Julie’s Maternity Portraits

Before our extended stay in St. George we went out to the Great Salt Lake Wetlands Preserve for some maternity portraits of our own Julianna! The kids were off running wild with some friends (thanks Penn and Kiersten) so we were able to focus, have fun, and get some great shots.  The light was excellent so we went natural light for these first 3 images.  I am awe struck with Julie’s beauty!  She is graceful, strong, and totally sexy. Am I a lucky guy or what?

For the rest of the images we turned around and used the sun as a backlight. We had a single SB-600 in a 45” umbrella on full power to rock these images.  We were going for a dreamy look. I’d say we nailed it.  :)

 

 

 

The Name Game

Deciding on a name for your new baby can be an arduous task. There are a million names that must be narrowed down to one. Girls grow up with a list of our favorites to name their future sons and daughters but when the time finally arrives, the list usually goes out the door and a start from scratch begins. It's hard enough for the mom, but she's got to convince the dad as well. This can be especially difficult if he's already got a name like, oh, I don't know, Theodore in his head. A big "no thanks" there.

It's been even more difficult this time around since we haven't found out the sex of the baby. So that's two names we've had to come up with. So far, this is what we have. I normally don't ask for opinions on naming since I don't really care what other people think. After all, I know I have good taste :) but I am a little curious and I know all of you are, too.

For a girl:

Olivia Maria

Olivia Julie

Rob and I are in love with the name Olivia but it happens to be the #1 girls name in Utah!! Wha??? I have only known one Olivia in my entire life and Rob doesn't know any. Do all of you know a lot of Olivia's?? I've also considered Jocelyn and Caroline.

As far as the middle name goes, I'm big into using family names. Both of our kids so far have middle names from the Snow side of the family so I want to use one from the Raines side this time. But there aren't that many to choose from. Maria is the one I really want to use and is after Grandma Maria, but does it sound good with Olivia even though they have the same "ia" at the end??

For a boy:

Caleb Brian

Caleb David

I've liked this name for a long time and I think it's the one, but every once in a while I question. I've also considered Jameson and Spencer. As for the middle name, it's after my brother, Brian David, who passed away a couple of years ago. But I can't decide which middle name I like better.

I'm open to suggestions, but seeing as I've been working on this for months I'm guessing most other names have been considered and tossed, so I'm mostly wondering which middle names we should go with and if Olivia is too common.

Opinions?

Our R&R Week

This last week has been so great. There has been a lot of rest and relaxation. We've enjoyed plenty of unstructured family time and far fewer distractions than we have at home. Here are some of the things that have made this last week cool.

• I haven't gotten out of my pjs until noon every day. YAY!
• Dish Network. This is a treat because we haven't had cable in about 4 years. We haven't even had a tv for almost 6 months!!! I've been catching up on HGTV and What Not to Wear. Rob has been enjoying all the 80s and 90s movies he grew up with. Nate has been enjoying watching a myriad of sports. Both kids love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Tom & Jerry.
• There is a great, very private backyard full of rocks that the kids enjoy every morning (it's too hot in the afternoon).
• Xbox. Nate's only played on a gaming system 2 or 3 times before so he loves practicing his racing. It makes me dizzy watching him, though. Too much swerving on the car's part and his!
• We have hardly any toys here so Madeleine has kept herself quite entertained with a shoelace and a box for the last 4 days. Oh, to be imaginative! It's great watching her.
• From the house we've seen a large lizard just as curious about us as we were him, a rabbit, two roadrunners, and two cockroaches.
• I've had time to actually work on our baby's denim rag quilt.
• We went to church yesterday and the kids did a fabulous job going to their new classes. One of the teachers told us that we have a very smart son. We agree :)
• We visited Pine Valley (pictures coming later) and the temple.
• Lots of napping!
• Good reading time.
• Taking baths in the deep tub.

So that's what life has been. Pretty nice, huh? We're really enjoying these simple times.

Photowalking with Nate

Near the end of June I took Nate out for a photowalk. We had a lot of fun walking around Layton Park checkout the wildlife. We started by playing at the park.

Then we started walking down the stream. When Nate was taking this image he thought we was shooting a goose up on a hill. He was very excited! When we got closer we discovered that it was a young couple kissing on the grass. LOL

Here is another one down by the river.

