Broderick:: Charlie Brown Christmas

A few days after Christmas last year, when Brody was just 5 weeks old, Travis and I went to Target to get out of the house. We walked around and browsed all of the Christmas stuff that was on sale. 

Travis was a good sport while I grabbed some wrapping tissue paper that was on sale and some decor. We then got to the baby section. There was a Charlie Brown Christmas shirt that we both thought was cute. We decided on getting 18mo. size, having no idea how big Brody would be the following December. 

Buying things like this, you think it will be FOREVER until they fit in those clothes. How could my baby ever be this size? This shirt looks HUGE. But, as I was getting Brody ready for the day yesterday I opened his closet and this Charlie Brown shirt stood out to me. 

He looks like such a big boy! This has been a face that Brody has been making often when he gets excited. It's hilarious.

 He has had 3 haircuts and it is almost time for another! I love his soft, flowy, strawberry-blonde hair. 

 He is still quite obsessed with balls. Tennis balls, balls from Target's $1 section, Travis' high school football, etc.

 Brody had been sick for about 3 weeks and on this day, his smile started to peek out a bit more. I've missed it.

The past few weeks he has seemed so much older to me. I'm thinking of him more as a toddler than a baby. He walks/runs without fear and is talking up a storm. Travis and I have had to have lots of parenting discussions lately as Brody is testing his boundaries and testing our patience:) 

We are looking forward to spending Christmas in Tahoe with my family and playing with Brody in the snow for the first time.

We are so grateful for this past year and all of the change, beauty and lessons we have been blessed with. God is great. 

This will probably be my last blog post for a while as we are prepping for the Holidays and spending time as a family. Thanks you for following our little space here!

Merry Christmas!

Five on Friday

I'm not sure whether to call this week eventful or not. With a sick baby it seems super busy but we did a lot of lounging around and staying away from other babies.

One.

Met with a new friend and talked Birth Photography. This always makes me excited!

Two.

Been spending a lot of nap time and nighttime editing and packaging photos for clients. This also makes me excited! 

Three.

We've been better this week about eating at home. After I used the last of the turkey leftovers, Travis said he was so proud of me for making a good meal out of what we have. Then I took a bite of my sandwich--DRIEST turkey sandwich ever! Needless to say, I have a good man and we ate it all--while dreaming of an In N Out Burger ;)

Four.

Have you been woken up by your babies in the middle of the night with fever and breathing troubles? Probably one of the most helpless feelings ever as a parent. Thankful he tested negative for RSV and that his oxygen and breathing was just fine. Still praying for health for him...

Five.

Spent the second half of Travis' lunch today inside of Peet's Coffee. It is COLD in Chico and we had to get somewhere warm. Plus, Brody was politely asking for some whipped cream ;)

Have a great weekend, everyone! The forecast is calling for snow here. I'll believe it when I see it :) 

AlbiniPhotography::Portraits

This time of year is busy for me with Family Portraits. You have probably noticed that I am not advertising myself as a Wedding Photographer anymore. When you start out as a Photographer, knowing that all you want to do is photograph people, you try everything...well at least I did. And through lots of practice, opportunities and prayer I am excited to be a Portrait and Birth Photographer. I feel blessed to strictly photograph Portrait and Birth Photography. I am still in the Wedding scene a bit as I work with other companies but it feels good to know where I am called.

I have not been posting sneak peeks or blog posts of all of my recent work because I know families use these photos for their Christmas cards. It is fun to send photos that people have not seen. Maybe I will get to share some photos after the New Year as I have LOVED these families I've been working with. And their photos…they are awesome! Picture a baby in a mini car with a Christmas tree on top…yeah :)

I had to share this photo from a recent Family Session as it shows why I love this job. 

The Reid family has surely blessed many, many people. Chris and Teresa welcome Travis and I into their home like we are family. Their oldest son and his wife(not pictured in this photo) are some of our best friends. Their daughter in law(not pictured in this photo) lived with us for a few months last Fall. I adore every single one of these people. Truly, I do. Not only are they a beautiful family, inside and out, but they are hilarious and so fun to be around. 

So, thank you for allowing me to Photograph your sweet family. I had fun and it is families like you who bless me and remind me why I do what I do. Thank you.

Broderick:: He likes buckets on his head...

He likes buckets on his head…

The first time Brody walked down the hall with a bucket on his head, I about peed my pants. I think he is hilarious. He loves putting baskets, buckets and the recycling bin on his head. Then he often walks into walls and bonks pretty good. But, he is one tough boy and just keeps trekking on.

Anyways, I started to write this blog post about feeling blah and sharing some tough moments but I hit the backspace button. I want this to be a place of encouragement, joy, laughter and truth. So, the truth is that I am in a place of feeling beat down. And I'm so unbelievably grateful for that. Because, without those seasons of frustration, pain and tough lessons…how would we know joy?

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." 

Psalms 126:3

With those tough feelings comes joy and triumph and that is what I'm choosing to focus on. So, I want you to know that I'm being real. I'm being truthful. But I also want you to see that I'm choosing joy and peace and laughter. And that boy with that bucket on his head…yeah, he helps me with that. 

I'm pretty sure that he and Travis made a deal to do whatever they could to make me smile. They're the best at it.

Happy Hump Day! Anyone else kinda giggle when people say that? I'm super mature.