........................dust

Wow. Had to blow the dust off a bit. I can't believe it's been almost A YEAR since I last blogged. Life happened. It's nuts.

Mostly Avonli happened.  I started a newborn photography prop company, and it has exploded. I love every bit of it. We are so blessed. I get to make cute things and then they end up in beautiful images like this: 

Really the most fun thing ever. :) 

Button, who is really known as Bug around here now is growing like a week. She recently had her second birthday. Can't believe how much she talks now and how smart she is. We are so blessed to be her parents. 

 Lazy saturday mornings. 

 Sleepy Bug. 

Our spunky toddler. We love her!

Seriously need to play some catch up....some day. Life is amazing! 

life {passing}

 Life is kind of like main street in a small town. You blink and you're through it all ready. I can't believe how time is getting away from me. How my used to be newborn is already 17 months old. Walking, talking, miss sassy pants 17 month going on 17 little girl. Love getting to spend time with her and help her learn and grow.

 She is a baby of a million expressions. She has her scowl down pretty good now, as well as her pageant surprise face, her fake laugh, her happy face, her real surprised face, her pouty face and her eyebrow raise. I love them all, even though some get her in more trouble than others. :) 

 She has added a few words to the arsenal. 'Hi' has now been joined by 'bye'. Dada, mama, baby, peez, bupy (puppy), pi-dee (piggy), and tant tu (thank you) are pretty common vocabulary. :) She has also perfected her whine and huge aligator tears fake cry. 

 Overall she is a pretty joyful baby. I love being around her. She unfortunately has a mom who works from home, but she is great to play by herself in the office while I work. She loves it as long as I'm close. 

I love seeing life through her eyes and it reminds me how neat the little things are. Like the saying says, 'Enjoy the little things, because one day you will look back and they will be the big things.' Button is a joy and I'm so grateful to be her mom. Grateful to have the life we do. Happy Friday! 

a {while}

Let me just blow the dust of this blog and post, as it has been, well a while. Life is going way too crazy fast! 

 Button is growing like a weed. She is walking now, she just up and walked at around 13 months. I'm pretty sure she could walk before then, but refused to do so in front of us. ;) She is all over the place now, which is fun because she is a WAY happier baby, not so fun in the keeping the house clean department. :) 

 Hubs got a new job about 2 months ago. He loves it, and it has been so great for us. We feel really blessed. He works north of us about 30 minutes, and we have been looking at houses up in that area. We put in an offer on a short sale we love, but not sure if we will actually get it. It would be perfect though. We will just rent out our current home once we move. 

 Button has been learning some new words. Pretty much up to the 12 month mark she only said 'hi'. It was her first word, and she used it quite proficiently, melting all grocery store shoppers within hearing and sight distance (she waives too). She now has added mama, dada, uh oh, piggy (word used for all her stuffed animals) and baby to that arsenal. She throws things on purpose, just to be able to say uh oh. 

 We were a bit late on her 12 month checkup, but she did go in about a month ago. She is still pretty consistent in the 25th percentile. She finally breached the 20 lb mark as well. So little. She wears anywhere from 6-12 month clothing, and she is almost 15 months, so not too bad. 

We feel really blessed to have the life we do. We loved Easter weekend and are so grateful for all that we have. Happy Wednesday!

On a side note, I have been asked about this arrangement a few times:

It is a 16x20, 2 10x10's and 2 12x18's. I absolutely love it and it is perfect in Buttons room. If you are interested in purchasing a gallery wrap of your own image (taken by me or not), or this arrangement, please contact me at ciocophotography@gmail.com for pricing. I'd love to do them for you! 

Button's point of {view}

Have you ever followed your little one around, at their level? You should. My knees hurt after a while, but I gained an appreciation for my crawling daughter as I tried to see what she sees. :) Life is amazing, our ability to learn, to grow, to become. So grateful to be a mother! 

 Messy Room. Messy Heaven. 

 Carpet Jungle

 "To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed." -Bernard Edmonds

1 year ago...

Dear Button,

It seems like (seriously) yesterday that I held you for the first time. I finally got to meet who I had been feeling for months. You were 6 lbs 13 oz of perfectness and I felt so blessed.

It was crazy how fast you grew, yet how little I saw the change. I would see you in a photo and think, 'holy cow' she's getting big! Or, 'wow, she is starting to look like me.' It's still surreal that I am blessed to be your mom, and I hope that you will always know how much I love you.

 You have become more independent as time is passing. I'm really happy for that, but sad to have to allow you to learn and grow. It was so much easier when you were smaller. I can't imagine what I'll think in 5 years.

 The older you get, the happier your personality comes through. You love your dad, and are overjoyed when he gets home. You are still a mommy's girl though, I'm the only one who can calm you down when you are angry, sad, or hurt. 

You tolerate the bajillion pictures that get taken of you. You are really well behaved, but are learning quickly that just because someone says 'no' doesn't mean you necessarily have to do it. Hence pulling a printer on top of yourself tonight I thought would help you understand what no really meant. Unfortunately, not two minutes later you were right next to it again, attempting the same thing. I tried hard not to laugh, because you get this face when you are in trouble and try to 'cutify' your way out of things. 

We love all the time we get to spend with you. I love being with you, learning with you. I am so lucky you are mine. 

 And here you are at 1 year old already. I (seriously) can't believe it. 

I love you Button, more than you or I will ever really understand. I will always love you. Remember that.

Happy Birthday Bug.

Love, Mom

(And Dad, but you know how he's not really the gushy kind ;) 

Dear {mom}

See that guy over there? 

He's a genius. 

Yep. PURE genius. Who else would let me eat in the bathtub?

Love, Button.

Dear Husband,

Thank you for your wonderful idea, I was rather tired of cleaning up the entire kitchen after each feeding.

Love, Your wife.