hurricane Irene

We sat in our house watching the hurricane go by... so much drama and planning and freaking out that people did and all we did was lose power for 2 days....everyone worried about us, since we are only .5 miles from the beach, but... the worst part was losing power and not being able to go outside. so, when it calmed down, we took Clara outside for a bit and she was soooo happy! That child LOVEs to be outside!! notice in the background our yard covered in leaves... it was at least three times this much before the end of the storm... lots of yardwork to be had by all.

so.. in our hot sticky house... we kept Clara cool by leaving her in as little clothes as possible. It makes me laugh that she is just like her dad, they could be happy running around in their underwear if I let them.

Sophie the giraffe

Clara loves this Sophie the giraffe. If you know of anyone that has a baby, this is the greatest gift ever! She teethes on it and plays with it, and it squeaks... she's in love with Sophie.

Happy 50th birthday, Sophie!

check outt heir website : Sophie the Giraffe. It's a french tradition for the Grndmother to get one for her new baby... Clara has two Sophies, one from each one. and she LOVES this thing...

Clara and her g parents.

Clara and her Mee-Maw and PopPop. They came to visit and we all hung out for a weekend. Us girls went shopping and got her a new toy. She was very excited about it. :)

mornings.

sometimes, we don't want to get out of bed. this morning, it was even harder. I celebrated my 28th birthday's eve by waking up late and cuddling with my family in bed. seriously... does it get any better than this?

this was the view I had for my birthday brunch :)

sometimes you think about where you've been in life, where you're going and every once in a while you're able to capture exactly where you are. Well, at this moment... this was my life... summed up in a photograph, here it is. husband, baby, the hecticness of my surroundings but, most importantly, in all the loudness and rumble of the restaurant, there we are with a certain silence within us. these are the things that truly matter. and so, I celebrated, a day early because I'm convinced the Navy doesn't want Kris to ever spend my birthday with me, with a mimosa, my baby, my husband and a calm day of spending our life together... in the moment.

The Chambers Family

A while back I was featured in Troopswap.com. It's an online coupon-buying website that features members' businesses of Hampton Roads who have served in or are families to member of the military community.Half of the profit goes to the Wounded Warriors Project. My feature didn't sell too many, but I'm hoping to gain a few references in this area through them. Here is one of the families that I did for the coupon. I couldn't get enough of them, this family was so cute with their three little ones.. Lots of fun, and finally we got a little cooler of weather for the shoot. Thanks, Chambers' family for supporting the Wounded Warriors Project and for spending a Saturday morning in the park with me! It's hard to pick just a few to show on my blog!

Photo Booths

Kris and I are such suckers for these photo booths... they make us laugh so hard, and we just love getting them. So, on our trip to the mall, this was Clara's first photo booth experience! Although, it's kind of funny because she was very confused in the first photo, until she saw herself on the screen and then she was very excited and smiling :) There's not a day that goes by that I don't love my little girl and my husband more than ever. moments like these you don't trade for the world.

outside time with Daddy

yes, my 4.5 month old poses for the camera :)

The Pier.

We went out to the Ocean View Fishing Pier for a nice little relaxing time and I took Olive Oil along for the trip. It was beautiful up there, I could have stayed there all night long.

Baby pool time

I'm going to reshoot these... she wasn't feeling it.. But, here's a little glimpse. I think that Kris had a better time than Clara did. :)

I'll stop the world and melt with you.

Sometimes when clara falls asleep in Kris's arms... it's like she melts. The world stops for a few minutes and he just stares at her. I will be in the other room and walk in and he just sitting there watching her and it's like he is stuck and doesn't wanna move her. Because... really, who wants to move a sleeping baby??? Not US!!

mi vida loca

some outtakes from the cupcake shoot... :) welcome to my crazy life.

Clara+Luna+Cupcake

I got it in my head that I wanted this photograph... after many many attempts and a lot of outtakes... we got one that I like :) I might make a collage of the outtakes because they are too funny

more naps.

The second half of leave the whole family got sick... :( so... more naps were to be had by all (except the photographer.)

clara and dancer

We are convinced that Clara thinks she is a dog. While visiting my parents house in Maryland for a few days, Dancer, their Chesapeake Bay Retriever was infatuated with every noise she made. Clara is very vocal, so Dancer was intrigued. We thought this was too funny, some of these are taken by Kris who finally took out my camera after five days of her being in the case!! yes, five days is a lonnnggg time!... everyone needs a vacation sometimes.

Clara watches her dog constantly, she will track her down from across the room, it was funny to see her interact with other dogs the same way.

love-seat

One of many naps Clara took with Daddy while he was on leave. This is their spot, cuddled up on the loveseat. I guess they cal it a loveseat for this very reason... true love.

Diapers and Daddy's jeans

How do you know Daddy is home? Well, just check the clothesline... you'll see for yourself! :) diapers and jeans...

Clara's grumpy day.

After Kris went back to work, Clara was super sad without her Daddy, so Mommy went for a walk with the jogging stroller... Clara screamed for about two blocks and then she passed out... :) I couldn't help but take a photo of her.

Daddy feeds Clara for the first time.

After a 6 month deployment, getting two weeks off to spend with his baby daughter, Kris and Clara spent a lot of time snuggling, eating and laughing together... this is one of the first times she was fed real food, bananas and cereal... and the first time thst Daddy fed her :) they are so cute together it should be illegal.