Bizzy

I feel a bit like an event planner.

This week I am gearing up for my first wedding of the season and it's in Iowa.

My mom was planning on coming along so I wouldn't have to leave Story. But I'm already starting to stress about it. All the packing, maps, schedules, unfamiliar places, and wedding excitement is enough for me. I so badly want them to come along but my head will be much clearer if I'm on my own.

Being away from her for two nights will be really hard. Ick. Hopefully it won't be so hard on her! :( I'm used to sleeping about 1 inch away from her... But I'm trying not to think about it.

Lists are starting to scatter themselves everywhere.

Packing for Story and Sully for 3 nights with Nana and Papa.
Packing for me for 1 night with my 'rents and 2 in Iowa.
Packing equipment for Wedding Day.
Grocery list for Sully at Nana and Papa (this boy eats a lot).
Equipment purchases (a GPS(!), new batteries, extra CF cards, lens protectors, and a lens hood).

...
So this coming weekend will be my first of many wedding weekends this summer but it will also be a little break from being a mommy. I'm going to bring a book (probably some kinda "mom" book) to read while I eat out :) by myself. I'm going to paint my toenails(to match my new red shoes!). And I might even soak in a hot tub at the hotel. I will also go to bed early and s.l.e.e.p. all by myself. all night long. I'll most likely wake up a little bit confused, a little bit in pain (I'm nursing), and a lot a bit rested.
Rested.

:)
And then I get to shoot a wedding! How fresh!

Red Shoes

I am Sullivan's Mommy

In the last year I've been...

-pooped on
-peed on
-vomited on
-sucked on
-pumped
-bitten
-crawled up
-screamed and cried at
-through 24 hours of back labor
-scarred
-late
-to too many Dr. appointments
-through 5 clogged milk ducts
-producing about 2 gallons of milk a week
-trying not to speed with a cryer in the back
-doing gobs of laundry
-spening around $1000 on diapers
-changing about 90% of those diapers
-woken up every 1-2 hours every night (except for 8 uninterupted nights)
-lugging a whole person around



...I've never, ever heard my mother complain about being my mom. This dawned on me today....
How is this possible? Is she some kinda superwoman? What grace...

It is Mother's Day and Sullivan is a week away from being 1 year old. The above list is really not meant to be a list of complaints. Really. I'm just making note. ;)




But do you know what's really on my mind as Sully completes one year of life?


-Have I been the best mother that I could have been?
-Have I made all the right choices this year for his emotional well-being?
-Has he been eating all the right foods?
-Have I been praying the right prayers for him?
-Have I been praying enough for him?
-Should I have spent more time with him during his first 3 months instead of shoot weddings?
-I regret not fighting to hold him sooner after he was born (I didn't get to hold him for 4 hours after c-section). What affect will that have on him?
-I regret not demanding to sleep his first night in the nic-u with him and being by his side.
-I hope he doesn't feel trauma from when we went away for 6 days and left him with his grandparents (at 9 months).
-Have I read the right books?
-Have I chosen the right parenting style?
-I crave happiness for him.
-I plead for his health.
-I pray he'll have an awesome relationship with his Savior.
-I desperately hope I can give him the opportunities for a future filled with love, happiness, adventure, and success.
-I ache for him. I hope and pray I can be the mother that God designed me to be for Sullivan.



Being a mother has been an incredibly emotional and physical experience thus far. And it has only been one year. My perception of, appreciation, and love for my own mother has been changed dramatically.

Could you possibly comprehend how much I love being Sullivan's Mommy?


In the past year my baby boy has...


-smiled at me
-kissed me
-squeezed me
-cooed at me
-reached for me
-snuggled me
-rolled over, sat up, crawled, stood up, walked
-grown (gained 18 pounds!)
-called me "Mama"
-danced
-clapped
-leaned on my shoulder
-showed a love for mechanics, water, spoons, music, and books :)
-played with his puppy
-squealed
-given the goofiest, toothy grin
-woken up with smiles and kisses for me every morning (since he's been able)
-napped in my arms
-splashed in the tub
-believes his daddy is "Superman!"
-given me a new view on hope
-made my husband a good, proud Daddy
-made me a happy Momma
-given me reason, and made me want, to strive to be better
-changed our future
-needed me
-loved me
-blessed me
-changed my life.

It is very difficult to describe exactly how becoming a mother changes your entire life... what that feels like... what is so dramatically yet delicately, subtly different about you.

Ryan and I were just discussing what things have not changed since Sully was born. We are still the same people. Same goals, dreams, interests... But how we live our lives... that will never be the same.

Contest! Giveaway!

To celebrate my new website going live (woohoo!), I am holding a contest!

(I am so uber excited...)

Here's the dealio.

1. Visit my new photography website at http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com.

2. Count the veils. (Good luck!) Don't try to count the number of actual of brides wearing veils... count the number of pictures that have a veil in them... make sense?

3. Click onto my photography blog in the bottom left corner of http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com and click into the "Leave a Reply" comment box.

