So it's in ink. And on the internet.

Last night's hang out sesh consisted of our
future baby's names.

Yes, EXCITING!

No, we're not expecting :)

Jake and I don't agree on a lot of names.

So you're gonna be flat out amazed when you hear this:

We chose 3.

That means we love 3 names.

The same 3 names.

And we're using them.

Eek.

But first I have bad news.

Terrible news.

Ugh.

The worst news.

:(

The man vetoed the name Scarlett.

Some "man", right?

Rrrgh.

However, I'm thinking by the time we adopt our precious girl from Zimbabwe, he'll have forgotten. And she'll be the prettiest Scarlett ever. :)

Well, these pretties cannot be vetoed.
As they're on the blog.
The i-n-t-e-r-n-e-t.
In ink.
And you're all my witnesses.


K.

Here we go:

Jackson David.

Haylie Marie.

Anderson Ross.

Goshhh!

I was seriously so twitterpaited about these names last night, that I could hardly fall asleep.

Aren't they dreamy?

Annabelle & Haylie?
BFF's!!!

Jackson & Anderson?

TBE's!!!

(tightest buds ever)

Annabelle & Jackson?

Anderson & Haylie?

Annabelle, Jackson, Anderson, and Haylie?

(and Scarlett too!!)

Mmm.

Those are my babies.

:)

But for now I'll remember my 10-month old.

And how we have a little lot more time for it to be just the 3 of us.

((BUT AREN'T YOU DYING TO KNOW WHAT JACKSON, ANDERSON, AND HAYLIE LOOK LIKE?!)

Go. To. Sleep. Emma.

It's time to accept the inevitable... And get EXCITED!! :D

It's time.

We're only two months away and I've gotta stop moaning and groaning about it.

It's going to happen.

And it's gonna be a PARTY! :D

So from here on out, I'm EXCITED!

Little Tiny's turning ONE!

(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!)

Hooray!

She's 10 months old today.

She still eats, sleeps, and poops like she did 10 months ago today.
It's crazy. I know.

And since then she's added a couple more (exciting) tricks.

* She blows kisses.

* Screams at unimaginable pitches.

* Dances.

* Laughs. 

(finally!)

* Loves books.
(Specifically grown-up books. 
And tearing the pages out)

* Sings.

* Still just has two teeth with which she eats everything.

* She's in the 7th % for weight.

And 29th for height.

* Her first sentence: "I love my Aunt Lissie!"

(You like that? :))
Again. Crazy. I know.

* She's still pretty bald, 
but baby that hair is comin'!

* And she's going to be one.
In two months.


Let the party planning begin:


Isn't that cake adorable?
I'm on the look-out for a cute cake platter like that. Oh and that boa?
You better count on it.
(Pssst: Attendees, notice how cute her presents are wrapped!)
juuust sayin' ;)

And this? On her bald head?
Wheeere's the camera?!

( Attached to my hip, of course!)

Those ribbons. 

That banner saying:
You're ONE!

Those adorable heart cake signs.

All going to be there.

And *gasp* THIS?

First-time-eating-cake-photo-shoot?

Helium pink balloons?

Minus the second baby?
PRESH!

And for anyone that's seen this cutest high chair, 

please - ship it to me.

Cause those pom poms and little ribbons?

They'll be present :)

It's been the very best 10 months of my life.

And to think I get to keep you forever:

You make me the happiest mommy alive!

MUAH.

Family Photos. Gone Bad.

Remember that daddy-daughter shoot I was so looking forward to?

The one where Annabelle was gonna smile her guts out, and be cutesy-go-happy in her daddy's arms.

Ugh. 

Dreamy.

Just dreamy.

Here's how it went down:

1. Got every jingly toy and treat packed up.

Gotta keep the babe's attention.

2. Packed tiny girl's clothes - Made sure I had every hair accessory that could possibly match.

3. Timed the naps juuust right. Baby's gotta be well-rested. This is KEY.

4. Drove to location and got the guts up to ask stranger if I can shoot on their property. (Be ready for refusal.)

5. Request granted. Time for set up.

(Remember those creativity juices?)

6. Let them flow.

7. (I wasn't prepared for this step):

Be ready for 600 shots like this:

(OOh, yes. Wave at the camera! And sling shot that bow right off your head! PERFECT!)

this:

this:

and praise the heavens, this:

Gosh. Adorable right?

Yes. I wanna scream too, sweet tiny one!!

But then you get this face.

And you can just tell she's regretting that adorable outburst.

And she looks up and gives you this.

