minneSNOWta

It’s not Minnesota without at least one big snowstorm! Gotta love it (as long as it’s not in April)…

twenty-fifteen

Here I am, one month shy of an entire year since I’ve posted here. How sad is that! I love coming here, sharing my thoughts and photos, not only with you, but for myself and for my daughter to look back on years from now.

Being absent here for almost a year can only mean one thing — 2015 was complete craziness. Not only was I absent on my blog, but in a way, from my own life. My days were spent sitting at my desk in an office, working my full time job, and the majority of my evenings were a precise routine of picking up Finley from daycare, making dinner, being a mommy, and then parking my rear end on the couch to work again, this time on freelance projects, the minute Finley went to bed. It was all I could do to keep up. Nothing else mattered. It wasn’t unusual for me to have up to 20 ongoing projects at all times. Everything else seemed to had to  get pushed to the back burner. I would often tell myself that there would be no way I could maintain that lifestyle forever, especially as Finley got older and would have more “activities” in the evenings or when we, God-willingly, bring another child into this world. Plus, I just know there is so much more to life than only doing things to make extra cash.

Here’s the thing, I LOVE my freelance work, I really do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do so much of it. But it’s still work, and it’s still taking away from the other things that fill my heart with joy. Freelance work has slowly started to make even my passions feel like too much work — because doing something for “fun” would take up the precious time I had so little of to get my money-paying freelance work done. Even coloring (and I LOVE coloring!) seemed to cause anxiety because I couldn’t finish it fast enough and I’d always feel like I wasn’t using my time wisely enough. That is no way to live, my friends! We only have one life to do all the things that make us the happiest and bring us the most joy.

So, moving forward in 2016, it’s my goal to be more intentional about what work I add to my plate, to focus a whole lot more on me (hello, exercising and making time for eating clean!) and my family (hello, toddler swimming lessons+dance class and date nights with my hubby again!), and doing the fun things that don’t necessarily put money in my pocket. Expect to see more personal photo projects of my two favorite subjects this year too!

With that, before Finley’s third birthday in 19 days (howwwww!?), here’s what her second birthday looked like! Wait til you see how much she’s changed since then…!

2nd Birthday Theme: Vizslas+Sprinkles
“Colorful sprinkles, vizlsa kisses,  & a little girl’s wishes — Finley is turning two!”

the days are long, but the years are short.

It’s hard to believe the first photo was taken two years ago, just a short 24 hours before I would see my sweet little baby’s face for the first time. Fast forward two years — her hair fits in piggies and that sweet little baby has become a little girl. In true vizsla fashion, Lucy is close by, making sure to live up to the trademark vizsla nickname — Velcro Dog™.

Remember, “the days are long, but the years are short.”… I still can’t believe I have a two year old daughter and that Lucy will turn nine this summer… My girls… ❤

second birthday eve

colorful sprinkles, vizsla kisses, & a little girl’s wishes — finley is turning two!

national geographic | please vote!

Today my photo was selected as one of National Geographic’s Daily Dozen and the photo with the most votes (by midnight) may be published in an edition of National Geographic! I would love your support and if you would vote for my photo!! Thank you thank you thank you!! 🙂 Just click the photo to be taken to the site to vote..

“there’s no place like home”

This year for Halloween, my little lady dressed as the sweetest-ever-in-the-whole-wide-world, Dorothy, with her sidekick as the cowardly lion. As a photographer, it is completely necessary and required (by me) to do a photo shoot to document it. Our photo shoot took place at the pumpkin patch where we bought our “punkins” (as Finley and every other toddler in the world calls them). My favorite is the one that Lucy looks like a real-life ferocious lion protecting her cub (in this case, Dorothy). But, don’t be alarmed, she’s not really growling.. I just caught the exact hundredth of a second after a big, gentle vizsla yawn!

We had a Dorothy wig for Finley but trying to force a toddler to wear wig is next to impossible. Instead, a pretty blue ribbon in her hair kept her happy. The adorable dress was made by my talented, seamstress mom, the ruby slippers are from Babies ‘r Us, and the lion mane is from eBay. 🙂

adventures of finley+lucy | days 16-30

I wrapped up my 30-day series on Instagram the other day, but my followers loved it so much, I decided I’d keep it going! So now, instead of sharing little glimpses of all areas of my life through instagram, I am  just sharing all the moments of my two favorites in the whole entire world — Finley & Lucy. I think I love doing this more than my followers like the photos! I’ve been defeated by the duo a few times  during all this, but am going to give those shots another… shot… again soon. 🙂 Here are the photos from days 16-30! Follow me on instagram ——->

adventures of finley & lucy | days 1-15

Fifteen days ago I started a 30-day photo series on instagram, featuring my two favorite babies – finley & lucy. It has been so much fun! So much, in fact, that I am considering continuing it… and I’ve had a lot of requests to do so. 🙂 Since I am half way through the original 30-day series, I thought I’d do a quick blog post recap of the first 15 days! To see the next 15 days as I post them, follow me on instagram! Enjoy…

“party in da crib”

“follow the leader”

“skinnydipping”

 

“nice puppy”

“graham cracker snack break under the table”

“bubble bath buddies”

 

“peek-a-boo”

 

“come on, luce!”

