Baby Girl's One Year Portraits

Now THIS was a chore! Since she never sits still - getting a good portrait of her is hard to do! But since I am a photographer, I decided long ago to do all of her portraits myself. That was before she turned one. Now I know why people take their kids to us! I did get a few good ones, but I really think her 18-month portraits will be done at a studio - where there is less of a hazard of the backdrop falling down on her squirmy little head! I'll be sending out pictures to family and friends soon! Look for more to be posted later this week.

Family Day at the Zoo!

Sal & I wanted to do something special for Baby Girl's first birthday - so we decided a special family day at the zoo was in order. It was a gorgeous spring day in Florida - the kind that you actually move here for. Not too hot, but warm. A nice breeze and very low humidity! Which, we found out, helps with the stinky zoo smells! We couldn't have asked for a better day! What a nice way to remember her first birthday, the type of days that memories are made of. I've created a Smilebox scrapbook to showcase our day. There is a video on the last page of Baby Girl meeting the kid goats. She was both scared and excited at the same time. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter Party at Tater Tots Child Care Center

The week of Easter (yes, I'm behind a bit...) Baby Girl's day care had a fun Easter Egg hunt. Her first! She enjoyed putting stickers on the eggs ~ and of course in her mouth! She danced to the music and found eggs on the playground. Later they made cookies and listened to the story of Jesus dying on the cross - toddler style! She came home with an Easter basket filled with goodies and a stuffed bunny. She also came home with chocolate on her dress - which came from Grandma's house. Go figure.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Science Project

I'm so very proud of my niece, Sabrina! Last week we were working on her school science project and needed to complete that day. She has ADD and so it is rather difficult for her to focus her attention on any one thing too long - especially those things she finds distasteful - such as homework. However, I told her that if she wanted my help, she needed to stay focused so we can finish, as it was my day off and I needed to get things ready for my upcoming week out of town. She work really hard and got it complete! All without arguing! And if you know anything about Sabrina ~ that in itself is a miracle! Her project was on the eating preferences of her pet gerbils. She discovered that they are just that - preferences, as there was no scientific reason for the gerbils to pick the cheese slices over apple slices. She was able to hand this assignment in early. Great job Sabrina!

Traveling for a living...

I'm sitting here in a hotel in Ft. Myers, FL, wishing I were home with my little girl and under-the-weather husband. The weather is gorgeous, the view is beautiful, but all I can think about is my baby girl going to bed tonight without a good night kiss from her mommy. No little girl should have to go to sleep without a good night kiss from her mommy. :o( Tomorrow will be the longest day ~ we have photography scheduled from 2pm to 8pm and then I will have to drive home. A three hour drive in good traffic. I'm taking a few of my nieces and nephews camping this weekend. I'm still not sure if I'm taking Abigail or not. Gram thinks the pollen is causing her nose to run and since she just got over pneumonia a couple of weeks ago - she doesn't think she needs to be in the night air. I might agree - but she hasn't had her mommy all week - and then not to have her on the weekend too? That's not good for her either! Thoughts? Be quick, as I have to make a decision!

Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend...

This house belongs to a dear friend of mine - well actually belonged... She will close on her house and finish moving to Oregon later this week. I once considered this a second home of mine. My dear friend, Debbie & her son Nick, were a very important part of my life when I first graduated from college, and for a number of years following. She was my first boss, became an important mentor and taught me a lot about being a friend. We haven't been as close in recent years as I would have maybe liked, but we were very close when I needed it most. I'm so thankful that she was part of my life - & I know that even across the country - she is still only a phone call or an email away! Thank you Debbie for sharing yourself and being a true friend! I only hope I can be that friend to someone else someday!



Barbie, Debbie & Abigail

Debbie & her nephew Jake with Abigail.

And 1 more makes 8!

We now have 8 teeth! Baby Girl has cut her last tooth of the bottom four. So now she has the basic four up top and the basic four on the bottom. Maybe now we can rest for awhile! We have been very busy lately - up to doctor visits, work and more doctor visits! Baby Girl first caught a cold, which might have been allergies - but ended up cutting her 7th tooth. Then high fevers followed by THE RASH! She had a classic case of Roseola. We went to the doctor to confirm the diagnosis and check on a cough that had appeared. Doc said cough was just a cold - no need for antibiotics, the rash would go away soon and the fever should stay put. Well... it didn't. A week later her fever reached 105 degrees and off to the hospital at 11pm we went. A chest x-ray confirmed my suspicion of pneumonia. We spent the night in the ER - her first visit! We spent the next week cleaning up spewed mucous from her coughing up the gook in her chest. That couldn't have prepared us for what we'd be cleaning up THIS week, however! The antibiotic of choice for her doctor was Augmentin. It is a strong dose of Amoxicillian and few other kicks. So - the explosive diarrhea diapers have taken over our lives! Out shopping, at nap time, in the middle of the night ~ it's unbelievable! At least her cough is gone, her smile is back and she's back to bouncing off the wall!

This was taken at Roger's Park on the Weeki Wachi river. She loved the water (although the explosive diaper took over there as well!) and the swings at the park. She wasn't too sure of the slide, but went down it once for Mommy. She played in the sand - didn't even eat too much of it! We're just glad that she is feeling better and back to her bubbly self.