A Year of Random Photos

I was sorting through some files last weekend and came across a number of pictures that I have taken over the last year, but never shared with you.  Each of these pictures could probably be their own blog post, but for whatever reason (probably pure laziness), I never blogged about them.  So, I figured I'd do a little photo dump of all the pictures that I want to share, but haven't.

1. Last Spring, I bought a Groupon for a 1 hour photo session and had a local photographer take a couple shots of me.  Why?  Who the hell knows.  I originally thought I'd use the voucher to get a few pictures of Ryan and I together (possibly to announce my pregnancy), but then I didn't get pregnant and changed my mind and what I wanted done.  I'd had a long miserable winter, dealing with painful fertility treatments, which made me gain weight and generally feel terrible about myself and my body.  So I decided to use it on myself - to give me an excuse to dress up and feel pretty for the afternoon.  Here are a few of my favorites.  

2. About a year ago, Ryan and I took my in-laws to see Chuck Berry perform at Blueberry Hill.  Did you know that Chuck Berry is 85 years old and still performing at local venues around St. Louis?  Talk about a living legend.  This man is unbelievable.  We'd been talking about seeing him for years and figured we better get on that before he decides to hang up his hat.  What a fun show!  He is still jamming and completely styling in metallic shirts and funny hats.  And of course, I got drug up on stage to dance with him (really, I jumped at the chance).  One day I can't wait to tell my kids I danced on stage with Chuck Berry (see me on the far left below).

3. Here's a picture of my little CeCe bug, shoveling food in her mouth.  I just love this kid.

4. Last January my good friend Brooke had twins, Reese and Whit.  A few months later I spent an afternoon  hanging out at their house playing with them and snapped a few pictures.  Talk about gorgeous children!  I know I'm biased, but I swear my friends have the most beautiful babies.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Isn't Brooke the most gorgeous mom ever?  And she's so good with the babies.  It's hard to believe it's been over a year since they were born.  They're now walking and talking and exploring everything they can.  They move at the speed of light - it's absolutely incredible (and exhausting) watching her with them as she anticipates what they're doing and knows exactly what they want.  I'm hoping someday she'll let me in on her secret of making it all look so easy.  

5. And this is a picture of Brooke's niece, Molly that I snapped at the twin's baptism.  Again, what a beautiful baby.  Those eyes!  

6. Over the summer, my cousin Alesha was in town for her daughter Eva's birthday weekend.  I had a chance to meet up with them for hot dogs and snow cones and meet to newest addition to the family, Baby Elsa.  I just love this photo, especially Eva's blue mouth from her blueberry snow cone.

7. And speaking of Elsa and Eva, I got to see them again a few months later at our family reunion.  Do you believe me now that I'm surrounded by the most gorgeous babies in the world?  

8. Have I ever mentioned my obsession with barns?  I love old barns.  They're becoming really trendy these days, which I love.  This was a photo I took of a row of mailboxes in Virginia, with a red barn behind them.  I made Ryan stop the car because I just loved this so much.  It just seems so "American" to me and reminded me of my hometown.

9. There were also a couple pictures of baby Sage, playing in the blankets in our bed.  She's so white she blends in.  Our little polar pup.

She was so tiny!

10. We also took Sage on her very first float sometime last spring.  She sat in the front of the canoe with me and Mally, she did a lot of swimming and she learned how to sit in the water next to Ryan while he fished and watch.  Ryan's taken her fishing a number of times since then and he says she's just the best little sidekick.  

11. We also went to the Jimmy Buffett concert in St. Louis last spring in STL.  We took the afternoon off and grilled and tailgated with friends.  I was battling a cold and couldn't drink on my medication (boo!), so it wasn't nearly as fun for me as it was for everyone else.  I barely even got the camera out, but did manage to snap this awesome shot of my hubby.  Isn't he so handsome? :)  Makes me so proud.

12.  Does anyone else love Jellycat stuffed animals as much as I do?  Don't worry, they're for the baby!  These were my very first "baby-related" purchase after I found out I was pregnant.  

13.  And finally, I got my camera on a newborn.  This is baby Gavin, just a week old.  His parents let me play "photographer" with him so they could get some photos and I could get in some tiny baby snuggle time.  Isn't he the most precious thing you've ever seen?

14. And finally, we spent our July 4th holiday weekend at one of our favorite places on earth...Sayersbrook Bison Ranch.  Our friends Nick and Claire were down from Chicago and we spent the whole weekend fishing, boating, swimming, frogging, eating and drinking.  The Sayers always make us feel like we're part of the family and we've been spending the July 4th holiday with them for almost 9 years.  Claire's now pregnant and due a few months after me and we couldn't be happier that Mac's going to have a little Sayers friend to run around with when we visit.  I have a feeling those two are going to get into a lot of trouble together.

Ok, we can stop there.  That gets us through July.  I could probably do a few more of these posts with all the random photos I have.  Thanks for joining me on this little trip down Memory Lane - hope you enjoyed the detour.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program.