridaystudios.com. It kind of feels like a first draft to me but I can tweak it as time goes on.

Maybe I should have called the last post "A Lot Busy"

Wow - things have been CRAZY around here. I've have been working way too much - I've been putting in about 45 hours/week at my regular job (where Braylon comes with me every day) and trying to get my photography company off the ground in the evenings and on the weekend while I'm also taking care of Bray. It's just nuts. I shot my first wedding a couple of weeks ago and now I am busy editing all of the photos so that I can get them to the newlyweds soon. My website will be ready to launch as soon as I'm done editing some more pics and I can't wait to launch it. We named the company Lucky Friday Studios in honor of Braylon being born on Friday the 13th. The website is www.luckyfridaystudios.com. Yay! Now on to what everyone really wants to know...

Braylon is doing great. He will be 6 months old next week. Where did the time go? We go to the doctor so I will have to post after his appointment to let you know how much he weighs. Our scale at home puts him at 16 1/2 pounds! He can roll from his belly to his back but hasn't quite figured out how to move his arm to get from his back to his belly. He LOVES his toes. He started eating solid foods a couple of weeks ago. So far he has tried rice cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. He wasn't too sure about the whole eating thing to start but the past few nights he seems to be liking it more and even grabs my hand to shove the spoon in his mouth faster. I feel like I'm living out that Bill Cosby skit - the one where he talks about the baby's poop changing! I gagged for the first time yesterday!!! He has quite the easy going personality still. He is super mellow and loves to laugh if you sing songs to him and make him dance. His favorite tunes right now are "Shake that Booty" and the song from Madagascar "I like to move it"! He's finally getting a little chunk on him too! I need to take a photo - the kid finally has some thighs on him. I'm just like my mom - I pinch them and squeeze them and pretend to eat them all the time! They are just way too cute!

We are loving the new Mac - especially the webcam! Andy's parents got one and two of my brothers have them so we have gotten to chat with a bunch of the family over the last few weeks. My parents should have one soon - I can't wait! It is so much better than talking on the phone and I love that they all get to watch Braylon grow since we live so far away from each other :(.

A Little Busy

And this gorgeous specimen is the reason why! Yep. I got an iMac. This baby is SO beautiful - I think I actually have a crush on my computer!!! I upgraded the graphics on it since I will be using it for photography and it has a 2 foot screen! Speaking of photography... I ordered my new camera equipment too. I can't wait for it to all come in so that I can really get things started. Andy and I have decided that I am going to take the leap of faith and start my photography business!!! I've only been talking about it for about 10 years now :). I'm really jazzed to get things going and I can't wait to get into the nitty gritty of designing a website and sharing my work with the world.