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!