Pumpkin Patching

There's a pumpkin patch in Phoenix that I've always heard about but never went to.  Luckily, this year, Adam's company put together a family day at the Schneff Farms Pumpkin Patch so we got to take Gigi.

Unfortunately, it was over 90 degrees yesterday so we weren't able to bundle up and pretend like it was fall.  We had to change Gigi out of the outfit I had originally picked for her because it was far too warm.  I love Phoenix and the warm weather but there is a point when I'd like it to get down into the 70s for awhile.  It'd be nice to be able to wear a long sleeved shirt.

We did the obligitory pumpkin patch pictures with Gigi.  Unfortunately, she had no smiles for us and she was enthralled with the hay so we didn't get any really great pictures.

Hay, hay, hay - looks so yummy

Take the picture so I can get back to the hay

The pumpkin farm had a ton of other stuff to do and will be a great place to take Gigi when she gets a little bit older.  There were a number of family friendly rides, a petting zoo, putt putt, hayrides (though they were Zombie hayrides), and a corn maze.  All of this was only $17.  I can't wait for her to get a little bigger - it'll be a ton of fun.

We took a stab at the corn maze but it's very large and we got a little lost so we eventually turned back and tried to find our way out.  It would be super spooky at night though.

Once the sun went down, Adam's company had arranged for a private bon fire were we get to cook our own hot dogs and do some S'mores.

Little Gigi normally goes to bed around 7:30 and every other time we've tried to stay out past her bedtime, she has a serious meltdown.  We decided to risk it last night since the farm was only 25 min from the house.  We came prepared with a bottle (I'm not super comfortable breastfeeding in public) and we had the carrier for if she fell asleep.  She ended up doing really well.  She took a quick cat nap at about 6:00 and then she was able to hang out with us until we left at about 8:30.  She fell asleep in the car and then quickly fell back to sleep when we got home.  Win!

Projects, Projects, Projects

When you're a SAHM, you need to find something to do besides laundry, dishes, dirty diapers, and story time.  For me, I'm taking on getting the playroom sorted as that's where we spend the vast majority of our time during the day.

We have a bookcase full of toys and books.  I bought a mat for the floor so that she won't bonk her head when she rolls over.  I have a chair for me to sit in and we got a tv to play PBS Kids or something more adult for me when I'm getting bored.

But during her naps, I'd like to try and find something else to do.  I've found four projects on pinterest that I want to try out.  I am, however, not being very proactive in getting them done.

Texture Wall - I found this on pinterest and thought it would be fun.  We've already been to Joann's and picked out a few fabrics for the wall.  I had no idea how expensive fabric was and especially since I don't want large swatches of fabric.  Anywho - I have these all done, I just have to find a way to attach them to Gigi's cork board without using tacks (I don't want them to fall off onto the floor).

Book Shelves for Gigi's Room - In the old house, we had some small book shelves up in Gigi's room but with the new house, she has a whole playroom with large Ikea book shelf.  I thought it would be fun to still have some books in her room so I found this pinterest idea for book shelves using Ikea spice racks.  I have the spice racks - I just need to paint them white.  I should just get this done - it would be super easy.

Magnetic Chalkboard - This one will be fun as she gets older and should be super easy.  I have the drip pan and chalkboard paint.  Again, I should just get it done.  Note - mine will not be as fancy as the one in the picture.

Alphabet wall - I've really wanted to do this one since I found out that I was pregnant, but it will be the most time consuming and expensive project to do.  I've bought the scrapbook paper and three letters (her initials) to see just how time consuming this will be.  Who knew that these 8" paper mache letters would cost $2.99 each!?!  I'm going to try the letters I have this week and make a decision on if I want to finish the project or not.

When life takes over....

Man, when life takes over, updating the blog is the first thing to go.  This year, my life has changed pretty drastically.  Primarily with the addition of this little peanut - 

Miss Gigi enjoying the new playroom chair

Baby Gigi joined us in March this year.  Talk about a life changer.  Before baby, I was traveling every week for work getting upgraded to first class.  Now I'm a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom for those of you not in the know).

