The Plague of March

I tell you what...

March started out to be a little rough...

I thought it was going to be great, considering the weather has been turning out to be fabulous, and who doesn't love fabulous weather?!

Well March 1st came and I was hopeful. But I started to come down with a slight sore throat. I didn't think anything of it because I don't hold onto many bad germs too long and I like to think I have a great immune system.

Well sure enough, that sore throat turned into a stuffy nose, but nothing too terrible until Sunday rolled around and I was not feeling 100%. I decided a few Vitamin C packets were in order. The only problem... I think I took way TOO many Vitamin C packets and Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, and again Wednesday night, my body was WIRED! Seriously wired... my mind was racing 90mph and I would close my eyes to drift off to sleep, and the minute I would start to daze I would have a surge of adrenaline that would cause me to stay awake all night long... literally ALL NIGHT LONG! Most of those nights, I would eventually fall asleep around 6am. only to get an hour or two for those nights. I decided after the firsts two nights, I would try all the "natural" remedies to get to sleep... warm bath, hot tea, warm milk, bananas... you name it, I tried it and NOTHING worked. How frustrating. Needless to say, no sleep equals a poor immune system, so this "slight" cold was holding on a bit too long. I decided a trip to the doctor was in order. So Wednesday I got the first appointment available, and off to the doctor I went. But what a waste of time... they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know and couldn't do much to help. Bummer!

So I tried to go on with my life as I was a walking zombie all week. Thursday night I finally got a few extra hours of sleep, so instead of the 1 - 2, I got about 4. I thought I was smooth sailing, until Friday rolled around... Dah dah dahhhh!

Let me back track... Wednesday night was a bit interesting as Todd was up all night with what we thought was food poison. But sure enough, Friday night I was up throwing up so it must have been a flu bug. So Saturday and Sunday was a bit of a downer... I felt so sick... I couldn't move much. I was starting to think that March was full of the plague...

But I woke up this morning, feeling much better, not 100%, but almost all the way put back together. Now if Jackson would just learn how to sleep through the night already, or at least not wake every couple hours to eat, I would actually be normal again. Haha! But I'm sure that will come with some more time, right?! I guess he just LOVES to eat!!!

Speaking of Jackson...

My boy just turned 6 months old... Can you believe it?!

He's getting to be so BIG, guess it's all that eating, and he's such a little sweetheart... He's so smiley and funny, and can make your heart melt!

Plus, he can do all these fun tricks now, like stick his feet in his mouth... that's talent right there...



He rolls all over the place...



He smiles like crazy and it is so contagious...



He's starting to sit up a bit... not all the way, but almost there...



And we can't forget those BIG BLUE eyes he's been blessed with...LOVE HIM!



Happy 6 months my love... I know it's a few weeks late!

That's ok! He'll never know! :) Hehe!!!

Happy Leap Year!

What a rare occasion to celebrate today... the fact that we get 366 days instead of 365 this year. Woohoo!

What a crummy day it is here in Michigan... rain, mud, gloom! Such a bummer of a celebratory day! Oh well...

Something to celebrate, though, is distractions... or I should say "more" distractions. It seems we have a lot more distractions here at the Veldman house with a growing "active" baby and I realize my blog here has suffered the consequences. I apologize and I promise I'm trying to stay on top of things and get caught up, but with a new roller in the house and the fact that I find myself looking at the clock and wondering how in the world it gets to be 5PM so quick, I barely got a chance to sit down for a few minutes makes for great distractions. Haha!

But we had a few great distraction come in town for a few days this past weekend. Lots of extra babies in town to love all over, which will never get old, especially when each time you see them they are growing and changing. It's crazy how fast time flies by...

Here is are a few photos from the weekend...

My sister and I's kids... Despite their faces in this photo, they did have fun. I think they are all in their own world and between schedules and nap times, we had a hard time getting a few of all of them together. Haha!



Lots of sister love was had...





And little Miss Emmie turned 6 months old a few weeks back... so we got some fun shots of her while she was here (Jackson's 6 month debut will be taken this weekend)





She was not a fan of the dog though... Haha!









Now I know why they call this yoga pose "Happy Baby"...



I hope you find a way to enjoy this EXTRA day somehow in your own special way!

Happy Leap Day!

Ryan & Samantha :: Engagements

Don't you just love doing things you've never done before?!

I get so excited about new adventures to experience, especially when I have not even heard of this "new" adventure. Tonight will be the very first time I have ever gone...

WHIRLYBALL'ing!

I have no idea what this game even is, what to do, or what to even expect, but from what Todd described it as, it sounds fun! I just hope that my competitive nature doesn't get the best of me and I end up getting jumped because I am trash talking my opponents so bad all they want to do is jump out of their buggy and punch me in the face. Well, depending on their size, I could probably take them down easily... Ha! Here I go getting worked up already and we aren't even playing yet. Haha!

I'm totally kidding! I would never do anything like that, unless I knew them, then I would consider some "friendly trash talk". Haha!

But something else I'm so excited for is this coming weekend... another "WINTER" WEDDING!

