Almost Two

Abigail will turn two on July 14th, but I'm expecting to be a little busy/heavy then, so we're bumping up Abby's birthday festivities. On Thursday we went out for some "almost two" birthday pictures. Yes, I'm including a lot, so you'll just have to indulge a proud mama.

We started out at the beach by the Edmonds ferry (a favorite spot of late) and I realized quickly that this shoot was going to be HARD for my nine-months-pregnant body. Here Abby stops to smell a flower.
Grandma French gave Abigail this adorable halter dress.

I've been feeling a little left out of Abigail's documented childhood, so we stopped and let Trevor take some pictures of mama and babycake. I'm really happy with the light in this one and think it's hilarious that we have the same expression on our faces.

Abby, Mama, and Wally!

I took the camera back and Trev gave Abigail a few tosses into the air. WAY into the air! Man, I love that smile!

"Seriously, mama?"
Abby's fabulous lashes.

Wardrobe change. Mid-stride with her shadow close behind.

The cheeks that make people exclaim over how much she looks like Trev. Oh, so kissable.

Trying out the water. It's COLD!

Kisses for Daddy.

After rinsing off our feet we headed to the car for part two of our session. But a train was coming, so Trev and Abby stopped to protect their ears.

Back into her dress, we picked up an ice cream cone (Abby's first whole one to my knowledge!) and sat her down on Main street to enjoy.

I'd say she liked it!
There was no trying to contain the mess. We just intervened a couple of times when it looked like the ice cream was going to plop onto the sidewalk.

With the ice cream gone, she started right in on the cone, eating everything but the very point, which she kindly gave to mama.

As Wally's birth draws near, I've found that my time with Abby has grown increasingly precious. We stay in bed longer nursing/cuddling/reading books. I hug a little more tightly and kiss whenever she comes near. I watch her sleep for an entire ferry ride home. She's such a little PERSON now. When I'm down on the floor or weeding or trying to put on my shoes, she'll come over and put her arm around my neck and press her cheek to mine and just hold me for a minute, like she knows I need a little Abby-love. She's amazing.

Happy almost-Birthday, Babycake! Mama loves you!

Cooling Off

Today felt like summer. We worked on outdoor projects, watched Abby parade around in sunglasses and a diaper (and nothing else), and ate lunch on the deck. I love that summer feeling. And what could be more summer than watching your child run through the sprinkler?


Well, the sprinkler didn't entice her, but drinking from the hose did. Of course with a daddy who loves a laugh and a mama who loves pictures, drinking from the hose turned into a very wet affair. Lucky for us, our kiddo LOVES water, and after a few hugs from warm (formerly dry) mama, I think she has recovered from the shock of Daddy chasing her with the hose. Here are a few of my favorites:

I couldn't decide between the color and black & white. Which one do you like?

Abby's favorite thing at preschool is washing her hands at the sink. The other kids will go to the sensory room or the art room or play with cars, but Abigail parks herself on the sink stool and washes, washes, washes. This made it easy to lure her to the hose.

My wet kiddo. I love this shot.

This is what happened when we told Abby to look at the flower. I laugh every time I see this.

Looking up at Daddy. The feet in the background are what get me here.
Taking another drink.

"Ahhh!" Refreshing?

And here's where Daddy chases Abby around the yard with the water.

Run, Abby, run! She did. Right into my lap.

But that didn't stop her from getting another drink.
It feels so good to have some summer weather. We're going to be making the most of our time as a family of three for the next eight weeks or so. Thanks for stopping by!

Egg Hunting

As Abigail gets older, we've started participating in more and more "kid" things. The holidays have become more interesting, and what once may have been unnecessary hype is now a sought out opportunity. All this to say -- we took Abby to the Edmonds Easter Egg Hunt today. It was crowded and cold and chaotic, but as I look back through the pictures, I'm so glad we went.

Grandma P. gave Abigail the perfect Easter dress -- simple, sweet, and springy. Daddy did her hair up in pigtails (I make that disclaimer for when you see the part, but actually, I think it looked adorable.) and she wore her green froggy boots from Aunt Tracy and Uncle Mick (I love the boots with the dress, by the way!). The wind did a number on her hair right away, but you know I'm a fan of that wispy look.
After we turned in our can of soup at the donation tent, Abigail lined up (with Daddy) with the other under two crowd and waited patiently at the designated field.

After a few words from the sponsers (read by a teen who couldn't hurry through it fast enough as the babies pulled at their parents' hands) the kids were off.

These shots don't do justice to the swarm of parents and babies. There were a few moments when I thought I'd lose her.

Success! I give credit to the shaker eggs at preschool.

I was very pleased to see that these plastic eggs were empty. The volunteers threw a bunch of loose candy into the field, but Abby only had eyes for eggs. Good girl!
Oh, my sweetie.

Hauling her eggs away. Abby likes to carry her basket like a purse.

Abby thinks she's on her way to the slide, but see that crowd in the background? They were holding the 2/3s hunt on the playground in just a few minutes. There was no way we could get even close to the slide.

