At the beginning of this very busy year I told myself that I wanted a month where I could chill and I chose August since it's pretty much the warmest month we get here in AZ:) I believe that setting aside some time for R&R is important so I planned for only a few shoots this month and then I would catch up on reading, napping, and having loads of fun with my 2 year old. It's hard to believe that August is quickly coming to an end and as I look back I think I can say, without a doubt, that it ended up being the busiest/stressful month of 2011 yet! August 1st we closed on our new home, August 2nd we began the move in process and throughout it all I have been re-potty training my daughter (note to parents: never potty train your child right before a big change is about to take place in their little life...:) It's not like I planned for all these events to take place (specifically this month) but that's pretty much how life goes. In the midst of it all I have had some sweet moments with my daughter and have been able to capture some fun times with my camera. This has probably been the longest period of time that I have gone without taking thousands of pictures but the few I have taken of Ivy will always be priceless. Although it has been a full and sometimes tough month there have also been times of joy as we have discovered how wonderful it is to have a place to call home. My wacky little queeny, as we like to call her, can always put a smile on my face and here are a few little moments that have done just that!
OK honestly, how can this not make you smile:) Ivy likes to pretend to be Mary, makes me laugh every time!
I think the day we moved I told Ivy that she could watch The Wizard Of Oz because it was the movie I grabbed while running out the door. I can't even count how many times she has watched or asked to watch this film since that day. Here is her drawn interpretation of the twister at the beginning of the movie, not too bad! I think she drew the chaotic motion quite spectacularly!
Ivy began "setting up" her toys before the big move but has since perfected it. There are many instances when I will check on her or go to get her from her nap and find that she has made many lines with her items. As you can see it can be exhausting work:)
After unpacking her upcoming winter shoes, of course she had to line them up:)
After one recent nap (which explains the messy hair in these next few photos:) Ivy spotted some pajamas that I had purchased her for the winter. She is so in love with Tinker Bell and I saw this wacky little set and knew it would brighten her little life once she saw them. I was right and she HAD to put them on right away when she found them! She was a bit concerned with the tag at first...
But soon a toy chicken leg caught her attention and the tag was completely forgotten. I was laughing so hard inside!!
Ivy has also recently begun to set some toddler trends, for example, wearing a big sticker on your leg for days.
What a fashion statement!
And this was the look I got every time I tried to peel the thing off! What a kid I have:)
Well, as we soon gear up to say hello to September and all that it holds my hope is to be able to relax a bit more in my personal life and enjoy even more memorable moments as these. As things slowly begin to cool off I will also slowly begin to get back into gear and shoot, shoot, shoot! Until then here is one last shot of my little queeny exploring her new outdoor surroundings. We honestly do most of that at night to beat the scorching sun and so we can find bugs but a quick trip to the mailbox is always a way to brighten up our cooped-in days!
