Photos, kids, and life...o my!

June 20, 2011

2011-06-22T14:59:00.001-07:00

Abby and I took a trip to one of my favourite photo locations on Monday. The Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. Abby was so excited to see the pigs and baby goats. We also spent alot of time visiting the chickens and the nats which would not leave us alone. I swear nats are worse this year than I have ever seen. I've been trying out my new camera alot with Abby to get lots of practice, so far I love it! This is the last week of Abby's summer camp (sniff, sniff), I'm very sad and kind of wish I would have found something else for her to do for the rest of the summer. But I'm also looking forward to spending lots of time with her while it's just the 2 of us.

June 17, 2011

2011-06-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Poor Abby, she is sick with a high fever :( I don't like it when her fevers go to 104.8, it's very scary. Hopefully whatever it is will go away soon and we can do something fun for Father's Day.

June 16, 2011

2011-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

I got Abby some sidewalk paint (by Crayola) the other day, it's pretty awesome. She painted for an hour so anything that can keep my 3 yr old occupied for that long is amazing in my book. I have benn enjoying some mornings to myself while Abby is at camp, next week is the last week I'm going to be sad when it's over. Hopefully we can do some fun stuff this summer, I think a trip to Sesame Place is in order. As long as there is shade and I can sit down I think I can handle it. Being pregnant in the summer is going to be interesting, at least the clothes are cuter than the winter ones I wore with Abby. I see lots of Halloween themed parties in this little boy's future :)

May 28, 2011 Happy Summer

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May 7th, 2011

2011-05-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

backyard fun...

May 5th, 2011

2011-05-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

This time I'm serious. I'm going to update my blog on a regular basis. It's going to be pretty embarassing if I don't do it this time since all my previous blog posts say the same thing. I have been on the downlow for a month or so but I'm feeling better now...why you say? I'm in my second trimester :) I wasn't feeling too hot in the first, there was lots of movies watched and naps taken and the camera was only brought out for clients. Now that the weather is nicer and I have a bit more energy it's time to become the mamarazzi again. We went to the park yesterday with some friends. Abby has been dying to go to the park for the last few days but it was plain old yuck outside so we jumped at the chance to enjoy some semi warm weather and no rain. 3 is an interesting age so far, lots of boundaries are being tested and sometimes it's really no fun at all. But most of the time it is and I'm really trying to be calm and explain things when things get hairy instead of pulling out my hair.

February 2, 2011: Joy of Love {Day 2}

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Today's assignment was "what they look like" so I chose to photograph Abby in all her finery. She is very much into playing dress up and putting on play jewelry at the moment.

February 1, 2011: Joy of Love Day 1

2011-02-01T05:18:00.000-08:00

today's theme is what your loved ones do...so this is what my hubby does :) works really hard to provide for us.

January 31, 2011 Catch Up

2011-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from my hubby's birthday, Abby was so excited about it. She helped me make the cake, we made a Big Top Cupcake. So fun and it came out really cute :)
I'm starting this photography course for the month of February called "The Joy of Love" so each day I will have a photography assignment, I am going to try to post my photo for each day on here, that is my goal!

January 19th, 2011

2011-01-19T18:46:00.001-08:00

2 1/2 is an interesting age, I guess technically she is over 2 1/2 now...so 33 months is a trying age. Some days I am just out of patience, some days I am out of fight, and some days I am super mom and can do it all. Abby is SUPER bossy right now, with everyone. Especially little boys, I don't know if this is normal girl behaviour but it's funny and a little troubling at the same time. Am I like that with my husband? maybe she is learning it from watching me like that stupid commercial lol. Today was a good day, we laughed, we played "Princesses and Super Heroes", we watched a movie, and we snuggled. Today was less about a power struggle and more about making a cardboard box into a pirate ship. I hope we have more of those days :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-14T03:59:00.001-08:00

Happy new year blog! sorry I'm 14 days too late...I will make it up to you I promise. I vow to update you more often, I've been inspired by a good friend. 2011 has been good so far...Abby has moved into her awesome new "big girl" room, also she is now fully weaned! (I am still waiting to get my trophy for nursing her for 33 months! lol) and I think she is on the road to potty training. My resolutions this year are to be more grateful, have more patience, and get preggers!
Here are some photos of Abby in her new room...