We managaed to talk Abigail into getting into the car to go to the other park. Too bad it was at the beach and Abby could hardly walk because of the wind. One trip down the slide was all we could take before heading back home. Abby went down early for her nap and slept for THREE hours! I'd say that's a sign of a fun morning. What's next? A fourth of July parade?

Big News

Happy New Year everyone! Yes, I've been a bad blogger over the holidays, but 2009 is here and I'm ready to get back to work. And to start it all off, I've got two BIG announcements. (Well, many of you know about one or both of them, but I'm officially sharing them with the world now.)

First of all, the new One Tree Photography website is up! Yes it has been a long time coming, but we have finally launched a website that I am EXTREMELY proud of. Trevor has spent MANY evenings working on it and (I'm sure) got more than a little frustrated with my constantly changing design ideas, but all that is behind us now. Thanks to my incredibly supportive (and talented!) husband, http://www.onetreephotography.com/ has come to life!

Take some time to look around the new website and send me a quick email if you see any glitches we haven't caught yet. Chances are that you'll see someone you know!

The second big announcement is also the reason I've been somewhat absent recently. As of today, I'm twelve weeks pregnant with our second child! I'm convinced that this one is a boy, since I've been MUCH more sick this time around. I'm still waiting for that placenta to take over so I'll feel better, but I'm sure it won't be long now. So for all of you thinking you'll be wanting pictures in the second half of July, I'd suggest scheduling a session a bit earlier. The baby is due July 16th, two days after Abigail's second birthday.

So those are my two pieces of big news! I also wanted to just take a moment to thank all of my clients in 2008. Thanks to you, this dream of mine has become a reality. I can't wait to see what we make happen in 2009!

Finally, a blog wouldn't be complete without a picture, so here is one of Abby during her first snow outing. Enjoy!

Halloween comes to preschool

Oh, this is going to be a long post -- even for me. Our preschool's class photographer wasn't able to make it to school for our Toddler Halloween party, so I volunteered to step in to take a few shots. Of course, I don't know if that was necessary since I don't think there was a parent there without a camera.

Preschool has been such a great experience for us so far. We go once a week for a couple of hours, but Abigail has learned so much! My favorite part of the day is snack. Every child sits in a little chair (real chairs -- no straps or trays) and eats from a plate and drinks from a cup (no sippy cups!). Abby has learned to wipe her mouth with her napkin (and mine) and to stay in her seat while she's eating. You should see the tables full of these little people eating their food. I love it!

So today I tried to get shots of all the kids in their costumes (or out of them), though some kids were a little more available for pictures than others. Class starts with outdoor play time. Here are a few as the kiddos arrived and played.

Raya as a lovely ladybug. (When I tell Abigail it's time to go to school, she says, "RAYA!")

Abby on the slide. She is a sliding fool! (No costume yet for Abigail -- she wouldn't be able to play in it.)

Sweet Naomi in her pom-pom hat. She'll put her costume on later, too.

Ladybug in the dirt.
Ronan lights up in his monkey costume.

Princess Selena and her wheelbarrow.

Sawyer with his amazing eyes. What's his costume? Wait for it...

Liam, serious in pre-costume attire.
Christopher on the slide. I think it's obvious what he is.

Linnea gives a cute smile for the camera.

And then a fake one. I think her mom will get a laugh from this one.

You can't tell, but there is a child in that Elmo outfit. (It's Colt.)

Zoe plays in the sandbox. She's a great shoveler.
We head inside after 20 minutes (or so), wash up, eat snack, and then move on to free choice time. The kids can paint or draw in the art room, explore playdough or water/rice/cornmeal in the sensory room, have a tea party in dramatic play, or play with all kinds of toys in the main room.

Here's Liam in his costume. Guesses? A gnome. I'm not sure if he is the Travelocity gnome in particular, but either way, what a cutie!

Naomi is a bumble bee who doesn't want to wear her antennae. (Her mama made this costume!)

When free play is over, we clean up and have circle time. Lots of songs and movements and shaker-eggs. We went around the circle and sang to each child in his/her costume (or not). Ronan again...
Christopher...

Zoe as a ladybug.

Selena loves to be sung to!

Recognize that strawberry? (It's Abigail!)

Raya and mama.
Sarah, the soccer player. (Is that right? I'm not great with sports.)

And here's Simon! I didn't see a whole lot of Simon today. I believe he's our youngest classmate, and he still does a great job in school.

There's Sawyer, the lion. His mom says he's got a great roar.

This isn't a great shot, but it's worth noting because you can see Naomi's whole costume. (And I like how the moms are laughing in the background.)
Liam sitting in the middle.

Stella sitting on Teacher Linda's lap. She doesn't look thrilled.

But check out those wings!

After circle time, we went outside for a pumpkin hunt. One of the older classes in the preschool painted mini pumpkins to give to our kids. Teacher Linda hid them (in plain sight) out in the play yard and the kids went hunting.

There's my girl!

Love this of Sarah.

Linnea moves FAST! She's a bit of a blur here as she runs off with pumpkins.

One last shot of my mop-haired cutie.

Whew! That's it for today. Do we have a cool school, or what?