Fun at the park

Look at me! Keeping up with posting two weeks in a row! Watch out world, here I come!


So to catch everyone up... last weekend was crazy! Friday morning I went to McDaniel Farm Park, my favorite photography spot here in Duluth, to do family pictures for one of Tania's friends who is also a photographer down in Florida and of course doesn't get to be in her "family" pictures much because she's usually behind the camera like me. So those pictures turned out great (They'll be up on my photography blog soon.), and since she was there and we had a few minutes, she got some cute shots of James and me that I had to share! (See below!) I wish Jim had been in town because we still need family photos!


Then Friday afternoon was the rehearsal for the wedding that I shot on Saturday. I ran home from the park, got a shower, ate lunch, and headed to Sugarloaf to meet up with the Bride. I ended up taking James with me, and he was a little angel the whole time! Even though we were in the sun for over an hour.


Then Saturday morning Jim and I had to run out and get a new external hard drive for my photos b/c I'd already filled up our 300G drive! Crazy! So we bought a 1 terabyte drive designated for photography! Hopefully it will take me a little longer to fill that up. :)


Then I left James with Jim, and headed to the wedding at 2:30. Let me just say that Sugarloaf is a gorgeous place for wedding photos! It was really hot though, and I was sweating like a.... well... sweating a lot. But we got some great shots (check out my photography blog for a peak), and everyone was really nice to work with.


Now I'm back home trying to keep the house looking nice for interested buyers, being mommy to my little guy and editing wedding photos. It's a crazy but fun life!


Lots of love from us all,


Jim, Ally & James

Random photos...

Can you believe I'm posting so soon after my last post?!! These pictures are just day/hours old! Go me! Haha... I promise I'm trying to get better. Plus I'm shooting a wedding on Saturday, which means personal stuff will get pushed to the back burner for a while. (Look for those shots sometime in the upcoming weeks on my photography blog.)

James keeps changing every day. He's laying on the floor talking to himself as I write. I just can't get over how verbal he's getting! It's so fun to watch him change and to see his little personality develop. Thankfully it looks like he's going to be have a happy demeanor like his Daddy. :)

Enjoy!

I found him sleeping like this the other day during his nap. It was too cute to miss!

James and I were playing while Daddy worked outside.

We have also started our journey into the world of cereal. Nana was right... it's a full-body experience (for BOTH of us)! haha!

This last one is just a collage I made from a few shots I took today while practicing with my new lens. The blanket he's laying on was made by some sweet girls from my church back home. We are so loved! :)

James' first pool trip!

We spent Father's Day weekend with Jim's parents in Tampa, and James got to go to the pool for the first time. Here are a few shots from our little outing... Enjoy!

He was so adorable! The "surfer shirt" is from a friend in Nicaragua. Nana and I picked out the cute bathing suit to match. :)

When he finally got in the water, he wasn't so sure about it at first...

but then he got used to the water temperature and decided that he liked it.

He was so cute, kicking his little legs like a frog. :)

Nana was so proud of her little man... and Pa G was too!


Daddy helped him dry off...

Then he told Daddy all about it! :)

Oops I missed the 3 month post!

I'm posting some pictures from James' 3rd month to catch everyone up since I've been a slacker.

I spent my first Mother's Day in Tallahassee with my mom! And I managed to get a photo of James and his Grandmom in his "Grandmom" onsie. (see explanation below)


James with his Uncle Tim at graduation! He's wearing his "I love my Uncle Tim" onsie. I made onsies for everyone in our immediate families, and I'm trying to get pictures with everyone. :)


With Aunt Sara in "her" onsie. Of course Noelle had to be in the shot too... that's what you get when your sister's a vet. :)




Sorry, Nana. I know I caught you in your nightgown, but when I looked up and saw Pa G. sitting down by James like this and talking to him, I just had to have this picture! :)



Tia Tania (a friend and fellow Spanish teacher from when I taught at Grayson) comes over every Monday to hang out with us!

4 1/2 months and couting...

Well, I'm even later with my post this time. James is 4 1/2 months! Oh my! Time flies so fast when you've got a little one that changes so much everyday! He got his four month shots on Tuesday and did fine. He's growing like a weed! He was 74% percentil in weight and 87% in length! Of course head was only in the 20% percentile, but it doesn't seem to affect his little mind. He's sharp and keeps learning new things everyday. I love watching him change and devevlop. What a blessing motherhood is!!