Sigh. We're getting closer...

OH, you like those peaches? 

This might work.

Mmm. Finally. A smile!!!!

Holy COW! Talk about gah!!! 
I'm not sure why I thought this shoot would be easier.
I was honestly ready to cry on the drive home.
Haha. I was just so frustrated!
But it was good for me.
I learned a lot and have 100x more respect for what Marie does!
Wow.
((That girl is un-der-paaaaid!))
She's amazing.
And inspiring.
And my life will go on.


Next daddy-daughter shoot should go better.
(Oh please keep your finger's crossed!!!)


I mean, the chances of this happening twice are slim.

Right?


Sweet Dreams.
Em.

I'm finally realizing how valuable my camera can be... and I like it :)

The loveliest Marie taught me some great tricks on my camera.

And now I've fallen in love.

I just wanted to share a couple shots that I've grown slightly fond of.

I know they're not gasp-for-air-breath-takingly-perfect,

but I could probably charge a couple thousand for 'em.

Right?

Annabelle's been a pretty good guinea pig so far - as long as I'm singing a crazy song, or waving a jingly toy she'll sit still. 

For a couple of seconds.

Tonight I'm taking some pictures of her and Jake in this gorgeous orchard down the street.

So far we only have pictures of her and I framed on our walls... and he's starting to get pretttty ticked...

jk.

But she does need some cutesy shots with her daddy!

And I'm so praying I get some sweet ones tonight.

PS: My sisters and I started a new Friday Project where we choose a word and take a picture of how we envision that word.

This week's word was: sweet.

And this was my entry:

You can see my sisters' entries here.

I'm really excited about this new project. I'm hoping it betters my photog skills.

And gets my creativity flowing.

From my pores.

For everyone to see.

In public.

GROSS!!

Did I just say that?

But really.

Creative Flow.

That's what I'm aiming for.

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend.

e-money.

Next Stop: Seattle

Marie and I flew home to Seattle on the same day where I got to spend the next 2 weeks!
I decided to head to Seattle for so long 'cause Jake's been working on a New Testament's shoot for the church and I hardly ever get to see him (just 3 more weeks!!)

So to cancel out my loneliness he sent me to stay with Marie :)

So sweet!

We missed him like crazy though!

I've decided future vaca's w/out the hubs can only be a week. Max.

But we did have a lot of fun things to fill our time with while we were apart.

Here are some of the highlights:

The kids loving on cousin Annabelle

Liam reading her books

Ashley coming for the 2 weeks too :)

Being there for Isabella's first day of school. SCHOOL!!

I still can't believe she's old enough...

Going to Bill and Rise's lake house

My water baby

The swimsuit model cousins ;)

The lake water was so nice and warm.

Seriously...

Annabelle loved it!

Isabella was so sweet to little Annabelle -- she got her to laugh so many times!

Annabelle obviously loves her right back!

Scarlet and Bruce came for one night and brought the most absolutely adorable Levi!

The babes having a giggle party

"Hi, Levi!"

Handsome boys

Will the handy-man. That's right. He fixes ovens.

The sweetest Bill & Rise.

Thank you so much for letting us join you at your beautiful lake house :)

Gorgeous Marie.

Thanks for a great visit to Seattle.

We miss you already!

Catch Up. Ketchup.

It has been one buuuusy summer.

And a really fun one too!

Here's to playing catch up:

I got to see Lauren mid August.

Next came Marie:

Marie's visit was super fun, and super exhausting at the same time.

She stayed with me for a week and literally had a photoshoot every.single.night!

But it was nice that she got to see all the family here in UT

and especially that we got to see our sweet grandparents.

We had such a fun visit with them:

-we took pictures.

-picnicked in their backyard w/ taco time's taco salads :)

-Annabelle got sprite for the first time. from grandpa!!

-grandma gave her a chocolate chip cookie! another first!

-we learned fun stories about our ancestors

-got to enjoy the beautiful tree in their backyard

-and mainly: made a perfect memory!

(I snatched these from Marie's post on Monday!)

It was so fun to have you come visit, Marie!

I loved having you.

especially our long car rides jamming out to T.S.

and Cafe Rio with the free quesadillas for the babes.

the good finds at Down East.

our 4am wakeup call.

the girls being car buddies. And loving it.

not cooking a meal. Once.

putting JuJu to bed. Even if she hated me at first. ;)

the moments we got to sit and relax. Haha!

It was a very memorable trip.

Next time: every day - spa day! ;)

I love you to pieces,

Emma.