Archive for May, 2008

all kinds of new things!

This post is specifically for my mom and dad! Being that they are in South Florida, they don’t get to see Alana nearly often enough! The last time Alana and I visited, she was four months old and since she’s changed SO much since then, I wanted to post a bunch of recent “look-what-she’s-doing-now-mom!” photos.

A couple of weeks ago, I was propping Alana against the wall to take some pictures (below). Apparently it turned out to be good sitting practice, because when she turned six months old last week, she started sitting on her own.

Here is sitting practice!

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Hanging out at the house in our comfy clothes on a chilly morning last week!

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The cutest baby socks in the world: Trumpette. Veteran blog readers will remember when I blogged about these socks, which are an incredibly fun gift for a baby shower! All kinds of styles and colors for boys and girls, and best of all, totally functional for miniature feet!

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I took this photo to show my sister how much Alana is enjoying the Pixie socks she bought for her! Thank you, Amber! She wears a pair almost every day!

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Mom, this face means “I miss grandma! When will I see her again???”

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And I have no idea what the subsequent faces indicate, but I thought they were all so cute!

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Check out the peach fuzz she is growing! Soon she will have hair and they won’t be able to say she looks like grandpa anymore! :)

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Recent photos of me and Alana!

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Me and my man. Love him so much.

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At our six month appointment with Alana, the Dr. said that she was happy with Alana’s recent weight gain. At six months, Alana only weighs 12 pounds, 12 ounces, and we are playing catch up from her previous weight plateau. She’s gaining now that she is on solids, but is only in the 7th percentile! She is itty bitty.

So I was told to start “Stage 2″ baby foods!

Is it weird that I got really excited about all the new flavors that Alana gets to have fun with? I got home from the store and actually thought the baby food jars worthy of a couple of pictures! I guess I am realizing how fast everything is changing, and I want to remember it all! Even the colors and flavors of Alana’s baby food!!!

The “Pears and Raspberries” and “Apples and Blueberries” sound particularly exciting!

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She is so cute now that she is sitting, and seems quite proud of herself!

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Then on Friday, I decided that it was time to put Alana in a shopping cart for the first time ever! I strapped her in and realized that the straps only tighten so much, and it was still so loose that it was useless. Oh, well, she is sure to grow into it. She loved being out of the car seat and in the action! We enjoyed our Target time very much!

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Then we met up with my wonderful in-laws at Firehouse Subs for lunch, at which time we put Alana in a high chair for the first time ever! She was a bit crabby since it was nap time, but she sat contentedly for a few minutes! Wow. So cute.

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And then decided she wanted out!

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The group!

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It’s been a fun couple of weeks and we are so enjoying the little one that God has entrusted to us! I will leave you with a verse that has been on our hearts lately! It is an awesome reminder of God’s intention for us…life with Him is not just about church on Sunday, it is all-encompassing!

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

a few rich and heather photos!

At our monthly OSP lunch last week, the sweet and talented Michelle Wilson offered to us the photos she’d taken the evening Rich and I modeled for the Chattanooga Photographer’s Guild. I thankfully accepted the disc and enjoyed looking through her images when I got home. I thought I’d share a few of them here!

I cannot get over this city. It is beautiful! So picturesque with the Tennessee River and all of the bridges…

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We had stumbled upon a picnic table and decided it would integrate nicely into the photo shoot!

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I love it when photographers capture totally natural, authentic moments!

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Thank you again, Michelle! We appreciate your photos so much and it was great to see you again!

Alana Mackenzie: six months old!!!

Yesterday morning we had the extreme honor of another session with the excessively talented Amber Holritz. Alana is six months old now, and we were due for our next shoot! Alana has undergone significant changes since our last session (at six weeks old), so it took on such a fresh, fun, and unexpected feel!

Here are just a few of the myriad wonderful images from our time together, but please check out the Holritz’s blog here to see more of our photos as well as an incredible slideshow!!!

Each morning, Rich goes in the nursery once Alana wakes up, changes her diaper, and brings her to me for our feeding. It is our special little routine, and we love it. Here, Rich is getting Alana from her crib and showering her with kisses. He is such an incredible dad!

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Learning to sit! As long as she has something to hold onto, she can stay balanced for a while. Remove her prop, and she topples!

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Book time! I read to Alana everyday, but she consistently finds it more fascinating to chew on the book’s tag. This time, the book seemed to maintain her interest! I love this photo because it is in our living room, where we spend most of our family time.

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Tummy time!

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Amber always manages to get amazing photos of Alana on the ottoman while Rich and I snuggle in the background.

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Family love!

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Take a few minutes and head on over to the Holritz’s blog, and if you aren’t already subscribed, sign up to receive blog updates! You will be blown away and inspired!

Also, if you want to check out older sessions, you can check out Alana’s Birth Story, or her Newborn Session, or her Six Week Session!

gone, but not forgotten!

