Hi everyone! Hope you’ve all been doing well~! We’ve just been busy here as usual. I know people say this all the time but I seriously don’t know how time goes by so quickly.
9 Months!
Dear Evan,
Now 3/4 of your first year of life has passed. At times like this I reflect and can’t believe how much all of our lives have changed in such a short period of time. I guess I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives.
* You’re always trying to stand now…it’s like your full-time job.
* You got your first real cold. I was so heartbroken when you couldn’t eat well because of your plugged nose. You also started to go from 3 naps to 2. It was a really difficult time because the two of us were quarantined at home alone for a week with no help. You were so fussy and grumpy that for a bit I forgot how much of a happy and mellow baby you normally are.
* You were playing by yourself all the way across the room from Daddy…but when Daddy showed you the tadpole book your face lit up and you crawled back really fast!
* Now you can flip the pages of your books on command. I’m so happy you love books!
* You tried tofu and puffs for the first time.
* Daddy tried to bench press Mommy and we were laughing so hard we woke you up and you cried. Sorry!
* We have to watch you really closely now or else you’ll get into everything!
* Mommy left you for one of the longest stretches of time. I was worried but you were really good and followed the schedule. Whew!
* Mommy & Bella went on a girls’ day out to the park. Next time we’ll take you too so you can see the beautiful view of Lake Hollywood from the park.
* Aunt Connie & Trystan came over and we went out by ourselves to a restaurant for one of the first times. I was proud and thought to myself…Am I starting to get the hang of this mommy stuff??
* We had a picnic at the park for Aunt Sue’s birthday. It was so fun just hanging in the sun with good friends and yummy food.
* This was another month of adventures – we visited Ella, went to Audrey’s 1st birthday party, Aunt Gina, Uncle Albert & Hershey visited, went to Gavin’s 2nd birthday party, went to Adventureland with Caitlyn, you were reunited with Nathan, had lunch with Mommy’s old co-workers, a Cheesecake lunch with your gorgeous gal pals Abbie & Eleni, lots of bonding with your grandmas & grandpas and celebrated Uncle Steve & Aunt Srivitta’s engagement.
Mommy is a big cheeseball. I found that the lyrics to this song truly embody what I wish for you.
I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go.
And if you’re faced with a choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you and the place you left.
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get.
Oh, you’d find God’s grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take.
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold.
And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too.
This is my wish.
Love,
Mommy
Swagbucks – Amazon Gift Cards
Sorry for the delay! You’ve all been so awesome about signing up for Swagbucks that I’ve been getting a big bunch of gift cards. Thanks so much! always_ss, I’ll be sending you a $5 Amazon gift card! I want to share another $5 gift card so audreysmommie, I’ll be sending you one too!
Favorite Lens x 2
Bella was trying to get under the covers in bed and knocked my camera to the ground. My favorite lens shattered – the Canon 50mm f/1.4. I use it like 90% of the time. I went the next day to get another one because I couldn’t live without it. I have other lenses (even one that costs more than 3 times as much) but I always go back to my trusty 50mm. Thought I’d share for anyone in the market for a new lens. One of my friends was new to the DSLR world but he got this lens and his photos look so good!
Canon has three 50mm lenses and I’ve only heard great things about all three – get the 50mm f/1.2 if you have $1,600 to spare or the 50mm f/1.8 if you’re on a tight budget. If you’re in between…get the 50mm f/1.4!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I won a little contest for submitting this quote…
“Eat, drink & be scary!” 