Ryan and Samantha are the wonderful couple we get to spend this upcoming Saturday with. Although, I'm not sure how "wintery" it's going to be, but I do know that however it is, it will be wonderful! Both of them are amazingly sweet and so fun, that it does not even matter what the weather will be like. I love when couples are so natural and how they interact is so comfortable. That is exactly how Ryan and Samantha are... so natural and so comfortable! It was such a joy to see them together, and see them interact with each other. They are so sweet and adorable together... Plus, they are dog people... and we LOVE dogs too, so we LOVE them! Haha!

Congratulations you two... we are so excited for your special day to be here so soon!

Check out a few of my favorites from our session...

I love how they can make each other smile... ADORABLE!



RARRR....



Sweetness...



I love this one...



Haha... So fun!



Mmm... Ryan is loving this moment!



It was a cold one... but we braved it...



...And it was worth it!



LOVE IT!



One of my fav's...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!

How exciting it is to share this fun day with the cutest little LOVE muffin in the world!



I'm pretty sure he gave me the best gift he could have given me:

SLEEP!

Oh yes, Jackson decided last night he would give his mama 8 wonderful hours of uninterrupted sleep. My body didn't quite know what to do and woke up a few times wondering when he would be making those little moans that I have learned to interpret as "Mama, I'm hungry". But I never heard a peep and I quickly fell back into dreamland. It was GLORIOUS!

Although, someone told me early on to just enjoy those late night feedings because when they are over you will really miss it and the time you were able to spend with them, just you and them! So ever since then, I have actually learned to just appreciate those little moans and wake up calls because I know it's not going to be like this forever.... and I TOTALLY agree with them, even though it's not the easiest of things, it's so worth it!

Who said being a parent was easy? Right? It's rough and you do a lot of things for them that don't think twice about... and we're not even in the stage where he can talk back to me yet. Ek... not quite looking forward to those days, but each day is an adventure and today is a successful one!

I hope everyone else has a wonderful day as well... however you decide to celebrate or not celebrate! Hehe!

Carl & Renay :: Engagements

Down south they don't see much snow... I guess up north we don't either, as of this year.

But I guess we are MORE likely to see it up here.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really enjoying the snowless winter. I'm not a huge fan of snow or even cold, which most of you might already know. But there have been a few white flurries that have shown up randomly and one of those random moments were during an engagement session for a couple who lives down south.

Carl & Renay was that memorable "Southern" couple! I say memorable for a few reasons, one of those being as they are SOOO CUTE together, it's hard to forget how adorable they are towards each other and how they treat one another... and for two, not more than 5 minutes into our session a mini-blizzard hit Birmingham and we were definitely not prepared for that madness. Ha! But it added a fun and comical relief to our session. I absolutely loved getting to know them better... as both of them are equally incredible, and together... even more!

Congratulations to you both... we are so happy for you and are looking forward to seeing you again!

The mini-blizzard just allowed this adorable couple to be even more adorable...



LOVE this...



Mmm... in love!





As many times as I have been to Birmingham... I never noticed this, but the one time Carl was there, he noticed it right away! Ha!



Max & Erma's is their FAVORITE place... I love that that they love this place... Mmm... so yummy!!!





Haha...



Such a unique and gorgeous ring...



So sweet...

Fast forward... 2 Weeks!

Fast forward two weeks...

Haha!

I think we've entered the teething world and it has not been the most enjoyable. Anyone who has been there can understand the fog I'm in. It doesn't help that we have a total mama's boy, so his mama is all he wants. Thus leaving me little time to keep you guys in the loop on what's been going on.

We'll start by showing you how chunky our Chunky Monkey is getting...



Haha!

And show you a sneak peek of what's in store...











Let's hope we get through this phase quickly... so I won't be so LAME! HAHA!

Happy Tuesday!

Kris & Renee :: Wedding

Seattle, baby!

That is one place I would love to go. I'm sure I'll make it out there one day, but until then, I'll just live vicarioiusly through friend's who travel or move there.

Speaking of moving there, that is exactly what my friend, Renee, just did.

If you remember the lovely yogini, Renee, who I used to practice with... well her and her beau, Kris, decided to share a small, intimate ceremony with a few friends and family a couple months back. It was such an honor to be apart of it and what a sweet ceremony it was... full of love, smiles, and lots of laughter. She even wore her grandmother's original wedding dress. I could not believe it... everything was special and meaningful to them and suited their personalities so great!

But then, the next day, she picked up her life her and moved all the way across country to Seattle. She's such brave and spontaneous soul... I think that's why I love her so much!

Congratulations you two... I am so glad I got to be a part of such a monumental point in your lives. I wish you NOTHING, but the best!

XOXOXO!


Check out some of my favorites from their special ceremony and after photos...

Secret special place to be married... It's gorgeous...



Who doesn't love a wedding with their best friend as the maid of honor... Woof!!!





Such a beautiful Bride...



He's beaming... LOVE IT!









Never a dull moment with them...







At last...





You know me... I love the exit!!!



And for some fun photos...

Kris, you are so handsome...



And Renee... WOW... so stunning...



x





Haha...





YES... I'm sure all wedding couples are jealous seeing this is what they wore for theirs...



Mmmm... in LOVE...



Love Renee's dress...