DJ Shortstack

I came home from work the other day to find this in the garage:

Have I mentioned what a sucker I am for the whole Daddy/daughter relationship?

 Little miss DJ Shortstack! (Thanks for the nickname, Unco)

Future photographer... maybe?

I'm sure nobody is surprised that I love to take pictures. I take at least five every single day.

I have a serious love for photography, especially capturing every moment with my little.

My amazing hubs recently got me the camera I've been eyeing for some time now and after playing with the settings for days on end, I think I've got it figured out. 

I've thought about photography before... in that "I wish I could be..." way, kinda like a 6 year old dreaming of being a famous movie star.

It's definitely something I've never thought I had the talent or skill for.

I took some photos of my adorable nephews and beautiful sister over the weekend to get some more practice using my wonderful camera. (And some wonderful friends lent me their children too, thank you, thank you Brenda and Fallon!)

I ended up with some decent pictures, I was pretty happy with the outcome.

Decent for a newbie I suppose.
After posting some pics I had several people reach out and ask me if I was doing this on the side, and ask me to do their family pictures!
Thank you, thank you for the confidence!
I think that was the extra push I needed to get this going.
That, and the fact that I am trying to raise my daughter to do something with her life that she is passionate about, something she loves doing.
The best way to teach is to lead by example, right?
It's something I have always dreamed about and I am going to give it my best shot.
First up, lots and LOTS of practice.
I've got 2 family shoots, 2 newborn shoots, and a maternity shoot booked so far.
I know this is going to be a long, challenging road ahead of me, but I'm ready for it.
And at the end of the day, if I fail, what am I losing?
I will always love taking pictures of my little model, so none of the equipment, the practice, or the time will go to waste.

I know I am nowhere near "professional," and I know there will be a lot of work to get there.

I do not want to be someone who calls herself a "photographer" without REALLY knowing what she's doing.

But, I'm ready for the learning process and the work.

Thank you to the people who have reached out, complimented, and helped move me in this direction. And my little Mikenna Faith, thank you for making this life so much better, I think you teach me more than I teach you.

Mary Mary quite contrary...

Each morning when we wake up Mikenna's first request is to "water the fowders pease!"

So each morning I fill up the watering can and missy attempts to water the flowers (she spills about 75% of the water on the ground but hey, it's the effort that counts.)

"Wait.... let me slyly creep the neighbors for a second..."

"Ok, everything's cool. CHEESE MOMMY!"

Isn't she the cutest little helper?

Fairytale Town

Fairytale Town might be my favorite place.

I am so beyond excited that Mikenna is old enough to go this year!

We had a FUN playdate there this morning with Joanna and little miss Hannah.

"The cheese stands alone"

Seriously, for about the first hour we were there neither of us could get either girl to smile.

It was actually comical.

They had fun playing with everything, but with such serious faces!

They finally started warming up and smiling... (thank you girls, we are not torturing you!)

Kenna started jumping on the bridge making Hannah "bounce."

They both thought that was hilarious!

Future cheerleader? That's my girl!

"Jack and Jill went up the hill."

"CHEEEEEEEEESE!"

"The crooked mile" was definitely their favorite.

The girls were giggling the whole time in the playhouse over something neither Joanna or I could understand, and they were both saying "Whee-ee-ee!" the whole time we were walking the crooked mile.

They are so stinking cute together, little buddies.

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick..."

Both of the girls loved the big turtle.

No, really... they LOVED the turtle. (Kisses? Really Kenna? Gross...)

Such a fun place, can't wait to go again!

My name is Mikenna, and I like to paint.

Do all 1-year-olds like to paint this much?

Artist in the making? I think so...

But... I'm probably a tad biased.

Sacramento Zoo

Ryan and I spontaneously decided to take a trip to the zoo for some family time with our little monkey.

Have I mentioned how much she loves "and-imals?"

Her favorite was definitely the flamingos, we had to go back to see them a second time.

We haven't been to the zoo since she was about 10 months old...

But when we went back then I had to pry her away from the flamingo fence.

She's a big fan.... maybe a future flamingo wrangler? (It's totally a profession... get off it.)

We also saw reptiles, fish, zebras, ostriches, monkeys, tigers, lemurs, kangaroos, and probably more I'm forgetting...

I love all of the little play areas scattered throughout the Sac zoo.

We had to bribe Mikenna away from the dump truck with a promise to come back.

When we went to see the Giraffe's we were able to pay an extra fee to be able to feed them.

Giraffe's are my hands down favorite animal so we did it without question.

Mikenna kept saying "here giraffe, get a cookie!" Kinda like a dog, only a smidge bigger.

Hehe... why are they so funny lookin?

Mmm..... lunch.

Before leaving we walked through the gift shop and Mikenna spotted a stuffed flamingo.

That thing has gone with her everywhere since we got it, totally worth every penny!

On our way back to the car we stopped to feed the rest of Mikenna's sandwich to the ducks.

I'm pretty sure this was her favorite part of our day, which reminds me... why do we pay to do things? She is so happy with the little things!

I love spending my days with those faces.

I started looking through the pictures from our previous year's trip to the zoo and was amazed at how much my little one has changed.

It's crazy what a difference a year can make...

Until next year zoo! (If we don't make it back before.)

Little Bookworm

Mikenna has always LOVED books.

We read books before she goes to bed and throughout the day when I am home.

We have read to her since the day she came home from the hospital, and it has always calmed her down.

She is becoming more and more independent and lately I hear her chattering away in her room doing this:

Always with a baby near her, mumbling away. 

The only word I usually catch is the title of the book she's reading. This one happened to be "Cyifford."

Grammy and Aitachi bought her a new, forward facing bookshelf, and she is one happy girl.

CHEEEEEEESE!

She takes all of her books out daily, and then puts them all back. She wasn't able to put all of her books away in her regular bookshelf, so I think she is just proud that she can do it herself.

Read on little bookworm...