One Year

Today Bryce and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Sometimes it seems like we've been married for 5 minutes, at others it seems like nearly a decade. We've been through a lot in the past year - Bryce graduated with his degree in electrical engineering, we bought a house, and got a puppy. In true homeowner style, in addition to dinner and a movie, we spent about an hour at Lowes daydreaming about things we want to do to the house. Do we know how to party or what?!

I'm so blessed to wake up every morning next to the love of my life. I am so lucky to call him mine, and look forward to many, many anniversaries to come.

I love you, Bryce.

Furminator

So, we usually use the Furminator for all of our pet hair removal needs....but it turns out that Bryce's stubble works just as well. I snapped this shot as we were headed out the door to meet the family for dinner after a few minutes of Toby Time. I'm pretty sure he would have walked around like this all night if I hadn't said anything.

Growing Boy

This is Gus at 15 weeks, weighing in at 28 lbs. Well, for now at least. He's gained 12 lbs. in the past 3 weeks, so who knows? He might weigh 47 lbs. by the weekend. He eats like we never feed him and nothing makes him happier than terrorizing the cat. After almost two years of being terrorized by the cat myself, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't on team Gus.

Before and After

Peanut Butter

This is Paisely Marie Carstensen - born May 26th to my best friend/Bryce's cousin and her husband.

Bryce and I were extremely honored when Addy and Jake asked us to be Paisley's Godparents!! As if we need another excuse to spoil her!!

Every Party Has a Pooper

This was, without a doubt, the best part of my day!!

This is Why I'M the Photographer

My good friends Alicia and Matt got married last Saturday, and I was lucky enough to be a part of their wedding party. I was so honored to be a part of their special day, but that meant one scary thing. Bryce would be in charge of the camera. This has happened before, and each time, I sneak up from the room where the girls are getting ready, find my husband’s bald head among the wedding goers, quickly hand him the camera, give brief instructions, and leave the photographic fate in his hands. He usually does a pretty good job, until now. Here are the moments he captured of the ceremony. They pretty much speak for themselves….

I found him after the ceremony and gave him a quick kiss as he handed me the camera. I started to look through them, and he blurts out “Yeah…..we need a new camera”. Our camera isn’t THAT bad, it’s most likely operator error more than anything else. But the good news is, I’m getting closer to convincing him that I need the item featured last month!

Looks like I’ll be asking Alicia for copies of her wedding photos as evidence that the ceremony didn’t happen at 197 miles an hour.

Isn't She Lovely?

I’ve fallen in love (again). Road block No. 1 standing in the way of starting my photography business? My cheap-o point-and-shoot digital camera. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfect for capturing quick, casual shots. But to really create the images I want and to help convince my friends to let me take pictures of their babies in buckets (thus building my portfolio) I need something more like this. Sigh…I’m sure someone is headed to my house with a giant cardboard check as we speak….

Newest Member of the Mommy Club

And then there were four. This is our newest addition, 9-week-old golden retriever, Gus. I admittedly used to roll my eyes at people who told me that having a puppy was a great way to prepare for having kids some day. How hard could it be?! To all recipients of the eyeball roll…I AM SORRY.

My husband and I have been launched into the world of parenthood that revolves around feeding, potty training, and sleepless nights. I’ve always respected my mommy club friends, but since Gus moved in, that appreciation has TRIPLED!!! Gone are the days when I can peacefully watch the latest and greatest reality TV without wondering if someone is peeing in the corner. Spontaneous field trips and weekends away are a thing of the past. I MISS my sleep. I now understand (and have already used) the phrase “I have to take it easy tonight because I have to get up with the baby”.

I will tell you one thing, like kids, this puppy is lucky he is so cute. It helps him get away with pretty much anything.

So yes, I agree that this is a great glimpse into life as a parent, while I do understand that parenting is a much tougher job!! I’ve even muttered “How can I expect you to help me with KIDS if you can’t even help me with the DOG!!” on more than one occasion in the past few days. We’ll see what happens….maybe our next family addition will be a rock.