4. Tell me how many veils you counted. Be sure to include your name and email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner!


Wait! What what does the lucky winner... win?
An hour with me! And it's all about you!

A one hour photo-shoot anywhere in the Twin Cities Metro Area!
Engagement, Family, Children, Pets, or, of course, just You! Whatever you like. And you get all the pics on disk!

***Update!*** So counting the veils is a bit tough. :) How about this: Just post a comment on the website's blog for one entry and count the veils for two entries in the drawing! Sound good? Good Luck!♥
***Update***



So count the veils and leave your answer in a comment on my blog. I'll take all of the correct answers and put them in a drawing which will be held on Sunday, April 19 at midnight. The winner will be announced the following Monday

Get counting, commenting, and good luck!

www.kimkaslphotography.com

Kim Kasl Photography

My website is finally live and ready for action!
Check it out! Let me know what you think!


www.kimkaslphotography.com

Photo Booth

Laundry Adventure

Today Sullivan helped me with the laundry.

   Sully has been exploring things a bit more with his mouth.  Brinkley's toys were pretty much gross.  They are the dog's toys so I've never thought to wash them before today.

Brinkley was pretty concerned about the well being of her toys...  but Sully took good care of them. 

And then he tasted them -to make sure they were clean.

I think we'll hang out in the laundry basket more often.  ;)

Yummy

Sully doesn't eat a lot of food yet.  Today I gave him a slice of peach and some banana in this awesome mesh food thingy while he watched a little movie on www.hulu.com.  (It was called Boo -I think.)   This is what he thought of his yummy peach and banana: 

He continued to eat it for 20 minutes or so.  So it must not have been that bad! :)

I've been tagged!

My friend, Barbara, tagged me. Here are the rules: You must go to your documents folder (or wherever you store your photos) and go to your 6th picture folder, then go to the 6th picture in that folder and post it on your blog. Tell us a story about that picture.

Okay, so I have two photo programs I use (depending on what camera/occasion) so I'm doubling up.

The first. This is Brinkley, our 2 year old shih tzu. She likes to feel safe under chairs, beds, and couches. This is the desk chair and since we spend a lot of time there, she spends a lot of time there. Look at those puppy dog eyes!

Second. This is Stacy and Scott (aren't they a beautiful couple?!). Stacy has been my best girlfriend since 1st grade. This is one of their engagement pictures. We were all super busy that summer because our weddings were 3 weeks apart, so engagement pics taken the night before their wedding at the grooms dinner/picnic was the way to go. I chose my favorites, framed them and had them by the card box for them the next day. Cake!  ...Stacy and Scott are expecting blessed baby bliss this June!

Christmas

Christmas has been good. We spent the week in Cambridge, staying half the time at each set of parents' homes. I feel like we've spent our time well, we did a lot of family stuff. But we totally missed out on church. I'm super bummed about it. Ryan just didn't feel up to it.

He's been pretty sick for about 4 weeks with an on-again-off-again fever and super exhaustion. He sleeps a LOT. When it first started, he was tested for all the basic sickness stuff and was all clear. Three weeks later, he's seen 3 more doctors, been put on an antibiotic and taken off 2 days later (misdiagnosed), had 13 vials of blood drawn +4 cups, had a throat swab again, peed in a cup, had a cat scan, and now he has a super sore throat with the yucky white spots in his throat. We know we didn't start with strep 4 weeks ago, so did he pick it up while at the clinic since his immune system is weak? What the heck?! So Ryan has the yuck. We just don't know which yuck. We find out Monday -hopefully. And hopefully it's not that yucky.

So pray for Ryan.

Thankfully everyone else has been able to steer clear of Ryan's yuck! Sully had a good first Christmas. Crazy gifts that sing, light up, wiggle, and amuse both Sully and Brinkley. Sully's Grandparents were very generous! Sully's mom kinda expected it (and was totally thankful for it!) and only got him a Disney's Cars flashlight (he loves lights) which literally broke in under 5 seconds. Bummer. It's a good thing he won't remember that or I would feel like a total failure.

Me and Ryan's parents went together on a new vacuum for us! What an awesome gift! The one we've been using is incredibly lame. I'm pumped to test it out!

We're still in Cambridge. Our cars have been in pretty bad shape so this week they've been on the road to improvement. 2 new tires, a fixed side-view mirror, a replaced burnt-out brake light... on Monday both cars will have their tires aligned and rotated and we'll be finished. And ready to go home. :) I'm just hoping to get to church in the morning (we'll see how things go), to visit with a few more friends, and to send out our Christmas cards in the meantime.

This is my favorite Christmas pic of Sully:



I hope you all had perfectly wonderful Christmases with lots of happy memories!

Sibling Rivalry

Tug o war.















A few days ago Brinkley started bringing some of her toys to Sullivan. She puts them in his hand and then tries to take them away. Hoping for a good game. :) Sullivan is actually pretty good at it.