9 months old

this may or may not be almost 2 weeks overdue...maybe.



9 months old.



and walking. straight up across the living room into the kitchen walking.



but still crawling when it suits her. like, to chase the chickens & such.
she's sort of on her way to being a toddler- that is crazy talk. i've said it before- i don't judge Michelle Duggar for popping out 20+ kiddos. they grow so fast.

i. need. baby.

and then i have another child- one that will be 2 in 3 days.
that's right- 2.

2. years. old.

blows my mind.




...or maybe it doesn't. because i think the above is a pretty good example of what 2 year olds do. licking trees & things of that nature.




top: thrifted
jeggings: Target
shoes: Toms

said almost 2 year old's party this saturday is going to be a blast...in the rain. because that's what up. rain rain rain. for an outdoor party.

thank you amazon for allowing me to purchase a party tent & ship it to my house in 1 day.
amen.

the rest of the 9 month pics

i need to work on nailing my focus. so much.
sometimes it's one eye- or her shirt- or her hair.

one day i'll get it.


























then we went in & i pulled about 1/2 cup of grass out of her mouth. moo cow.

9 months old

better late than never. i have a bunch more that still need editing- but i figured out how to upload them from iPhoto to LR3 pretty late last night (8pm is late for me people) so i could only squeeze one out this morning at 4:30 (yawn)

so- not to be overly sappy, but i really love my kid.

yesterday i sat down and watched a video called Choosing Thomas

the story: the parents find out that their son has Trisomy 13- yet they choose to carry him to term & let him live whatever life the Lord has in store for him. however short it may be.

it it incredibly sad. very real & very heartbreaking.

if you choose to watch it, you will cry. i'm not sure how anyone could sit through the entire video with dry eyes. the amount of love & pain that is expressed is enough to make you stop & catch your breath. the parents are totally open & honest- you get to see the birth & the 5 following days of Thomas' life. you watch as his parents beg him to stay with them & then beg him to go home.
you watch as they experience every emotion that you can possibly think of.

as much as i wanted to, i couldn't seperate myself from their situation. and at the same time, i couldn't even imagine the amount of pain they must have been in.

it made me rush to my mother's house, grab alex & simply hold her.
it made me not want to put her down for the next 18 years.
it made me sad that i get annoyed, frusterated, tired, irked- etc etc etc.
it made me feel incredibly guilty for not always wanting to be with alex. holding her, playing with her, making her happy- all those things that i know Thomas' parents wish they could do everyday.

however- even as i swore to myself that i would never get annoyed with alex again, i found myself incredibly frusterated 10 minutes later when she all but refused to lay still so i could change her. "child, you're POOPY! LET ME CHANGE YOU!!!"

but then i realized that i'm human. and that it's OK to feel all of the above emotions. it's OK to take a little time for myself. it's OK!

so as i finally scraped the last of the poo off her little tush & plopped her in the bath- i promised the good Lord that i would try harder to do "better". to be more patient, thankful, forgiving, loving- all of those things that i fall horribly short of doing on a daily basis. because that's what alex should see.

i'm SO not perfect- but i CAN be better.

so, as said i'm not trying to be super sappy or tell anyone how they should live, i just wanted to express that even amidst all the "fluff" that i may write about- i do have deep thoughts & feelings.

and i REALLY love my kid. even when she touches her poopy butt and then wipes it on my arm.

picture post

so i've played around with my template & i think i like it.

i wanted
1. simple
2. bigger pictures

in the future i'll need to re-size my pics FIRST before uploading to flickr. because right now my large pics = 1024x680 and my medium pics = 500x332

large is too big & medium is too small- i want something in the middle. i tried simply changing the size on the link- but then the pictures get pixalated & weird.

so i'm assuming re-sizing first will do the trick- am i right? any other easier ideas? i really don't want to re-size first but i'll do what i have to i suppose.

well for today the pics will be medium size- because i don't have the energy to re-size!

here's a crapload of pics of alex & myself (@ 16 weeks) & the weiners. she was teething & snotty & a tad bit sick- but all in all, a good sport.

i took a bunch for her 9 months shoot yesterday- but those'll have to be posted next week:

























and there- pretty girl!

and lastly- any advice on a new computer/laptop?

i'm a PC girl & i currently have an HP Laptop (i think)- nothing special, just whatever. it's 3 years old and is currently being asked to do way more than it can handle (ie: pictures, LightRoom, CS4- etc etc)

i'm getting SO annoyed with the constant random shutdowns- but i know it's my own fault.

so! i need a new computer. i know Macs are awesome for photos- but i've never owned a Mac & i love PC's- but i'm willing to go with a Mac if it's the best bang for my buck.

i'd love to stick with a laptop- but is there a laptop that can handle all that i need to do (photo editing wise)? or am i going to have to bite the bullet & by a desktop (which i don't mind all that much)

i have to make a decision soon because my LightRoom trial runs out on 06/30 & i don't want to buy it & put it on my laptop to then wind up with a new computer & have to buy it again- you know?

so any suggestions/advice- etc etc? i'd love to hear! gracias!
and have a great weekend everyone!