a picture of LOVE...

I spent a few hours with a coworker, Lauren, and her husband to capture a very special moment in their lives... they are having a baby!!! Visiting with them and seeing Lauren progress in her pregnancy reminds me of what it was like to be pregnant with Caileb and the anticipation that I felt as his due date grew closer. Lauren & Richard are expecting Baby Nathan in 3 weeks and I cannot wait to see him in person. Lauren & Richard were great sports and allowed me to practice a few ideas with them, and Lauren never complained once about having to get on the ground and then get back up... I recall how difficult that became as I got closer to my due date. Seeing the two of them together and the joy that they have in adding a new "Beard" to the family is pure LOVE! Congrats Lauren & Richard!!!

My Bucket List

I have been wanting to do this for a while now, but never took the time to actually make a list. So here goes my bucket list, things I want to do before I die! Some of these things I will accomplish within the year, others it may be quite a few years; but at least I have goals. This list is in no particular order... I will add to this list... and I may even take things off my list. I will blog about each experience and try to capture photographs when I can! Follow along with me and get ready for the ride- I can imagine it will be full of fun!!!


1. Go on our honeymoon
2. Have a girls weekend
3. Go to an Essence Music Festival
4. Get my Masters
5. Go to Las Vegas
6. Visit Savannah, Georgia
7. Run a 5K
8. Sing karaoke
9. Get out of debt
10. Learn to make pottery
11. Vacation at the beach
12. Take a trip to California
13. Work out consistently, at least 3 times a week (for longer than 2 weeks)
14. Travel outside the US
15. Buy a house
16. Create a trust fund for Caileb
17. Get a complete makeover
18. Photograph NYC (which I guess includes visiting NYC)
19. Fly kites
20. Establish myself as a photographer
21. Learn to knit
22. Photograph love- capture an image that summarizes the emotion (completed 1/16/11, read about it here)
23. Photograph sunset at a beach
24. Photograph sunrise over water
25. Discover my life’s purpose
26. Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty
27. Go to movies solo
28. Help with a Habitat for Humanity build
29. Pay for a stranger’s meal at random
30. Make a financial donation to a charity
31. Plan a party (other than Caileb’s birthdays)
32. Provide a complete Christmas for a family in need- gifts & food
33. Have or go to a painting party
34. Visit a vineyard
35. Go horseback riding
36. Go skiing
37. Spend a weekend at a 5-star spa
38. Go to a UK football game (my husband reminded me that I went to a game with a friend before we moved to TN, when I locate a picture I will mark this completed- until then I'll just say IN PROGRESS)
39. Go to an NFL football game (complete 12/19/10, read about it here)
40. Raise a happy & healthy child (in progress)
41. Be a foster parent
42. Adopt a child
43. Have family rituals & traditions to celebrate holidays
44. Create my family tree
45. Renew our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary
46. Get together with extended family at least once a year
47. Make a difference in at least one person’s life (I hope this is in progress)
48. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
49. Plant a garden
50. Join a disaster relief effort
51. Create a cookbook (not original recipes, but ones that I enjoy and like cooking, something to pass on)
52. Go to a Broadway play
53. Watch a Cirque du Soleil show in person
54. Go to the Kentucky Derby
55. Hand out money to total strangers
56. Be a member in the audience of a TV show
57. Get a henna tattoo
58. Travel solo
59. Throw someone a surprise party
60. Go to a masquerade
61. Take a 365 day challenge (a few options)
Write in a journal
Learn a new word every day
Do some sort of exercise for 20 minutes every day
Save $3 every single day
Take a photo every day
62. Learn to, and go, snorkel
63. Swim with dolphins
64. Go white water rafting
65. Go on a cruise
66. Ride a mechanical bull
67. Walk through a corn maze
68. Go- go kart racing
69. Go whale-watching (well, maybe!?)
70. Visit Niagra Falls
71. Visit the San Diego Zoo
72. Milk a cow
73. Ride an elephant
74. See the Grand Canyon
75. Visit Yosemite National Park
76. Witness a meteor shower
77. See pyramids in Egypt
78. Go to an art museum
79. Vacation in St. Croix
80. Visit the Coney Island Boardwalk
81. Visit the Hershey Chocolate Factory

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!! Can you believe it's 2011... I can't, I recall thinking the world was gonna end in the year 2000 and here we are exactly 11 years later. It just goes to show that no man knows God's timing.

