Change is Good

Some of you may have already put two and two together.  But, just to officially let everyone know...as my photography has been growing, I've decided to make a blog solely for my photography.  Don't worry!  I'm still keeping this one and will be posting pictures and stories regularly that stick closer to what's going on with my family and personal life.

So, if you like what I have to say...stick around.  If you like my photography, you can check it out at chelseaparkphotography.blogspot.com.  And of course, you are more than welcome to visit both!

To stay true to what I just told you...and to show that having a photographer as a mom comes with it's fair amount of torture, I felt obligated to show you how Cecily REALLY felt about her 1 year pictures.

Here's What You Missed

Aaaaaalright....I know I haven't been very consistent about the blog posts lately.  not consistent = not at all...in case that part confused you.  In my defense, it's been a whirlwind of a month!  So, I decided that the best way to catch you up to speed is by taking you through a blog-esque slide show.  So plop your butt down on the squishiest chair and get comfortable...or if you're a mom of little ones, like me, chances are you're sitting on the toilet, with the door closed, getting your five minutes of free internet time on your phone in peace...if your'e lucky!

......so, anyways....

*ahem* ...begin scrolling please.

My dad just moved to Arkansas!  Him and his girlfriend, Tamara, stopped by for a visit during their long drive across the country.

I shot Eric and Renata's wedding reception.  The location was so dreamy!  You can see more photos of the event here.

Our little Cece-Lala turned ONE!  As you can tell, she's not excited about parties in her honor at all.

....daddy managed to traumatize her during the whole cake experience and now she hates cake....no joke.  The next time she was presented cake, she cried again.

I shot pictures for Morgan and Melissa's 5 year anniversary.  You can see the whole shoot here.

We drove to Oregon to visit friends and family, and we threw another party for Cecily while we were at it! ....oh yeah, and I dyed my hair!

After all that partying...we were tired!

Instead of taking the next day off...we hauled our butts over to this cute sunflower farm and took Cecily's 1 year old pics!  (Check in later for more pictures!)  This picture is proof that she is my most difficult client....oh, how she mocks me.

And there you have it, folks!  You've now had a taste of our last few weeks!  We're finally home and now I'm hoping for a few days of peaceful recovery.

Brothers

Let's talk about two of the greatest guys you could ever meet......The studly Park brothers.  Okay, I might be just a LITTLE biased...but seriously, they are the best.  They're the funniest, caring, and most genuine guys out there.  I couldn't have asked for a better husband and brother-in-law.  The best part is that they are not just brothers.  They also have one of those close-brotherly-best-friend-type relationships.  So when we get together with friends, it generally includes Josh and his wife, Emily...which is awesome!  Alright, enough with the mushy stuff!

Back when my husband and I were dating, I found Ben's family picture sitting on his dresser.  I could immediately tell that it had been taken several years ago...at least 7, but probably more like 10 years ago.  So much has changed since that last family picture.  I still love looking at that picture and it still makes me sad that there isn't a more recent one.

Obviously it's no secret that I have a thing for pictures, but family pictures are super important to me because they are one of the few things in life that I truly consider priceless.  I mean come on, if a fire is headed toward your house, what is one of the first things you would try to grab?  Pictures capture memories and memories with loved ones are one of the most valuable things in the world.  Okay, I lied..that was a little mushy...for realsies this time!  I pinky swear I'm done!

Anyways, I really couldn't remember the last time that these brothers had taken a picture together, that wasn't on someone's phone...it was probably at somebody's wedding.  I concluded that that was too long, and took it upon myself to rectify the situation!  Of course, we had to include both of their newest sets of wheels...just for fun!

11 Months

don't even THINK about touching my pudding cup!

 Cecily turned 11 months old yesterday!  She loves to be naked and she loves pudding cups (who doesn't?).  So, what better way to celebrate than eating pudding cups topless in the sunshine?  Of course, a bath was very necessary after all of our chocolate shenanigans...but she had no complaints.

There have been big changes in the Park household this last month.  She took her sweet time, but Cece finally decided to crawl!  So, that means all of our cute little tchotchkes and picture frames on the entertainment center now sit in a heaping pile on top of the entertainment center...for now.  I promise I'll get around to it!  Cece also LOVES to give kisses, which just melts my heart!  All you have to do is ask for one and you'll receive a giant, sloppy kiss...although, you may just as easily receive a palm to the face from Miss Sassy Pants, so proceed with caution!  I can't say that the first true word has leaked out yet, but she does say "mama" and "dada" more frequently, and when you ask her to.  She'll also respond to many questions you ask her, with "ya!", which can be pretty dang hilarious depending on the question you ask!

 One month to go and she'll be ONE...I think I might cry!

Boys Will Be Boys

Alright, I know you've seen this little man on my blog already, but he's worth another gander.  I took these awhile back during my last visit to Oregon and this was my first experience photographing a newborn, so of course I was excited!  I had all of these visions of exactly how everything was going to go and what we were going to pose him like as he slept peacefully through the hour.  HAHAHA! I know, right!?  But I should have known that photo shoots NEVER go as planned and babies are the masters at messing plans up!  Callum was all about being wide awake, testing the limits of his arm flailing, and making it his own personal challenge to flash the camera as many times as humanly possible.  Sounds like a typical boy, if you ask me!  I just rolled with the punches, and had a blast photographing this little man!

Eric and Renata

My cousin's getting married!  I had fun taking their engagement pictures, and I got to know Renata a bit better at the shoot.  She is so sweet!  I'm so happy for them!

4th of July No-Pants-Dance

That is a CLASSIC Cecily smile, right there!  ^

Fact: The amount of chins during the smile has a direct correlation to how happy she is.

So, this year may have not been the most exciting of all the 4th of July activities we've experienced.  Last year we went to Stadium of Fire to see Kelly Clarkson and Cirque du Soleil perform, the year before that we went to a rodeo, and so on and so on.  This year, however, we knew we were going to have to turn in early because bedtime is at 8pm, of course.  I know...we're serious partiers.  That didn't stop us from having some celebratory fun, though!  We had some friends over for a BBQ and then we all set our lawn chairs up, in broad daylight, and set off all of our super expensive, high-quality fireworks we purchased for about a total of 20 dollars!  I know you're sad you weren't invited.

The whole thing ended with me dropping my pants on the front porch in front of everyone...wait, what?  Yes, you read that correctly.  Apparently, I decided that the prime location for my lawn chair would be atop an ant hill.  Once our firework show was complete, I stood up and discovered that I was covered in ants!  Without hesitation, I tossed my baby to the closest person, and did the ants-in-the-pants-dance all the way to the front door.  Aaaaand the rest is history!  It was obviously an emergency situation.  I know...now you're REALLY sad you weren't invited!  Everyone knows it's not a party until someone loses their pants!

Land of the Free

I had a blast hanging out with my good friends Zach and Morgan Miller while doing this Independence Day inspired shoot.

Last month marked my last month serving in the military.  I've spent 6 great years in the Army.  It definitely has come with it's fair share of frustrations and seemingly impossible tasks, but I will forever be grateful for the experiences I've had, the people I've met along the way, and the opportunity to be apart of something bigger than myself.

That being said...the 4th of July and the flag hold a special place in my heart.  I've had good friends that have literally given their lives for what the flag represents, and although it's easy to find things to disagree with in our government these days, I still feel amazingly blessed to live in this great country and raise my family here.

So enjoy your BBQs and fireworks, but don't forget to take a moment with your loved ones to remember what this holiday really represents.

God Bless America!