As my longtime blog readers are aware, I worked at the Chattanooga Youth Network from the time I got married until 3 years later when I was 37 weeks pregnant and ready to quit my job to be home with Alana and work for Rich Smith Photography.

In my years at CYN, I had the privilege of planning an annual golf tournament fundraiser and always had a blast the day of the tournament. This year I decided that even though I was no longer on staff, I wanted to volunteer.

I was not tremendously helpful, though, since Alana accompanied me and stole the show. Every time I tried to be productive and helpful, someone would approach and want to meet Alana, ask me how motherhood is treating me, and catch up on my past six months away from CYN.

I have a few photos from the day, and since it was Alana’s first time on a golf course (Black Creek Golf Club), I thought it imperative to blog them!

Thanks to Jessie for the following picture of me and Alana!

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And thanks so much to my honey for these two shots of Alana’s first time in a golf cart!

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And, I haven’t blogged about this yet, but Alana is smack-dab in the middle of a super-clingy phase in which she refuses to be held my anyone but myself or Rich. Wow. It’s been fun! She literally starts to cry the moment we pass her to anyone. Anyone. It is so sad! We are hoping that, since she hit this phase so early, by the time most kids are going through it around 1 or so, Alana will be completely well-adapted and the trauma will be long gone. Here’s to hoping!

Here is Alana, beginning her ascent to screams…with our dear friend, golfer, and missions pastor at church, Erik Dine.

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And, if you have a passion to support youth leaders in the greater Chattanooga area, please check out CYN and the great work that they are doing in our city!!!

congrats, baby sister!

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate my Pixie upon her graduation from Black Hills State University!!!

I am so proud of her for her perseverance in spite of big transitions in the process. But five years, three colleges, and three states later, she has apprehended her diploma and is officially DONE!

Amber, to honor you via my beloved blog, I wanted to post a photographic tribute of you, my dear.

Don’t kill me!

My sister is the primary source of entertainment for my family. We have laughed until we’ve cried at her antics and character impersonations…

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She embodies what it means to have fun girl time…

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She supports and encourages me…

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She’s intelligent and creative…

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She knows she’s cute…

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And she can seriously glam it up (she taught me how to do my makeup)…

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She’s athletic and sporty (and she loves her brother)…

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She’s down to earth and easy to be with…

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She pouts when she doesn’t get her way…

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And is such a HAM…

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And, although she’s only had limited time with her new niece, she loves little Alana!

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Amber, Congratulations!!!

I miss you

I love you

I am proud of you!

my first mother’s day!

Rich surprised me last week by telling me that he wanted to take me to Atlanta for the weekend, for my first ever mother’s day!

It is something that we loved to do together before we had the baby - just plan a weekend getaway somewhere and enjoy each other. Since things are a bit more complicated now and we aren’t able to be quite as spontaneous now that we have a wee one, Rich decided it was about time to resurrect our happy pastime and give me a special weekend.

So, on Saturday morning we took off on the familiar I-75 South route into the heart of massive Atlanta. Our first stop? Lenox Square Mall, complete with one of my favorite places (Macy’s) and one of Rich’s favorites as well (the Apple Store)!

Here we are, in the brilliantly marketed technological utopia.

Ahem, the Apple Store.

Rich grabbed this shot of Alana and I…

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And I took this one of Rich and Alana…she loves to hang with her daddy!

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Just for kicks, I asked Rich to list the top 5 Mac products that he’d love to have. It’s a fun little game we play from time to time. Hey, we can dream, right?

Here is a bit of self-portraiture outside the {beautiful} Apple store:

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Checked into the hotel, Rich and Alana chilled for a bit before the three of us headed to dinner at the fabulous Cheesecake Factory!

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I ordered a menu item called the Burrito Grande, and I didn’t take them seriously. It came to the table and Rich and I just started laughing. It was absolutely enormous, and could easily have sufficed for four meals if we’d had a place to keep it while we were away!

Alana was intrigued also, and has been practicing her grabbing skills. She reaches for absolutely everything, and suddenly, as of a couple of weeks ago, items on the table are fair game. Eating is now a very exciting combination of throwing food in my mouth while gently removing whatever Alana has managed to fist in the meantime. Here she is, enthralled by my burrito…

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So I gave her something age-appropriate to enjoy while I ate and Rich snapped this keeper:

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Ah, she is so animated. Full time entertainment.

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And of course, our usual documentation!

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Then on Sunday morning, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast at our hotel before checking out. We saw this beautiful monument a block away from the hotel, so Rich took a couple of photos to memorialize my first Mother’s Day ever!

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We had already decided that a trip to Ikea was in order since Rich had never been before! So, we were even more excited when we heard that the Holritz’s would be in town to take Amber to the airport! We met up for lunch and roamed about Ikea for a while before Amber’s flight.

Rich and Alana, taking in the vast, crazy place!

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I love this one of Rich with Nathan and Amber! Clearly, they found the comfiest section of the store!

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me and Amber!

