Photography website

So, we have been a little delinquent in updating this blog, but will continue to do so once in a while.  For those of you who follow our family blog, here is a link to my photography blog.  I have been doing some photography for family and friends and have really been enjoying it. 

Check out some of my posts at the link below:
http://kellihphotography.blogspot.com/

My website with all of my galleries is at this link:
http://kellihphotography.com/

Enjoy!

Christmas 2009 video

Here is a video of our Christmas in San Diego. We enjoyed having a quiet Christmas, but we did miss spending time with family. Hopefully next year!!!

Hope you enjoy the video.

Kelli

Mariah learning to swim

So, it has been a while since we posted an update and I just wanted to show a video of Mariah's swimming skills. She has been taking swimming lessons since August and is doing really well!!! She is learning to do "polar bears" now, which is basically what we use to call "dog paddling." She is doing a better job of swimming almost independently with just a little support from her instructor Tracy. It is amazing what they can learn at such young ages and she just loves it. So, we are in the dilemma now of trying to decide whether or not to renew for another 12 sessions. She has 3 left and of course, all of the progress is seen toward the end of the sessions which makes you want to renew and do more since she will progress even more :) She also just learned to slide along the side of the pool wall during this session, which is a safety skill to help the kids get to the steps so they can get out if they fall in the pool.

Check it out and see for yourself.

Okay, so we are a little behind on making videos...

So, Matt and I had wonderful plans of making videos of Mariah as she grows and changes to share with our family and friends who don't see her that often; however, the last one we posted was of Halloween. Now we are trying to get caught up and that is my goal for the summer since I won't be working again until late August.

The following video is of Mariah's 1st birthday, so although it is a little bit after the fact, we hope you enjoy the video of her cake eating madness :)

4 Wonderful Years!!!

So, tomorrow Matt and I have been married for 4 years. It has been an amazing 4 years and I can't believe how much life has changed in that 4 years. We have gone through so many changes together, which included moving from ND to Santa Clarita, CA, and from Santa Clarita to San Diego. We got our first dog together (even though I vowed to never be a pet person). Matt and I also welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world. Life has changed so much, but each day that we spend together seems to somehow be better than the last.

We are celebrating our Anniversary by going on a romantic getaway to Ojai, CA. Matt's Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Jon have graciously offered to watch Mariah and Nala for the weekend. We are very excited to have some time to ourselves, but I am sure that we will miss Mariah. This will be my first night away from her, but she will be in good hands and will be having tons of fun, I am sure.

Matt has truly been a blessing in my life and I could not imagine a better husband or father. Thank you for the amazing 4 years of marriage Matt. I love you very much!!! Happy 4th Anniversary.

Future DG

So, for those of you who don't know about the sorority that I was in, Delta Gamma's symbol is the anchor, therefore, I enjoy all things related to anchors. Right now, Old Navy has anchor clothing for girls in almost every color. Of course, when I saw that online, I had to rush out to the store to get her something and ended up buying her a navy blue shirt with pink anchors and two swimsuits with anchors on them. I could not decide between the two, and I decided, well we live in Southern California, the girl needs swimsuits, right?

I brought them home and had to have her model them to see if they fit, so here is the result:

Little Peanut

So, Matt and I took Mariah to the doctor yesterday for her 15 month check up. The little stinker only gained 1 oz over the last 3 months. She went from 18 lbs 6 oz to 18 lbs 7 oz; however, she grew 2 inches and is now 31 inches long. That puts her at the 2nd percentile for weight and 64th for height. I am not sure if she knows who her parents are, but I don't think either of us were ever at the 64th percentile for height :) It is crazy to think that over the last 15 months she has gained 13.5 lbs and grown 12 inches!!!

She has also gotten to be quite the girly girl lately. She has a couple of purses that she puts on her arm and carries around as she walks around the house. She has to hold her arm up by her face so that she makes sure to not drop the purses. Mariah also loves to carry her chapstick around and wear clicky, girly shoes. (She's also infatuated with carrying around wet wipes, as an odd aside)

In addition to acting quite girly, Mariah's personality is showing through quite a bit lately. She loves to laugh, chase Nala, and raise her eyebrows when something seems odd to her. Thankfully, instead of destroying everything 24/7, she's starting to catch on and pick up after herself. It's pretty cute when she tries to put the towel back on the rack or put her tub toys away; they can't be out of place. I can't imagine where that comes from...couldn't be either of her parents.

We love watching her grow and learn everyday and could not ask for a better daughter.