December 14, 2010

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December 7, 2010

2010-12-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

We are having a little problem lately in our house. Abby's mouth. It's got the sass in it. I think it's a toddler thing but, wow...it's starting to hurt my feelings. I got kicked yesterday. Out of anger. In the shin. It hurt. Today I wasn't allowed to sing along with Ariel in the car. I swear at lunch today she said, "whatever" to me. This is a phase right?

December 4, 2010

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December 2, 2010

2010-12-02T19:53:00.001-08:00

I had dinner tonight out with some girlfriends to celebrate birthdays, what is it about girls night out that is just so awesomefantasticrejuvenating? Even though we were all tired by 10 and so full we could barely move I feel like I've reconnected with my non-mommy self again, and I needed that. Being a mom is awesome but sometimes I wonder what happened to that girl who went out and danced till 4 am every weekend, is she still in here somewhere? Gosh I miss dancing, the only dancing I seem to do lately is to the Beauty and Beast soundtrack (and I have to be the Beast). Here are some photos from Abby and her dinner of champions, mac n cheese, dinosaur nuggets, and corn.

December 1, 2010

2010-12-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for Christmas, I love it-it's got to be my favourite time of year. My problem is I always have way to high expectations of how it's going to go. I need to lower them a bit I think. We are having it at our house this year and I can't wait to see Abby open gifts this year, she is so much older than last year (a whole year imagine that lol). Today we started celebrating by decorating gingerbread men or muffin men as Abby calls them, she watches too much Shrek.

November 23, 2010

2010-11-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

so...it's been a while. I'm going to try to end the year keeping up with the blog and start the new year keeping it up all year this time!

Catch up!

2010-09-22T05:34:00.000-07:00

August 25, 2010

2010-08-25T17:06:00.001-07:00

We went on a playdate today with some of Abby's friends. She pretty much spent the whole time like this, in time out. She actually put herself in time out in the photo. Gotta love 2 yr olds!

For Shame!

2010-08-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

*hanging head in shame* so...I'm really sorry blog. I haven't been keeping up. forgive me?
We have been busy, went to the Outer Banks, I've had photos sessions, life got in the way. I promise it won't happen again! lets hug it out...

July 27, 2010

2010-07-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

Abby went to the Nature Center today, but it was closed because the power is STILL out after the big storm. We "walked" around the nature (Abby whined and complained) and then walked down to the mansion. We found a bush with butterflies all over it, it was beautiful!

July 26, 2010

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July 25, 2010

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Abby is very into wearing "a pretty dress' right now. I have to admit I am loving it because she has so many pretty dresses (thank you Nana) and they just look so comfy to wear in this awful heat. Now if only I can get her to smile in photos once in a while...

July 24, 2010

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I'm so sorry blog! I've have been neglecting you. Again. Forgive me?

July 15, 2010

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July 14, 2010

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This is my dog Max. Do you like his tie?

July 13, 2010

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July 12, 2010

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Greek salad. Yummy yummy.

July 11, 2010

2010-07-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

After bribing Abby with the promise of popsicles, she allowed me to take her photo.

July 7, 2010

2010-07-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

Abby and I baked some blueberry muffins today. From. Scratch. I'm kind of proud.

July 6, 2010

2010-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

We braved the 100 degree heat this morning to go and pick some blueberries. Abby enjoyed it and it was hard to keep her from gobbling up most of them before they hit the basket.

July 4, 2010

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July 3, 2010

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June 30, 2010

2010-06-30T20:44:00.001-07:00

Today we didn't melt. Abby and I were so happy to be outside, we had a wonderful trip to the playground where someone's grandma made her a balloon animal. Then we came home, had lunch and took a wonderul 2 hour nap. No meltdowns happened today. I think she must have run out from yesterday which was, even in Abby terms, a field trip through a mental asylum. After days like that I just end up feeling shell shocked, like I have post traumatic stress syndrome or something. We went to Target tonight which makes Abby and I very happy, I love that store so. I got Abby a Jessie doll from Toy Story (one of her favourite new movies) and she loves her so much, she fell asleep holding her tonight. I love that she is getting to that age of really loving toys and pretending with them, but I'm also sad because her baby-ness is definetly being replaced by little girl-ness. My gosh time flies by...

June 26, 2010

2010-06-26T20:01:00.001-07:00

Today was full of cake and cake and more cake. We went to the birthday celebration for our friend's twins Isa and Mia. They are so adorable and teeny, Abby was quite happy to play with and pretend to be a baby among the others. I think Abby ate her weight in cake at the party, somehow she just kept on managing to snag some more. Luckily there were no re-appearances by the cake later on. Here are some photos of our fun day...