Below, I'm posting a random assortment of pictures from the last month (newest to oldest) to catch everyone up. I'll post captions below most of them to explain.

In other news, Jim found out a few weeks ago that we're getting transferred to Spartanburg, SC. Yep, you read right. We just put our house on the market (less than a year after we bought it), and we're praying for God to send us some buyers quickly and that we can get a decent price so that we'll at least have something for a down payment in Spartanburg should we decide to buy there. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! While we're sad to leave our friends here and to be moving even farther from our families, we both have a peace that God is in this transfer, and we are excited to see what plans he has for us in this new chapter.

Thank you for your prayers! More to come...

Love to all,

Jim, Ally and James

Yesterday, James decided to "help" mommy fold his diapers. He loves to grab and chew on everything now, and it was so cute I had to snap a couple of shots. (Yes, I know the Bumbo chair is pink. We're borrowing it from a friend.)

Daddy was feeding James before he left on his business trip, and mommy used the opportunity to practice with her new lens!

Jim's cousins and his grandmother (Olliemama) came to visit James last week. He had a great time playing with them. :)

Last time that Pa G. and Nana came to visit, James decided to help Nana with his bottle (for the first time!!).

Bigdad bought James a shirt in Nicaragua, and he wore it proudly! :)

We finally got a pictures of James with Aunti Em in his "I love my Aunti Em" onsie just before he outgrew it.

Two months already!

James is two months old already! I can't believe it! I know you have all been asking me for more pictures of James, and I've been a slacker. But there's only so much free time in a house with a colicky baby. :) I think we're finally on the upswing though (hope I'm not jinxing us). James slept 8+ hours for the first time Monday night and repeated it again last night! And we reached another sleep milestone in the last several days... he's sleeping in his room! Yay!!

In other news, yesterday was shot day, and neither mommy nor James had much fun with that! Bless his heart... he was so good through the whole check-up, and then they gave him the three shots and he just cried and cried. It broke my heart. :( But when we were done, he got some snuggle time with mommy and went fast asleep. I'm so glad that he's feeling better today, and I'm glad that we don't need to do that again for two more months.

Jim and I are also doing well although work is a little slow for Jim. We would really appreciate your prayers that new jobs would come in so that they won't have to cut back on his hours. With all the medical bills we have right now, it would be a God-sized task to make ends meet with a cut in pay. But we trust Him for His provision.

Well... I'm gonna cut this a little short since I've still got to finish washing clothes and packing for our trip to Tallahassee for Mother's Day this weekend. My first Mother's Day! And I get to spend it with my mom! It's going to be really special!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Love,

James' mommy

"I love sleeping in Mommy's arms"

"Oh..."

"Sometimes I'm a whiny boy."

"I have Carharts just like Daddy!"

"I'm gonna be just like Daddy when I grow up!"

"Can I help, Daddy?"

James is one month

Several people have emailed me recently asking for new pictures of James. I haven't gotten any up in a while because we've been dealing with some tummy issues with James. We're not sure if it's collick, reflux or something else right now, but needless to say, I've been running on almost no sleep (literally) and having to hold James all day (and most of the night) bouncing him, patting his back or rubbing his tummy to keep him from crying in pain. I am definitely learning about one of the hardest parts of motherhood- seeing your child in pain and not being able to do anything to stop it. I'd really appreciate your prayers for perseverance as we deal with this new challenge of parenthood,and please pray for healing for his little tummy too so that I can get back to just spending time getting to know his little personality. Thanks to all. And without further a-do here are his latest photos. The first ywo are of the Easter outfit that I bought him (which is definitely more a Canopy Roads or CrossPointe style Easter out fit than traditional like First Baptist, but I think he's really cute in it!). The others are just me being camera happy- nothing new there.

Love to all,

Jim, Ally & James

P.s. You can also check out some of the "Pro" poses on my website under the "baby" section of my online portfolio. His pictures are numbers 16 through 21. Here's the link: http://www.thejourneybyally.com/My-Portfolio/Babies/10001033_KD7cN.

(I think that this one looks so much like me in some of my baby pictures.)