Here are some of Nate's pictures. :)

Settled in St. George

We are happily settled into our temporary home in St. George, Utah for the next 2-3 weeks. The house is wonderful, Rob will be done with work early every afternoon (after starting early in the morning), and I have a lot of plans. These plans are very detailed and intricate but include:

Absolutely nothing but RELAXING!!!!!!!!

I've been so stressed out due to...well...everything. I am now great with child and have been running around like a crazy person with a plethora of to-dos and various time commitments so now I am going to enjoy these weeks greatly by doing a WHOLE LOTTA' NOTHIN'.

'Cause when we get back, we'll have only 5 weeks 'til go time.

A Snowy July

July was busy. It always is, isn’t it? Here are just a few of the fun things we did.

 

Incredible 4th of July fireworks (smoke bombs, snaps, and flowers) at Grandma and Grandpa Williams’ home.

Running into the smoke.

 

Notice the ice down his shirt.

Rob snaps so many pictures I’ve started doing strange faces, just to make them a little more interesting.

 

 

Woodmansee Family Reunion up City Creek Canyon.

A few suspenseful rounds of speed. Bingo.

 

Hat-making.

Pinata.

 

The Bees game and fireworks with mom and dad Raines.

There are a lot more pictures and videos for family here.

The Happy Hymas Family

Over the July 4th weekend Rob and I took portraits for they Hymas family. Aren’t they all so adorable?

 

A few of the happy couple. A few of their happy 2-year-old. We could shoot her all day!!

   

A couple of their happy 6-month-old. Check out those eyes! NO retouching there, just beautiful with the reflection of trees in them.

 

Then we headed to the playground for some happy swing time.

Happy, happy, happy.

The Snow Family

About a week ago we wrote some letters to some families I met while serving a mission in New Caledonia.  Many of those people may still not have good access to the internet so I wanted to send some images of our family.  This is what I came up with.  What do you think?

Superheros!

I’ve been thinking for a couple of years now that I should try my hand at sewing. Before I get a sewing machine for my birthday my mom let me borrow hers to see if I really like it. I do! My first project was superhero capes for the kids. They seemed simple enough and I thought they’d really enjoy them. I did pretty well for not ever having sewn before, but they are FAR from perfect. The kids don’t mind at all, of course.

They are double sided for double the fun.

Don’t mind the backwards “S”. Haha.

My next project is a robe for me. I’ve never been able to find one small enough to fit (without ponies or something on it) so I’m excited to finally get one! It’ll be especially useful in the hospital and at home afterward.

Gender-Neutral?

There’s still hope for a surprise on my baby’s gender. A friend told me her doctor told her the same things (“Wow! Sure is obvious!”) when she had an ultrasound later in her pregnancy with her daughter. Although, I still think I’m having a boy. I’ve felt that way for months and Nate told me he had a dream that it was a boy, too.

BUT…I don’t want to be ill-prepared with all boy stuff just in case. And I’m quickly approaching the period of gestation where panic of being unprepared sets in. Even though it’s pretty ridiculous because there really isn’t that much to do before the third baby comes, I still get bouts of worry for not having something suitable for the “coming home” outfit, baby blankets, or an idea for a nursery theme.

I have never bought a crib bedding set due to the fact that experts believe only a sheet and a thin bumper pad is safest (plus, they are PRICEY). Instead I have neutral rooms with colorful, personalized accents. So even though we aren’t planning on having a nursery ready until after the baby leaves our room at a couple months old, I’d still like to know what the gender-neutral design theme will be. I shouldn’t be stressing over it because by then I’m pretty sure we’ll know if we have a son or a daughter; therefore, nullifying the need for a gender-neutral theme. But I like the idea anyway for some strange reason. Maybe it’s because I want to make a couple of small blankets and a car seat cover. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to control something.

Anyway…

There aren’t very many neutral themes I dig…at all. Most of them really do seem gender specific. But here are a couple color palettes I’m musing. Once I find out what I’m having, I’ll be able to choose the main color to go with these patterns. 

 

This is the one I’m leaning towards the most. I’d pull out the orange and yellow for a girl, blue and brown for a boy, or the lighter neutral shades for either.

 

Below would be less girly and frilly if we have a boy.

 

More red for a girl, more blue for a boy. Or just cream for completely neutral.

 

Below would probably have yellow as the color I pull out. I’m not sure if that would still be more boyish.

 

What are your thoughts???