Wow...I've been TERRIBLE about blogging! So much has happened since my last post!
The biggest change in our lives right now started here:
We got pregnant!!!
We weren't trying to have kids, but we weren't NOT trying either. I first suspected that I might be pregnant while we were away on our 2nd wedding anniversary vacation in Aruba. I realized I was "late" that week, and other changes were happening to my body that made me wonder. Not to mention I was sleepy ALL the time (which if you ask Keith, he'll tell you I'm always sleepy anyway...pregnant or not)! Some pics from our Aruba vacation:
Our awesome party boat snorkeling adventure!
Sunset pic on our last night
Underwater shots while snorkeling
I got my toes in the sand...
Love birds
beach time
June 11, 2013...our 2nd Wedding Anniversary!
Our last night in Aruba...dinner at Barefoot right on the beach at sunset!
Once we returned home, and partied it up for my 30th birthday, I took the test to find out if my suspicions were true...and you know the answer! I'll never forget the day we told our closest friends and family....it was 4th of July, and we were all chilling on the Relaxation Station in my mom's pool. Keith and I were having a party at our place the next day, and I didn't want all of our friends hounding me to drink more and do shots, so I decided it was best to tell them so they could help me avoid alcohol (we weren't far enough along yet to tell the world). I think I was only around 8 weeks pregnant at the time....or so we thought. We found out at our first ultrasound that I ended up being 2 weeks further along than we originally thought, but that hasn't happened yet at this point in my story. ;0)
A bunch of us were floating on the raft when I broke the news to our closest friends about the baby. Katie jumped up in excitement yelling "shut up! shut up!", and I'll never forget her husband Shane just pushing her backwards off the raft and into the pool as he jumped up in excitement to come give me a hug! It was hilarious...poor Katie! :P We also told my Mom, sisters, and my step-dad on the same day too.
Relaxation Station...where I would later spill the news about Baby Lee!
Keith's pool selfie
Trying to hold my top on after jumping in the pool....damn bikini!
At our first Ultrasound appointment, we were told our due date of February 3, 2014. What perfect timing! It fell right during the slow season for photography and weddings, so we were really lucky in that aspect. The one hiccup is that Keith had a wedding booked already for February 1, 2014...but what are the chances I would go into labor on the ONE day Keith has to work in February, right? ;0)
7.17.2013...our first look at Baby Lee!!!
Then the belly pics started:
8.8.2013....around 14 weeks pregnant
8.26.2013....around 17 weeks.
Gender reveal day! When we found out Baby Lee was a boy!
Sucking while in my belly.
9.16.2013
10.17.2013
11.11.2013
12.03.2013
12.18.2013
01.16.2014
01.22.2014
01.27.2014
That's all my belly pics! We didn't make it to week 40....that story coming up next! Time for me to go do some "mommy" stuff and pump before going to bed.
So for those of you Facebooker's, you saw my post when I was "wrapped". I lost two inches and posted my before and after pics. Even if it was a "placebo" (for you non-believers), I felt better about myself after it.
Sooo, who wants to join me for a wrap party?! I'll provide healthy snacks and water (b/c you are supposed to drink LOTS of it) and we can get our wrap on. Message me at Alikat717@aol.com if you want to come!
Here are my before and after pics:
Before Wrap
After wrap
You can see I don't look much smaller, but it does tighten you up. I loved it and am ready for more....so who's in with me?
Ah yes, the photoshoot on the way home from Sam's birthday celebration! So I decided to take advantage of these two awesome photographers, and I put them on the other side of the lens in their intoxicated state. I had "scoped" out our location, and knew exactly where I wanted to put them. First stop, the headless toy soldiers....
Toy Soldier Sam
Toy Soldier Keith
From there, we went to meet Mr. Viking (whom I had posed with earlier that day, but Keith has those photos and I don't know how to convert them to put on here...sorry guys!):
Sam likes the sword....
Vogue shot? Giggles shot? Who knows....
I thought our next stop was going to be the vineyards, but we stumbled upon some Chinese lions that I felt were necessary to our photoshoot. Did I mention that my husband acts like a little kid when he's drinking? As you will soon see, these lions/dragons are on what I think are someone's front porch, and I had to keep reminding Keith to be quiet for this shot, as he continued yelling some non-sense (that wasn't important or made sense, so I can't even recall what he was talking about)...
I think Keith's mad at me for making him be quiet?
Now, on to the vineyards. Who goes to wine country without having photo shoots in the vineyards? Not these guys! I wanted one on each side of the vines, but they like each other so much, it was hard to separate them:
Sam's Vogue shot...Keith, that is not a serious face!
Why are you always grabbing the wood? :P
The serious one...love you guys, lol!
After I finally got them to move deeper into the vineyard, it was time for the jump shots. You guys have NO idea how hard it is for two giggly boys to jump at the same time! The first jump shot I said, "Alright, jump on three. One. Two. Three!" This is the result:
Keith, excellent work. Sam totally missed the que!
So after missing the que to jump, Sam requests that I count to 5, but they will jump on 3 and I will snap the photo on 5. Here is how that turns out:
Too slow, boys.
Sam's next idea is to count to 6 this time, it's the best version we got....but these boys can't jump:
I give up...
