Cody Jay

This is my insanely cute and mischevious nephew Cody. Somehow I was able to convince him to pose for me! Not an easy feat when working with two year olds.

aaaaaa done! says Cody

The lovely Guest girls

While I was in Denver, I took some family portraits of the Guest girls on Mother's Day. They are so cute and have grown up so much since I first met them. Here are a few of my favorites.

The setting: Castle Rock, CO

The girls- I love how natural they are in this shot.

Karly. I have been playing with combining color with black and white.

Blakelee

Mother's Day/ Self Portrait Tuesday (one day early)

A little introduction to Self Portrait Tuesday (STP). My friend Becca does it with her blog friends, and I am inviting myself (and everyone else) to join in. I don't think they know that I (or we) are, but it's pretty cool and it gives you good ideas of things to blog about. People follow the guidelines pretty loosely, which is nice. So I think I/we should. All the cool bloggers are doing it. So for anyone who wants to, I posted the link on my blog.

Ok. I probably should be posting cute pictures of Max for Mother's Day, but I am feeling too lazy to upload them all! We went to Denver for a long weekend and had so much fun! I had a great first Mother's Day. First of all, I did not change a single diaper. Not a one, and Max had some extra stinky ones. My sweet husband changed them all, which was soooo nice. I think Max intentionally made an effort not to poop on his church outfit though, which was very considerate of him, because he always stinks up the nicest ones. After sacrament meeting, I got to see Sarah and Ryan's little Austin be dedicated at their church- South East Christian. It was a really nice service and Austin is absolutely adorable. Danny's cousin Michelle made this amazing recipe for pork chops that was their Grandma Kettle's specialty, and they were amazing. I don't even like pork chops that much normally, but they were delicious. Later that evening, we took Danny's cousin's daughters (Mackenzie, Blakelee, and Karly- the cutest girls ever) outside to these cool rocks and I took pictures of them. It's fun to take pictures of kids who actually smile when you tell them too, unlike Max, who prefers to smile extra big when there is no camera in sight! I'll post the family pictures later. Like I said, feeling too lazy.

I was so surprised when I opened a little purple box with this beautiful gold necklace in it! I really wanted a necklace with an M on it (for Max duh), and I had seen this one in a shop in Laguna Beach months ago. With some help (or maybe a lot of help) from Brittney and my mom, he ordered it for me! I was so happy- I love to be surprised that way, and I am usually pretty hard for Danny to shop for (I always ask for gift cards and am never surprised). So it was so so so sweet of Danny (and Mom and Britt) to get it for me. I know it will be something I will cherish forever! Maybe it will be a cool family heirloom down the line or something. I love that kind of thing.

(me and my mom in Denmark while pregnant with Max)

I am so thankful for my two boys and I am so thankful to be a mom. I am also so so so thankful for my own mom, who is seriously my best friend in the world. I admire her in so many ways- she is so kind to everyone, and she takes such good care of her four crazy kids and one funny grandson. She is so talented, I hope to be able to do half of the things she does so well one day. She throws the best parties ever. She can cook anything! People always ask me- can you cook like your mom does? The answer: uh, no. Not even close! But I try to pick up some of the good stuff along the way. My mom is an awesome runner and she always makes being fit a priority. She loves to play tennis, and when she plays golf, she runs from hole to hole. She has the most energy of anyone I know! She is so outgoing, and I think people are really drawn to her because of it. That and because she is the kind of person who will bend over backward to be there for you. My mom is super fun and crazy, never gets embarrassed, and never cares what other people think, even when she's at her wildest! She sings in loud and dances in the car, talks to strangers about random things, and asks for exactly (very specifically) what she wants and lots of it at restaurants. We sometimes make a game of what funny things we can get her to do in public (sorry mom, but it's funny). I LOVE that about her, even though we always tease her about it. She is a great missionary and is the best example of a strong Mormon woman. She is always so considerate. Sometimes we have to remind her to take care of herself! She always is honest with me and gives me the best advice, always without being rude or pushy about it, and her opinion means more to me than ANYONE elses. I love that she always believes in me, even when she probably shouldn't. She always believes that I can do anything, like if she sees a piece of art, or something creative, she always says "Jess, you could totally do that!" It's so nice to know she thinks so, even if I really can't. =)

