Outdoor Fun

Mara loves loves the warmer weather! Aaron and I do too because it wears her out to play outside and she goes to be earlier!!! Win-win!

(Click on the slideshow to view the pictures larger.)

More Pictures of the Ballerina

You can see the rest of Mara's 1-year photos that I took in the slideshow below or you can click on an image in the slideshow to view the photos larger. Little ballerina...

Children's Museum

We visited the Children's Museum on New Year's Eve and I'm just now getting around to posting the pictures. You can click on the slide show below to view the pictures in a larger format.

A Year Ago...

A year ago today, at right about this time, the induction process was started to bring my beautiful little daughter into this world...and what a PROCESS it was. Little did I know at that time that it would take well over 24 hours of labor before I would finally get the reward of meeting my little girl. I was telling Aaron this morning that mothers always say, "You forget about the pain of labor and delivery," and let me tell you, "I have NOT forgotten." But another thing that all mothers say is, "It's all worth it," and I can completely agree with that. Those 30-some hours of labor, pushing, etc. were the most challenging and difficult hours of my life, but I can defintely say that having Mara in my life is more than worth what I went through. I am in no hurry to embark on labor and delivery again any time soon (or pregnancy for that matter since that was no piece of cake for me either) but at least I know now that every bit of discomfort is completely worth it when you can look back a year later and marvel that you made it through all of that and have this amazing little person to love for the rest of your life as a result. A friend at church today said that on your first child's first birthday you reflect back on the experience of their actual "birth day" like no other, and I have a feeling she is right. I keep having flashbacks of moments in the hospital, the wonderful people that helped me through (like Aaron, mom, Carol, nurse Misty), the ones that made it more difficult like nurse "Nazi" (the nurse that Carol and I both wanted to hit...remember her Carol?!,) but most of all, I keep thinking back to how amazing it was to know that Aaron and I created this precious, beautiful little baby and that somehow, through all of it, I was able to bring her into this world, healthy. Thank you God for this wonderful blessing you have given to us.

1 Year Photo Shoot!!!

I can't believe that my baby turns 1 year old next week!!! In honor of the occasion, I took Mara's 1 year pictures over the weekend. With Grammy's help to get Mara to smile and stay within my viewfinder I was able to get quite a few good pictures! I haven't had time to photoshop all of them yet, but I thought I would put a little "teaser" up online for everyone. More to come...

Lots of Stuff

Lots of stuff has happened since my last post...Christmas, Mara started walking, etc. etc., but I don't have time to post on all of it right now. I spent my few minutes of internet time today posting all of the Christmas cards that I created on my design website. Some of you have asked to see them, so if you want to check them out, head on over to www.InspiredDesignStudios.blogspot.com and take a peak. (You'll notice that there is no Christmas card of Aaron, Mara, and me...I didn't have time to make one of my own! LOL) I hope to have more time to post on some of the recent fun of parenting and the holidays really soon!!

Kimono!!

My friend Margo made this adorable Kimono for Mara so I snapped some pictures of her in it last night. She wasn't as cooperative as I had hoped, but I still got a few good shots. Margo, thanks again for the absolutely adorable kimono!! It is just toooo cute!!

Mara

I had a mini photo shoot with her yesterday and she was amazingly cooperative! These are some of new favorite pictures of my baby.

Photo Fun!

I had a photo shoot with Kade last weekend and it was so much fun! I posted the pictures on my Inspired Design Studios blog since they are photography related, but since Kade is also related to me, I wanted to post here too:) If you want to see the rest of the pictures from the photo shoot, including pictures of Nick, Jen, and Mara, head on over to www.InspiredDesignStudios.blogspot.com

Another Blog

I started another blog! I will still be using this blog for my personal blog, aka "pictures of Mara blog," but I have started a new blog for my custom design business. The new blog is still a work-in-progress, but I wanted to get it up and running in the hopes that I will get some holiday card and Christmas gift orders. Wish me luck! Keep checking out "The Cassandra Chronicles" and please add my new blog, "Inspired Design Studios" to your list... www.InspiredDesignStudios.blogspot.com

Good Luck Today Uncle Amos!