So here we are on 1/1/11 and there are tons of things that I could update you all on, but that would be way too much seeing as those the last post I made was back in June :(

Since then we have moved to a larger place, but it's still not OURS- I am really looking forward to start the home buying process (although there is not actual plan for this, just a goal that we know we'd like to accomplish soon).

We spent Christmas & our New Year in Kentucky with our family & friends and had such a great time. Being there for so long makes me even more excited about moving back home this summer- I just hope that we can find jobs!


As far as Caileb goes... he turned 2 back in November and he is so smart! He can count to 20 on his own, say his ABCs, knows some of his colors and shapes and has a great vocabulary! He LOVES transportation- cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, and trains; he loves all sports, watching monster truck shoes and playing hide-n-seek! Sometimes it's hard to believe that we have a 2 year old boy! Although he is out of the lovey dovey cuddley stage, he will still give hugs and kisses (although they are very limited) and every once in a while he will snuggle against me while I am editing pictures or looking at photographs! I think he is going to be into the arts- he request to paint with me, loves to look at photographs and will often try to take some of his own, and he is SO into music!


There are a few things that I want to accomplish in 2011 and many things that I want to do that I probably won't get done this year, so I am creating a bucket list! I am so excited to put down all the ambitions I have and to track my progress- I will document my journey here and will try to blog about the things that I cross off my list!!!

Bucket List #39

As a birthday gift from a good friend, Ricas and I attended the Titans vs. Texans football game. It was a perfect day for football- chilly, but not freezing! The amazing part about this day was that we were seated 3 rows from the field. It was absolutely amazing to be so close to the field and see the game up close & personal (although I must admit I spent more time gawking at the lenses of the photographers)! At any rate, the day was great fun and a good way to start our Winter Break. I would also agree that it was a great date with just the hubby- after the game we had a late lunch at the Catfish house and did some window shopping.

Kiss* Kiss*

Caileb is doing so much new stuff these days! Just this evening I asked him for night night kisses and he give me a big 'ol "yuck" (our term for open mouth kisses) on the lips. When I asked for a kiss on the check he took both of his hands and started pinching my cheeks!? Not sure where he got this, but I love it!

Some of his new favorites (and mine) are....

WORDS:
"Cruck" truck... he often says "oooh big cruck!"

"Cuck" stuck... we are preparing to move and put him in his high chair to get a few things done, after a few minutes he started yelling "i cuck, i cuck!"

"Mine." = EVERYTHING he touches

"No!" His response to EVERYTHING, even when we don't ask him a question. The funny (really not so funny)thing about him telling people no is that he says it with such an attitude and can make you feel bad for proposing whatever it was that you asked.

SONGS:
"Old MacDonald" He loves to sing EIEIOoooooooooooo
"The Wheels on the Bus" I will have to upload a video tomorrow, I can't explain how cute it is!
"The Itsy Bitsy Spider"

In general he loves music, we were watching the Michael Jackson tributes and he just danced his heart out, even tried to mimic a few MJ moves- I tried to get it on camera, but he would stop every time the camera came into view. This is the best I was able to get...

Shame on me

It has been WAY too long since I've updated my personal blog! I promise that I will do better ;) It is my goal that I will "back-post" our life for the past year, but here is a post just about Caileb and what he is doing now!


Caileb is 15 months old
He is developping such a personality! He loves to laugh and make us laugh, he does this funny walk where he keeps his legs straight and tries to run! He is so smart and learning so much. We started counting to 3 as a means of a warning for him to stop doing something, but now when we say "1" he says "2" (in a "twooooooooooo" type of way, as he increases in octives). In terms of what he is saying: he says "a nana" for Banana (and for Nonna); he says doggie and wil bark "woof-woof," he roars like a lion, he will say airplane and make a vooooshhh kinda noise while soaring his hand through the air; all food is "cacka" (cracker); he signs "eat" as "more" (look up the signs to see what I mean. He says "boo-boo" (when he's pooped) and so much more. This time in Caileb's life is so exciting and amazing.

Here is Caileb after church in his new clothes, he did his "special" walk most of the day, as if he didn't want to get his new shoes dirty!!!

Caileb's Newest Pictures

My oh my it's been a while! Being back at work leaves m very little free time, if you will. After getting my room together for the next day, I pick up Caileb spend time with him, feed him and put him down for a nap... cook dinner, iron clothes feed Caileb again, wash bottles, make bottles take a shower a then to bed. I'm doing good just to check emails and make a phone call or 2.

At any rate our friend Jason took some pictures of Caileb (here he is)...