Baby, baby, baby!

Yep, we're having a (really cute) baby girl in July.  Hey!!

Ok, so maybe it's old news to a lot of you readers, but maybe not to all.   Being pregnant thus far has been pretty great.  I'm now 6 months along (26 weeks for you pregnant-speakers), and starting to really get a belly!  It took a while for me to really show, but now there is no doubt for the average stranger to know I've got a baby on board.

Here are some photos from the ultrasound:

No doubt that she's a girl!  And doesn't she have the cutest face!? She totally does.

Here I am at the end of a wedding that I photographed.  I was about 23 1/2 weeks here.  I look ginormous.

Taken at 26 weeks to the day with my Holga.

Here is a typical "I took this myself in the bathroom" shot.  I know it's not anything exciting, but at least I'm documenting my growth...about 25 and a half weeks here.

And I already have clothes for her!  I'm so excited that she's a summer baby.  She will have the cutest summer clothes!!

I got this darling ensemble at H&M in NYC when I visited in March.  It was a deal at $7.  Look at those ruffles on the bum.  Cute!

My good friend Rachel sent me this adorable onsie because she thought it looked Latin-y (we know each other thanks to the Hogar Program, so we share a love for Latin culture).  Isn't it so girly?  Adorable.

My VERY favorite dress that I have gotten thus far is this gem.  Again, Rachel sent this to me in a package with the onsie above.  I think I nearly died when I saw it.  I am so in love with every little inch of this dress that I think my baby girl will be wearing it for the first month STRAIGHT after she's born.  Words can't express my love for this itty bitty newborn dress.  It just screams 'Central America' and I love that Rachel bought it when Andrew and I were at the Hogar during the summer of 2009 (I even remember when she bought it too!).  Thank you Rachel!! (PS-did I ever mention that Rachel is getting a little boy in August!! Ahh, so exciting!)

And the softest, cutest burp cloth that my mom made:)  Aw, I'm so excited that my mom is going to be my little girl's grandma.  She is such a great mom, and my girl is going to love her as her grandma!!

That's all.  Can you tell I'm excited for this girl to come?  I am.

Facts:
Name: (Most likely) Reese Marie


Cravings: None, really.  For a week or two I really craved oreos, and mint oreo shakes.  However, I do seem to really like cold cheese and ice cold milk.  Mmm.  I think I like them more than normal, but I can't say that I crave them.


Sickness: None, thank heavens.  The first three months I couldn't handle smells of really any kind, and any kind of food with a strong flavor grossed me out.  I was fairly nauseous, but I only ever threw up once.   I now associate certain smells at my work with nausea.  AND I associate certain photos that I photographed and edited during Fall semester with nausea too. Haha:)  But now I feel awesome!


Movement: TONS!  I remember feeling something like muscle spams around 14 weeks, and then I knew it was the baby around 16-17 weeks.  She kicks a ton and wiggles, especially around 9-10 AM and at night.  The other day I felt a foot or an elbow poking through near my belly button.  It was awesome.

That's all.  Yeah for being pregnant!!

Personal Color Project

For my color class I am tackling my first project (as in creating a series of photos that go together).  It has been REALLY fun (surprisingly because when I first heard we had to do a project, I wasn't excited for it:)), and I have enjoyed every second of the process...except for maybe the price, but its been worth it:).

My project is entitled "Memories of a Girl", and it is a series of images of memories from a little girl's life.  My niece is my model and she has been AWESOME!  She's the perfect age because she loves playing with me so I can take the photos that I need, and she loves writing and drawing the pictures that I need as well.

Anyway, I originally wanted to do a project that involved capturing "memories", and I thought of a bunch of ways to execute it, but I finally decided I wanted to use my Holga as my camera of choice.  Deciding to focus on memories of a little girl was a little bit more of a process.  I wanted to focus on children's memories since they are so innocent and happy, but I thought that focusing on a little girl would be more personal to me (I'm a girl, I'm having a baby girl, and all I think about now-a-days is girly stuff!).  Plus, won't this project be fun for my niece to have when she's older someday?  I think so!

Anyway, here are just a few series from the project.  I have about 5-6 more that I'm in the process of getting together. (Each series has 4 photos to it...three photos and one drawn/handwritten page):

Sidewalk Chalk

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Bathtime

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Playing in the rain

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Coloring

The formatting is a bit funky on here since this is how I set the photos up for printing purposes.  But there you go.  I will post the rest as I get them edited and finished, and I will be sure to taking photos of the final book that I will be making!

NYC

I went to NYC at the beginning of March with the BYU photography program, which was really fun.  We spent approximately 5 days in the city meeting professional photographers, taking photos, and getting to know the city.  There was one horribly windy, rainy day that made me a little bit miserable, but for the most part the trip was awesome.  I learned a TON!  One being that I will never live in NYC, and another that I probably won't become a wildly successful editorial, fashion, or overall commercial photographer since I plan on pursuing a family life.  And I'm ok with that.  I just want to become a semi-wildly successful photographer on the side of my fully fun family life.

Anyway, here are just a few images from my NYC trip.  A few are film, a few are digital, and I still have some BW 35mm negatives to develop.  Enjoy!

We visited Rodney Smith's place about an hour outside of the city.  His home and studio and lands were absolutely gorgeous.  We went on the horribly rainy day, but I think the rain helped set the mood for his home because I felt like I was in some quaint English home.  Rodney was incredibly blunt and honest when talking with us (mentioning even that women would get eaten alive in the industry, and if we plan on having a family we can kiss our photographer careers goodbye), but I honestly really loved the visit.  He was very nice and welcoming to our huge group, which I thought was very nice of him.  While we were looking at some of his prints in his studio, he looked at me and said "You're pregnant." I told him "yes" and he said, "how old are you?"  I told him I was 24, and he just shook his head smiling saying "You're a good Mormon", and I just told him that yes, yes I was a good Mormon.  Haha:)  It made me laugh.

Above R is a cute church that we passed while walking down the road to Rodney's home and studio.  It was really cute.  And the photo on the L is half of our group trying to cram under the bus shelter while we waited for our bus to come.

My handy umbrella that ripped thanks to the crazy winds that whipped through the city that day.  Oh well.  It was a great umbrella while it lasted (see his little duck face? Aw).

These are three images are some film shots from Jay Maisel's place in NYC.  In the '60's, Jay bought a run-down bank and converted it into his studio/gallery/collection-holder/house.  It's a 6 story building, and he got it for a killer deal (because it was run-down and abandoned).  We were invited to explore the 5th floor of his building and see his collection of stuff.  It was an entire floor that resembled a typical crowded, but nicely organized antique shop.  It was so fun.

And the city.  More images to come later.