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Hooray for fun new experiences! What a blast! We left exhausted and over stimulated from our four hours at Ikea!

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And to all of you wonderful moms out there, and especially to my mom and my mother-in-law, Happy Belated Mother’s Day!

fat birds!

I am so excited to announce that my dear friend, Briana, has made the brilliant decision to launch her own Etsy site! She is too talented NOT to do well!

Her designated profile name? Fat Birds!

Her product? Incredible acrylic gallery wrap canvas paintings!

Check out Fat Birds here and be sure to give her some feedback and buy!

And just for kicks, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ever photos of Bri from a Fondue party last year :)

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What have we done?

Alana was busy today, helping Rich and I with all of our accounting catch-up:

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She was such a help. Wow.

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It is amazing to me that she is already watching everything we do and beginning to mimic. That is a huge responsibility as a parent! Will she have the same flaws and quirks that I do? She always reaches for my cell phone and bluetooth, even when she has toys in front of her! She has already entered the phase in baby-dom of wanting to do what all the big people are doing!

Look at her little hands! She was very intense!

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Below is a photo of Alana and I at church tonight. We only have one Wednesday night service each month, on the first wednesday of each month…appropriately dubbed “First Wednesday.” We pray together and have praise and worship time, and then we spend a couple of hours eating a ton of homemade food that we all bring. It is the highlight of my church experience as of late. Even though I don’t get to be involved the prayer part because of the baby, I always have so much fun seeing everyone and enjoying the food and fellowship!

Rich grabbed this shot of Alana and I on our way in tonight. As of last week, friends are commenting that Alana is starting to look like me! I dunno. I just think she has a super cute round little baby face with big blue eyes.

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well, I’ve been avoiding it, but…

I’ve been tagged.

Bethany and Heidi tagged me, so here it goes:

Seven random (hopefully interesting) things about me:

1.) I grew up in South Florida, East Texas, and Southern California.

2.) In my six years growing up in Orange Country, California, I was in numerous severe earthquakes and my family evacuated two different homes because of fires. One such evacuation was due to the horrific fire of 1993 in Laguna Beach (Here is Part One and Part Two of the news coverage on YouTube). Our home was not burned to the ground, but sustained too much damage for us to move back in. We moved to a bordering city, Dana Point. Ask me in person about my earthquake stories. Holy cow.

3.) I have traveled to the following countries: Ireland (a life-long desire fulfilled in college), Dominican Republic, Mexico, Bahamas, and Guatemala.

4.) I blew out my knee playing volleyball in high school, and proceeded to have reconstructive and arthroscopic surgery. I had torn my ACL and much of the cartilage in my knee, and actually re-injured everything only months later. So, my first surgeries were followed by another, and I now have a cadaver ACL ligament and almost no cartilage at all in my left knee!

5.) I received a scholarship to play volleyball at Covenant College but only played my freshman year, due to the aforementioned injury. I graduated from Covenant in 2003.

6.) I met my amazing husband Rich just weeks before college graduation, which completely changed my plans to return home to Fort Lauderdale and live near my family. We dated for a year, were engaged for six months, and were married in August 2004.

7.) Rich and I hope to adopt a child someday. Perhaps domestic, perhaps a Dominican child from our time together there for missions work.

fun friday!

We had the incredibly fun privilege of hanging out with some good friends on Friday night, and I always leave wondering why we allow life to get too busy to do it more often!

The wonderful Scott and Kristy invited us, along with our dear friends Tim and Steph, to bring the kids and enjoy a pizza-movie-milkshake night at their lovely home! We jumped at the chance, and had an amazing time. After dinner, the boys went downstairs to enjoy Hoodwinked (such a clever flick) while Kristy, Steph and I stayed upstairs and enjoyed each other’s company.

It’s awesome how God created friendship to be the most encouraging thing. Kristy and Steph, being the selfless, considerate women they are, asked how I was doing and how life has been for me and I got to share what’s been on my heart.

The boys emerged from downstairs once the movie ended, and Scott began preparing masterpiece milkshakes for all of us! He makes incredible chocolate shakes, WOW!

And about my non-dairy diet because of Alana’s milk protein allergy, I tried to re-introduce some dairy and poor Alana, she is definitely still allergic. I have to go back off of everything, and we will just have to play it by ear. It seems I may have to be rigid about dairy until she no longer nurses.

Here is the group, complete with the coolest kids ever!

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Kristy took this adorable shot of Alana - thank you, Kristy! Alana did really well since we stayed out way past her bedtime! She was a bit lethargic, but surprisingly, not fussy!

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We had a fabulous time, Scott and Kristy! Thank you so much for everything! We love you guys!

And here are a few shots I took yesterday…Alana can sit up well if I prop her against something, so I experimented with our dining room wall! She did well for a minute, and then started falling over. I caught her with my lightening quick reflexes :)

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And true to her quirky obsession, Alana is always doing something funny with her tongue! From the minute she was born, she has been sticking it out and contorting it. Hilarious!

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