June 24, 2010

2010-06-24T16:34:00.001-07:00

The weather here is so hot it's unbearable to go outside. Abby and I plan on doing many indoor activities so I'm stocking up on playdoh and craft projects, if anyone reading this has any ideas that 2 year olds can do I'm always open to new things!

June 22, 2010

2010-06-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a mama who thought, "I know! I will take my precious baby girl to the park to ride a carousel and then have a nice picnic and some fun times at one of the 4 playgrounds at the park!" So she took her angel to the park, rode the carousel, then the ride was over. All of a sudden out of nowhere the ground opened up and flames shot out of the earth and her little angel turned into a not so angelic temper tantruming mess who didn't want to do anything but ride the horseys, NO she doesn't want to go down the slide or the bouncey bridge or get pushed on the swings! The mama tried to comfort her by reassuring her that she had bought 2 tickets and they could ride it again after they ate their yummy picnic, eventually after much bloodshed and tears the little princess was happy again and enjoyed lunch on a picnic blanket. The little girl rode the carousel again and was happy, the mama was happy, and all was right with the world. Then the carousel stopped. Again the little girl grew horns and thrashed about, flames shot out of her mouth and a giant hand came down from the sky and smacked her mother in the head for being an idiot and taking her on the carousel again.
Lesson learned.

June 21, 2010

2010-06-21T17:54:00.001-07:00

I actually cleaned my kitchen after I made dinner tonight! I always say I'm going to and then I get lazy and just want to lay on the couch and watch Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs for the one millionth time. I am proud of myself that I did it, now I won't have to wake up to a big mess in the morning. I took a photo to mark the occasion...

June 20, 2010

2010-06-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

June 19, 2010

2010-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

I have a guest photographer for today! My husband took my camera to his folks house and took some great photos of Abby! I'm so proud, I love this one the best...

June 18, 2010

2010-06-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

We went and attempted to pick blackberries on friday, but the blackberries had other ideas. They are not quite ready yet. Luckily the farm has goats, chickens, and a duck (we named him Donald) so all was not lost. Abby has no fears about putting her little hand out for the goats to eat off. We always have fun when we are with Nicholas and his mommy!

June 17, 2010

2010-06-21T17:44:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad I took a photo of this because I probably won't buy anymore watermelon this year. It never gets eaten! What a beautiful fruit though, love the colour.

June 14, 2010

2010-06-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

We picked strawberries today, it was really fun. Abby picked sooo many, I hope we can eat them all before they go bad. The terrible twos continued today...boundaries are being tested and limits pushed. I just keep telling myself I don't believe in spankings (right?). I have been so bad about updating this blog, I've been taking so many photos lately of kids to build my portfolio I have forsaken you little blog. please except my apologies!

June 9, 2010

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June 8, 2010

2010-06-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2010

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June 3, 2010

2010-06-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

No nap +2 yr old=a 2 glass of wine day. I tried for an hour to get Abby to take a nap today, in the end I just gave up. She had boundless energy, the Orkin man came and interupted in the middle of it (25 mins late and was RUDE), and I just gave up. From about 3pm on it was drama, hysterics, and tantrums for the rest of the day INCLUDING throwing her dinner on the floor because I wouldn't let her have a popsicle for dinner. Oh. Joy. In the morning I did a little photo shoot with her that came out really cute. Here is one photo, the rest are on rachelgarayphotography.com.

June 2, 2010

2010-06-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've been a naughty girl and not updated my blog for a few days. I have been so busy with my other blog
http://www.rachelgarayphotography.com/ and photo sessions, it's been really fun :) I am excited about my photography again and that is a nice feeling. Just a few photos today from a "tea party" which was really a water party (but Abby doesn't need to know that) and some messy playroom photos.

May 27, 2010

2010-05-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Friends...

May 26, 2010

2010-05-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's too hot and I'm too tired to write anything today. I love air conditioning.

May 25, 2010

2010-05-26T16:50:00.001-07:00

Caely came over to play...