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My mom was also such a great mom when I was little! She put up with a lot of attitude (shocker), and always made time just for me, even though there were four of us and Tyler often needed extra attention. I always felt as the oldest that I had an extra special relationship with my mom, but now that I think of it, I bet all of my siblings would say the same thing. She always read me a million stories, which is why I believe I love to read so much today. She is incredibly creative, which is why I love to express myself creatively too. I also get my love of gymnastics from my mom. I think a big part of why I wanted to compete in college was because she did, and I was always so proud to have such a great athlete for a mom.

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I also know how much Max is going to love her more and more as he gets older. I can tell he already as a special love for her. They are little buddies! I am so happy that she was there for Max's birth. The whole situation was pretty scary with Max being so premature, but the only time I got really scared was when there was a chance of her not making it in time. I knew I couldn't have gone through it without her! I could write for days and you would never understand what an amazing mom and woman Becky Rands is, or how much I love and look up to her. Thank you will never be enough. Sometimes I take a step back and look at how rich my life is because of my family. Yesterday was one of those days. It's crazy how fast life comes at you sometimes, but I am glad to know that my family and the gospel will always be the center of my life and always keep me grounded. I'll never understand why I lucked out so well in life. I have it pretty dang good I would say. Mom, I love you!

New Lens!

My mom and dad got me the sigma 70 mm macro lens for my birthday. I am so excited! It allows you to take pictures really close up (it will focus an like an inch away from your subject) and it is a SUPER sharp focus, so you get great detail. It has been so much fun to use and it has allowed me to take some fun portraits. Hopefully I will keep getting better at using it; it takes some work to get the focus just right, probably because it isn't a zoom lens. Thank you so much Mom and Dad- I love you and I look forward to sending you more pictures of your grandbaby! Here are a couple I have taken so far.

Baby blues. I love being able to get so close. I love details!

Notice Max's tounge sticking out- it's his new thing.

Max's Baby Shower

Our first weekend in Seattle, Whitney Smith and Mari Short (the amazing mother-daughter duo) threw Max and I the cutest baby shower! They are so creative and adorable. Everything they did matched Max's room- green, chocolate brown, and scallops. I had such a blast! Max slept like a rock the whole time, even though he was being passed around from person to person all afternoon. Thanks Whitney and Mari for such a fun shower and all the guests for coming. We felt very loved!

The invitations- handmade by Whitney and Mari.

The favors- circle rice crispie treats in these adorable bags Whitney made.

THe mini cupcakes- chocolate with green frosting. Yum! These are Whitney's cake plates that I wanted to steal. She collects them and has a bunch of cute ones.

Even Whitney and Mari's gift matched! I even saved the paper- haha! The best part was that inside was the baby gap bubble outfit I had been dying to get. Jill and I- thanks to her and Debbie, Max is the proud owner of baby pumas. So cute!
Some guests- Karen, Whitney, and Debra.
Mari, Janalee, and Kristin.

Seattle: The Fam

Watching Jordan's baseball game.

Uncle Jordan playing for Eastlake. Go Wolves!
Mx with my cute cousin Becca. Don't you love the sunglasses?

Max and Nana. True love! She and Mackenzie were always fighting over him. Thanks to those two, I hardly changed a diaper the whole trip! And Max has a LOT of stinky diapers. He likes to poop up his back at least once about every other day- or more.
Kenz broke her foot doing gymnastics while we were there, so she borrowed Max's stroller!

Kenzie and Max are so cute together- they TOTALLY love eachother!
After a game with Unky Jordy, as he likes to be called.
Max loves Grandpa! He was just sitting there staring at him. Grandpa was the second person Max ever smiled at (after Nana.)

