learning curve…

Hey everyone! I have missed you while I’ve been away. We’ve been in a technological transition, and I find myself now blogging for the first time on our new iMac!

Yep, we’ve upgraded here at the Smith household, and the centerpiece of the change is a new iMac! I’ve used Rich’s Mac Book Pro from time to time, but never for much of anything except to check email or hop on a website. But, we decided it was time to upgrade, condense, organize, sync up, and just generally get into a better groove on the workflow side of things. Streamlining, for sure.

Which means that my comfy, happy blogging process has been disturbed! I had quite the system going, and now I have lots to learn! I’d transfer my images, edit, upload, and import them with my eyes closed (okay, not really), but now I need them wide open and a fully functioning brain to re-wire my way of thinking!

Here she is.

Hello, beautiful!

Nope, there is no CPU to worry about, just this big, happy monitor. Which means extra storage space where our tower had been. And extra storage is always a good thing.

So far, I’ve fallen in love with iPhoto, iChat, Address Book, iCal, and who knows what else I have to discover! I’m particularly excited about iMovie, where I want to learn how to edit and prepare the videos I’ve taken! Yes, certainly, fun times await!

We’ve experimented with just one video so far, and it’s a kicker: Click here to see a hilarious video of Alana from a couple of weeks ago! Be sure to turn the volume up before you play the video! It was my mom’s little game with Alana while she was here.

By the way, if you are interested in seeing what my mom and I did on the crafting front (and you are not already subscribed to my craft blog), click here to check it out!

Now, on to recent happenings around here!

I mentioned in my previous post that Rich and I dedicated Alana early this month. What I didn’t mention was that when Pastor Frank handed the microphone to Rich in front of church, Alana reached out her hand, grabbed it, and opened her mouth…and everyone burst out laughing. She stayed there with her mouth open, as if deciding whether she wanted to eat the microphone or just say a few words about the special occasion. Thank you so much to my dear friend Naomi for this photo!

And thank you so much to Brittany for these two! We were totally absent-minded that morning, so without friends who take photos without even being asked, we wouldn’t have this documentation!!!

Then last week, Alana and I were off to Laura’s baby shower. Rich grabbed these two shots of us as we headed out, but I didn’t get ANY pictures at the shower since I was SO busy trying to keep Alana contained. She’s getting so active, and so grabby! We had a great time, and are so excited for Laura and Jon Paul expecting their first baby…a girl!!!

A new obsession with my keys:

Why would she want her colorful plastic baby ones when she can have my drab, bacteria-ridden adult ones?

I mean, really!

And I really haven’t done any research to find out how old babies typically are when they learn to drink from a straw, but Alana started doing just that last week. It’s adorable, and totally surprised us!

Notice her clutching my keys in one hand while holding the straw in the other

Then last weekend we were off to Matt and Erin’s (couple’s) baby shower! This is part of the gift we bought for their little boy! Dwell Studio is one of my favorite brands, and their baby products just make me so happyThat perfect giraffe is not just soft and adorable, it’s a rattle! Ah, so cute.

Alana and I hanging out at the shower, socializing…

while the boys played corn toss…whatever that is…and it looked fun!

Matt and Erin’s friend Kristen and her husband threw the shower, and did an incredible job! Everything was completely delicious and fun. They even made the fondant cake themselves! Now I want to try!

The games were hilarious. Everyone made play-doh babies (Rich’s is the blue baby, holding a camera!)….and I even won a blockbuster gift card for guessing the closest number of Qtips in a bottle

It was well past Alana’s bedtime, but she hung in there and gave everyone lots of smiles…but was SO tired by the time we headed home.

This was so sad…

I thought since Alana enjoys her bath time so much, I would give her a fun new experience and introduce her to the shower. My notions were way off! She clung to me like her life was in jeopardy and screamed like I’ve never heard her scream before.

Note to self: the shower completely terrifies Alana, and she may now need years of therapy to dispel her irrational fear of warm, falling water.

Here she is, trying her best to calm down, once I took her out of the shower and bundled her up. Look at that little face!

I just took this picture of Alana this weekend…I’d gotten home and she was asleep in her carseat, which happens often, but when I looked at her, I couldn’t believe it. It was like, all of the sudden, she was not a little baby anymore. It was just one of those moments that I’ve heard parents talk about. She looked so big to me, and I can’t believe that I have an 8 month old. Anyway, just some random thoughts…

And this was a nice little surprise. Even though Alana has been sitting up since she was six months old, she has only recently figured out how to get herself into a sitting position from laying down. She’s been doing it pretty well lately, so when I went in to get her up from a nap yesterday, there she was, sitting there, so proud of herself.

She got excited when she saw me, and leaned forward to grab the side of the crib…which freaked me out. Needless to say, Rich lowered the crib today and hopefully we will be okay, at least until she starts standing…

Then on Sunday came another shower, this one, a bridal shower…for none other than the beautiful and hilarious Shanika. For those of you who have known me a while (or were at my wedding) you recognize Shanika. She was a bridesmaid in our wedding four years ago, and will wed Ben on 08-08-08. We are so excited for them and can’t wait to see what God has in store for this couple’s journey! Congrats, Shankia! We love you!

Also, Rich will be photographing their wedding, and recently posted their engagement session on his blog…be sure to check it out here and leave him some blog love!

Then, Sunday evening was a girls night! Can I get an “Amen?!”

These girls make me feel old, cause we’ve known each other since, well, pretty much the first day of our freshman year of college. It many ways, it feels like we only graduated a couple of years ago, but then I do the math and realize it’s been longer.

When we met we weren’t even twenty, and now, well, we’re all pretty close to a different decade

Bri, Bethany, and Heidi, girls, I love you! It is always a blast, and this time was no exception! I’m still thinking the girls night out needs to be monthly…and in my opinion, should always include dessert sharing like this one didHello!

Whew. And that has been the past couple of weeks around here! Everybody have a fantastic week!