Monday, November 30, 2009

walks, waddles, & welatives

big news:

he walks. :)

he never crawled a crawl in his life, but he took his first steps while we were in Arizona. those little waddling steps were just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. now the trick is to convince him walking is easier and faster than scooting--he's definitely not convinced. and really, maybe it's not true...

quick side note for those who were wondering: mack was angelic on the flights there, and a bit of a nightmare on the way back. I used almost every single trick suggested by you wonderful people, and they were magical for as long as they lasted, so thanks. you're the best. :)

subsequential quick side note: the wedding shoot went well. the wedding itself was gorgeous, the bride looked like she was straight out of a magazine, the setting was perfect, and the weather was divine. the shooting was educational, and so, so fun. you know there will be pictures to come, but today is not the day. I have literally TEN shoots in line to be edited, and everyone wants their pictures for holiday cards, so I'm whittling them down. we'll get there. :)


regardless, I'm getting ahead of myself. we've come upon the last few days of october. first, the sick day:
October 20th

there were actually many more days like this, but for the sake of the viewing audience, this is the only picture you get.

October 21st

the incredible 1980's kevin bacon mullet that appeared in the middle of the hair cut I was giving DJ. nice, right?

October 22nd

took family pictures for a couple with 15 month old triplets. they were so cute, and so energetic. we did get a couple of them all looking, but the best ones were individual photos. to see the rest of the family and their cute holiday card, click here.

October 23rd

this beautiful girl came to see us.
we were incredibly lucky to have DJ's sister come out and stay with us for a few days. she took off from work, bought a ticket and stepped on an airplane just to see us. how nice is that? we had so much fun! carli and I lounged and explored, and when DJ joined us we ate yummy food, and explored some more. I love watching DJ with his siblings. they all love each other so much, and I'm constantly laughing at their movie quotes and inside jokes. the friendship of his siblings is one of the first things I noticed about him, and it was one of the things that made me fall completely in love with both him and his family. I am so happy I was able to spend some quality time with carli. you've never met a more well rounded person--smart, a talented athlete, funny, down to earth, and just plain fun to be with. here's what we did:

October 24th

spent the morning in the strip...


...the afternoon taking this family's pictures (to see more, click here)...


...and the night at kennywood's phantom fright nights. it wasn't so much a frightful night (we only saw a handful of crazy twenty-somethings carrying around garbage can lids and scraping them on the ground), but it was a fun night. I hadn't realized what a scaredy-cat I've become. a couple of the rides I closed my eyes, prayed I'd survive, and tried to keep myself from having a panic attack right then and there. gratefully I had carli and DJ on either side of me laughing their way through it, otherwise I might have passed out from fear. when did I lose my youthful abandon?

October 25th

our family finally made it out to a steelers game. we've been talking about doing it ever since we moved here, but we were always worried it would be too expensive. DJ's dad just happened to know someone who is connected to the opposing team, and he got us tickets. the love of the steelers runs deep in people's blood here, and it is truly a big part of the culture. unfortunately there weren't enough tickets for all three of us, so I sent my camera with DJ and carli and told them to capture every little thing so I could experience it through them. they said the atmosphere was unbelievable, and the game itself was amazing. I watched the last quarter at home, and it was truly quite the game. so, even though I didn't get to experience it myself, I do have a Steeler's cup in my cupboard as a consolation prize, and I can always say DJ did it. :) oh, and the topic of sacrament meeting? keeping the sabbath day holy. talk about irony.

October 26th

carli, mack and I went to a pumpkin patch. we missed out on a lot of the fun activities from the weekend, but we did get two little cute pumpkins, and some cute pictures. worth it. one-hundred percent.

thanks again to carli for coming all the way out to see us, braving our home 24 hours after I recovered from the flu, eating at our eclectic choice of restaurants, playing with our little man, laughing with us, and putting up with our rambling about pittsburgh and its eccentricities. it means so much to know our family loves us enough to make the sacrifice to get all the way to the other side of the country. you're the best.

the rest of October's photos are in mack's birthday post.

now on to the holiday season. I love this time of year, and my calendar is looking pretty packed with all sorts of goodies. I'm going to do my best to enjoy the spirit of the season, as I hope you will.

see you soon. :)


7 comments:

kristen said...

yay mack! i knew you could do it!

Elise said...

He's Walking!!! YEA YEA YEA YEA!

Carls said...

Thanks for the post Libs! I had such a blast hanging out with you guys. Pittsburgh is the coolest city! And I know that now because of your amazing Pittsburgh city tours :) Thanks again for the amazing trip.

Amy F said...

I'm glad he is still hanging on to the beloved bum scoot for a little longer... I hope we all get to see it again for Christmas. Although, by then he might really get the hang of walking and it WILL be faster to walk. Wow... I can't believe he is this old.

Good job on DJs hair cut. Wow... so brave. Loved the mullet... but only for a few minutes, right?? !

I can't wait to see more of your photo shoots! My, you are using that camera well...

tiffany and darren said...

all i have to say is you look too good when you are sick!

MJ said...

I like the missionary DJ look. What a handsome man. And, yes, how do you always look beautiful? What a great couple. How sweet that Carlie came to spend time. I bet you had a great time.

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