 

“nice to meet you” #tbt

 

“america”

 

“popsicle break”

 

“finley & lucy”

 

“dressing up lucy in girly headbands”

“ponies”

 

“front porch conversations”

adventures of finley & lucy | starting soon!

Hello, friends! I’ve got a little something in the works that I’m excited about… a 30-day photo series that will feature two very important things in my life — my baby and my first baby. As Finley gets bigger, their friendship gets stronger. She loves to give Lucy kisses and pet her while saying “Niiiiiice, puppy!”. And every time I ask her to say “Grandma” or “Grandpa”, among other words, she reponds, “Puppy!?”. #meltmyheart

So stayed tuned and be sure to follow me on instagram where I will be featuring glimpses of their friendship one photo at a time..

xo.
ami

life as a mama | a “new normal”

I knew life would forever be different, but there are no words, no advice, no books, nor countless stories from experienced parents that can prepare you for parenthood. When we got home with Finley, we looked at each other, confused, as if it was our first day of kindergarten, with no clue what to do next. I felt so lost, I wished I was back in the hospital for a couple more days to feel be taken care of. The first few nights, we slept with our lights on (dimmed) because, heaven forbid I couldn’t see my baby if I opened my eyes. Feeding/changing her countless times in the middle of the night was a huge production. Cory and I would both get up, turn on lights, fumble around to make a bottle, get pooped and peed on while changing our crying baby’s diaper. The whole ordeal would take at least an hour. We were zombies during the day the entire first week month. And the first week is when everybody and their brother wants to visit. Bless their hearts.. 🙂

If this trailer of “Up All Night” doesn’t sum it up, I don’t know what does. I cannot stop laughing when I watch this!

The swearing, the crying, the wipes… the freaking wipes! They stick together and you can never get just ONE out with one hand while the other hand is holding the baby’s legs so her feet don’t get in the poopy diaper.

Cory and I also had a moment when we looked at each other and said, “We need to get out of the house”. We felt like prisoners in our own home. But, going out in public was also a huge production… Was she just fed? Is her diaper clean? Is she sleeping? Ok, Go! Fast! And God help us if she starts crying when we are in a store. It happened in Target and we [sorta] panicked. No one wants to be “the lady with the crying baby”. I stayed in the aisle with the screaming baby while Cory ran to another aisle to get a bottle of water so we could make a bottle for her (see, we weren’t even prepared enough to have a bottle ready in public!). By the time he got back, she had stopped crying. The good news is, when the baby is that little, people just give sad, puppy-dog-eye faces and think it’s so sweet, versus when the child is a little older, you get glares while they think “OMG. Control your bratty little child, lady!”. Can’t wait until those days…

My parents stayed with us the first week. I’m not sure we would have made it through that week without their help. Chances are, Lucy would have starved to death and us to, for that matter. One night, my mom stayed up in the living room while Finley slept in her cradle until she woke up for her first feeding so we could “go to bed” for a couple hours without the anxiety of Finley being next to us, needing us. Something so small, yet so wonderful.

There is no doubt that I wore the same two outfits every day for two months. (I’m sure Cory was really attracted to me.) I was so proud and felt accomplished with each little thing I may have gotten done in one day; whether it be a shower, a prepared meal, or doing the dishes. My biggest milestone that first week was when I figured out how to pump and do my makeup at the same time. First epic fail as a mama: spilling the pumped milk all over the bathroom floor. I could just cry [over spilled milk]!

I’m somewhat ashamed to admit it, but there was a night or two when I woud rock Finley’s cradle with one arm off the side of the bed, telling her to “Go the F to sleep. Please. You are an infant. You are suppose to sleep“, then instantly feel so mean for using the F word directly to my sweet, innocent daughter. (But rest assured, she’s a baby and doesn’t know good from bad [words] yet.)

Though amazing, those first couple months weren’t very glamorous. But, truth is, my life is so much richer and full of love than it’s ever been before. Between a happy marriage to my handsome husband who would do anything for me [and I for him], an adorable dog who is loved more than most dogs [and is part human, I’m pretty sure], and now this healthy, beautiful little baby who is all ours (all ours!!), there is so much love. So much happiness. I feel incredibly lucky+blessed every. single. day.

I mean, does it get much better than this:

Finley is just over three months old now and I finally feel like we’ve [sort of] gotten the hang of things. This “new normal” is pretty darn wonderful. She’s been such a good little baby… She rarely cries, loves her nuk, enjoys bath time, smiles when I use the bulb suction to suck boogers out of her little nose every day (seriously!), lets me dress her up in multiple outfits and take way too many pictures of her, and will go from breastfeeding to a bottle [that is only room temperature] with no hesitation. She’s not picky! She’s been smiling since she was four days old and is just one happy, easy going baby! I know the days will come when she’ll seem like the naughtiest little girl in the world (while people glare at me and think I should control my kid), but I’ll still love her to pieces and all the while, still think she’s the best little girl in the world too…

Because she is. 🙂