2. I’m so glad Spring has arrived and we’ve been able to get outside more with Ephram. However, being outside usually leads to us continually lecturing him on why we should not run into the middle of the street. Apparently a boring black road is much more appealing than fluffy green grass. And since Ephram seems to be growing into a very stubborn boy (no idea where he would have gotten that gene from – definitely not me. or his father.), us having to stop him from going into the road leads to a lot of crying tantrums, and we usually aren’t outside for very long. Hopefully he grows out of this soon because Beau just completed a patio project in our back yard! I’ll post more on that soon. (I posted a sneak peek on the blog yesterday)

2. Yesterday, Ephram had a check up with his cardiologist. For the grandparents and other family members reading this: there was a slight murmur near his bicuspid valve, but our fabulous Doctor Baker doesn’t believe it’s anything to worry about. His blood pressures were great in both his arm and leg, so he’s very happy with the co-arctation repair as well. And get this, we don’t have to go back for a year now! He’s officially just on yearly visits to the cardiologist and will hopefully stay that way for the rest of his life.

3. While in the waiting room, we also saw one of Ephram’s amazing surgeons, Dr. Moga. If you are local, keep an eye out for his commercial on tv. I will always hold a very special spot in my heart for all the doctors and nurses that took care of Ephram those first two weeks of life. They continue to be amazing these days and we are always happy to visit, as long as they say everything is looking good. Even if it means driving through the crazy streets of Minneapolis to get to them.

4. I’m sure I’ve posted about Pinterest before, but I just have to say again how awesome it is. I literally could get stuck searching through all the images on that site for hours (and may have recently), because I’m such a sucker for feeling inspired. I used to tear out pages from Pottery Barn magazines and paste them into a notebook years ago, dreaming of when I’d own a home. Pinterest is the same idea, only digital. And they make it incredibly easy to save any image you see on the web into your “notebook”.

5. Particularly inspiring for me is my collection of DIY Project Ideas I’ve collected on Pinterest. If I ever find myself with extra time, I immediately search through those images to see if I could try any of them out myself. This past weekend I stumbled upon a DIY wall art piece made from toilet paper rolls and I plan on recreating something similar in our bedroom. Now, if only I could remember to not throw away the empty toilet paper rolls!

6. Beau and I recently found ourselves with a week of PTO in July that will now be spent on a road trip to the Bad Lands of South Dakota with Beau’s sister’s family. 4 adults, 2 kids, and one Ephram. It should be loads of fun – if you can call anything in South Dakota fun.

7. For months now, I’ve been on the search for a new purse. I’m not one of those women who change out purses regularly, but I needed something new. Especially since my current purse had developed holes. Yes, holes. The problem with finding a replacement was that I rarely have time to go to the store and look, and the only store I’d consider buying a purse from locally is Target (and their selection has sucked lately). So I decided I’d have to take Ephram with me to a store outside of Northfield. The other problem is that I’m picky. That was probably the bigger problem actually. But my mother will be happy to know that I finally replaced my hole-y purse of 3+ years. Yes, 3+ years.

8. To top off my new purse purchase, I was also in need of a new camera bag. I wanted something that looked like a purse, but was safe enough for my DSLR. There are a few companies I know off that make purse-like camera bags, but I’m picky (read #7) and I’m cheap. Thanks (again) to Pinterest, I found this etsy site that makes padded inserts for purses! Yep, it’s a done deal, I’m ordering this week.

9. This week is somewhat exciting for me. I had yesterday off and for the remainder of the week I work morning shifts. As a result, we’ll have a every evening together as a family. Normal for some families, but exciting and rare for this one.

10. Inspired by #8, I put together a dinner meal plan for the rest of the week and to keep me accountable, here it is: M- I made Chicken & Basil Stir Fry (it was awesome and even Beau liked it!), T-Pizza (a multitude of things (read #1) has lead me to believe that tonight is the night for an easy dinner), Wed- Some type of grilled shrimp recipe, Th- Twice Baked Salmon Potatoes F- Probably leftovers.

2. Speaking of math, my dad and step mom are opening up a branch of Mathnasium. Go check it out. They make math fun! Their location is in Woodbury, MN. Check out their Facebook page for more information.

3. I realized this week that Ephram is definitely growing up faster than I’m ready to admit. I’m sad that he’s growing out of this clothes (mostly in the tummy section, not the arms and legs), I’m frustrated with figuring out how much real food he needs compared to just giving him as much milk/formula as he wants when he was a baby, I’m losing patience with him when he gets frustrated over and over about getting on to his tummy and not being able to crawl and get anywhere. But at the same time, it’s amazing. On Monday, I held his hands while he stood and while he usually loves to bounce or “jump” in this position, this time he took a few steps. It was nothing short of amazing to witness his concentration as he took those steps.

4. If I don’t stop snacking on these Pumpkin Spice Kisses, I won’t have any left over to make these cookies! Don’t get too excited, I usually lose my motivation to bake the moment I step into the kitchen. (It’s a very good thing that I have a husband who cooks for me. It’s fair since I do the dishes and love to clean up.)

5. This article by the Baby Name Wizard absolutely explains my random obsession with name picking. I have been picking out original baby names for my future children since about 7th grade.

2. Are you as ready for Christmas as I am? I know, Halloween isn’t even here yet. But for some reason, just like Summer, I am really ready to swap out the autumn leaves for evergreens. I’m ready for Christmas music and decorations and I’m already getting a few gifts ready (so excited for the little gifts I’m making for my awesome clients this year). And though the snow and cold that typically come with Christmases in Minnesota, I’m actually looking forward to the first snow in which we can use our new snow blower!

