New blog

I'm excited to announce that I've got my new business blog up and running. It is still not 100% perfect, but you get the idea :)

Over there, I'll be posting about my client photo sessions and photography tips. This blog (babblesbybrook) will still be the place for family updates and truly random weirdness :)

So please go forth and check it out. Please do give Amanda and Jon some love there, as well!

http://www.brookrieman.com/blog/

EDIT- I screwed something up and the blog was out of commission for awhile, but it is back again. See, still working out the kinks!

E-I-E-I-O

Creek stomping

It has been really muggy around here. Sticky, sweaty, and downright miserable. It seems like a good day for Lily's inaugural creek stomp in the park. We figured she would love this since her favorite things involve water (baths and playing in the dog water bowl).

To our surprise, she didn't love it like we thought she would. The water was a tad bit cold and I think she was just kind of confused about it all. It made for cute pictures, though.







We are so fortunate to have this beautiful spot in practically in our back yard. There are definite advantages to living in a park.

In other news, we've been busy picking these.



This is the first year that our strawberries have really produced. We have gotten a nice big bowl each of the last few days. Yum!

MSN

If you go onto www.msn.com right now, you might see one of my photos. The photos at the top of the page change every few seconds and one of them is my image of my hand reaching for toilet paper. It is highlighting an article on incontinence. Glamorous! If you hover over the image, you see the credit to me and that they purchased it off Getty. I assume it will only be up there for a matter of hours.

This made my day!

Thanks so much Laura for happening across it AND knowing that it was my hand and my toilet paper!

Never a dull moment

Lily's fascination with putting things into containers continues. This evening, I found a bottle of lotion in the diaper pail and a full bottle of milk in the toy box.

5 minute chocolate cake in a cup

A recipe that makes me happy.

4 Tbsp Flour
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Cocoa powder
1 egg
3 Tbsp Milk
3 Tbsp Oil
tiny splash of vanilla
handfull of chocolate chips (optional)
Large mug

Put dry ingredients in mug, mix well. Add wet ingredients and mix well with fork until smooth. Add chocolate chips if desired. Microwave for 3 minutes. Batter will rise out of cup - don't be alarmed! Use knife to separate from cup, turn out onto plate and eat up.

Still kicking!

Long time, no post. I have been really busy with getting a new blog for my business going. I know, I know, how can I keep up with 2 blogs if I can hardly keep up with one?* I can't wait to share it once I get it to the point where it is presentable! I'm also working on a new website which will be forthcoming, as well. So excited about all these changes for my business. It is just a bit overwhelming at this point with working 40+ hours per week + my most important job = mommyhood!

That leads me to the next point....

*I'm quitting my job to be a full time mom!!!!!!!! This has been what I've wanted since the very first time I laid eyes on our precious little babe. It just was not possible until we paid off some things and got to the point where we could actually survive without my salary. We have been working really hard to scrimp and save. We paid off my car a few months ago. We are on a SERIOUS budget again (after a 2 year hiatus). So we are doing it. It is going to be rough but it is what we want as a family, and that is all that matters. This will allow me to focus more on my photography business, as well. I am so very excited, but nervous, too!

I've been having a hard time with waiting for this day to actually come. It felt like my last day was so far away. For Mother's Day, Corey (with Lily's help) made me this chain. I get to rip off one link each day until I get to stay home with Lily for good. I love that man.



Now for some random photos:

Lily in her favorite spot, on the kitchen island shelf.



and the "kitteh", as Lily calls him...



Now I have to preface this video by telling you that I shot it with my new camera (it has a video function). It had never occurred to me, that you can't shoot video in portrait orientation. Duh. TV and computer screens are landscape. Now I know. Cock your head to the right and enjoy. It is too cute not to share, even crooked. This may take awhile to load. It is HD and I've never tried using that online before.

My new favorite website

If you like cute, you have GOT to check out this webcam. Baby hummingbirds. It doesn't get any cuter than that. You just have to stick around a while because the mom leaves the nest every 15 minutes or so and you get to peek at the tiny pink babies!

http://phoebeallens.com/

41 years ago...

My mom wearing the same dress.



Too cool! Thanks mom!!!!

Just for fun

I have SO much blogging to catch up on. I haven't even posted about Lily's birthday. So what do I do? Edit photos from our just-for-fun family photo shoot today. I've been wanting to take photos by the barn behind the house before Corey sends his employees to weed whack all the pretty weeds (boo to that!).





The dress is my mom's. Isn't it awesome? Hey mom, do you know how long you've had it? I remember you wearing it when I was little!

Lily's loot

One of Lily's new favorite things to do is gather things. She loves putting things into other things and taking things out. Under the seat of her little riding truck, there is a secret compartment. I noticed yesterday that she was pushing the truck around and placing things into the compartment. After adding an item, she would close the lid and drive it around, looking for something else. Later on, we took a peek inside. She had gathered a tiny spatula (part of a kitchen set she got for her birthday), a sock rabbit that I made her, a tea bag (a girl after my own heart), and my "I voted" sticker from Tuesday.

from the archives

I ran across this photo while organizing my photos. This is from back in February when we were visiting Lily's birth family in California.