With Uncle Tyler. He was so sweet with him! For those of you who don't know, my brother Tyler is autistic and has an extra special place in everyone's hearts. Every time you asked if he wanted to hold him, Ty would hold his arms out like you were passing him a log. It cracked us up, but he did great! He walked around church telling everyone about baby Maxwell, but if they would try to touch him, he would say, "No. You can't touch him. Maxwell doesn't want your germs." We created a monster. He did the same thing at dinner one night, itroducing "baby Maxwell" to the cooks and servers. Tyler also talks to Max so sweetly. He calls him his little prince and tells him all kinds of things. We can never aknowledge that Max's first name is Jon, he hates it! He can't handle two people in our family having the same name and pretty much freaks out about it. He used to get really mad, but now he just says, "actually, I think his real name is Maxwell." As opposed to "No. We can not have the same names! I hate it, it is a stupid idea! I wanted his name to be Jagger!" Yes, Jagger. That's the name he had picked out. It just added to the problem when we didn't use it. Uncle Jordan being crazy. He got these v neck shirts at American Apparel- so funny.

Max's second cousin Asher. How cute are they in their matching camo?
Snuggling in bed with Auntie Kenzie. We would bring him in to her almost every night when she went to bed. My mom used it as a bribe to get her in bed at night!

The Jons (Grandpa). Sometimes I think they even look alike!
Great Grandma and Grandpa Rands. Max is their first great grandchild. Max is not a very good burper, but Great grandma has the magic touch! We all tease her about how hard she "pats."

More Seattle: Trampoliney

Mackenzie is really into taking crazy pictures on the tramp with her friends- we're hooked now that we've done it! These are of me, Kenz and Britt. Yes we are nerds. Especially Kenz. I was amazed at how hard it was to do simple tricks on the tramp after having a baby! I thought I was going to wet my pants every time I jumped. I can still do a layout though... barely... I threw my neck out after like 15 minutes!

Blog Slacker

Ok, so I haven't been a good blogger at all lately! We have been running around like crazy- Seattle, Salt Lake, Denver, wherever. I am so out of sorts I can't even remember what city I am in when I wake up in the morning. Anyway, tons of things have happened, and I am going to try and catch up, but I have a feeling they won't really be in chronological order. So here's my best shot. Oh, and I'm sure they'll be long because I have about a trillion or so pictures.

shameless bragging about Max

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I have the cutest little boy that ever lived! He looked so cute today I had to have some photo fun. I love him to pieces! Plus, Danny misses Max like CRAZY and asked me to post some shots of him. We are having fun in Seattle but we really wish Danny was here too! By the way Kettles, doesn't Max look like Cody in the second picture?

Nana got Max this cute little t-shirt at Merry-go-round, my new FAVORITE baby store in Bellevue. Had to show it off!

Project Burpee

Yay me! Today I started and finishe a project (this almost never happens)! I recieved some really cute burp cloths as gifts and I loved them so much I decided to make my own! So I went to Ben Franklin (the best craft store ever) to get fabric, bought some cloth diapers and had a hay day. My mom and I had so much fun making them! Of course now I'll be sad when Max pukes on them. =) By the way, the one on the bottom is Dick and Jane fabric, it's not just a vulgar burpee.

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A Social Smile

This morning was Max's first real smile! It was absolutely adorable. I could tell it was the real deal because his whole face lit up and he was making eye contact. Of course, he didn't smile for me, but for his Nana! It was about 7 am and he had just finished eating. We went upstairs to say good morning to Nana, who was writing an e-mail. She held him and started talking to him and he just lit up. I'll never forget it! Then later that morning, he smiled for Grandpa. THis is a shot of the tail end of that one. It doesn't even come close to showing how big and cute the smile was! For some reason I never have a camera at the most important moment. Im just glad I saw it! I can't wait for him to do it again (hopeully next time at me)!