My ONE year old....

I am sitting here at 12:12am writing this post because I am extremely nostalgic right now and this time seemed the perfect time to write this post. I can't honestly believe that a year ago I was having my baby girl. She was born on today at 12:12am just barely making it in time to share the same birthday as my mom. I really didn't want to go past my due date and my mom kept saying, "wouldn't it be great if she was born on my birthday?" And a year ago I would have said "Heck NO!" because going past my due date was not what I wanted but I am so glad she was! They are some of my top favorite people (Nathan is definitely number one though) and the fact that Emerie and my mom are birthday buds makes it all the more special for me.

Thinking about the past year of our life has been full of ups and downs but I honestly can't imagine my life without my little girl. She is my little shadow and my best friend. I didn't quite understand how much unconditional love I was capable of until they put that little girl in my arms for the first time! I love her and her little personality. She is so independent, outdoorsy, curious and friendly and I just love all those things about her! I have loved pretty much every stage but this stage has been the best so far. She is so fun and curious and just hilarious. She makes my days more fun and more unpredictable which is somethings I probably need in my life.

There have been times when I have been unsure of my abilities as a mother, and rightfully so since I have no idea what I'm doing, but being away from her for almost 11 days made me realize that I could  really suck and do everything wrong as a mother but I wouldn't trade my role as a mom for anything. I missed being a mom; I missed being needed and loved by a little girl. 

Here are the fun things you're doing: 

-You love to say "whatsthat"?

-You can climb up stairs but have trouble going down

-You can pretty much run 

-You can slide down the slide with almost no help

-You can say "ugh ugh" which means ruff ruff and love all dogs as long as they keep a safe distance

-You have 9 teeth!!!

-You can throw a tantrum with the best of them now

-You blew out your birthday candle 

And finally you made it out to our new home in Cincinnati in one piece your parents however lost it around Hays, Kansas!!!

We love you with everything we have little munch! You are such a beautiful little girl and are the best choice we ever made!

Ian & Amy's Wedding

I really did not care much for high school. Period. It should have been my "golden years" but it just wasn't (this probably makes me sound like a loser...). I probably floated between too many groups (athletes, and my cool band friends) and preferred hanging out with guys mainly because girl drama drives me nuts. BUT I did have a great friend in high school that was just always there for me and that guy was Ian Marshall.

This guy could make me laugh and just have fun. I still remember my nickname for him "matchstick boy", the night game parties we had at sandridge park with our big group of friends, and plenty of the inside jokes that we had. He just made high school fun especially the last two years he was there before he left for BYU.


Anyway..... to the reason of this post.... HE GOT MARRIED! And to a really sweet and beautiful girl I might add and I got that all in one meeting which must mean she is an awesome person just like Ian.

Well he asked me to take the pictures for their wedding day and I was so happy because I love taking pictures, I love weddings, and it gave me a chance to see Ian after a couple years. The sealing was beautiful and really touched me and I loved getting to see my old best friend from high school so happy with the girl of his dreams.

They were simple and natural in their pictures which is always so much fun to capture. So enjoy the pictures I was able to capture on their special day!

 There were so many fun pictures but this seriously takes the cake. I love this picture the most!

Such a beautiful bride!