3. I convinced my sister in law to start a blog! Starting a blog is always tough, so head over there and give her some blog love.

4. Since a few (non-professional photography) friends have been getting Photoshop Elements recently, I’m contemplating how best to help them learn how to use this awesome tool, and I’m thinking of posting a few simple ‘photo-fix’ tutorials on here. If you are interested, what quick photo fixes would you like to see shown on the blog?

5. And since it’s been a busy week (and my poor, lonely camera has seen a lot of the inside of his bag), I leave you with a photo that is not mine. It is however, a photograph by someone I truly admire: Mary Swenson. She is in the midst of creating a new website to showcase her photography and it should be ready on November 1st. Go check it out for sure.

photo credit: Mary Swenson

1. So, I know the blog has been quiet this week, but there is a good reason. A particular little baby caught my cold last weekend. Fortunately, this is Ephram’s first cold ever. We went 7 months without him having a fever, sniffles, cough, anything. But the streak ended, and so did his wonderful nights of sleeping. We spent quite a bit of time this week rocking our sick little guy. During the day, in the evening, after bedtime when he wouldn’t fall asleep, in the middle of the night. The poor little guy just wanted to cuddle non-stop. I shouldn’t complain. I know these days are numbered, but as a result, not much got done around the house this week, including a lot of photo editing.

2. In the middle of all that rocking and cuddling, I was able to sneak out for a last minute Fall photo session with a beautiful couple. Sarah and Tommy were married last Fall but wanted to get some Fall engagement-like pictures taken this year, right around their one year anniversary. I’m dying to share the session, and I promise a full sneak peek on Monday, but here is just one picture to hold Sarah and Tommy over through the weekend. So much more where this came from. I have far too many favorites to share.

3. In addition to a full sneak peek of Sarah and Tommy’s session on Monday, I’ve got two more sessions in the next 4 days, so look for more pictures later in the week. So excited for these two sessions, especially since we are having incredibly warm weather for October in Minnesota. Stanton Airfield, just a few miles east of Northfield, topped out at 88 degrees today. Our normal high around here on October 8th? 65.

4. I’m so close to having part 3 finished of our family trip to Jay Cooke State Park as well. Serious. :)

5. And though I didn’t have a ton of time to search the internet this week, I did catch this little skit. Did you? I just love that JT. :)

Happy Friday to you!

2. One last thing about the flood. The Northfield Historical Society shared amazing pictures from past floods and droughts of the Cannon River in Northfield. Just amazing to see the changes of one river overtime, especially after the recent flooding.

3. I’ve developed a love for birth photography and these images captured by Michele just tug at my heart. This is something I’d absolutely love to offer in the future, but right now, with our work schedules and young family, it’s just not an option. It’s good to have something to look forward to doing someday down the road though.

4. The leaves are changing before our eyes in Minnesota, which is a little bittersweet. The city is gorgeous, but I am definitely still saddened when I think of the white world we’ll begin living in come this Winter. For now, the weather has been pretty great and we’ve gone on walks nearly everyday this week (our work schedules were actually fairly great this week as well, allowing for said morning walks). Ephram more and more wants to explore the world and not sit and play in our living room. This both excites me and scares me since I love going outside for walks, but come Winter, it won’t be as much of an option. We braved the cold often last Winter to go on walks downtown together, though this year I’m not sure we’ll have the heart to make Ephram sit in the cold in his stroller. Hopefully he gets some great new toys from the grandparents for Christmas (*wink wink*) to hold him through the chilly months.

5. By the way, Happy October! What is your October Wish? I’ll give you three guesses what mine is :)
 

Well, I’ve had somewhat of a slow start to my list, and especially behind on documenting my accomplished goals.  So here is a wrap up of what I crossed off during 2009.  I also made a few changes to some goals, which may be cheating, but I think your goals should grow as  you go through life, so cheating is allowed in my book. 

(the remainder of ) 2009:

#10 Finished my Christmas shopping very early.

#20 Watched 3 Star Trek movies.

#22 Bought a blu-ray player.

#24 Bought a car with cruise control.

#37 Created a website for my photography business. 

#38 Was hired as a professional photographer. 

#39 Created business cards for myself. 

#81 Sent out Christmas cards to family and friends. 

#60 Started on a playroom for our baby. 

#74 Hosted a family holiday get together. 

#85 Attended a Vikings game. 

#88 Visited the North Shore. 

I think I did a pretty good job actually and 2010 will bring many more accomplishments, I’m sure.  Hopefully I’ll do a better job of actually documenting it!

My friend and coworker, Ryan and his cute little dog, Carmel sat for some pictures the other day. Seriously cute little puppy, Carmel is. And of course, Ryan too.

I’m back from our trip to Glacier National Park!  And I’m marking #92 off my 101 list!

I have pictures galore. Check them out over at flickr:

And not only can I check #92 off my list, just before our trip, I purchased a Tokina 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 lens for the beautiful landscapes of Glacier National Park. And in addition, spent a few extra bucks to get a remote for my camera as well. Still not totally sure that I love it, but it is nice to not have to set the timer on the camera when we took pictures of the two of us together. I’ll get back to you on if I’m loving it or not.

Ok, I would love to stay and chat, but it’s summer and there is more important things to do outside.

If you are wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been outside!  More pictures to come soon.  You just have to wait a bit longer.