May 24, 2010

2010-05-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Tricycles :) Abby can pedal, just not steer, which is kind of an important part of the whole process. We rode it to the playground which is downhill, then on the way back -uphill she decides that she doesn't want to ride it anymore. She is no dummy! So Mommy had to carry 30lb child and push a tricycle up the hill. Got my workout for the day :)

May 23, 2010

2010-05-23T17:51:00.001-07:00

What a perfect Sunday, besides the weird Maryland weather of rain one minute blazing hot sun the next. We had a leisurely breakfast and then Abby painted and playdoh'd it up while I cleaned the kitchen. Is it sad that I find cleaning the kitchen uninterrupted relaxing? I made some cookies (Pilsbury did actually) and then Abby decorated them while Nana helped. We took Abby for a walk on her new tricycle and looked at fishes in the pond. Abby topped it off by saying on the way home from dinner, "what a nice day. I have fun."

May 21, 2010

2010-05-22T19:33:00.001-07:00

Our day was filled with bubbles, binoculars, and water table fun :)

May 19, 2010

2010-05-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Being a toddler has got to be hard, I mean you want to control everything and everyone...and yet you have no control over any of it. I need to remind myself this when I am having days when tantrums and crying are happening more often than not. By lunchtime she was all smiles again and making silly sucking straw noises so I would laugh at her, o she is so silly :) Lately I have been struggling with trying to balance out normal everyday jobs (cleaning, laundry, etc...) with feeling guilty when Abby says to me, "All done cleaning?!" because she wants me to play with her and I have to say that mommy has to clean up so we can have a nice house. I'm sure I'm only the one millionthtrillionthbazzillonth mommy to have this dilemma.
I made a delicious dinner of tortellini with spinach and cheese inside tossed with cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil. So. Good. I think I could eat it all. I almost did.

May 18, 2010

2010-05-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

So, I have decided to make this my "life" blog instead of just my 365 photo blog, other wise that is just too many blogs to keep track of. It will mostly be photos still, but there will be some commentary of everyday issues and life, etc... Today was a doozy (is that spelled right?). Abby was in a right state for most of the morning and took a nap from 10:30 to 12:30, usually she sleeps after her lunch so this was out of character for her. After her nap she was refreshed and seemed to have got all the whining out so we headed to IHOP for lunch because I was not about to cook after the horrible morning I had. We headed to the fishie store after lunch, wow is that an awesome field trip! Pet Stores are the best, free and kids LOVE to look at the fish, gerbils, bunnies, whatevs. Bathtime was fun, she seemed to be herself again. I love it when she is happy and content.

May 17, 2010

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May 16, 2010

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May 15, 2010

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May 14, 2010

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May 12, 2010

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May 10, 2010

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May 10, 2010

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May 9, 2010

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May 8, 2010

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May 7, 2010

2010-05-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

A study of Max doing what he does best. Begging.

May 6, 2010

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May 5, 2010

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May 4, 2010

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May 3, 2010

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May 1st, 2010

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April 30, 2010

2010-04-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

EEk! my trial version of lightroom expired :( here is my "au naturel" photo...

April 29, 2010

2010-04-29T19:37:00.001-07:00

April 28, 2010

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April 27, 2010

2010-04-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

it's my birthday today, I'm posting a photo of my favourite present.
A charm necklace from my husband with a "mom" charm and an "a" charm for Abby. I'm kind of blah about my blog lately. no comments anymore? Are my photos lacking? I'm feeling uninspired I guess...

April 26, 2010: I Heart Faces-Smile

2010-04-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

I am entering in the I Heart Faces challenge this week. The theme for the week is "Smiles" :) See more entries here:

April 25, 2010

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April 24, 2010

2010-04-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

We had my daughter's 2nd birthday party today, so I didn't have alot of time to take photos. I took a self portrait after I was finished setting up everything, I think my face says it all :) we had a fun but exhausting day!

April 22, 2010

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April 21, 2010

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April 20, 2010

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April 19, 2010

2010-04-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough couple of days, my daughter was very sick, random family drama, etc...so enjoy another pic of my tissue paper flowers (made for my daughter's birthday party).

April 18, 2010

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April 17, 2010

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April 16, 2010

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April 15, 2010

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April 14, 2010

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April 13, 2010

2010-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

I don't think any of my pics from today are worthy of my blog, so...here is one from the session I did last week with my friends and their son. Tomorrow I'm gonna do better, promise :)

April 12, 2010

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April 11, 2010

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April 10, 2010

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April 9, 2010

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April 8, 2010

2010-04-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

April 7, 2010

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April 6, 2010

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April 5th, 2010

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April 4. 2010

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April 3, 2010

2010-04-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

I know this photo is a bit out of focus but I just love the looks on their faces, ah...to be young again :)

April 2, 2010

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April 1, 2010

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