Ah, Love.

My new photography business concentrates on kiddies, but when my friend and RA from college asked me to photograph her wedding, I couldn't say no! I'm so excited to be a part of her big day this Saturday-- Mandy and I will be in DC and Annapolis capturing some great photos! I'll probably have some pictures up by the end of next week, so all of you Grove City grads out there, be sure to have a look and see if you recognize anyone from the Grove!

p.s. Mandy, my fearless co-amateur-wedding-photographer-partner, took this picture of me when I helped her shoot her sister-in-law's wedding last month. Want to see the pics? They're at www.mandysrokaphotography.com. Go to the "Client Proofs" section and click on the Sroka Thornton Wedding.

Friends

This is Grace playing with her friend Brooke back in September. Many of you might remember that Brooke spent the first two months of her life in the hospital, and I know that many of you were praying for her and her parents and big sister.

Here is a video update on our little friend! It's so sweet-- grab the tissue box first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtjROrvmHX4&eurl=http://www.facebook.com/home.php

Five Months

I'm at 23 weeks- almost 24. The baby is starting to really move and kick like she means business! Thankfully my energy levels are good and I'm still able to carry Grace around comfortably and keep her entertained. We've been enjoying long brisk walks with the stroller around the neighborhood during the day and around downtown Annapolis at night with Steve. I'm also taking a water aerobics class at the community college! Therefore, I'm ravenously hungry most hours of the day.

From BabyCenter.com:
Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). Her skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare her for breathing. She can swallow, but she normally won't pass her first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when she hears them outside the womb.

Mango? Did someone say mango? I'm hungry...

Here's what I looked like with Grace at the fifth month. It's interesting to see the different belly shapes with the different pregnancies. Do you think I'll look like this in three more weeks??

Speaking of Grace, we tried to get her in the belly picture with me, but she's much too busy walking and dancing all by herself to stand still for a picture! Grace is becoming very independent and now wants to walk by herself wherever we go-- Steve's lacrosse game (she kept beelining it for the field), the backyard, shopping, etc.

Point + Shoot

Grace points at everything now. So I shot a picture of it!

Because One Party is Never Enough

The Deterding side of the family and some of our good friends from church came over last Sunday afternoon for a cloudy-day cook-out to celebrate Grace's birthday! This time around, she wasn't shy about digging in to her cake:

She had this serene smile on her face the whole time she was serenaded with "Happy Birthday To You":
Grace's little sister was accidentally blocked by the high chair in this family portrait. But next week we're due for a 5-month belly shot anyway:

The yummy cake. Pay no attention to the little blip of icing in the front where I accidentally touched the cake while tying on the ribbon. That's a Southern Living At Home cake stand, by the way, and I was thrilled to actually use it-- I bought it over a year ago. I'll have to make more cakes (I know Steve will approve):

Happy Birthday, again, to our big girl! Now we're all looking forward to a birth-day in August!

Gardening

Steve, Grace and I had a good time outdoors this afternoon digging up our garden. Grace, who I would now describe as a WALKER (!) was all over the place. She tried to dig in the dirt with a trowel, but when that didn't work she decided to just eat the dirt (take a close look at that face). After a warm bath, we decided to measure her height...she doesn't quite make it to the lowest mark of 2'6"!

HELP! Vote NOW!!!

*Edited again to add: and the winners are-- 2, 5, 9, and 10! Thanks for the help!

*Edited to Add: Thanks for the help so far; I need more! I'm appealing to all the readers of this blog who have always remained anonymous-- now's the time to say "hi" and leave a comment! I need you. I want to meet you. I want your opinion! *

I'm particiapting in an Art Festival this weekend where I will be displaying some of my photography. It might be a good way to get some business! I've already printed 8x10 prints of my 7 favorite images, as well as several 5x7 prints-- the 10 you see below. The problem is that I only have FOUR 5x7 frames to fill for my display, and I can't narrow these down to my 4 favorites. HELP!!

Leave me a comment and tell me which are YOUR 4 favorite images. It could be for any reason-- I just need some input! Here's the catch-- I have to know by tomorrow afternoon at 3 when I leave to set up my display! HURRY! Thanks for the help-- and ask your friends, neighbors, and co-workers!

1.

2.
3.4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Grin

19 Weeks

Heeeeeeeeeere she is!

So what do you think? See any resemblance?

My doctor appointment on Monday brought good news that the ultrasound looked great and my latest round of bloodwork came back just fine! However, the various measurements of the baby's head, belly, and femur pointed to a new due date a week later than the original-- it's set at August 23rd. So instead of writing a "20 Weeks" post I have to write a "19 Weeks" post. It's a bummer adding a week to the pregnancy but maybe chasing Grace around this summer will put my into labor early anyway!

It's been interesting knowing the baby's sex. With Grace, as you might recall, we decided not to find out whether we were having a girl or a boy. Very exciting way to go, in its own way. This time we decided to find out during my ultrasound, and that was fun as well-- although I keep slipping into calling the baby "it" again! Old habit. SHE is moving and kicking a bit, and HER mommy is feeling pretty good!

*Click on the pictures to see them enlarged a bit. Aren't those lips the cutest?! You can also see an arm and hand resting under her chin. Already contemplating something.

First Birthday!

Grace is ONE! We celebrated with the Wilson side of the family on Grace's birthday, March 30th. She was a very dainty birthday cake eater-- Steve had to rip off the back of the bear-cake's head to encourage her to dig in!

Grace with Heather's friend Betsy.

Grace with great-aunts Becki, Candy, and Michelle. Have you ever seen so many young and attractive GREAT-aunts in one place at one time?

Checking out baby sister's first photos. It's been determined that she doesn't resemble Grace in utero. (I'll post the ultrasound pictures soon!)

With Heather's cousins Kenny and Brandon.

We are so grateful to the Lord for our beautiful daughter and her first year! Happy Birthday, sweetie-pie!!