This one's for Pee-pa...

...Also known as the "anonymous" complainer today :)

Pee-pa was mad that I didn't post for a week and then when I did post, I only gave him four sentences. No pictures. Sorry bout that Dad! Still recovering from all the work craziness lately. I'm a busy little bee! :)

Squeaky wheel gets the oil....

So, for all our readers in central Pennsylvania, here is a double dose of PA fun that we partook of lately. The Strasburg Railroad and Jake riding a pony at Dutch Wonderland. I would have posted many more pictures of our adventure on the railroad, but for the second time in my life, a camera has lost images on my memory card :(

I'm All Thumbs

Me: (Pointing to Jake's thumb) Jake, what finger is this?

Jake: Thumb!

Me: Good! And what finger is this? (I point to his pinkie)

Jake: Baby Thumb!

And we're back!

Since you've waited so patiently in my absence, I'm going to give you some extra-cute pictures to enjoy this time!







These are taken with my 'old' Rebel XT ('old', meaning it has been retired from professional service, but is my go-to camera when we go on vacation, or the baby is doing something cute, or we are playing in the backyard). Since I get this question a lot, I will go ahead and tell you all that this is the number one camera I recommend for the advanced hobbyist photographer. There is no better way, photographically speaking, to spend $400. And while you're at it, pick up this lens for another $85. You'll be shooting like a pro in no time! ;)

Will it ever stop? Yo, I don't know...

Enjoy having a little Vanilla-Ice-Ice-Baby stuck in your head for a while :)

Five weddings in a span of fifteen days (four down, one to go). Plus two portrait sessions. Plus a million and a half miles on the road. Repainted and redecorated the new office. Still have to call an electrician to get some 3-prong outlets installed so I can move my computer down there to the new office. You know, minor detail like having a computer in your new work space.... Argh. My head is spinning.

Jake is finally back from his week-long visit with Grandma & Grandpa (aka Gee-dah and Pee-pah). By all accounts, everyone had a terrific fantastic and amazing time. Hopefully Pee-pa will send me some pictures to post. We missed Jake like crazy and have been kissing and squeezing and hugging him non-stop. He is talking in near complete sentences now. I am blown away by how much he changes in such a short amount of time.

I promise there will be pictures soon. As soon as I go to bed. And find my sanity. And host a playdate tomorrow. And do some laundry. And call the electrician. And edit and process all these thousands of images from all of my recent brides and grooms. But seriously, right. after. that.

Jake and Gabriella

Our next door neighbors are the best neighbors anyone could ask for. They are friendly and kind, thoughtful and cheerful, accommodating and gracious, funny and entertaining. They have a pre-teen daughter named Kristin who is the most polite and sincere young lady I have ever met. The have another daughter, Gabriella, who is about six months older than Jake and we have all really enjoyed watching the two of them together over the past year. They laugh together and jump and dance and hop and squeal. They speak their own language and understand each other. It is the cutest thing ever. I always forget to grab my camera when they are playing together. But not this time! :)

How cute is she??


Jake's favorite - GECKO!!!


Gabriella schools Jake on the ways of the sand and water table....


Even our dogs are friendly with each other! :)


Sand. Is. Awesome.






Along with Jake's first time on a trampoline comes another first - the exterior of our home on the blog! (The house with the green trim)

By the Numbers...

It has been a wild and crazy past few days. I am not going to feel bad for not posting because I don't even think I had time to breathe. Thank God breathing and blinking become involuntary...

3 - Number of states where I spent at least 12 hours of my Memorial Day Weekend
466 - miles I have travelled since friday morning
2 - Number of weddings I attended/photographed in a 24 hour period
1 - time in the morning I got home from shooting a wedding in Connecticut
6 - time in the same morning we planned to leave for Boston
12 - time in the afternoon we actually left for Boston
6 - pairs of shoes I brought to Boston
1 - pairs of shoes I had to buy in Boston after my other shoes made my feet bleed
3 - number of cute shirts I bought while shopping with my dear friend Chrissy in Boston
2,814 - number of miles away that my dear friend Chrissy lives
1 - number of bedrooms my mother-in-law and I cleaned out yesterday
11 - number of bags of clothing taken to Goodwill last night
9 - number of bags of trash put on the curb this morning
2 - giant gulps of NyQuil I took during the night
37 - approximate number of tissues I have used in last 24 hours
14 - approximate number of Cold-Eeze and Zinc tablets I have consumed in last 24 hours
2 - number of days since I have seen Jake :(
4 - number of days until I see Jake again :(
11 - time until which I slept this morning since my mom has Jake for the week :)
434 - number of miles my parents travelled to come pick up Jake over Memorial Day weekend
4.35 - the price of gas per gallon at the nearest Mobil station
2 - number of weddings I still have to photograph within a week
1 - number of engagement sessions I still have to photograph within a week
1 - the number of times we danced the Hava Nagila over the weekend
3 - the number of times Ralph mentioned that he wished the Hava Nagila was played at ALL weddings ;)
82 - the temperature right now in my non-air conditioned house - Oy vey!

To Do List

• Go grocery shopping with a crazed toddler in a cart the size of a Cadillac
• Spend $7.99 on a watermelon that weighs more than crazed toddler
• Figure out how to carry said watermelon and crazed toddler into the house without dropping either one
• Give Jake and Ruthie some strawberries while you put away the groceries
• Find out what it feels like to step on a strawberry while wearing shoes
• Find out what it feels like to step on a banana in your bare feet
• Spend half an hour on your hands and knees cleaning up mashed fruit
• Buy more Resolve carpet cleaner
• Do the laundry
• Clean up the office