Happy 1st Birthday Reese

We had a wonderful party for the little guy, and of course Kati went all out to make his stuff special. Her talent seems endless to me. And not only were they pretty, they were delicious!



We, and by we I mean Kati, went for a Safari animal theme. All the designs and animals she created herself.




Here is Reese digging in. He ate the penguine. He loves blueberries and Kati made a blueberry layer in the giant cake.





And I had to throw in a couple of photos of the two best mothers in my life.

Sunday at the park

This last Sunday, Jessica and Andy invited to the park. It was a very nice day so we agreed. We were pleasantly surprised that they also invited Benjam and Chelsea as well as Ben and Thao. he So all the kids got to play together. It was a little windy but all in all a very nice day. Thank you Jess and Andy for initiating such a fun time. I think we can all agree it will be happening again.





Here Reese demonstrates the proper way of not getting your knees in the bark while crawling.



There was a play ground with two slides monkey bars and a climbing wall. Reese found me through the hole. He thought it was pretty funny. (so did we)








He is getting better with his balance every day. He has even taken steps on a couple of different occasions. He still likes holding your hands though.





Alyssa was quite mobile as well. The grass kind of threw her off at first. And at one point Reese ended up with the hat. He was reluctant to give it back, but he did.



Someone left behind chalk, so the kids did some drawing. And eating of said chalk.




Here is my babe soaking p the sun.




Would you believe it. Benjam snagged the camera and got a shot of me and the boy. I am glad he did.




It was only two hours, but we got in Frisbee, and a contest Benjam won. I should have guessed a physics major would figure out the best way to make a complete revolution on a kid toy. I really had fun and am looking forward to next time.

Little Ian Welker

Last night we went and took some photos of the little 5 day old Ian. He was a brave guy. Squirmed a bit but in the end we got the job done. And some great images I must say.





This one made us all laugh, he kinda looked Golem like.






This one is my current favorite. I love the scale and the look in his eyes.

Last night we went over to Wheeler Farm to do some outdoor photos of Reese. It wasn't a bad night if the wind wasn't blowing. He did have a lot of fun looking at the animals and just being outside I think. Although by the time we were done he was ready for bed. Thank you of course to the beautiful wife of mine, and Missy and Trudi for helping out.

What a Sunday!

As some of you may know I am seriously considering hiring out my photography services. This is mainly due to the fact I need some way to support my habit. The good stuff is kind of expensive and I want, I want, I need I need.

So, yesterday I lined up some willing parents, and some unwilling children to come over for pictures. It started at 9:30 with little miss Skye. It took her a little bit to warm up, but we got it done and she played with Reese for a while too.





Angie, a good friend and awesome potter, brought some pieces over to be documented. She was kind and patient enough to fill the down time between kids.

At 11:30 a gal I work with brought her very cute 2 month old over. He was awake, and mellow. We even went al'natural. No accidents even.




At 12:30 Anna brought their lovely daughter Mikaela over. She was a fun energetic little girl. Lesson one learned. (always have extra batteries) We have rechargeable for most things but not the CR123a batteries for one flash. The awesome wife ran and got me some and the shoot went on.

After she was done it was a quick lunch break and back to finishing up the pottery. I rapped up shooting around 3:30 and wanted to get right into editing. We did have dinner plans though so I had to hold back just a bit.


Just two of the amazing works of Angie. The girls got skills what can I say.





Dinner was another awesome event. We ate at my cousins Tim and Jenny with there kids and stayed till 10 talking and playing games. They have a truly wonderful house made excellent food. And even though we warned Reese about all the pretty girls being related to him, it couldn't be stopped. He did like Ryan too. Thanks again Smith's for your hospitality and overall good time. I think we should schedule sometime soon for the next one.


After we got home I put in some work on editing and got a few done that I've shared here. Now time to finish the rest.

I say mission success at this time.

-Josh

Only 2 months left on fastest year ever.

This weekend I went to Ben's house to use his beautiful north facing bay window again. This baby just proves life isn't fair. Ladies you have no chance against his natural charm and awesomeness. I apologize in advance.







Thank you again Ben for hosting us. We will certainly do it again some time.

Time to get fit

It happened the first of the year. I had to buy pants in a bigger size. Not the first time I bought 38's. Didn't make it any better though. Also skiing with my dad and brother was well not as awesome as it could have been. Luckily I am not the only one wanting to get fit. Quite a few of my inlaws and of course Kati have entered a little contest. It started the first of Feburary and goes until April.

I started out doing Wii active. It was a fun start, got me soar but didn't really get me into it. Kati is still going strong with it and has my vote for the win. She is one determined cookie. So I basically slacked off Feb only loosing 2 pounds.

Then I got a hold of P90x. Stop laughing its awesome. I have now done it for 6 days and man is my butt getting kicked. Also we as a household have really started to eat healthier again. (Thanks babe!) She keeps coming up with new recipes for us to try. And when she buys less snack foods I eat less snack foods. Weird how that works. My weigh in is on Monday so we shall see how this week worked for me.

Good news is I am pumped. Depending on the final results I might be brave enough to post some before and afters. We shall see.