This peanut has changed the way I think about work and life.  Now, I'm not sure I want to go back to work (though the adult interaction would be fantastic) and I'm also learning to appreciate the little things alot more often.

For instance - showers and getting dressed.  I never fully appreciated them until Gigi came along.  As much as I love this peanut, up until about a week and a half ago, her naps were all 45 minutes or less.  Try taking a shower, getting dressed, blowing drying your hair, and putting on make up in 45 min or less - while also trying to get a load of laundry going, washes the dishes, maybe taking a nap (because she was up three times the night before), or just having quiet time to watch tv.  I've taken to only washing my hair every other day (don't judge) because blow drying just takes way too long and I can't do it in front of her (she's scared of the blow dryer).  I now understand why moms completely chop off their hair.

But then, one day about a week and a half ago, I took her to story time at the library with a friend.  When we got home, she took a TWO HOUR NAP!!  I didn't know what to do with myself.  I was washed and dressed, laundry going, and dishes done within 45 minutes.  What do I do with myself now??  I thought it was a fluke but thankfully, it hasn't been.  She's now consistently taking 1.5 hour naps twice a day.  I had read on other blogs that six months was the turning point, but I didn't believe them.  I had resigned myself to four 45 minute naps everyday.

So what am I doing with all my time that I have to myself now?  Well, pinterest has given me alot of ideas that I'm going to try out.  I have at least three projects for Gigi's playroom that I need to finish up...good content for the next blog entry...stay tuned...

Playing Dress Up

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me to help with pictures of her daughter. She had been on Pinterest and saw photos of a little girl in her mothers wedding dress and wanted to give it a go.

We decided we wanted to try creating the pictures with a dreamy soft feeling so we decided to use her mother-in-law's house which has a larger window in the front room which gets quite a bit of light. 

Leslie is naturally very creative and when I arrived, she had a number of props and jewelry to use in the shoot. That is super helpful for a photographer. If I were to ever decide to do this professionally, I would need to get her help to get the studio setup with really cute props and backgrounds. 

Liv was super excited to get to play dress up in her mom's dress that day. She's a bit of a goofball, but we were able to get some really great shots. Below are some of my favorite. 

Thank you Leslie, Don, and Liv for letting me help make some memories! I can't wait to do it again with Ella!

What I love about Phoenix

There are so many things I love about Phoenix - the beautiful scenery, the red-orange Sonoran sunsets, the cost of living - the weather!!  But tonight, I want to talk about one of my favorite things that most people don't realize about Phoenix - there are some really great restaurants.  Below are a few of my favorite restaurants:

Cornish Pasty - this started out as a small hole in the wall restaurant but they've since opened a larger location about a mile from the house (lucky me!) and now they're opening in Las Vegas as well!

Chelsea's Kitchen - beautiful atmosphere in the Camelback corridor of Phoenix.  They've recently opened a location in Terminal 4 at the airport - it makes me want to get to the airport a whole lot earlier.

Cibo - a downtown Phoenix staple.  Great for lunch (I highly suggest the Pulled pork sandwich) but they also do a nice pizza for dinner.

Grazie - My favorite pizza place in Phoenix (actually Old Town Scottsdale) and there are a ton of very good pizza places in the Phoenix area so this is saying alot

Chino Bandito - Chinese Mexican fusion.  Need I say more?

City Hall - Yummy, yummy steak and the lobster mash potatoes have actually lobster chucks that they add in right at your table.

These are just a few of my favorites - you should visit Phoenix to experience all of the great food options!

Hubby Lifting: Part 3

We're continuing to work through our honey-do list. One of the major items on the list is the fireplace in the living room. I've never been a big fan of it but I've never been sure what to do.