The vineyards were very close to our hotel, and our hotel offered yet more photography greatness. This time, a windmill was our backdrop. We quickly realized that you couldn't really get in the windmill, but that was going to stop my ninja hubby:
His mission was to get inside the windmill
I think he's using the windmill to hold himself up...maybe?
Maybe the windmill isn't a great photo opp
Cheeeeeeese! He came down with spider webs and dirt all over him.
The main office is right behind the windmill. Little did we know that someone was actually working in there!
hello Mr. Kronborg desk man
You see, the night before Sam left his hotel key in his room while we all went to see Prometheus. Long story short, no one was working in the office at 3AM when we got back to the hotel. So Sam calls the emergency number in the event that no one is at the front desk, and the dude that answered ended up giving him a crap story about programming Sam's room key from his home. Yeah right! Sam ended up with a master key to the hotel! Can you guess what happens when a drunk birthday boy has a master key?
Once we got to the car, we headed to Jack in the Box for some late night munchies. We took Sam's car, and I was driving (obviously!). Sam tried to give Keith the front seat but Keith denied. It went something like this:
Sam: Keith, take the front seat.
Keith: No
Sam: Why not?
Keith: B/c. You are the owner of the vehicle.
Gotta love drunken reasoning! There was some confidential discussions amongst our "Triangle of Trust" on this journey, but we finally made it to our destination and back home again.
We headed back to our room to dine, where Sam enjoyed a single bite of his Sourdough Jack before he started falling asleep in the lazy boy. We walked Sam back to his room, all said our "I love you" and "Goodnight" and "Happy Birthday!" and ended our crazy Friday in Solvang.
Stay tuned for Part Tres of this crazy fun Cali adventure!!! ;0)
Wow! It's been a really long time since I blogged anything!
Yesterday, Keith and I shared our one year wedding anniversary...I can't believe it's already been a year! We spent the weekend in Santa Barbara/Solvang and San Francisco. It was such a wonderful time!!!
We flew into Santa Barbara on Thursday, June 7th. We took our rental car and drove to downtown Santa Barbara. We walked around, shopped, took pics, and had lunch at a place called Mac's (known for their fish n chips). After a couple of hours, we plugged in the address to our hotel in Solvang into the navigation, and were on our way!
We got to Solvang and decided to explore the cute Dutch town while we awaited the amazing Sam Hassas's arrival. Who's this Sam guy? Sam is a great photographer, and someone Keith follows and learns from. He is also a great guy and a blast to hang out with, but more Sam stories to come later! In Solvang, we bought an ornament for our Christmas tree (we try to collect them from places we visit). We also got some Rocky Road Fudge, and asked for dinner recommendations. We decided on a place called Root246, which had an awesome patio with lounge furniture for us to relax on.
After dinner, we went back to our hotel and waited for Sam. The boys decided they wanted to see "Prometheus" at midnight, so we found a movie theater and purchased tickets online. Sam showed up later, and we headed to the movie (which was about 40 mins away!). Prometheus was awesome! We are actually going to see it again with some STL friends, he he!
Friday (June 8th) was the day Sam and Keith were going to shoot a wedding. Keith tagged along to 2nd shoot for Sam, and I tagged along with them to assist and snap some photos of my own. Not gonna lie, I was kinda nervous to be shooting with Sam! My photography skills are very much still developing, and I'm still learning a lot. It was a good time, especially watching Sam in action. I even learned a bit about off camera lighting while we there, as Sam hooked me up into his lighting system! The wedding was over around 11:30PM, and Sam's bday was Friday. So after getting back to the hotel and cleaning up, we headed out to a local Solvang bar to celebrate Sam's birthday. I still have to put pics on the computer, so stay tuned to see proof of our fun night out on the town!
WOW! Did we have some fun in the small amount of time we were out partying! First of all, we played some good jamz on the juke box. Secondly, the bartender and bouncer let us stay after the bar closed to have another drink and round of shots....they even did a shot with us! Keith introduced Sam to Irish Car Bombs, and it was all downhill after that! As we walked home from the bar, I made the boys do a little photo shoot around Solvang...pics of that to come too! I learned a few things too....Sam Hassas is one giggly drunk birthday boy! And they both claimed to be starving, so it's a good thing I was only feeling slightly buzzed. Sam's favorite line of the night was when he told Keith to ride in front with me (since I was driving), and Keith replied telling him to sit up front. Sam asked why, and Keith responded, "because you are the owner of the vehicle!"
Sam and Keith shortly after arriving to the bar
With the Birthday Boy!
Me and my hubby!
The Triangle of Trust ;0)
Let the good times roll!
We reached the hotel, after photo stops with toy soldiers, Chinese lions, a vineyard, and a windmill. Our journey next lead to Jack in the Box, where we met Julio....or Lewis, as we named him. We headed back to the hotel, where Sam started passing out in our sofa chair after only eating ONE bit of his Sourdough Jack. We walked Sam back to his room, and then headed off to bed.
And the story will continue in my next post..... ;0)
One of my best friends is selling her wedding dress, and the money is going to a VERY good cause! I wanted to pass this along to all future brides, b/c I know weddings are very expensive, and as a recent bride myself, I know what it is like to try to stick to a particular budget.
The dress is from designer Maggie Sottero, and is a size 2. She is only asking $500!!! Please contact me ASAP if you have any interest! And please pass along to your girl friends! :0)