I can't vote for you anymore since I don't live in your district, but I sure hope everyone else in the district votes for you today! Good luck!!

“It is my hope that I will be able to continue my service to my district by serving both local constituents and local government organizations. Most importantly, I am looking forward to dealing with all the issues facing the legislature in the upcoming session, such as improving education, strengthening Indiana’s job market, furthering economic development, and continuing to develop cohesive transportation infrastructure.”


Sincerely,

Amos
State Representative

Halloween Party!

My company has a Halloween party for all the employees children every year and this year was the best because I had a child to bring to it. Mara loved it too! She loved seeing the kids all dressed up and a lot of our offices were decked out for the event and she loved that too. She kept saying "Oooooo," about everything and when she got really excited, she would say "Ooooo" in a high pitched voice. Everyone was getting a kick out of it. Her two favorite areas in the building were the finance department, that was decorated like Dr. Suess stories (I didn't get a picture of it though) and the art department that went all out as "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." They photoshopped their heads onto Oompa Loompa's in the hallway and Margo even dressed up as one for real, but I don't have a picture of her:( Mara liked Tim's Oompa Loompa head the best and tried to take him with her.






Other highlights included:

Mara's first cupcake. Daddy only gave her the icing though and he stole the cupcake from her and ate it himself. Mara licked her lips for a half an hour after this...no lie



Her name was on a star on the "Walk of Fame!"



Then she mangled the star that had our last name on it.


Then there was some play time with friends.

Bobbi


Gavin and Jessi (and Mickey Mouse)


Becky


Then she tried her first piece of candy. I saved the best for last...

Another Halloween Collage

You can tell what I've been doing with my free time lately, huh? Our new computer let's me Photoshop so much easier than our slow old one that required waiting upon waiting for each feature to happen. I'm lovin' it!

New Camera

I'm on the hunt for a new digital camera...a professional one and I'm so excited! I love Photoshopping and it will be so much better when I have great quality original images to start with! I've found the camera that I want and am price shopping for the best deal. Watch out Mara, you're about to be blinded by camera flashes very soon! (hopefully!)

The Group Hug

This was the first time that Mara was included in the traditional "cousins" group hug during the goodbyes at a family gathering so I had to commemorate it with something special...even if Mara is chewing on her shoe in the picture:)

Mara, You've Got Mail!

Mara got a bright orange envelope in the mail today so I put her on my lap to help me open it. I said, I bet this is from Grammy and Grandpa and sure enough the return address said, word for word, "Grammy and Grandpa." Aaron and I got a good laugh out of that. As Mara and I pulled the Halloween card out of the envelope, she was grinning from ear to ear and as I unfolded and read the card to her she bounced with glee on my lap. It's safe to say that she was thrilled with her first Halloween card. Thanks Grammy and Grandpa!

Learning to write...

My friend Margo's son, Max, is learning to write. This picture was sent to me with the email title "Proud Parent Moments." I'm sure this isn't the first or the last time that Margo has/will be "proud" of him like this. LOL. It sure gave me a good laugh this morning though!

Family Pictures!

Beth took our family pictures yesterday and they turned out beautifully! We are in love with them!!!!!!!! These are the images that Beth has posted on her blog and she said there are more to come! Yippee!!! Thanks again Beth! We can't thank you enough for giving us such wonderful memories to treasure.

Hi Katie!!

I found out this weekend that my friend, Katie, is an avid reader of my blog so I thought I would say "Hi!" and share a couple photos for her. Here's Katie's son, Jared, the cutest little Dragon ever!

(Katie, just click to enlarge the image and then right click to save it.) :) Enjoy these "Photoshopped" pictures...on the house:)

8 Months!

Mara is almost 9 months old and I finally got around to doing her 8 month photoshoot today. I incorporated the Halloween theme since it's October and then I Photoshopped them into a collage. My little girl is getting so big!!! (Click on the image to enlarge)



I had to include this too. This is what it looks like when an 8 month old gets fed up with having her picture taken and decides to pull the backdrop down. She thought it was quite hilarious of course!