We're in the process do redoing a lot of the house and specifically the living room. So I decided to tackle the fireplace. I decided I wanted more light in the living room so I decided we were going to paint the fireplace white! I was nervous about this decision. I don't want to impact the value of the home but I couldn't stand to look at the ugly brick anymore.

I talked Adam into starting the project on a Saturday afternoon thinking it would just take a couple of hours. I was wrong. We did the first coat on Saturday but then we had to finish it up on Sunday.

I am very happy with the fireplace now. It really brightens up the room and it makes it look much more modern. Now I just need my new furniture to get here, decide on a new rug and paint the walls!

Original Fireplace

Updated Fireplace

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Little Girl Brooks Turns 2!

One of my favorite little girls turned 2 years old this month!  It seems just like yesterday that we were doing her 1 year old pictures.

Gabby has been going through a phase lately where she doesn't want to have her picture taken.  If you pull out a camera, she makes a face at you and covers her face with her hands.  She really does not like having her picture taken.  So Kim and I were fully prepared for a break down and were trying to find ways to keep her entertained.  Thankfully though, Gabby was a trooper!  Not only did she smile for the camera, she was posing for me.  I'd call out to her and she'd look over her shoulder at me and give me a look.  She could be a little model if she wanted to be!

Below are some of my favorites from the session!

Hubby Lifting: Part 2

With Adam not being able to work, it's become like I have a live-in handyman. We have a list of things that need to be fixed and he's slowly working through them. It's fantastic!

One of the items was to paint the cabinets in the laundry room. I don't know if they were original to the house or not but they were very old looking. The laundry room doesn't have any windows so it's very dark. It's In desperate need of some brightness.

So I told the hubs what colors I wanted and then left it to him. One week while I was in Harrisburg (yes, I know I'm late posting this!), he sorted out the laundry room for me. It looks so much better now!

PS what you can't see is that he also painted the walls a very happy yellow.

 

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Little Girl Brooks

Last year I did a blog about the Brooks family with some of the pregnant pictures I took of Mommy Brooks. This year, I was lucky enough to be able to take some pictures of their beautiful and smart daughter before her 1 year birthday.

I met Gabby over Christmas last year for the first time.  She was two months old and a very easy baby to like.  I then got to meet her again in April when I came home for a visit.  She was older and more interactive but still very easy to like (except for when she threw up on me!).  Now that I'm home, I get to see her nearly every weekend and she continues to be very easy to be around.

Momma Brooks asked me to do these pictures and I had never really done pictures of a 1 yr old so I was had no idea what to expect.  We setup an area in a park using some of the fall decorations that are going to be used for Gabby's birthday.  We must have looked crazy - fall decorations when it was still 90 degrees outside??

Anyhow, Gabby was a pleasure to work with.  Mama and Dad Brooks kept her entertained so I could focus on the pictures and I think they came out fantastic with the color combination!  What do you think?

Maybe we'll keep this a tradition - new pictures of Gabby every year!

Baby Brooks

On the second half of my trip home, I spent about five days in Phoenix.  I went to check on the house, to get some warmth (Canberra has been freezing), and to attend my friend Kim's baby shower.  Kim found out she was having a baby back at the beginning of the year and she has been so excited.  I think she was even more excited when she found out it was going to be a girl (look out Cooper Tew!).  She's going to be a fantastic mom and Blaine...well, Blaine is going to be in for an interested ride with two Brooks women in the house.

I've been slowly building my portfolio of portrait photography (you know, in case I ever decide to quit my high-paying corporate job that flys me all over the world).  I've done an engagement, a family, a baby, and now, thanks to Kim, I've had the chance to do maternity pictures.

It was around 114 F in Phoenix the day we decided to do pictures and I couldn't talk Dad Brooks into heading out to the park for pictures.  It was just far too hot.  So we settled on their backyard so we could go inside to cool off every now and then.  As it turns out, we got a fantastic sunset and fantastic light.  

I hope you enjoy the pictures!  I think the pictures came out pretty well.  Thank you Kim and Blaine for letting me capture this precious time for you!