Sorry for the lack of posts the last few months. We have so much going on in our lives right now. I graduate from nursing school in two weeks! I can’t believe I will finally be done. I will have a separate post on that. Too many emotions for this little update. On Benny’s birthday we received some special news. We are finally adding number two to our family. I am currently a few days shy of 19 weeks and the baby’s EDD is September 30th. The first trimester was a bit rough, I was hoping I would have a smooth ride as I did with Benny but the nightly nausea kept me in bed most evenings by 6:00pm. Poor Benny, his dinner was very simple for a few months. Luckily on day one of the second trimester is was gone and I have not had it since. I felt like such a lazy bum those first few months that I packed on the pounds rather quickly. Luckily things have started to slow down in that department and now I am energized and hiking 3-4 times a week.
We feel very blessed as this baby enters our family. We have the big ultrasound next week, but we are not finding out the gender. This will probably be our last and we (I, Jeff would love to know) can’t wait for that surprise at birth.
So that is a quick little update on where I have been and why I have been absent. I am getting inquires about photography now that I am wrapping up nursing school. I am not sure where my future will take me as I become an RN, but I know I will not be searching for a job just yet. I want to spend those first months home with my kiddos. Benny will be starting a part home school kindergarten in the fall, so that will require me to be home with him most of the time (another post on that too). There were be lots of excitement here come fall. In the meantime, I will be taking on work. I will have details on my maternity leave to follow. The fall has always been my busiest, but it looks like this year will be a bit slower for me.
That’s all for now.
This image was taken at 16 weeks, the dress hides a lot, but there was a good size bump under there. Benny is very excited to be a big brother!

Some favorites from a session that I did earlier this year. It is always a fun time for photographs when the family is together.

I have missed two weeks of posting the 366 project! Not to worry, I am still taking pictures daily….just don’t have the energy on the weekends to post. The first weekend I missed, Benny turned five and it was a weekend of celebration and than last week we had a baby shower to attend and I had a photo session. This weekend looks like lots of studying as I have a couple of test coming up…but I promise they will be posted soon enough.
This last semester is a busy one and I am exhausted. Only nine more weeks of lectures and clinical and I am taking my finals. I can not wait!

Benny and I thought is would be fun to dress silly and take pictures today. We did just that…too bad my pictures didn’t come out too good. Maybe next time.

We have a birthday party scheduled for next weekend. I tried out a vegan cupcake recipe this weekend and needed some taste testers. They are gone today, so I guess we are good to go!

I promised a little update on business awhile back, so I thought now would be a good time, as it is my last day of vacation. Without going into too much now…I am taking minimal amount of work over the next four months, they say this semester is a busy one.  Please, don’t hesitate to ask, if I am able to I plan on it. This will probably be one or two sessions a month…for my sanity I want to have most of my weekends off to spend time with my family.

In the meantime, I will keep brainstorming how I hope to make this little blog a bit different. I hope to continue with more personals post as I really enjoy blogging and it forces me to get the camera out daily.

Thanks for all the continued support!

♥ Rachel

day 08/366
“Mama will you play with me”…I hear these words often. I love to play little people with you so that is what we did.day 09/366
I love the way you sit on the bar stool with your little feet under your bottom. You are just not big enough yet to reach without a little boost.day 10/366
When it is just you and Mama at the dinner table we sometimes play games. We love Go Fish!day 11/366
I love this picture of you. Occasionally a posed picture is fun. Getting you to smile took some work though, you can be a stubborn one.day12/366
We had some good friends over to play and I decided to have you all work on some art projects. It was loads of fun! You painted a pig, rainbow, and an octopus. day 13/366
If you had your choice you would wear pajamas or sweats all day. It was after lunch and you finally decided to get dressed. day 14/366
Smoothies. You love them so much. The greener the better. You wanted this glass the last few trips to the store and since your birthday is right around the corner I finally bought it for you. Mama is glad you like your smoothies, because you are a picky one when it comes to green vegetables.

A typical Friday for us.
1. no bananas for smoothies, so some fresh squeezed OJ instead
2. sitting by the fire, checking emails and sipping OJ in my PJs
3. benny loves cartoons in the morning
4. saying goodbye to the husband
5. tv is off and now some play time (refusing to get dressed)
6. early lunch of sushi
7. benny is always animated at the table
8. lunch is complete and now for a “token”cookie
9. ready to get dressed
10. a little bit of art
11. drum lessons
12. hair cut for mom and benny
13. a picture to document it
14. time to get groceries, benny holding the shopping list and excited about his treat
15. fun at the local high school basketball game with friends
16. sweet dreams

Of course I left out a bunch, but bringing the camera into the bank, the post office among other places was not too exciting. As was photographing dinner on the road.

This is my fourth session with this sweet family. It has been so fun to see this little man grow. Enjoy the preview, it is a long one!

Today we had some friends over and I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring out the art supplies. This summer I organized my office into a craft, sewing, editing, and school room. We have everything easily assessable so we are able to do little activities like this without much effort. Of course, it was also a great opportunity for great pictures of some little Picassos.*Tip of the Day (not that I have ever had one before): A fitted sheet works great to lay down and protect the table. I bought this set and only needed the flat sheet for a backdrop, until today when it came into good use.