mila | 8.9.10 wedding

i'm late!  sooooo late!  ... in posting this 8.9.10 wedding.  it was a monday and a really special one.  alexis and omar got married.  what a party it was.  i was alternately dancing, laughing and tearing up.  i swear it was the love boat and they rocked it.

matt saville (my second that day) got this rad shot of omar on his way to the church

while she was getting dressed, alexis assured me she wasn't a cryer.  omar, she said, was the emotional one.  mmhhmmmm... one step into that aisle and they're both in tears.  made me blur my vision.

i love that the kids gave their blessing to this union with full participation

ok i really don't think this dance routine was rehearsed... for this event.  i think it's been done over and over and over.  coz they had it DOWN.  college buddies unite!

i'll have you guys know that when i dance... i rock the facial expressions too.

venue: fantasea yachts

mila | people that influence me

i second shot for hanssie at a wedding last month.  a few weeks later i attended a scott robert workshop.  it was only after the workshop that i edited the photos from the wedding.  yeah... i guess you could say he really influenced me in my post processing.  i love what he does.  it has a way of creating drama.  so here i go playing with textures again.

mila | kaya updates

she's not crawling yet but she smiles and giggles now.  it takes a LOT of work on my part to get her to giggle but for uncle steven she'll cough up a laugh and a giant grin as soon as she sees him.  go figure.

lessons we've learned these last few months:

• kaya is soooooo loved and she loves back ;)

• she has a high pain threshold.  for her last set of shots she got 2 on each leg all in one day.  she scowled for the first, screamed for the second and on to the third and by the fourth her tears were dry and she was maddoggin the nurse.

• there's hope to make her a surfer.  she doesn't mind cold ocean water.  during bath time she doesn't mind water in her face either.

• she loves mommy and daddy.  we know this coz we get BIG smiles when she sees us.  but the kid doesn't really miss us when we're gone.  we left her with family for 2 weeks when we went to bali.  you'd think she would have said mama by the time we got back.  nope!  i don't think she even noticed we were gone. same rule applies when i leave her with a sitter :( WE miss her a lot though.  so much so that we couldn't leave her for an extended period after that... and we still had 4 weeks of vacation left!

• store bought toys are more for mommy not baby.  yeah, i got suckered into a few "cute toys".  thank god i didn't go in deep.  i discovered early on that kaya is more than satisfied with paper and cheap noise makers.  her most favorite "toys" right now?
• empty water bottle with a few pennies inside.  squeeze some air out before closing the lid so she has a better grip.  it's so cheap we have one for each room in the house and the diaper bag.
• booklets that come in the mail.  she LOVES paper.  i'll let her play with it till it's crumpled then get her a new one the next day
• fake credit cards that come in the mail.  
• balloons. 
• a mini bowling ball and pin set i got from big lots for a buck.  

• she loves peek-a-boo games 

• travelling with kaya -  she's great and she can hold her own ...she's still not mobile though she's more ok with tummy time now.  i think this immobility is what made her a very easy baby to travel with.  it was a 19 hour trip to the philippines and she did great!  we do have one awesome story to share.  it was on the way home.  the first leg of the trip was philippines to korea.  there was an older korean guy sitting across the aisle from us and i think he wasn't thrilled about all the babies on his flight and even less so that we were in such close proximity to him.  the man was maddoggin the kaya.  kaya, in her coolest demeanor simply stared back.  i think i caught the last half of this stare down.  they locked eyes for a good half minute and then..... kaya stuck her tongue out at him and did the raspberry.  as if that wasn't enough, she laughed at him when she got done.  ok, maybe she was just giggling and not necessary laughing at him but it was great!  the guy had to crack a smile.  he was one upped by a baby.

• she LOVES veggies and fruits are not good unless they're mixed with broccoli or turned into popsicles or slushies.

• if we opt to leave any child with family for an extended amount of time (3 days or more) we have to accept the necessary re-training routine when we get home.  i simply can't keep up with holding her all day and 100% attention all the time no matter how much she whines for more.

• she doesn't like basil.  i shoulda known it wouldn't fly ... the author of the baby food book i bought was french.  next time i'm sticking to my peeps and giving her fish sauce.

• it pays to have friends that have daughters older than kaya.  this recycle clothes process is wonderful!  we get bags from my friend claudia since her daughter is a few months ahead.  i've only had to buy basic sweaters to layer over the adorable summer dresses.  got some jeans from the philippines for cheap and i use it under the dresses as well.  leggings, tights and leg warmers work too.

• i need to watch the shoe shopping.  not for me of course ... ahem.  i'm trying not to buy all the basic color requirements for kaya's wardrobe but it's tough so i've opted for brown  ... and green and black and white and pink .. in shoes and sandals and boots.

• i think she's getting the communication thing.  i swear she's trying to say milk when she's hungry and i think she signed for it the other night.  

i know i'm going to regret saying this but i'm looking forward to hearing her talk and seeing her walk.

she went thru a balding phase.  so did i.  our hair has finally been growing back ... curtis' is still gone.

she's kooler than i am and it's not just a phase

she's a talker

she's a traveler, a mover and a shaker

she's soooooo loved

it takes a lot of energy

but there's no one else like her